Talk of the Town March 2017

EDITION 189

CIRCULATION 4,600

MARCH 2017

SALTBURN’S FREE MONTHLY MAGAZINE www.tottsaltburn.co.uk 1

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SALTBURN’S TOWN TALK Letter from the Editor

There’s no Pride of Saltburn bouquet in this month’s popular feature so I’ll keep it going as long as I can. Please magazine. Although I did have just one nomination waiting, nominate your friends and family members for the bouquet of during ‘deadline weekend’, as I call the last few days of flowers! I should have more than just one nomination waiting! creating the magazine before sending it to the printer. This Write a hundred words or so to make it a bit more than just month it was so hectic, stressful and problematic, with one mentioning someone’s name.

Times are hard. I’ve already spoken of the rise in the time consuming frustration after another, that presenting the bouquet was simply ‘one job too many’. That’s a shame, cost of paper. I have to reduce my paper consumption and so I because the flowers are usually the high point of deadline have decided to print a few less copies and to try and keep the weekend and it’s a happy occasion. However, I’d certainly magazine from publishing too many articles all of which have like to keep the feature going but I do need nominations. The to be paid for, by me. The magazine is financed only by space in the magazine can always be used for some other advertising but unfortunately some businesses refuse to feature, and these days with the catastrophic rise in the cost of advertise in Talk of the Town. I don’t know why. Love, Ian. paper I need to save all I can, but I know that the flowers are a Send letters, adverts and contributions for the next issue (by Craft Club Busy Fingers: 2nd and 4th Thursday of each Friday, 17th March 2017) to: The Editor, Talk of the month, 1.30 till 3.30pm in the Coffee Room, Saltburn Town c/o Jackie’s Saverstore, 8 Station Buildings, Community Centre.

Saltburn, Cleveland, TS12 1AQ. Telephone: 01287 623903 Redcar Lecture Society: On Tuesday, 14th March at 2.15pm (or email: talkofthetownsaltburn@gmail.com). Talk of the in the Redcar East Community Centre on Durham Road, we Town has a website: www.tottsaltburn.co.uk and the welcome back John Reeve, who will be giving us his Visual Friends of Talk of the Town can be found on Facebook.

Presentation on ‘The River Tees from 1700 to the Present Day’ and then a fortnight later, on Tuesday, 28th March at the Jack and Ann Noble: would like to thank everyone for the same time, we welcome Alan Betteney who will be Visually lovely cards and good wishes on the occasion of their Golden Presenting ‘The Castle Eden Branch Railway’ for our last Wedding Anniversary in January.

Meeting of the 2016-17 Season. This topic should be of The Guisborough and District Branch of the Embroiderers’ particular interest to Railway Buffs. Following that Guild are holding their monthly meeting on Saturday, 4th Presentation we shall be holding a short AGM. Admission to March, 2017 in Sunnyfield House, Westgate, Guisborough, each meeting is £2.50 and any visitors are most welcome, too. TS14 6BA at 2pm. Our guest speaker is Brigid Lowe and her Advance Notice! On Tuesday, 9th May, we are planning to subject is Oriental Embroidery. Our next meeting is Saturday hold a Special 60 years Anniversary Event. Details later! 1st April when our guest speaker will be Angela Sandwith and her subject is Using Recycled and Unusual Materials.

Watch this space!

Visitors are welcome whether non-stitchers, beginners or Saltburn Farmers’ Market returns on Saturday, 11th March more experienced stitchers. For more information please with a great mix of food, drink and gifts for the home! With contact 01642 314860.

The car park behind Belmont House stalls in and around Saltburn Town Centre from 9am till 2pm. (council offices) is free on Saturday. Contact telephone number All welcome! See also a picture on page 38.

01642 314860.

Emmanuel Church Hall Table Top and Collectors’ Sale: The next sales are on Saturdays, 4th and 18th March and then WI Report: February is the month we hold our annual April 1st, 15th and 29th. We have a lot of new stall holders meeting. Consequently the business element is longer, as we and anyone who would like to join us or just to have a clear have reports from the treasurer, secretary and President, in out can contact Denise on the number below. What a good addition to voting for a committee for the coming year. It did, start to the new year we had when a lot of people rang for a however, give us chance to reflect on just how much we have table so they could have a clear out! We are also doing our done during the past year. Visits to Beverley, Liverpool and the usual lunches and all day breakfast, fresh home baked cake, Wynyard rose garden were just some of the outings we had pies and scones. Home made refreshments and light lunches been on. Not to mention our monthly groups craft, book club, are on sale all day. FREE ENTRANCE and a warm welcome flowers, supper club and cookery masterclass, plus weekly to everyone. With over 26 stall holders, selling lots of bric-a- walks in addition to our monthly meeting. Certainly something brac, books, toys, baby goods, and all sorts of collectables, for everyone, and of course the promise of plenty more to come there is something for everyone. We have now got a lot of in the coming year. The evening finished with a very enjoyable new stall holders selling lots of different and interesting pooled supper. things. If anyone would like to book a table please contact Our next meeting is on Thursday, 9th March at 7.30pm.

Denise Marshall on 07929 589538.

Full details of this and all our activities can be found on our On a sad note: we have just lost one of our long website www.saltburnwi.org.uk. If you would like to join us do standing stall holders, Jon Edwards. He used to sell old toy please come along, and you can be sure of a warm and friendly cars and trains and he will be sadly missed and fondly welcome. remembered by all who knew him.

Diane Falla Cover Illustration: A day out awaits down the steps, by Hugh Melvin Disclaimer: Talk of the Town tries to make sure the articles and announcements made on its pages are accurate, but views expressed in letters and articles printed in Talk of the Town are not necessarily those of the editor. Any offers in adverts included in Talk of the Town are made by the advertisers; details should be confirmed with them. Always confirm event details with the organisers, in case of alteration or error. Talk of the Town is printed by DC (Yorkshire) Print, Unit 34a, Lidgate Crescent, Langthwaite Business Park, South Kirkby, West Yorkshire, WF9 3NR. Website: www.dcprintyorkshire.co.uk Tel: 01977 642331. Proprietor/Editor of Talk of the Town: Ian Tyas c/o Jackie’s Saverstore, 8 Station Buildings, Saltburn, TS12 1AQ. (Ian Tyas tel: 01287 623903.)

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National Service part 10: All good things come to an end!

Throughout our 15-month duty in Cyrenaica we were only given one week’s leave and this was to a leave camp at Apollonia. Most of the week was spent swimming in the warm waters of the Mediterranean, particularly in a pool carved out of solid rock christened Cleopatra’s swimming pool. Meeting men serving with other units in North Africa including Royal Air Force personnel from El Adem an airfield near Tobruk, was a highlight.

Friends at the leave camp

At the horse races

Horse racing was another memorable event: the 48th Regiment Royal Artillery horse club challenged the local horse owning locals to a horse race. It proved to be a very exciting day out. The horse riders rode on a dry, hard surface on a circular course with the locals riding very enthusiastically, raising clouds of dust and firing rifles to encourage their horses to greater speed. We never did discover who won the day but it was certainly very entertaining.

Work in the office carried on unabated. On one occasion I was typing part 2 orders. We needed six copies and there were no means of providing them other than using carbon paper interleaved with the typing paper and a heavy hand on the typewriter keys. With a sigh of relief the job was finished but unfortunately, I had put the carbon paper in the wrong way so there was only one readable copy, and then it was midnight before I completed the task.

On November 5th 1949 I was very ill throughout the night and next day reported sick and was admitted to the British Military Hospital Derna. The diagnosis was pneumonia and for two days I was at death’s door.

Fortunately, penicillin was available and after several injections I turned the corner to better health. On discharge from hospital I went on sick leave (I notice I made out my own leave chit) and in fact I didn’t do any more work for the unit other than to complete my release book. Although I was unable to write my weekly letters home for three weeks, no notification had been communicated to my parents about my illness.

We left our unit in Derna sometime during the middle of December and on arrival at Tobruk we were told that the Empire Pride, our ship home, had broken down somewhere East of Suez and we would be held in the transit camp until such time as it arrived, although 4

some of the earlier release groups were put on board merchant navy ships homeward bound and some were even flown home by the RAF. Tobruk was a town with many no go areas as they had not been cleared of land mines. Ironically it was the Italians who were salvaging the ship wrecks in the harbour. We eventually boarded the Empire Pride between Christmas and New Year.

Conditions on board were very crowded and my berth was a mattress on top of a mess table. The ship sailed direct to Liverpool although for some reason we were not allowed into port and spent a frustrating two day period in a sheltered bay near Puffin Island off Anglesey.

M.V. Empire Pride

Our arrival at Liverpool was on the 9th January 1950. We disembarked and went by troop train to Aldershot where we completed our demobilisation, handing in all our equipment except the clothes we were wearing and were sent on our way home. A portion of our pay was retained until we returned our army uniforms and great coats. The only items we were allowed to keep were our boots and socks. No allowance money was given to us to buy civilian clothes. I arrived home in Guisborough at 0600hrs 10th January after a very long and tiring rail journey. There were no thanks for our service, only a transfer to the Z reserve which as far as I am aware still applies!

My leave ended on January 30th 1950. I then returned the following day to my old job at ICI Wilton.

Cath and Tony Lynn

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Saltburn Councillors’ Surgeries Saltburn Councillors’ Surgeries, each month - all on Saturdays 1st Sat. Library 11-12 Cllr. Craig Hannaway 2nd Sat. Library 11-12 Cllr. Philip Thomson 3rd Sat. Outside Sainsbury’s Cllr. Stuart Smith 9.30-10.30 and 11.30-12.15 4th Sat. Library 11-12 All Councillors Cllr. Hannaway: 07515 863440. Cllr. Smith: 07557 540628.

Cllr. Thomson: 01287 624883.

Mid Week Worship AndWednesday 6.00 p.m. at 10 a.m

Sunday school 10.45 a.m.

Mid week worship Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Prayer Meeting Tuesday at 1.30 p.m.

OPEN CHURCH - 10 a.m. - 12 noon MONDAY, TUESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY. A quiet space with a listening ear, Or just call in for tea or coffee.

MONDAYS AT EIGHT LADIES GROUP at 8 p.m.

THURSDAYS FORTNIGHTLY 2.30 Ladies Meeting COFFEE MORNINGS: WEDNESDAY 10 - 11.45 a.m.

SATURDAY 10 a.m. - 12noon

TUESDAY 2.p.m. KNIT & NATTER. TUESDAY & THURSDAY TODDLERS GROUP. If you would like to come please drop in and ask as there is normally a waiting list.

First TUESDAY OF THE MONTH Soup & Bun lunch at 12.30 p.m.

See notice board for other events.

Anyone is welcome to join us at these events, do come along, we’d love to see you.

We also have rooms to rent for meetings etc, for more information please contact 622826.

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Saltburn Youth Hostel Association My memories go back to 1951 when I was 18 and doing my A-Levels. At school and along with other classmates we all became keen youth hostel members and Saltburn YHA was our nearest hostel. The next year was to be our first year at college and I can truly say that Saltburn and its YHA was an introduction to the art of living away from home and without the family as the wider YHA was for many of my generation. It was possible for us to try out independence within the confines of our schoolgirl pocket money and rationing. Also we began to learn to cook for ourselves. The Youth Hostel and its calor gas stove was an early experience and also practice in budgeting even though I and my friends who had brothers and sisters had already of necessity learnt to cook at home. Lower down the school we had practical cookery lessons too. But this article is about my 1951 experience of the Saltburn Youth Hostel one weekend when I was eighteen and all that Saltburn meant to me as a teenager whilst casting an eye over how much today’s teenagers are missing out on.

Although the YHA still exists and encourages today’s teenagers towards independence, the cost of living is so much higher and prices have gone up so much that Hostels as we knew them are not as accessible as they were for my generation.

To return to the Saltburn Hostel in particular. It opened in 1937 when I was only four years old. It was a George the Fifth memorial Trust hostel. And was in Riftswood Hall, a handsome Victorian building with handsome Dutch Gable ends. It was open before World War 2. It stayed open until January 1940 but then was closed for the duration and did not open again until the fifth of April 1947. In 1948 and as ever the YHA in support of education opened an Urban Studies Room in conjunction with Bede College in Durham university. When we used the Saltburn hostel we were walkers but there were cyclists of all ages too and it is in the archives that the cycle sheds were in the cellars.

After the war it was in full operation and stayed open to members until 1992. Members were told that it was to be sold but two hundred bed nights are recorded for that year.

I approached the YHA archives for the above information and they added that a local school is interested in organising an event in memory of Saltburn Hostel. There was also a memory of a local lady who was upset at the closure, getting in touch with the royal family because she said that the hostel was not losing money and therefore closure was unnecessary. She hoped for royal support for her protest. This story does not seem so fantastic when you remember that originally it was a George the Fifth memorial hostel.

I think local knowledge and memory could supply answers to my two remaining questions and I would be very pleased to hear from anyone who knows the answers. Did the hostel building just stand empty during the war or how was it put to use? My second question is what became of the building subsequent to 1992? My archive information did not supply the answers. I suppose that the interested local school would also be interested to know these answers.

The formal history having been told this brings me back to the fun memories of that summer weekend when I was eighteen. That was when my friend Ann and I seized a diversion from our studies and booked in at the hostel.

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My most dramatic memory is standing on the halfpenny bridge discussing how to spend this precious weekend. From the bridge you could see far out to sea. Like toy boats there were fishing boats and yachts bobbing on the horizon and even from that distance we were high enough up to see horses cantering along the sands. Staying at the hostel was a boy of our own age who had offered us his company for the day. My friend Anne was very tall and when she stood beside the young man, whose name was Graham, it could have been a picture quoting the wartime song blessing the long and the short and the tall. Huddled together we could see Huntcliff sparkling in the sunshine like a huge loaf of gingerbread spread with golden syrup marching in to the sea and I wondered if centuries ago Roman soldiers fortifying Saltburn had ever seen it thus on a summer’s day.

In the shadow of Huntcliff stood the Ship Inn, that headquarters of smugglers in more recent times. Graham suggested that we walk down to the beach and paying our toll to cross the halfpenny bridge we set off to see it all close to.

The hostel was closed until five o’clock so we had a whole day to spend. There is a photograph of us all sitting on the beach below the Ship Inn. We are all barefooted and I know we went paddling and looking for fossils. We had some sandwiches for lunch which I had made in the hostel kitchen.

Graham suggested that we went for a drink to the Ship. Had we been alone we would not have done that for when I was young girls did not go into pubs but we had an escort and so we did and had a cider each and Graham had a lager. The Ship fed my interest in history and I learnt that in fairly recent times it had been headquarters to the local smugglers and was the centre of the settlement before the Victorians created the seaside town as a Spa. So all those years ago in 1951, I and my two companions went into The Ship for a lunchtime drink, history was my favourite A-level subject so I asked the landlord what he knew of its history and he said that The Ship and a pub that is no longer there called The Nimrod stood where The Ship stands now. The fishing hamlet of Saltburn in 1827 consisted of a few small white cottages and the two pubs, and there were also several gin shops. He also knew that there had been a pub there whose landlord had married the previous landlord’s daughter in 1780, her father having just died.

The Ship then was the centre for smuggling. There is a legend that there was a secret passage in Huntcliff that concealed the contraband. There is no evidence for all of this but I confirmed it on Google for this article. It is also thought that John Andrew, a Scotsman, may have been a stonemason and constructed hiding places that have never been found. He is said to have also hidden contraband in his stable along with an unmanageable mare. However, he or his son, also called John Andrew, were captured by the customs in 1827 and condemned to death.

Taxes were high then and smuggling was common along the North East coast. If the word went out that John Andrew’s calf had calved it meant that boats were waiting offshore ready to be unloaded and the contraband hidden.

Hints of this we were given that day but I have since learned that it is legend by looking it up on the modern Google on my iPad. Who would have thought of such a thing in 1951 or indeed in Victorian England when the little fishing hamlet of Saltburn became a Victorian spa?

Sylvia Williamson

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Councillors’ Column Just when we thought that cartographers had enough to do, following the announcement of a national Parliamentary Boundary Review for implementation in 2020, another assignment has come along. The Local Government Boundary Commission has taken a look at the representation structure in Redcar & Cleveland and believes it is overdue its own review. The reason given is that the ratio of electors to Councillors in the 22 wards is unfairly distributed. The Commission wishes firstly to have the number of Councillors justified, currently 59. It then wants to redraw the Ward boundaries into more equitable areas once that existing number is confirmed, or possibly new number agreed, and proportionality worked out per capita.

At least Aristotle will be pleased that his quest for democratic representation is still alive and actively pursued, not entirely superceded by social media pressure groups. The populace will be consulted in this process and a final map will be drawn in good time for the next local elections in 2019.

Before then the Combined Authorities of Tees Valley will have an elected Mayor. One of the roles of the new office holder will be to look after the proposed Mayoral Development Corporations. Current plans for the first such entity propose that the South Tees Development Corporation will promote and control development of a land bank of some 4,300 acres, including land previously owned by SSI. Envelopes will be dropping through letter boxes this month with demands upon the purse. Demands for Council

Tax will encompass precepts for The Parish Council, The Fire Authority, The Police & Crime Panel and for additional Adult Social Care. Many will be hard pressed to meet these demands if on a fixed income, particularly now that inflation is picking up again.

For those in particular need, there is a Council Tax Support scheme whereby eligible working age residents can claim up to an 82.5% discount.

Several support mechanisms are in place and anyone who is in need is encouraged to make enquiries. Normally Council tax payments are worked out over a 10 month payment system.

However, payments can be made over twelve months to ease cash flow. Anyone is entitled to ask for this facility.

It may seem appropriate that this month begins with Ash Wednesday, heralding the start of an annual period of observance that lasts for 40 days. Community members are asked to consider abstaining from certain activities, some including fasting, to reflect the time spent by one historic leader before he began his ministry. Unfortunately, today, many in the community have little enough in the first instance. For all who need support, financial or otherwise, Councillors hold regular surgeries on nominated Saturdays in the Library. Each day Library staff, as always, are happy to signpost where assistance can be discussed.

A warmer start to the year may encourage the Cherry Tree Walk to bloom earlier. In planning ahead for the enjoyment of future generations, three saplings have been planted on the West side of the Walk.

Philip Thomson 7

Saltburn Beachwatch Packaged Water The last few years has seen an increase of single use plastic water bottles found on our beach and those throughout the UK. Globally we now drink as much packaged water as we do milk. At 30 litres per person per year bottled water is the second most popular liquid refreshment after carbonated drinks. Predictions indicate that use of bottled water will surpass carbonated drinks in the next year. Over 22% of bottled water sold in Britain comes from overseas; most comes from N Europe but some from as far away as Fiji and the Himalayas. Most people don’t need an environmentalist to tell them that carting these bottles round the world does not make any sense. Why incur the food miles when we have our own abundant supply of mineral water? Importing bottled water could be excused if domestic water was insufficient for our needs or dangerous to drink but this is not the case. Bottled water invariably comes packaged in plastic bottles which are often discarded after a single use. In the USA alone every second of every day 1,000 bottles are bought and every second of every day a thousand more are thrown away. This adds up to nearly 30 billion per year. Worldwide billions of bottles are ending up not just in waste facilities but in the ocean, on our beaches and in our countryside. Some plastic bottles are estimated to take up to 500 years to break down. The industries’ big players (Nestle, Danone, Coca-Cola and Pepsi) are all pursuing efforts to increase recycled content in Polythene Terephthalate (PET) but progress is slow. Coca-Cola for instance averages 34% of recycled PET across all its plastic bottles. The figure for Danone is a mere 9%. The industry now has the technology to make at least 30% of plastic bottles from organic materials. The plant bottle uses a waste by-product from the sugar cane industry and a new generation of technologies could bring organic content up to 100% which means that as well as recycling, these products could biodegrade naturally. However, on closer inspection this may not be so useful. A group of marine scientists found that the decomposition time for oxo/ biodegradable plastics was increased in seawater due to the effects of temperature and biological fouling. A further concern is that oxo/biodegradable plastics merely disintegrate faster into smaller fragments and the effect of these fragments is unknown.

As the general public we need to make our views known to industry and politicians who are likely to amend their practices to meet consumer demand if enough of us respond. At the last Saltburn Beachwatch Litterpick and survey in January volunteers removed 9,317 items of rubbish in 2 hours with 81% of the items being plastic. This is the highest percentage of plastic rubbish found at one of our events since I became a volunteer in 2012. If you would like to help, our next litterpick and survey will take place on Saturday, April 8th 2017 from 10am until 12 noon. Meet at the pier car park where grabs, gloves and bags will be provided. Mid -session free refreshments will be available. Roy Smith 8

Walking in the Loftus Area Loftus ACCORD Walking Group has a new website address (www.walkingloftusandthenorthyorkshirecoast.com). As well as information about local walking opportunities, the website provides a brief history of the district together with details of accommodation and eating out facilities. There’s also information about local activities and public transport provision. The aim of the website is to provide good quality general information about Loftus Civil Parish for local residents and visitors. The group works in close collaboration with Loftus Town Council in helping to promote our beautiful area (the town council’s website address is www.loftustc.co.uk). See also page 36.

Saltburn Photographic Society

Wednesday, 8th March Allen Porrett and Pat Porrett present an audio visual “The roving cameras in South Africa”.

Wednesday, 15th March Member Ian Snowdon presents garden macro photography and other image made close to home with “two miles from Home”. Wednesday, 15th March Frank Sanderson Knock-out competition is being held.

Wednesday, 29th March Annual General Meeting.

Monday, 20th March, 7.00pm Practical night. Metering, shutter speeds, aperture and ISO. Controlling background blur. HDR and focus stacking (Alan Meek).

Meetings are held in the upstairs hall, Saltburn Milton Street Methodist Church TS12 1EB at 7.30pm. Visitors are welcome to any of our meetings; there will be a small charge.

For more information, visit our web site www.saltburnphotographicsociety.co.uk or contact Tony Lynn 01287 622519.

March Friday Friends Friday Friends is an inclusive friendship group, based in Saltburn. We welcome people of all abilities and ages over 18. We would like to say a big thank you to the U3A Ukulele Group for their wonderful performance for us - we sang, we danced, we really enjoyed it! Looking forward to your return visit! We have the velvet voiced Ian, singing songs and playing guitar for our musical treat this month. We would also like to thank Caroline - our arts and craft marvel, for all your inspiring ideas and knowledge on crafts, and little Jim - our canine meeter and greeter!

Here’s our March program: 3rd - Seated Keep-Fit to music with instructor Taylor, then relax with a cuppa and Bingo. The afternoon’s session of arts and craft is drawing an ice-cream desert.

10th - Quiz then Tom’s sign language session.

Sewing a felt animal.

17th - Ian’s Sing-a-long. Making a friendship bracelet.

24th - A morning of fun games including skittles and table tennis. Painting a spring flower picture.

31st - A morning of indoor bowls with Bob at Saltburn Bowling Club then back to the hall to make skittles and hoops for our games.

We meet at Emmanuel Church Hall, Macnay St, Saltburn every Friday, activities 10-12.30 then arts and crafts 1-4. Your first session is free for a taster, then its £2.50 or £4 all day. Carers are always free. We are run by volunteers and all door monies goes to help cover rent etc. We look forward to seeing you! For more information - 07833 895 501 (or Thefridayfriends@outlook.com).

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Saltburn 500 Club Congratulations go to C Buckley for winning the £100 First Prize in the February Saltburn 500 Club draw. Don’t forget, application forms are available at Jackie’s Saverstore or the library.

The 2017 bands schedule for the summer season at the Bandstand will be available soon – we are trying to fill the final date, which is Sunday, 27th August. To date, some of the bands are having difficulty getting a band together for that date as it is a Bank Holiday. The schedule will be available from the library or by contacting me on the email address below. The usual venues of the Methodist Chapel (Saturday) and Emmanuel Hall (Sunday) will be used in the case of inclement weather. The Saturday performances have had to be reduced to July and August because of poor attendances in past years. If you are interested in volunteering at the Bandstand, please contact myself or Cllr Philip Thomson. Please try to attend as many of the performances as possible as the bands love playing to a full audience and, obviously, the music is of a very high standard!

Forty years ago I was planning two rose shows for Teesside Rose Society, in my capacity of Show Secretary. Over the forty years, I have been involved with many different voluntary posts but I have never had to plan for Christmas this far in advance! The Christmas illuminations will be officially lit on Saturday, 2nd December. Of course there is a lot of work to be done before then in the way of fund-raising. As mentioned in a previous article, I have arranged four table-top sales in the Community Centre and I have received a couple of volunteers to do some baking as a result of that article. It is crucial to have the volunteers as the catering is our main part of fund-raising. I would like to thank those ladies who have had to retire from baking and, also, those volunteers who are down to help this year. I am considering a couple of fund-raising ideas in addition to the Table-top sales and all will be revealed in the near future.

One of the comments regularly made after the Christmas lighting-up night is that there is not enough going on in the town to keep people interested. I have been given permission from the committee to organise a Christmas Carol competition on the afternoon of 2nd December. I have sent an invitation, to the eight schools (up to Year 6) within the boundaries of Saltburn/ Marske/New Marske & Skelton/Brotton, to compete for the Friends of Saltburn Trophy. The plan is to have three judges (one qualified judge and a representative from each of the Parish Councils). The competition would be finished in time for people to go and watch the lighting-up parade. I would like to hold the competition in the Methodist Chapel, which would have the effect of including Milton Street in the day’s celebrations. To date, I have received one acceptance and one decline and I will be chasing up the remaining schools after the half-term holiday.

The success of the competition is dependent on the attendance of the schools so I would like to think that they will be prepared to support the event.

It is quite strange writing about Christmas plans when the spring flowers are coming into bloom and I haven’t had my summer holiday. However, it’s surprising how soon these things come around unless there has been some preparation in advance.

Here’s hoping for a warm spring and a hot summer!

Trevor Welburn Secretary, Saltburn 500 Club/Friends of Saltburn trevor.welburn@btinternet.com 9

Saltburn Drama Festival 2017 Some of the best drama companies from around the North East go head to head in Saltburn’s Drama Festival later this month.

Amateur groups from around the region take to the stage at Saltburn’s Community Theatre for three very special nights of live theatre. Running from Wednesday, 15th to Saturday, 18th March, there are performances on the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings with a special awards night on Saturday, 18th March.

Part of the All England Theatre Festival, the winner of the festival goes through to the semi-final of the competition which this year is also held in Saltburn over the weekend of 6th-7th May. Competition is fierce and the standard is very high with each company having to abide by the strict rules of the festival. Says Sheenah Taylor, Chair of Saltburn Drama Festival: “Each play must be set, performed and struck in one hour. It demands a very creative approach – from the writing right through to staging – but it does produce some very exciting theatre.”

There are five entries this year from Scarborough’s Cresta and Bananadrama groups; Northallerton’s Allerton Players; Holmside Productions from Durham and Saltburn’s ’53 Drama Group. The Wednesday and Friday evenings feature two productions, with Saltburn ’53 performing on the Thursday evening following a talk from this year’s adjudicator Jennifer Scott Reid.

“The groups play their cards very close to their chest so we never know until close to the time what the performances will be. It adds to the excitement,” laughs Sheenah. And in the spirit of the event, Saltburn ’53 are keeping mum about their entry this year. “The only thing I will say is that it features a cast ranging in age from 11 to 82 but I would just urge people to come along to as many evenings as they can and help celebrate the huge talent we have in the North East.”

Following the drama of the competition, the awards evening on the Saturday is a chance for all the groups to relax and enjoy some musical entertainment, before the trophies are presented. Programmed by Saltburn ’53’s Musical Director Andrew Pierce, it’s a hugely entertaining evening of song, dance and music.

“It’s such a fun evening,” says Sheenah. “We call it the Oscars of North Yorkshire and it’s just a great excuse to great dressed up and watch some really great performances from local singers, musicians and improvised acts. Entry is free to weekly ticket holders and if you haven’t been before, we’d love you to join us.”

Tickets for the festival are on sale from the theatre, Book Corner, Chocolini’s (and online at www.saltburnarts.co.uk). Priced £5/£7 per evening or £12/£18 for the week, a weekly ticket also entitles the holder to a vote for the Audience’s Award. Curtain up is at 7.30pm each evening with doors and bar at 6.45pm except Saturday’s award ceremony which starts at 7pm (doors 6.15pm).

See also the colour advert on page 21.

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or email: simon.robson1@ntlworld.com

SALTBURN EVANGELICAL CHURCH Leven Street, Saltburn Seeking to be more like Jesus and sharing His love with those around us.

"We love Him because He first loved us."

(1 John 3:19) Please join us as we gather to worship and learn more about Jesus, to build and strengthen our faith, and encourage one another to grow more like Him. We meet each Sunday at 11.00am and 6.00pm.

Saltburn in Bloom Today on a very cold and wet Saturday in the middle of February, I am using the time to write our March report for Talk of the Town and I am wondering when Spring will come. The gardeners are keen to get started again as there is a great deal of tidying to be done in the gardens around the town. This friendly group meets on Wednesdays between 9.30 and 11.30am and you would be made most welcome if you would like to come along. We meet at a different location each week, with people attending when they are able. Everyone works within their capabilities and goes home when they wish, having enjoyed a cup of coffee and a couple of hours in the fresh air among like-minded people.

Tel: 01287 209518 if you are interested.

On Saturday, March 18th 10.00am-4.00pm we are holding a Table Top Sale in the Community Centre and you are invited along. Come and sample our homemade refreshments, especially Ann’s bacon sandwiches and a good selection of cakes. Or visit Roy on our stall selling home-grown plants and ask for advice if you need it.

Our committee has been working tremendously hard recently and have undertaken a review of our working practices. We care passionately about Saltburn and are determined to keep the town looking good, but the viability of Saltburn in Bloom is of the highest importance in this.

Without our volunteer group the hanging baskets will not happen. We therefore concluded that we need to simplify the task of putting them up. A great deal of work revolves around the sponsor signs and consequently we have taken the very difficult decision to discontinue putting up these signs. Instead we will place a list of sponsors and their dedications in the Station Portico area information stand and in the Library.

We are aware that this will upset some of you, but we hope you will understand. The baskets will be put up in the centre of town as usual and we do hope that you will continue to support us, remembering your loved ones as you look at the beautiful displays around. If you would like to sponsor a hanging basket or donate towards the cost of plants in the other floral displays and gardens, please contact us. We are desperate for donations from the residents of Saltburn.

Email saltburn.in.bloom@gmail.com or tel. 01287 209518.

Lastly, I made a mistake in the last issue of Talk of the Town and our AGM was held on February 21st. Sorry!

Lynda Parkes (Chair)

Irish Night for Saltburn An evening full of Irish food and music is promised for Friday, 17th March, feast of Ireland’s patron saint St Patrick, at Saltburn’s golf club. Our Lady of Lourdes parish annual dinner is taking the form of ‘St Patrick’s Night’ with Irish stew and colcannon, a mix of potato and cabbage, with Irish music from Dominic Boyes, of Saltburn, and friends.

Desserts available include Irish apple cake. Tickets cost £17.50 for church funds and are available after church services and from 01287-623619.

Saltburn-by-the-Sea Garden Flat available for holiday lets.

Less than five minutes walk from the sea and from the train station, shops and local restaurants etc.

The property consists of a fully fitted and equipped kitchen, spacious and well furnished lounge overlooking the garden (which is for your personal use), and a double bed with en-suite bathroom.

WiFi access Prices - £35.00 per night (minimum of two nights) Contact Mr & Mrs Smith on 01287 623740 (home) Or 07988 838956 (Mr Smith mobile) Or 07877 384977 (Mrs Smith mobile)

Andy Pollard 07773006361 (based in Saltburn) Residential and Commercial Property Maintenance Plumbing, Drainage, Property Refurbishment, Roofing Repairs, Fencing, Carpentry, Joinery, Painting and Decorating, General/Ongoing 11

When I were a lad: The Royal Mail years (part 2 - the management years) My first office as a manager was Saltburn, which at the time was a crown office. This was an easy appointment as the staff knew their jobs and just got on with it, needing little supervision. They were also happy to do the fundraising events. The bed was pushed, in aid of Brotton Hospital, from Brotton to Loftus, narrowly avoiding running away down Carlin How bank, and several hundred pounds were raised.

The photographic evidence of the clothing worn by some of the more adventurous postmen has been destroyed, to protect their dignity. During one of the Victorian festivals I obtained period uniform from the Post Office Museum. Several of the staff did their deliveries wearing the uniform and many photographs were taken, some even getting into national newspapers.

I had several roles in management: delivery office manager, quality diagnostics, planning and revisions.

To protect the guilty parties I have in some cases not identified the office or if I was involved personally, used stories from other areas.

Testing driving duties in Teesdale, myself and the driver were caught in a blizzard of Arctic proportions, but the driver assured me that he knew nearly every inch of the Dales and although we were in a complete whiteout we were safe.

Unfortunately he found the few inches he didn’t know and we went into a ditch. As we assessed our predicament, a small stocky figure appeared out of the gloom, wearing a big woolly hat, and donkey jacket which had the added protection of a sack tied up with binder twine. His trouser bottoms were also fastened in the same fashion; he looked like a character from a Victorian novel. He spoke in a dialect that I sadly, was not fluent in, then as the driver started his van our saviour lifted the rear of the van onto the road, then disappeared back into the gloom.

In some rural areas deliveries are often based in small back rooms at the rear of post offices; the delivery staff were left to their own devices and were seldom bothered by management from head office. But in a programme of revisions I had to visit some of these remote offices. They knew I was coming and feared that their tranquil existence was in danger. I arrived at a stone building and met the first of the postmen to be tested, a very frosty meeting even colder than the weather.

It was a cycle duty so we collected our bikes and he set off like an Olympic champion. I kept up with him and at

his first stop explained I had been cycling for years and he would not lose me. The next stop was the village pub. We were greeted by the landlady (“not in your car today,” she observed, always having time for a friendly word with the postie). Over a cup of tea provided by the landlady, I explained I just wanted him to do his delivery as it should be done, pointing out that I had been a postman and knew all the dodges. By the end of the day we were friends and I assured him that his time would not be cut. I later heard him comment to the other victims awaiting their fate: “young lad’s not bad.”

At another office in the Dales, a driver had reported an accident in which his van had been damaged. “This deer ran in front of me and I swerved to avoid it and hit a gatepost,” he said. The manager was not fully convinced but found the driver not blameworthy. A couple of months later the same driver hit another deer, causing more damage to the van. At the subsequent interview the driver produced the deer’s ears he had cut off as evidence. “Because I knew you wouldn’t believe me!”

Back in a delivery office I have stories of customer complaints, most not justified, but others! An irate phone call one morning had the manager making a visit to a customer who was almost speechless with rage. The postman had managed to post a twelve inch 78 LP (ask your dad) through the letterbox. It was now laid on the table for inspection, and the manager was then told that when the customer had informed the postman that this was a rare record one of only two copies, the postman replied, “the other one must be worth a lot now!” which did not help the situation. It proved to be a complex compensation case.

Another case which defies belief, is also true. A postman, on finding his customer not at home, left a note to say he had attempted delivery but then noticed a window open, so he dropped the package through. Then followed a strange sequence of events: the package hit a tap knocking it on. As the plug was in the sink, it filled up, flooding the kitchen. The water reached the electric socket shorting it out, but also electrocuted the small dog which was paddling in the water.

The owners arrived, and found evidence of the cause of the disaster: the note from the postman floating around the kitchen.

If you look outside and it’s raining like an Amazon rain forest or knee deep in snow, and if your mail is late, don’t blame the postie; it’s not an easy job and they do their best.

Tyke

Saltburn and District Group for Visually Impaired People Where does time go? It was an incredible 4 years since Guide Dogs had last been to our group, so it was good to welcome Linda back, with her guide dog Zoë.

Linda updated us on the latest campaigns being run by the charity on our behalf. The big one at the moment is Access All Areas, supporting the right of assistance dog owners to enter all public places with their dogs. This is covered by the Equalities Act to a large extent, but there are still people who are not co-operating fully.

We are currently running a petition to ensure that all taxis allow assistance dogs into their cars – the only legal right to refuse is if the driver has an allergy, and this must be 12

supported by a medical certificate.

There are several campaigns being run, all of which need our support. For further information please visit the Guide Dogs website www.guidedogs.org.uk or call on 01189 838732.

Our next meeting is Wednesday, 8th March when we will be joined by a representative from a local optician’s. Please join us from 2pm in the coffee lounge, Community Centre, Saltburn. Everyone is welcome.

For further information contact Chris Ferguson on 01287 204170.

Award winning web designer bringing the world to you!

Need a website for your Club, Society or Business?

Small or Large, Brochure or e-commerce All your web design needs catered for: Database design also catered for: Then contact Anne Henderson for an informal chat on 07835 085719 or email enquiries@annescomputingdesigns.co.uk

Help! Your local Playgroup needs you!

Little Nippers is in desperate need of willing volunteers to help out on Monday and Wednesday mornings, either in the kitchen or in the group. We need people to help set up and put away. If you can help, even if it is only for a few hours each month, we would love to hear from you. So, if you love spending time with young children, painting, glueing, singing, making music or reading stories, or even simply making drinks, then please contact Little Nippers Playgroup on

01287 624575

We have spaces in March for babies and newcomers to the town

Website: www.annescomputingdesigns.co.uk

Architectural Services & Chartered Structural & Civil Engineers Architectural Planning and Building Regulation Advice Listed Building Experts House Extensions & Loft Conversions Alterations and Refurbishments Residential New Builds Shop Layout Designs Alcohol Licence Applications Office Warehouse Designs

Structural & Civil Engineering Structural Surveys Beam Designs Building Restoration Foundation & Underpinning Design General Building Works

Professional and Friendly Service Gregory Sills BEng (Hons) CEng MIStructE FGS

t: 01287 624644 m: 07960 967865 Also, Joinery Work Undertaken

Call Liz on: 01287 203571 Mobile: 07834 022289 Email: liz.ingledew@btinternet.com Website: www.liziesdecorating.co.uk

www.scurator.co.uk info@scurator.co.uk www.beamdesignservice.co.uk

Craft Magic Craft Magic is a beautiful gift shop in the heart of Saltburn, offering affordable shelf rental to local crafters. We sell handmade items and gifts at affordable prices. We are located at 4 Dundas Street West Saltburn and we open Monday – Saturday 9am-5pm. Look forward to seeing you.

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Megan’s Mind I haven’t been very well recently. I’ve had sinusitis. I think it’s getting better now but it was quite painful! I didn’t go to the gym when I was poorly so I just stayed at home and watched a lot of films and shows on Netflix! I’ve been trying to lose weight as well, as at the end of last year I had put on rather a lot so I waited until after Christmas to lose it. In two weeks I’ve lost ten inches so I was happy with that but then I went on holiday.

But when I was on holiday I only put on two inches, so not so bad. I was happy with that because I am still eight inches slimmer than I was.

My diet is simple now, I eat a lot of broccoli and a lot of Basa fish. I have a hot chocolate every night and I don’t really fancy having crisps or chocolate or anything bad so often anymore.

My Mum and I did have a treat and we went to Nando’s. I was very excited and I had thought about it all week and it was definitely worth waiting for. My Mum wasn’t sure if she liked Nando’s so we thought we would try it again. We left and she decided that she really liked Nando’s so hopefully this means that we will get to go more often!

We live in Redcar now. It’s fab. I love living so close to Redcar town and the gym. I miss Saltburn though. I haven’t been in a while. It’s nice having our own little house. I’ve got quite a big bedroom and I love my double bed! We’ve had a couple of really nice days and it is making me very exited for the Summer. I tend to feel a bit miserable and bored in the Winter when the nights get dark really early and it’s just so cold and grey all of the time. But I love summer. I love it when it doesn’t get dark until very late and the mornings get light at about 4am. I think maybe I will have to move to Australia when its winter here so I can have summer all of the time! I don’t even mind it so much when it is too hot. I hate being cold, although one of the best feelings ever is definitely warming up when you’ve been freezing. Like getting into bed with a hot water bottle! I used to prefer winter by far because I hated being too hot, but it is the other way around now and I think it is just because I hate the winter dark nights so much.

If I had my way, Summer would start the day after Boxing Day. Boxing day is still Christmassy but after then Christmas is over and we need summer.

The cold weather is only bearable before Christmas. In fact, we should only have cold winter weather from December 1st to December 27th. That would be perfect and just have the rest of the year as a warm summer day! I only like snow before Christmas as well, if it could snow on Christmas Eve but then have cleared up by boxing day that would be the best. I definitely think I should be in charge of the weather.

Megan 14

PLEASE - support professional theatre visits!

We who live in or near Saltburn are so lucky! We have the Community Theatre, the Earthbeat Centre, other venues who host live music and we’re coming down with eateries! For a small town we are sometimes spoilt for choice.

I had a great night out here (I often do) on Thursday, 2nd February. I was fortunate to see “The Chef Show” at Saltburn Theatre. It was excellent. The first production from a Cumbria based professional theatre company, Ragged Edge Productions and supported by Rural Arts, based in Thirsk, who are a charity providing creative opportunities to rural areas in North Yorkshire and the Tees Valley.

Not only was it an entertaining, informative, insightful and at times very witty script, but it was also performed to a very high standard. Two actors played a whole host of characters inhabiting the fictional curry house and their versatility was very impressive. My friends and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

There was an added bonus in that the play included the chef from Jadoo on Milton Street cooking on stage during the performance. Then the audience were able to taste samples during the interval and at the end. Not only that, but a ticket to the play entitled us to a 10% discount on a meal in Jadoo during February.

Ragged Edge have linked up with a local curry house for all the venues they will tour this show to.

But there was one disappointment for me about the evening – the size of the audience. Saltburn Theatre was well less than half full.

We who attended were an appreciative small crowd and the play and performers were so good that a lovely atmosphere was created, but I was surprised by how many empty seats there were.

We have an active amateur theatre scene here in Saltburn for both adults and young people and I know that their productions are very well attended. Family and friends will always support them. But don’t forget about the professionals! They work hard in touring theatre – a different venue most nights, travelling, setting up, performing the show and then dismantling and packing the set into a van before moving on. Of course, not all professional theatre is excellent, but then that’s true of all artistic endeavours, including amateur theatre. If we don’t support professional theatre coming to Saltburn, we’ll loose it – especially in these times of “austerity”. The arts in general are struggling financially. Let’s try to keep our touring theatre companies in business. They don’t come here very often.

Please support them when they do!

Janice Jarvis

Down at the Orchard Our hard-working volunteers have continued to develop the ground running parallel to the Cleveland Way footpath running between The Hills and the High Street in Skelton. After strengthening and repairing the wooden fence, work has focused on removing weeds, glass and stones from the ground and generally preparing the area for planting. This task is now complete so we have been able to start stocking the garden with trees and shrubs. So far we have planted Silver Birch and Rowan Trees, plus a selection of shrubs including mahonia, yucca and viburnum. We are being guided in our choice of plants and layout by the gardeners at Cherry Hill Garden Centre, so that we finish with a balance of year round interest. As always we could do with more volunteers so, if you have an hour or two to spare, please come along on a Monday or Thursday morning or phone Stuart on 01287 654132.

Podology makes it to Professional Beauty Awards

PODOLOGY, the chiropody and beauty clinic in Saltburn, named best in the business

by Professional Beauty Awards 2017 On Sunday, 26th February, the very best in the beauty business was recognised at the Professional Beauty Awards 2017, which took place at a black-tie dinner in Tobacco Dock, London.

Regarded as the most-respected awards in the industry, the night celebrates those who go above and beyond in the beauty, spa, nails and aesthetics markets.

As a finalist PODOLOGY set their sights on taking home the Nail salon of the year title. At the time this article went to press it was not know how they did.

Over the years the awards have grown, not only in size but also in status within the beauty industry; more than 250 entries were received in 2016, making it a bumper year for the awards. Being shortlisted in one of the prestigious categories therefore marks a business out as one of the finest beauty providers in the country. A win catapults them to the very top, providing unrivalled recognition that they are at the pinnacle of their profession and raising their profile to give an edge over competitors. In short, it’s a sign of world-class excellence.

All winners receive an elegant trophy, and will also be profiled in Professional Beauty magazine; the leading business title for the beauty, spa and nails industries.

Finalists in the 11 categories gathered at the glittering venue in East London this February for a reception and gala dinner, as part of Professional Beauty London; the UK’s biggest and best-loved beauty show.

As well as a chance to celebrate, it’s also a prime opportunity for finalists to celebrate and network with

staff, peers and suppliers.

This year, for the first time, the finalists in the spa and beauty salon categories are made up of the winners and highest-scoring finalists from the Professional Beauty Regional Awards 2016, which were held in Manchester in September 2016.

The finalists in all other categories entered directly and were scored by a prestigious panel of independent industry judges.

All salon, spa and clinic categories also include a mystery shop and full inspection of the premises as part of the judging process, while categories for individuals are judged via a live treatment test and interview, ensuring standards are kept rigorously high.

This is the country’s most established beauty awards; all the action on the night could be followed @pro_beauty and #PBAwards.

The Professional Beauty Awards 2017 take place on Sunday, 26th February at Tobacco Dock, London.

For more information, visit: www.professionalbeauty.co.uk/awards

What’s on at Saltburn Library in March FRIENDS OF SALTBURN LIBRARY The Friends of Saltburn Library are pleased to welcome a talk by Wendy Castling on her work within The Life Boy Team and Boys’ Brigade Company attached to Marske Methodist Church that spanned a period of twenty years; covering the transition in the 1970s when The Life Boys became an integral part of The Boys’ Brigade and female leaders became officers, on a par with male officers.

The talk will include how the Boys’ Brigade began in 1983 and will show various aspects of her work on weekly parade nights; annual displays; outings; weekend camps and exchange visits with the Danish counterpart of The Brigade.

It will also cover how she became Captain of the 21st Teesside Company in 1983 and encountered problems because she was one of only a handful of female captains in the country.

This will be our March offering on the 3rd Tuesday of the month, the 21st. All are welcome, refreshments served as usual at 2.00pm.

SALTBURN LIBRARY We now have on sale in the Library copies of “Your Voucher Book” – spend less and enjoy more with over 400 buy one get one free or 50% discount vouchers for Tees Valley plus fantastic days out. The book costs just £25.00 so can be a real money saver - particularly for planning those days out in the summer!

We also are now selling copies of a lovely little walk book – North York Moors: 40 coast and country walks. A handy pocket size, it takes in the very best the Moors have to offer on walks of various lengths. It costs just £6.99. We also sell a range of other souvenir gifts.

Remember to pop in and fill in one of our questionnaires on the proposed changes to Libraries in Redcar Cleveland – we would like to hear your comments.

Closing date 10th April.

Looking for work? – We have 7 public computers which are free of charge to use. Plus at the moment printing of CVs is also free, so why not pop in and do your job searching in the Library. Look out in April’s issue for our special children’s activities in the Easter Holidays.

Tel: 01287 623584.

Tracey 15

SALTBURN CRICKET CLUB Marske Mill Lane, Tel 01287-622761

SLIMMING WORLD – Tuesday mornings @ 9.30 – 11.00am FRIENDLY BINGO GROUP – Weds 1st, 15th & 29th March starting 8.00pm - all welcome MINI BEER FESTIVAL 3rd, 4th & 5th March featuring 6 real ales – everyone welcome CAMRA REGIONAL MEETING 4th March Wed 8th March 4pm – Rotary Afternoon Tea in aid of the “End Polio Now” campaign JOHN CASEY BLUES BAND Sat 25th March Tickets £5, in aid of Cricket Section *Free WiFi in Club* * BIG screen TV showing SKY sports etc * ***FEATURED IN CAMRA GOOD BEER GUIDE!!*** GREAT VENUE for YOUR family events, weddings, parties, funerals & meetings Convenient venue, free parking, reasonable bar prices.

Contact us to book your event.

Members and non-members welcome.

Facebook saltburncricketbowlsandtennis socialclub PLEASE add us as a friend and check our Facebook page regularly!

MILES, HUTCHINSON & LITHGOW SOLICITORS CONVEYANCING (FREE WRITTEN QUOTATIONS ON REQUEST) MATRIMONIAL MATTERS CIVIL - CRIMINAL LITIGATION

SALTBURN BLUES CLUB On March 11th we’re at The Earthbeat Centre with the fabulous singer-songwriter, SEAN TAYLOR. I’ve rated Sean for years. He was always one to watch, even in the early days. He is a superb guitarist. Having written several excellent albums, he now has an outstanding catalogue of songs which is the material for his ‘never-ending train tour’.

Gigs throughout the UK and Europe sell out regularly. He’s performed at Glastonbury; opened for John Mayall; shared the stage with Eric Bibb. He sometimes plays solo and sometimes with other musicians such as bassist, Danny Thompson, and the sublime violinist, Hana Piranha. His singing style is often laid back, smoky, but also profound and intense. His songs are personal, political, cultured, always polished. Sean loves to perform live and what he brings to the stage is extraordinary. His music covers a range of genres but his latest album reveals a deep love of the blues. Flood and Burn is the title of this excellent new release. With Saltburn’s recent history of floods and storms, let’s hope Sean won’t be singing about us! Early purchase of tickets is advised.

Doors: 7.30pm. Venue: The Earthbeat Centre.

Tickets: £10 available from: 07960 935263, www.yorkshireticketshop.co.uk and Whistlestop Wines, Saltburn. Find all our details at www.saltburnbluesclub.co.uk and our Facebook page.

Don’t forget, blues lovers, my show, STILL GOT THE BLUES, is on ZETLAND FM, 105FM and online for listeners outside the area every Monday night, 7-10pm. It’s also available on Mixcloud. Just click on the mixcloud link at the bottom of Zetland FM’s web page.

Harry

Afternoon Tea anyone?

Join us for a lovely afternoon eating cakes and scones.

Purple4polio tea parties will be taking place on Wednesday, 8th March all over the world to raise money to help eradicate Polio. Our event will be held at Saltburn Cricket Club between 4pm and 6pm on Wednesday, 8th March and everyone is most welcome.

All proceeds to be donated to Polio Plus where it will be trebled by the Bill Gates Foundation. Cost is £4 on the day or advance tickets may be purchased in advance from Dave or Anne Sadler (email at sadler.rifts@yahoo.co.uk or phone 07889 534996). Or message us via Saltburn Rotary Facebook page.

CHILD CARE IMMIGRATION PROBATE & WILLS POWERS OF ATTORNEY LEGAL AID PRACTICE

For a friendly efficient service on all legal matters Tel:

(01287) 623049 16

Our New Address: First Floor, 15 Station Street, Saltburn-by-the-Sea

01287 624505

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Saltburn House this March! ***No Karaoke at the Moment*** Saturday Night Live Bands this month are: Sat Sat Sat Sat

4th March Casual Sax, 11th March Soul Addiction, 18th March Idolize, 25th March So What.

Bookings are now being taken for Mother’s Day Lunch on Sunday, 26th March. Our Popular Carvery with a choice of Four Meats, Home made Yorkshire Puddings and a Selection of Potatoes and Vegetables: Only £6.95, plus all Desserts £1.95. Bookings Only. Ring 01287 622008.

Hire out one of our Function Rooms for £20 an hour or £100 for the whole day. We have a choice of three very different Function Rooms, providing you with the versatility your company or party requires.

Accommodation Prices: Single Room only £30.00. Double/Twin Room £55.00 Single Half Board £40.00. Double Half Board £75.00. All Stay Types include a Complimentary Full English Breakfast!

For further information, contact Ann, Andy or Joanna on:

01287 622008 Saltburn House Ska Fest raises over £2800 On 28th January we hosted a Ska Fest which we called House of Ska. We held this event at Saltburn House and it was a day full of popular music and dancing featuring seven bands and two DJs. We had a fabulous turn out of 200 people and the main room was bouncing with like-minded people who wanted to enjoy a day of live music.

Bands came from far and wide, as far apart as Croyden and Edinburgh, and other, more local, areas.

We have to say a massive thanks to some of the people who sponsored the event: O’Malley’s and the Smugglers’ Scooter Club, Tony Green, Turbo Comp., Mark Simpson and Saltburn House.

All monies raised from tickets and raffles went to the specialised project which supports Teenage Cancer Trust and The National Foundation for Youth Music.

Also helping the day to be a great success, we were given some excellent prizes donated by local people which raised over £500 alone.

The day was so successful we can’t wait for next year and with all you Ska fans’ continued support we can make this an annual event.

Thanks to everyone involved.

Andy and Anne 20

Saltburn gets the Yoga Bug

Saltburn children enjoy Saturday morning Yoga An inspirational time working in a Thailand school sparked an idea that is now seeing a group of Saltburn children enjoying Yoga on Saturday mornings.

Saltburn-based Laura Eyeington enjoyed using Yoga while teaching children in Thailand so much, that she’s since teamed up with national experts YogaBugs to set up a new Saturday morning class for local youngsters to enjoy.

And, with ten years Education experience as a Primary School Teacher, A-Level Lecturer and Examiner already under her belt, Laura says that Yoga has proved to be the most effective and enjoyable way to help build children’s selfconfidence and self-esteem.

Laura said: “I started enjoying Yoga just over 10 years ago, and used it during PE lessons while working as a Primary School Teacher in Thailand in 2006. Then, working back here on Teesside, as soon as I saw a YogaBugs session in a local school I got in contact with regional manager Karen Williams.

“Karen showed me how Yoga is integral to child development, and also how to teach Yoga to support child well-being and academic progress.

“So, after ten years as a teacher, I’m convinced that Yoga is definitely the most enjoyable and effective way to support the physical and emotional well-being of children from all walks of life. We work in so many schools across Teesside, and now I’m incredibly excited to be running a new class here in Saltburn. We’re using a mix of storytelling and

Yoga inspired moves where children can really let their imaginations run free. Each child develops at their own individual pace, and the first class is completely free to help people see how much their child enjoys the session. Best of all though, it’s fantastic fun, and a perfect way to get the weekend off to a positive start.”

Yogabugs: Saltburn Well-Being Centre, Station Street, Saltburn. Every Saturday morning until Saturday 8th April. 9.30am-10.15am. Ages 4-7, boys & girls welcome.

Places should be booked in advance by email at karenw@yogabugs.com.

Further info at www.yogabugs.com.

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Cleveland Diving Club The first day of March is technically the first day of spring and, as Robin Williams famously declared, ‘Spring, is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s Party!’ The subject of this month’s article is without doubt a crowd lover. The unassuming sea urchin is a member of the echinoderm phylum, and was historically known as a ‘sea hedgehog,’ due to its copious amount of body spines (photo 1).

Primarily, a sea urchin’s spines are its defence mechanism against predators such as sea otters, sea birds, crabs, fish and of course humans. Humans have long since eaten sea urchins with some cultures believing sea urchin roe has aphrodisiac properties. However, a sea urchin’s spines are multifunctional. For example, the under spines also help it to move as they work in unification with the five rows of tubelike suckered feet, located on the underside of its body. In addition, and unlike land hedgehogs that are troubled with flees, sea urchins have a unique way of dealing with unwelcome squatters such as animal larvae settling within their spines. When needed, they can activate their own selfcleaning mechanism which is a specialised set of spines with claws (known as pedicellariae) to expel the unlawful intruders (photo 2). Sea urchins are very sociable creatures and appear to enjoy a group get-together when feasting on rock covered algae, seaweed, minute fish or other decaying organic matter. Grazing and foraging food from the sea bed mother nature has, sensibly, seen fit to locate the sea urchin’s mouth on its underbelly. The mouth is often referred to as ‘Aristotle’s Lantern,’ due to its complicated conical jaw and tooth configuration. As well as breaking up food, sea urchins can also use their extremely strong sharp teeth to actually carve out holes in rocks within which they can live. Spring time is also when the sea urchin’s offspring join the party. Male and female cells are released and fertilized externally. The small swimming larvae become part of the sea’s zooplankton before reaching adulthood.

Size and colour of adults is dependent on species, of which there are over 200, and is dictated to by the sea urchin gene pool and geographical location with adult sizes, ranging from 1.2 inches to 4 or 5 inches, and colours, ranging from black, brown, purple, green or red. An expected life span is approximately 30 years; however, red sea urchins have been known to survive for about 200 years in the wild.

Divers and indeed swimmers may well take the humble sea urchin for granted or as an injurious hazard as some species’ spines can be painful if accidently stood on, but watch out for the ‘Flower,’ sea urchin which is venomous and deadly. In some locations sea urchins are regarded as a pestilence, invading and destroying local marine ecosystems. However, pollution and overfishing (being a main ingredient for sushi) has seen a drastic decline in the population of green sea urchins in the North Atlantic off the coast of Nova Scotia. To ensure sea urchins remain, ‘at the party,’ they have now been added to the list of endangered species.

On a different note but continuing with the ‘party’ theme over the past six weeks Monday evening pool sessions have certainly had a ‘party-like,’ atmosphere.

Saltburn’s local army cadets enthusiastically joined the six week introductory scuba diving course and their feedback 22

has been extremely positive, with plans being formulated for a summer sea-snorkelling session. It was great to see so many girls taking part as this has helped Cleveland Divers to promote BSAC’s nationwide project, ‘This Girl Can.’ The project’s aim is to encourage more women to take up the sport, as our happy band of girls demonstrate ( photo 3). So for all those moments in your life when you absolutely think you can’t...think again, and get in touch by either coming along to a pool session held at Saltburn leisure Centre every Monday between 8pm and 9:30pm or contact us on 07960 608529 or put a message on our facebook page, ‘The Diving Club-Cleveland.’ One day you will be able to join our local sea urchin party.

June Coomber

Morning group: on Tuesdays at 9.30am at the Cricket Club, Marske Mill Lane, Saltburn.

Emmanuel Church Hall, Macnay Street, Saltburn

Tuesdays at 3.30pm, 5.30pm and 7.30pm.

Telephone Stevie on

01642 474920

We sell a good selection of Stationery i.e. Envelopes, Labels, Tapes, Mailing Bags, and Greetings Cards plus a wide range of Personalised Cards.

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BOOK CORNER We are moving!

Join us for our Grand Opening on Saturday 4th March at our new, larger shop at 24 Milton Street, Saltburn.

Opening at 10am.

Fiction Non-fiction Children’s Books Cut-price Books Ordering Service Gifts for Book-lovers

Opening Times: 10am – 5pm (Closed Wednesday and Sunday) 24 Milton Street, Saltburn, TS12 1DG

01287 348010 www.bookcornershop.co.uk

d.a.n.i.delights shop opening times: Tuesday to Thursday: 10:ooam-4:00pm Friday: 10:00am-6:00pm for all enquiries including those for organic raw vegan catering bookings please contact Dani on 07884 045742, or danimitchell333@yahoo.co.uk or connect with me on my Dani delights facebook page J d.a.n.i.delights, The Earthbeat Centre, Marske Road, Saltburn by the Sea, TS12 1QA

24

News from Book Corner: Grand Opening and More!

Book Corner is moving to new, larger premises at 24 Milton Street, Saltburn. Come and help us celebrate our Grand Opening on Saturday, 4th March.

The bookshop will be officially opened at 10am by the two local children who have won our ‘My Favourite Book is…’ competition. We’ll be offering free refreshments in the bookshop from 12pm. And at 2pm, local writer Tim Beswick will be reading a selection of poetry and prose. We also have two further poetry events coming up in the new shop.

Poet Jenny Hill will be reading from her book Voices of the First World War on Saturday, 11th March at 12pm. This poignant cycle of poems commemorates those who perished in the Great War, and is inspired by a series of podcasts by the Imperial War Museum. The book contains a poem for each podcast, plus a closing poem of grief and reconciliation. Jenny has published the book to fundraise in support of Help for Heroes.

Poet Marilyn Longstaff will be reading from her new collection Articles of War on Saturday, 8th April at 12pm. Marilyn was born in Liverpool but has spent most of her adult life in the North East. She lives in Darlington, where she is a member of the Vane Women writing, publishing and performing collective. Her work has appeared in a number of previous collections, as well as in anthologies and magazines, and in 2003 she won a Northern Promise Award from New Writing North.

Both poetry events are free, and no booking is necessary.

And finally, a note about World Book Day. Unfortunately the bookshop will be closed on the day itself as it coincides with our big move, but we will be stocking the special £1 children’s books and accepting the tokens from our opening day on 4th March. It’s a really good selection this year, so please call in and take a look.

Jenna

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Seldons, Saltburn Pier Amusements

Come along and enjoy a family fun day in a beautiful Victorian building at Saltburn Pier.

We have a wide range of fun games to suit all ages.

Open all year round 10am-8pm.

Seaview and Greta Cottage caring together 5 star care homes awarded by Redcar and Cleveland for their quality of care and personalised service.

Home from home with daily activities and weekly trips out in our own minibus.

Please feel free to visit us at anytime.

01287 622498 and 01287 625178 25

‘Daffodil Sunday’ revived By kind permission of Mr. Anthony Wharton the first ‘Daffodil Sunday’ for over 20 years will take place on Sunday, 9th April 2017; gates opening at 11.00am, with the last entry at 3.00pm. There will be a raffle and plant sales.

Tickets, priced at £5.00pp (accompanied under 12s free), will be available from Skelton Library, Park News Agency and Ha’Penny Tearoom. All proceeds are to support two of Skelton’s community groups—Skelton Villages Civic Pride, who plant and maintain the flower barrels and baskets along the High Street and through to North Skelton, and Friends of Skelton Community Orchard, who are developing and maintaining Ringrose Community Orchard located between the Co-op and the Fire Station.

What’s Happening at Marske Hall Charity Spring Ball - Saturday, 25th March, 7pm-late, Rushpool Hall, Skelton Lane, Saltburn. Join us as we celebrate 100 years of Inspiration at our annual Charity Spring Ball.

Themed with tables from the last 100 years, dress to impress or dress from your favourite era. Price includes a two course meal and entertainment by Steve Richardson.

Highlights include: a trip to candy land, raffle, silent auction, photo-booth and much more.

Tickets £30 each or £270 for a table of 10. For tickets and details contact Rebecca Simms 07809 432 134 (or email rsimms27x@gmail.com).

For other events in March contact Marske Hall on 01642 482672 or visit the Facebook page.

Appeal The fundraising team is always looking for tombola and raffle prizes to use at events throughout the year. Simply call into Marske Hall from 9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday or telephone 07714291979 for collection (or visit www.facebook/marskehall.com). Thank you for your continued support.

Funds raised at these events will enhance the lives of people living at Marske Hall. Registered Charity No: 218186. For details of these and other events call 01642 482672 (or visit: www.facebook/marskehall.com).

Marske Hall, Redcar Road, TS11 6AA. 26

Mind Your Language

When it comes to aches and pains, words matter. The words and phrases that are used to explain someone’s pain and disability are important, because they affect how we deal with the problem. The process of describing a particular problem or ailment isn’t as straightforward as you may think. There is usually no shortage of opinions and information, from family and friends, and of course from the internet. Very often this information is incomplete or contradictory. A visit to a Medical Professional should help to clarify things, but this doesn’t always happen. This is because some of the language that Clinicians have traditionally used to explain pain and disability has been shown to be unhelpful and in some situations harmful. A common example is when someone has back or joint pain that has been around for some time. They may have been sent for an X-ray or a scan and then the findings of these investigations have been explained to them using a combination of everyday words and medical terminology. Commonly used phrases are “wear and tear”, “degenerative joint disease” or “crumbling joints”. The spine seems to have more than its fair share of scary and unhelpful words such as “slipped disc”, “bulging disc”, “trapped nerve”, and “joints out of place”. There may well be some changes evident on X-ray or scans, but contemporary medical science tells us that most of these are entirely normal and relate to the natural aging process rather than to damage or disease. In addition, we now know that the best way of managing most joint, back and neck conditions is to exercise and to use the affected areas. This is where the words we use really matter.

If scary words and phrases are used like “degeneration” or “worn out joints”, then it is most likely that exercise and joint use will be the last thing that patients think is a sensible idea.

This scenario plays out every day in clinics up and down the country and is a key feature of Jack’s story. At the age of 17, Jack was suffering from back pain. He was told that he “had the back of a 70 year old”. These words stuck

Used Stamps for Charity There is a box in Saltburn Library for used postage stamps which are a valuable source of income to a number of charities. Please drop your stamps in the library. Many thanks for your support. There is also a box in Marske Library.

Eric Matson (volunteer), 25 High Street, Skelton, Tel: 07985 767587

with Jack and a few years later he was on the brink of having back surgery. You can see a video of Jack’s story on the “Resources” page of our web site. This story features the work of Professor Peter O’Sullivan. His approach to treating persistent pain problems has been called Cognitive Functional Therapy. We have been using this approach for several years now and have found it to be the most effective way of dealing with many longstanding and persistent joint and muscle related pain conditions. A key feature of Cognitive Functional Therapy is clear and concise communication that steers clear from unhelpful and potentially worrying jargon, and replaces it with meaningful, positive information.

Philip & Pauline Newton Chartered & Health Care Professions Council Registered Physiotherapists Newton Physiotherapy 01287 767287 www.NewtonPhysio.com www.NewtonPhysio.com

Saltburn Charity Crafters Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, 1st March from 2pm to 4pm in the coffee room at Saltburn Community Hall. Please come and join us for a natter if you would like to knit for local charities. For further information contact Angie Bladen on 01287 205242. Please check with us if weather is bad.

27

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Record-breaker waltz in May - one, two three!

“People can book on line via Saltburn will be the scene for an attempt www.eventbrite.com (search world’s on the lower promenade and pier - to largest waltz 19 May 2017) and pay a achieve a world record for the number of registration fee. They can learn the couples dancing the waltz. basic steps by logging on to During what will be a day-long youtube.com. Or search for event filled with activities in the World’s Largest Waltz 19 May Saltburn, some 2,000 couples will aim to 2017. Anyone struggling with the get into the Guinness Book of Records by internet please contact Age UK waltzing - in time together - for just over Teesside on 01642 805500,” said Mrs five minutes.

Chambers.

The Big Dance takes place at 2pm “Guisborough-born actor Mark on Friday, 19th May. Television cameras Benton (ex Strictly Come Dancing and national media are expected to be on competitor and currently on TV in The hand.

Halcyon) has helped promote the event Some dancers have asked if they and will be among 90 judges checking could wear sequin dresses and dinnereveryone dances the same steps on the jackets. “It’s up to couples to decide. day. The music and lyrics are composed Formal or informal dress is equally fine,” by local musician Jeremy McMurray said organiser Pat Chambers, of Teesside and performed by The Pocket Age UK. ONE TWO THREE: Keen dancers Orchestra. The composition is aptly Among early registrations is Four Doris Macrae and Ken Raper called ‘The Teesside Waltz’. It Seasons nursing home, Marske Road, practise basic steps for the five-minute celebrates the tenacity of Teessiders’ Saltburn. “Family members want to take dance. They visit Age UK Teesside’s ‘can-do attitude.’ We have had great part with their parents,” said Mrs Middlesbrough base to meet people. support from Joan Martin of Marton Chambers. Councillor Sue Jeffrey and her Grove School of Dance and Fitness who helped with the husband Ian are also booked in to give the waltz a whirl.

The current world record is held by Tuzla in Bosnia, tuition and Kris Lord from ImagineYouCan.tv who videoed where they set the record in 2007 with 1,510 couples waltzing the tuition and posted it on to You Tube for us.

“This is a chance for anyone, whatever their age or in the town square.

“We are hopeful that we will secure 2,017 couples - ability, to become a world record-breaker and create stories putting some distance between ourselves and the current to tell for a life-time.”

Mike Morrissey record. We hope we can keep it for at least 10 years as Bosnia have done,” said Mrs Chambers.

“Everyone competing will receive a participation medal and a pac-a-mac plastic raincoat - just in case, as the show must go on!”

A marquee will be put up in the valley gardens for a linked event called celebrating ‘Loving Later Life.’ Groups and associations will showcase their activities in a bid to get more people involved.

“We’ll have tribal belly-dancing, Zumba Gold and line -dancing, orienteering and learning how to play the ukulele.

There will also be stalls providing information and support from benefit advice to health and wellbeing, queries with housing or simply coping with later-life plans,” said Mrs Chambers.

How did Saltburn come to be picked for the event? She said one of the Age UK Teesside team suggested at a meeting they tried to do something “really big, maybe beat a world record. It was at a time when Strictly Come Dancing was riding high in TV ratings. We googled Guinness World Records and spotted that Bosnia held the current record for the world’s largest waltz. We all said “Bosnia...we need to bring this record home!”

“Saltburn is really beautiful and showcases our coast and countryside at its very best. It is also central to an area of rural communities where we have some of the highest need for befriending. We help to reduce loneliness and isolation in older people.”

How do would-be waltzers - old and new - register?

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30

4 People not profit return for Nobody’s Fool Festival night!

Hair & Extension Boutique 7-9 Marske Road

Hairdressing, Extensions & Make Up Coming soon: Nails, Brows, Lashes Tel: 01287 200037 Or mobile: 07393 739942 Like us on Facebook @fugazihairextensionboutique

4 People Not Profit return with a very special gig to kick off 2017. We will be joining forces with the Teesside Solidarity Movement to create an epic after party to their Nobody’s Fool Festival in Middlesbrough.

The Nobody’s Fool Festival will be taking place during the day in Middlesbrough town centre on Saturday, April 1st and the fun will continue with this event from 7.00pm till late in the Marine pub in Saltburn.

Lawrie, one of the organizers, explained what the Nobody’s Fool Festival is all about: “As part of the North East Festival of puppetry, Teesside Solidarity Movement, Teesside Socialist Clothing Bank and Fahrenheit Books will be putting on a series of innovative events to highlight inequality in our area and celebrating resistance to it. Stalls, moving objects, talks, free food and an evening gig are all in the pipeline.”

Contact Lawrie on 07804 799562 for details.

At the event we will have headlining one of Saltburn’s most new and exciting live bands Ocean’s End, who will be supported by a plethora of Saltburn and the local area’s up and coming talent, including Best Band Dead, Enigmatic Letters, Natasha Green and Reece O’Hanrahan. To wind up the night we will have the usual breaks and Drum N Bass fun from resident DJ Marc Fox. As I am sure you have already gathered this is not one to be missed! So get it pencilled in your diary, tell your friends and family and most importantly of all get those dancing shoes polished and ready for the greatest party in town!

31

Saltburn, Redcar & Cleveland Philatelic Society March meetings Our next Wednesday meetings held at the Community Centre, Durham Road, Redcar, commencing 7:15pm are: 1st March – Auction (NB: viewing of Lots from 6:30pm. 15th March – Displays by two of our members: Alan Rodgers and Chas Elgood.

20th March – We visit Durham PS, one of the stronger societies in the NE region to give a postal history display.

Pictured here is a Victorian letter of 1846 addressed to the Secretary of the Darlington/Stockton Railway, and below it part of a modern First Day Cover showing ‘Locomotion’.

Geoff Reynolds (Secretary, 01642 478229) David D. Turner (01287 624736

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Keeping it Clean at Saltburn (#KICASaltburn) KICASaltburn is a local voluntary group who regularly clean up the beach and around Saltburn. Yes, really! We are being the change we want to see in the world; the ‘someone’ who does ‘something about it’ for our beach, wildlife and environment and we are keen to encourage others to get involved too.

Over recent years there have been many organised beach cleans, each time removing phenomenal amounts of litter (usually plastic) from the beach. For example the recent Marine Conservation Society Beachwatch collection in January removed 9317 items from the beach (81% plastic), in just 2 hours.

As a group of Saltburn residents we want to do more to help look after our beach and are teaming up with @2MinuteBeachClean, and Surfers Against Sewage to “roll up our sleeves and to help rid the world’s beaches of litter, 2 minutes at a time”. We know there are many people who feel as passionately about this as we do and we are currently in the process of securing funds to be able to purchase 2 minute beach clean boards to place along the promenade to encourage people to grab a bag and some litter pickers and take 2 minutes out of your day to remove some of the litter from the beach as they walk along.

In areas where these boards have already been adopted there has been a 61% reduction in the amount of waste on the beaches.

We hope to be able to report more in the next edition of Talk of the Town but please follow us on social media for regular updates on our progress. If you are already beach cleaning, please photograph what you collect and post it onto social media using the #KICASaltburn so we can share the good work that is already going on. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us via social media.

Many thanks, #KICASaltburn.

Saltburn Studios’ Gallery Saltburn Studios’ Gallery re-opens on Saturday, 11th March with an exciting exhibition of Sue Chipchase’s latest work in oils and mixed media. Open from 12 noon to 4pm. Meet the artist and enjoy nibbles and drinks whilst viewing the art work.

Racing Demons The UK press coverage of bicycles used to be confined not to the back page but to three pages back from the back page; a yellow jersey was what international goalies wore and the Tour de France was something that happened abroad. Now cycling makes national headlines; it has become one of Britain’s strongest Olympic events and we suddenly boast about having our own Tour de Yorkshire on the doorstep.

At the same time as the sport has become a cause for national celebrations, it has become an international scandal; there is probably no single sport more involved in the current investigation of drug-enhanced performances. The best known culprit is Lance Armstrong, the American who won the Tour de France for a record seven consecutive years from 1999 to 2005 only to have all his results from 1998 onwards declared void as a result of long-term drug offences. The year before Armstrong’s first yellow jersey, in 1998, Marco Pantani of Italy had won the Tour. The year 2000 witnessed a particularly punishing battle between these two athletes competing against each other, the mountain and allegations of drug misuse.

The play Ventoux at the Community Theatre on Friday, 10th March is 2Magpies’ interpretation of the events that took place as the pair battled for supremacy. The staging of two riders battling with the conditions as they speed through the Alpine countryside should be problematic enough without trying to tell the story of their mutual need to succeed at all costs. In the end it cost Armstrong his reputation and credibility and Pantani his life. Saltburn is one of over 30 venues that will welcome Ventoux on a 13-week tour which is in itself something of a sporting challenge.

Three weeks after two cyclists have been racing inside the theatre 140 professional riders will be racing outside it.

On Sunday, 2nd April the Klondike Grand Prix will be passing in front of the theatre three times as part of the route of this newest qualifying event for the Tour de Yorkshire.

Starting at Guisborough at noon the cyclists will complete three circuits of a route around East Cleveland finishing at around 3.00pm back at Guisborough. In order to celebrate and enjoy this exciting race the theatre will be open on Albion Terrace to provide a great vantage point and offer welcome refreshments (probably not vol-au-vents) on what is hoped will be a bright Spring Sunday afternoon.

Saltburn Bank may not be Ventoux but it has its own charm and, speaking personally, I wouldn’t fancy biking up it without first checking my insurance policy, I’d rather quietly watch it pass by the theatre en coup de vent.

33

Saltburn Athletic FC Another month goes by as all eight of Saltburn Athletic teams continue. Team of the season so far is the Under 12 Dolphins led by Kev Robinson who have now played thirteen and won thirteen league games and lead at the top of Division five.

The under 9 Sharks led by Andy Croll and James Kesterton are also having a good season having won ten, drawn two and lost three to lie in a runners up spot in the North Riding division four (this being an unofficial league due to FA rules).

The under 13 team led by Bob Mitchell are also going well and lie third in division six but a promotion spot looks unlikely, but you can never tell so best of luck to them in the run in to the end of the season.

The under 12 Seagulls led by Phil Barnes are now back to winning ways and are half way up the league in division 3 and it is likely that’s where they may finish although a climb of another two places is not beyond them.

The under 12 Falcons led by Rick Day, under 9 Dolphins led by Mark Grayson and under 14 teams are struggling a little but this is the first season for the Falcons and U9 Dolphins and some of the performances have deserved better. The under 14 team are having a very tough

time one way or another. Led by Ollie Whitehead and Dave Lawrence they have done their best under difficult circumstances. The under 10 side led by Dan Bennett and Ron Campbell are again in an unofficial league but in their first season are doing very well and with a bit more luck they could have been near the top.

We now have the go ahead to renovate the old changing rooms on Hob Hill and work is expected to begin in April and last about six weeks and not only will there be changing areas but toilet facilities and showers and including a referee’s room.

We will also find out at the beginning of April as to whether or not we have been successful in a 30K application to remove an unwanted mound to increase our playing area at Hob Hill.

We also need to find funding or help to purchase a shipping type container to house our increasing equipment.

I have had enquiries as to the possible setting up of a new under 8 team for next season and there is a possibility of this but I need to find a suitable coach to run the team.

This means a commitment by the coach and parents to get this up and running at mini soccer level (5 a side).

Andy Croll 07779 648877

The end of an era: saddle-sore in Saltburn News that Saltburn’s family-run riding school is to close in April brings back happy, if painful, memories of my only riding experience of 50 years in the town.

To celebrate a birthday milestone, my wife Bernie and I decided to book a two-hour session with a friend. So, escorted by a young woman rider in her late teens we set off, my steed being at least 6ft from the ground.

I’m only a very occasional horseman while Bernie and our friend are experienced.

Bump, bump, bump. We set off at a manageable walk across Marske Road to the sandhills and beach at Marske. Okay so far, if a bit bumpy in the saddle. Then a gentle trot. Oops! Not so fast! The others broke into a canter. But I remained trotting. An hour went by after reaching Saltburn pier. All well so far.

All continued okay, me still trotting only. We reached the riding school after two hours. Time to dismount. The others easily jumped off. But I just couldn’t move my legs. I tried to lift a right leg to the rear, But it wouldn’t lift. Then (a grave horse-riding sin) I tried to swing it off near the horse’s head. No luck. After a few minutes I managed it. Off and down on the ground, thank goodness! I hobbled off and home to a warm bath.

Next day I was stiff all over. Painful, but enjoyable.

Unforgettable.

Two dozen messages on the riding school’s Facebook page echo our experience of what one called a ‘brilliant’ school.

Sarah Williams said she went there as a child and was followed by her children learning to ride there. “It is great and 34

the horses are nice and calm. Friendly staff, who are lovely,” she wrote.

Jane Hendry, formerly Gladders, recalled that she learned to ride at the school in 1959. This was shortly after it was started from stables in Milton Street, behind the Zetland hotel by Raymond and Sally Hill. The family bought land at Marske Road and expanded the riding school and livery stables for 45 horses. An indoor riding area was built and shop opened.

Noted rider Tim Hill, who retired four years ago, was helped by his parents to build up the business.

A note to customers from Tim’s son Chris says the livery side is continuing at £35 a week on a do-it-yourself basis from the site in Marske Road. This includes stables and the use of all facilities. Hay and bedding is available to buy. Lessons will continue, including for groups.

Mr Hill said staff had worked “exceptionally hard” and he was sorry to lose them. Maybe some freelance work would be available. Instructor Alice Meakin is starting her own riding business. “Our aim is to continue to upgrade the stables and facilities at the yard,” he wrote.

Jessica Hill said reasons for the change in the business - ‘the end of an era’ - included expenses like rates, wages and horse feed - rising. “We’ll run individual and group lessons. Between five and 20 horses will be seen at a time on the beach so the familiar sight of them cantering on the sands will remain,” she said.

Mike Morrissey

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Saturday 18th March Guided Walk Love dancing? Want to get fit?

DanceFit classes are a FUN & EFFECTIVE way to work out...

EASY TO FOLLOW, TONING and a FUN OVERALL WORKOUT This dance fitness class is packed with Latin rhythms & International beats! Come and groove at your own pace…

This class will shake up your routine!!

Mondays 6pm - Emmanuel Church Hall Thursdays 10am - Saltburn Community Hall

Spirals A PILATES, YOGA & BALLET inspired fitness class: Spirals will build up your CORE STRENGTH, TONE and define your figure. It will also improve your BALANCE and natural FLEXIBILITY. Spirals is very effective on its own or a great complement to other fitness activities.

Wednesdays 7pm - The EarthBeat Centre, Saltburn.

There’s a free guided walk from Loftus to Grinkle on Saturday, 18th March, starting outside Loftus Town Hall at 10.30am. Grinkle was once the country estate of Sir Charles Palmer, a renowned 19th century industrialist with interests in iron and steel, mining and shipbuilding.

This circular walk of about six miles heads to Warren Wood at Grinkle. There’ll be moderate climbs and stiles on the way; please bring refreshments and come suitably dressed for a woodland walk.

There’s free parking at South View, off North Road TS13 4JL; Loftus is served by Arriva X4 and 5 buses.

This walk is organised by Loftus ACCORD Walking Group. No booking needed; for more information phone 01287 641000 (or email office@loftustc.co.uk).

See also page 8.

Redcar & Cleveland Twinning Association

Our AGM will take place at the Redcar Community Heart on Thursday, 16th March at 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Light refreshments will be available. There will be a photo presentation of our October 2016 visit to Troisdorf in Germany after the completion of the official business.

Come along and see what we do, as we plan for our visitors from Troisdorf this September. New members are always welcome and there are also Committee vacancies for a new Chair and Vice-Chair this year to take the Association forward.

Please join us to help maintain the strong links with our German friends that were established in 1990.

S e e o u r w e b s i t e a t www.redcarandclevelandtwinningassociation.org.uk for more details and information.

Best wishes, Pamela (Chair) 36

For more information about prices, venues etc. call ESTELLE on 07887 525234, email at estelle@dancefitsaltburn.co.uk or visit...

Saltburn Animal Rescue Association A small charity seeking to rescue and re-home cats and dogs, Tel: 01642 488108 (weekdays only, 10am to 2pm).

SARA has many dogs and cats that need new homes. All are clean, healthy, neutered, vaccinated and microchipped.

Hello readers! Spring is almost here and Bruce and Terry would like your help to find them the forever homes they are searching for. Bruce is a sweet natured Jack Russell; he is about 4 years old. Bruce has the typical Jack Russell white and tan colouring with soulful brown eyes. Bruce unfortunately came into our care after his owner could no longer care for him and her other dogs. He ideally wants a new home as the only dog, in home with no young children.

He is a very loving and affectionate dog. Bruce really enjoys long walks and running around and playing with his toys. He’s a very happy little chap and easy to entertain! On

an evening he loves a cuddle.

Terry is a jet black cat with bright green eyes; he tells us not to believe the superstition, and that actually black cats are very lucky! He is a lovely cat who came to live with us at SARA after being found as a stray. He is a very affectionate and vocal little fella. He will let you know if he thinks you are ignoring him. Terry is looking for a home with an experienced cat owner where he is the sole pet and where he will get all the lots of attention and TLC he deserves. Terry sadly has to be a house cat as he is Felv/ FIP positive.

SARA fundraising events during March The next monthly meeting of SARA will be held on Wednesday, 1st March at 7.30pm in the TocH premises, Albion Terrace, Saltburn. The Annual General Meeting will precede the meeting. Members of the public are cordially invited to attend. New members are welcome. Please come along to the meeting and find out more about SARA and the work we do to help the ever increasing numbers of animals that need our help. We look forward to meeting you.

Tickets are now on sale for the Neil Diamondo evening at £8. It will take place on 22nd April at the Saltburn Golf Club.

Funds raised at the Marske Leisure Centre amounted to in excess of £100. Thank you to everyone who attended and made it a pleasant and successful event.

John Fuller, Press Officer Helpline: 01642 488108 37

Saltburn Farmers’ Market returns on 11th March

Bringing Saltburn Town Centre to life - Saltburn Farmers’ Market returns to Saltburn on Saturday, 11th March with a great mix of vegetables, mushrooms, meats, sweet treats, pies, hot food, cold food, vegan and vegetarian food, curry sauces, bread, cheese and so much more!

If you haven’t been before, come on down and if you have been before - we look forward to seeing you there again!

38

JERUSALtburn

BY REV ADAM REED Now there’s a strange title for this month’s Spirit Matters! If you haven’t worked it out, it’s a quirky combination of Jerusalem and Saltburn. That’s because between Palm Sunday (9th April) and Easter Day (16th April) we are going to take the story of Jesus’ last week out onto the streets of Saltburn.

Each day we will meet together to read and reflect on what Jesus said and did, at the time it happened, and in the Saltburn equivalent of where it happened.

The historical and archaeological evidence gives us a pretty reliable idea of when and where things took place, so we have placed a map of Herod’s Jerusalem, from around 30AD, onto a map of Saltburn (see below). Then, using Mark’s Gospel as our main guide, we can follow the events that took Jesus from his triumphal entry riding on a donkey into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday; ponder his teaching in the Temple; see the Last Supper, his betrayal, arrest and trial; witness from afar his crucifixion, death and burial; and finally celebrate his rising to new life on Easter Day. And you are most welcome to be a part of this experience. Maybe you would like to know more about what happened to Jesus, or reflect on what it could possibly mean for you today. If so, contact me at Emmanuel (contact details to the right). One final point—some of you may be wondering what will happen if

Services Times Sundays 9.00am traditional communion 10.45am contemporary worship

Tuesdays 9.30am said communion

Morning Prayer 9.00am Mon-Fri in ECHO

Contact Details tel 01287 622251

email emmanuelsaltburn@hotmail.co.uk

web www.emmanuelsaltburn.co.uk

Visitor and Exhibition opening times in March Saturdays 4th & 18th 10am - 4pm

Sundays 12th & 26th 1 - 4pm

39

Volunteers steam ahead with improvements to Saltburn Miniature Railway Thanks to the dedication of volunteers and donations from local councillors, Saltburn Miniature Railway has had new steel railings installed at its Forrest Halt platform.

Making the platform more secure, railings have been installed as part of ongoing updates to the railway which has been in Saltburn Valley Gardens since 1948. The fabrication and installation of the railings were carried out entirely by volunteers and the funding, which amounted to over £1,800, was donated by Saltburn ward councillors Philip Thomson, Craig Hannaway and Stuart Smith.

Bob Proctor, Chairman of Saltburn Miniature Railway Limited, said: “We have sixteen volunteers who do all manner of jobs from driving, track work, maintenance, and even locomotive building. We take pride in ensuring that passengers have a safe and enjoyable journey with us, so I am really pleased with the work our volunteers have done. I give thanks to Saltburn’s ward councillors who have kindly donated money to this project.”

Councillor Philip Thomson, Chairman of the Saltburn Valley Garden Steering Group and ward member for Saltburn, said: “This has demonstrated that volunteers can, if given the appropriate support, achieve great things. The railway is such an important attraction for the Valley Gardens and Saltburn, and thanks to volunteers, the platform is now more secure for passengers and general members of the public.”

The railway runs from Easter to September, Saturdays and Sundays from 1pm to 5pm. During school summer holidays the attraction is open daily (excluding Mondays).

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If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer for the railway, please visit: www.saltburn-miniature-railway.org.uk 40

Kefir originates from the Caucasus mountains. It is a fermented milk product made by inoculating milk with ‘kefir grains’ which are a bacterial and yeast symbiotic starter. It is like yogurt but differs because it uses yeasts as well as bacteria. Many people claim great health benefits from kefir, particularly in the treatment of bowel problems. Grasers sell kefir produced from low fat milk

by Biona Organics. Biona Organics believe in producing great food only from ethical, sustainable and organic sources with no pesticides or GM products. They recommend to enjoy Kefir on breakfast cereal, with fruit, in smoothies or simply straight from the jar.

The Countryside Ranger and Volunteers, March 2017 Spring is finally here and its arrival brings about a flurry of activity in the British countryside. Aquatic creatures stir, insects take to the wing and a wealth of flowers liven up our waysides and woodlands.

Although the appearance of fully formed leaves on the trees is still several weeks away, many buds are starting to form and swell in early March. At first glance these can all look superficially similar but experienced naturalists can identify many of the more distinctive ones.

Sycamore, a widespread introduced species, has buds which are narrowly oval with pointed tips. They are protected by scales which are usually reddish in colour.

Ash buds are rather compact and conical, with flat sides that are often distinctly flattened. Their black colour is diagnostic and they are borne on upcurved twigs.

The large and distinctive buds of horse chestnut are easy to recognise. They are reddish-brown and extremely sticky.

Sometimes known by the alternative name of cuckoopint, lords-and-ladies is a familiar member of the woodland and hedgerow plant community. The most conspicuous element of its peculiar flowering structure is the pale green cowl that shrouds a purplish-brown, club-shaped spike. The flowers proper are tiny and found at the base of the spike.

Lured by scent, small flies are attracted to the plant and trapped in the flower chamber for a day or so by a fringe of hairs. This improves the plant’s chances of successful fertilisation, as some of the flies will have already visited other lords-and-ladies and will be carrying pollen.

On warm days in mid-March, observant nature-lovers are likely to encounter a number of insects that are active in hedgerows and woodlands. Having emerged from their hibernation among leaf litter and plant debris, seven-spot ladybirds go in search of their first aphid meal of the year.

Most small tortoiseshell butterflies pass the winter resting in a cool shed or tree bark crevice. On sunny days, they take to the wing in search of early flowers and mates.

Early March is a transitional time for long-tailed tits in Britain. For the past six months or so, they have been roaming the countryside in loose, often noisy feeding flocks.

With the arrival of milder weather and the approach of spring, however, these groups disband and pairs team up for the start of the breeding season. Long-tailed tits then begin to take an interest in potential nesting sites such as gorse bushes, bramble patches and even impenetrable clumps of

ivy. Their main requirement is that their nest – a delicate sphere comprising lichens and spiders’ silk – is physically protected, or at the very least hidden from predatory eyes.

In winter and early spring, light levels on the woodland floor are high compared to those experienced during the summer months, due to the absence of leaves on the trees. Therefore, it is a sensible strategy for lowgrowing plants such as wood anemone to take advantage of the situation. Consequently, the characteristic three lobed leaves of this attractive species frequently appear in February, and by early March may well be in full bloom.

The flowers of the wood anemone are usually 30 to 40 millimetres across and comprise six to twelve radiating, petal-like sepals. From a distance they can appear white, but a close look will reveal them to be subtly flushed with pink.

Regular visitors to the Valley will have noticed that Camp Bank has been a hive of activity over the recent months: encroaching vegetation has been cut back opening up the area which had been initially planted with trees by the Saltburn Women’s Institute.

The clearing back is mostly completed, some sections have been purposefully left, as taking too much at once and clearing the full area could impact nesting habitats, and disturb winter hibernating species. Those sections left this year will be cleared next year and then the whole area can then begin to be managed as a whole.

Winter tree planting has resulted in 2 (3 by the time of reading this) young cherry trees adjacent to the current row. The mature trees which line the path are beginning to show their age now, some more so after being vandalised.

By planting the young trees now we aim to continue with the annual show of blossom for many years to come.

Saltburn task days continue throughout the year every Friday. We meet at the centre at 10.00am.

You can see some of the work done by the volunteers by going to our website: www.saltburncountrysidevolunteers.btck.co.uk For more information, contact: paul.murphy@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk For Volunteering opportunities, contact: Karen.preston@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk

41

Veteran’s gruelling mountain to climb for Maisie A serving Army Captain went to great heights to raise funds for an 11-year-old girl critically injured in a riding accident.

Captain Christopher Hames attempted to climb and descend Roseberry Topping with minimal rest between repetitions over 24 hours to raise funds for Maisie Welsh of New Marske. Maisie was left blind in one eye and sustained life-changing facial injuries following the accident three months ago and now needs years of painful, reconstructive facial surgery.

The Moving Mountains for Maisie challenge saw Saltburn father-of-one Chris take on a climb higher than Everest summit from base camp and equivalent to the height of Everest base camp from sea level, as he ascended and descended the famous ‘Matterhorn of the North’. The challenge took place over difficult, rocky terrain during night and day, covering a minimum of 56-miles and 17,010 feet of climb and descent. Everest summit from base camp is 11,377 feet.

Admitting this will be one of the toughest physical challenges he has faced, Chris, a serving officer with The Royal Army Physical Training Corps, said: “I’ve had some pretty epic challenges over my 29-years in the Army, but this will be up there as being one of the toughest. It will be worth every step to raise funds to support Maisie and her family who have had their lives turned upside down.

“Just days before the accident I saw Maisie play football with my daughter. It goes to show how quickly things can change for any of us. Everything has changed for her and her family and support is needed in so many ways. Maisie is fully aware of the extent of her injuries and with a huge amount of help is slowly coming to terms with them. She is a fighter but she still has to undergo so much

throughout the rest of her life.”

Supporting Chris in his fundraising efforts for Maisie is Newton-under-Roseberry pub, The King’s Head Inn, which provided accommodation and round-the-clock refreshments free of charge to Chris and his support team.

The King’s Head Inn also served up two-course special ‘Meals for Maisie’ throughout the weekend from Friday to Sunday night, with £1 from every special meal sold going to the Moving Mountains for Maisie appeal. The pub staged a raffle and ran fundraising activities.

General manager Chris Moor said: “As a father myself my heart goes out to Maisie and her family. We are in absolute awe of Chris’s challenge and are delighted to be able to support him and assist in raising much-needed funds for Maisie and her family at such a difficult time.

“We’re hoping for a great turnout of support from people to come and use us a base to cheer Chris on and to help raise as much money as we can for such a remarkable young lady as Maisie.”

Maisie’s father Adam Welsh said: “It’s a very special thing that Chris is doing for Maisie and we can’t thank him enough and to The King’s Head Inn for their support. It has been a very difficult time for our family and the fact that people are prepared to go to such lengths to support us is appreciated by us all.”

Chris’s 24-hour Moving Mountains for Maisie began on Saturday, February 25th at 1200 hrs from the gate to Roseberry Topping. Meals for Maisie and fundraising activities will take place at The King’s Head Inn from Friday, February 24th onwards.

Although this article is published after the event donations to the challenge can still be made at gogetfunding.com/moving-mountains-for-maisie.

Saltburn, Marske and New Marske Parish Council At the recent Parish Council meeting the budget was set for 2017/18 and Members were pleased to note that there would be no precept increase for residents in the forthcoming year.

Grants were approved to 3rd Saltburn Brownies, towards the cost of transport, Saltburn in Bloom towards improvements for the Fossil Garden and Age UK towards an event to be held in May (further details below).

Dates for the diary: Following reports of fly tipping in Hazel Grove woods, a “Super Hero” community litter pick will take place, in partnership with the Borough Council, on Monday, 6th March. Please come along and support the event - meet at the cattle arch (bottom of The Parkway) at 10.30am.

Disposable gloves and rubbish bags will be provided.

The Annual Parish Assembly will be held on Thursday, 16th March 2017 at 7.00pm in Saltburn Methodist Church Hall, Milton Street, Saltburn. Members of the public are invited to attend.

On Sunday, 2nd April the East Cleveland Klondike Grand Prix, an elite bike race and a qualifier for the Tour de Yorkshire, will come through Saltburn. Further details of the route can be found on our website - the Parish Council office 42

will be open on the day to serve light refreshments and there will be a safe area inside the school perimeter for the public, whilst waiting for the riders to pass by. Volunteers are needed for the event to assist with stewarding; full training will be given. Anyone wishing to volunteer or who has a bike to donate to decorate the route should contact the Parish Council offices in the first instance.

On Friday, 19th May Age UK are hosting a “loving later life” event on Saltburn Prom and in the Valley Gardens. As part of this there will be a Guinness World Record breaking attempt at the largest amount of couples waltzing, a record currently held by Bosnia with 1510 couples waltzing. If you want to take part please visit www.eventbrite.co.uk and search for “world’s largest waltz” events in Saltburn-by-the-Sea. For further information please call Age UK on 01642 805500 (or email enquiries@ageukteesside.org.uk).

Tracy Meadows (Clerk and RFO to the Parish Council) 01287 623477 office@smnmpc.co.uk www.smnmpc.co.uk

Hands On Therapy Clinic Remedial Therapy Reflexology Sports Injuries Relaxation Louise Clark ITEC Diploma MBSR, GCP, BCMA Reg Saltburn Leisure Centre, Marske Mill Lane

Tel: 01287 625700 Mob: 07775 610745 Hair salon closes, but memory stays

CLOSURE: Danielle Doddridge shuts the door at her salon in Ruby Street after 13 years A memory of a popular Saltburn man Peter Blueitt is to remain after the closure of a hairdressers’ salon which was opened in January 2004 after his death.

Daughter Danielle Doddridge has shut down the salon in Ruby Street after 13 years, but intends to continue offering hairdressing and nails treatment from her home at 7 Marske Mill Lane, Saltburn. She will also keep an inscription on the front door which says Visage was opened ‘in memory of Peter Blueitt.’ She thanked customers and staff and wished Miriem Lund well after running it while she has been off with a bout of ill-health. She also thanked husband Craig for his support. Now she will focus on her family - there are three boys Tyler, Toby and Tommy - whom granddad Peter would have loved to have known.

43

I, Daniel Blake: Full House for Film at Saltburn Community Theatre “Can you raise both arms as if you were putting on a hat?” Daniel Blake’s affirmative answer to this and similar questions from a ‘Health Care Professional’ mean that he is assessed as fit for work and not eligible for Employment Support Allowance. The problem is that this man, a skilled carpenter on building sites in his fifties, has had a recent heart attack and has been told he mustn’t go back to work yet by his doctors.

Daniel puts in an appeal, but in the meantime has to look for work that he is not able to take up. He has to make applications online, but he hasn’t used a computer before.

The Job Centre staff are not allowed to help him, but one kindly staff member gets into trouble for trying. He tries to find work on foot and succeeds in interesting an employer, who turns abusive when Daniel says he can’t take up the work because his doctors say he is not fit. He hasn’t taken photographs of himself seeking work and is told his unverified attempts are ‘not good enough’ by a Job Centre staff member, who decides that he must be sanctioned for this, which means he must live off no money.

At the Job Centre, Daniel meets Katie, a young mum of two children, who is also being sanctioned - for being a few minutes late for her interview. She has been rehoused in Newcastle, having been evicted in London for asking her landlord to deal with the damp that has led to her son being hospitalised. Not familiar with Newcastle streets, she has been unable to find the Job Centre in time. Daniel stands up for her and after being escorted to the door by security staff, they strike up a friendship and support each other.

Ken Loach’s film follows the misfortunes of Daniel and Katie. Desperate and hungry, Katie takes a voucher to a Food Bank and there meets real kindness, the volunteers going out of their way to support her and her two children.

But Katie’s daughter’s shoes disintegrate and the other schoolchildren are laughing at her, so having failed to get cleaning jobs, Katie joins an ‘escort agency’ and soon has £300 in her pocket. Caring Daniel is appalled.

After a very long while, his appeal is to be heard and the Welfare Rights Adviser tells him and Katie that he’s confident that the decision to deny Daniel Employment Support Allowance will be overturned. The ending of the film is dramatic and not to be spoiled for readers. The DVD is being released on 27th February and is well worth buying by those who haven’t seen it. The film is sad and infuriating, but also funny in parts. The audience at the Community Theatre gave a round of applause as the cast list came up.

The showing of ‘I, Daniel Blake’ on 27th January was organised by members of Saltburn Labour Party for the public. Entry was free and tickets were snapped up. Ticket holders were asked to bring donations for Guisborough Bridge Association Foodstop and a mountain of items was received. A raffle was held and this raised a further £85.50 for the Food Bank. The Labour Party Branch would like to organise further screenings and £40 was collected towards a possible showing of the 1960s Ken Loach film, ‘Cathy 44

Come Home’.

The film was followed by a Question and Answer session with a panel consisting of Shona Joselin and Vivienne Trenchard from the Guisborough Foodstop (guisboroughbridge.org.uk or 01287 638771), Helen Howson, the Chief Officer of Redcar and Cleveland Citizens Advice and Dave Walsh, Skelton Labour Councillor, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Adult Services at Redcar and Cleveland Council. Able chairing was provided by Saltburn Labour Councillor Craig Hannaway.

A question was asked about why officialdom will not accept a doctor’s decision that a person is unfit for work, but insists on basing entitlement to ESA on a series of questions unrelated to the illness being experienced. The answer from Dave Walsh was that officialdom holds that a person’s GP is not assessing a patient’s ability to do paid work when he/she signs forms.

Another person queried the numbers of people attending Guisborough Foodstop. Fifteen to twenty people arrive each session with a voucher for three days supply of food. Shona and Vivienne said that January was a busy month and they hear very often that people are there because they have been sanctioned. They provide people with a meal and a chat while their bags are packed.

A further question focused on what people can do if they aren’t competent with computers. Helen said that library staff are often helpful. Some turn to friends and family and to the Citizens Advice Bureau. As needs increase, the numbers of Job Centre staff are decreasing; Dave said that Job Centre staff may want to help, but the Government and its agencies severely limit what they are allowed to do. He also urged audience members to volunteer to support people with appeals (contact: walshda@hotmail.co.uk).

More points were put, rounding off a thoughtprovoking evening. The prime movers of the event, Saltburn’s Ann Wilson and Jane Burke, deserve our hearty thanks.

Rosemary Nicholls

The false economy in health and happiness What does a false economy mean? Well, in economics, a false economy is an action that saves money at the beginning but which over a longer period of time results in more money being spent than was saved.

An example of this might be buying the cheapest car you can but then finding the cost of repairs makes it more expansive in the long run.

A notable practitioner of false economy was King Frederick William I of Prussia, who was said to have saved money every year feeding his family unwholesome cabbages even though the poor diet sickened his children and the resulting medical care cost him many times what he saved over the course of his life.

It may seem cheaper, easier and quicker to get a take -away than to go to the shop, buy some food and cook a healthy meal. Yet how ‘intelligent’ are you being with your body and your life in the long run if you do that regularly?

Yes of course every once in a while a take-away is not going to cause you much long term harm. Yes of course drinking alcohol or taking any other drug once a month is not likely to kill you (unless of course it’s the binge that tips your body over the edge). Sitting on your sofa watching TV is not exactly going to harm you or indoctrinate you if it’s done every now and then. Being stressed or angry every once in a while is not a problem - it can even be motivating and inspire you to change things and start living a life of less stress and more happiness.

Yet being stressed on a regular basis is really unhealthy for you long term, and if you would like to do something about it but you never get round to it, well that is a false economy. Can you play the game of seeing where the false economies are in your life?

Not doing regular exercise for years on end is going to seriously diminish what your body could otherwise be and do. It will only be nourished and thrive if it’s regularly active and the muscles are stretched, blood is strongly pumped and the breathing is deep.

Sitting on your sofa watching TV every night as you drink alcohol and eat food high in sugar and preservatives and meat full of antibiotics and vegetables sprayed with chemicals is going to be okay for you in the short to medium term. Yet in the long term your body is going to suffer after years of that treatment. And over a long time TV will dumb down your mind and you will begin to forget what you independently think and start to believe what you are told is the truth from the people in the light box in the corner.

If you lead a regularly unhealthy lifestyle in the long term you are likely to end up in pain and needing surgery and then needing pills to sustain yourself. Those pills may add an inconvenience level to the rest of your life and the financial cost of your treatment may well outweigh the money you saved on buying the cheaper food. The ease of not caring much about yourself and not being conscious of your lifestyle choices will catch up with you. It’s a false economy to not treat yourself well.

A person like any living thing grows from the basis of what has gone into it earlier in its life.

However we choose to treat ourselves adds up equally whether you are a king or a pauper.

Yet it’s never too late to change the patterns of your life. You will reap the rewards, or pay the price, in the long term economy of you.

Your body loves to feel good, it loves to feel happy and to be fed food that is pure and nutritious and in balance, and it loves to exercise and to think with clarity.

If you get out of touch or fuzz-up the connection it can be hard to hear what your body really enjoys. Yet if you listen closely it will tell you how it loves to thrive.

Please share your own thoughts on this subject: it’s greatly valued. Or get support. Kendal Aitken Health and Happiness Coach/Counsellor, coach@happygreenblueeyes.co.uk or 07944 883961.

Rotarians strike up the band for Air Ambulance The Rotary Club of Saltburn is helping to keep the Great North Air Ambulance’s three helicopters flying with a Big Band concert in the town.

The concert with a performance by the Guisborough Big Band has been arranged for Friday, 31st March at Saltburn Community Theatre. It starts at 7.30pm and doors open at 6.45pm with a licensed bar.

The club has staged several Big Band concerts in recent years and they have always been hugely popular.

The air ambulances respond to about 1,000 callouts a year across the North East generally, North Yorkshire and Cumbria with their onboard specialist trauma doctors and paramedics taking accident and emergency expertise directly to the scene.

Last year it cost £4.9million to keep the three helicopters flying which is always a struggle for the Great

North Air Ambulance Service so public fundraising like the Rotary Big Band Night makes a vital contribution.

One member of the Big Band is reported to have been saved by the flying medics, so it demonstrates how near to our hearts they are.

Rotary president Les Manship said: “This is a one night only concert and, with limited seating we expect that the tickets will sell fast.

“The air ambulances perform a vital life-saving service in our community, and we feel that they are another worthy cause on which we should focus our fundraising efforts.”

The Big Band concert tickets are £8 from Destinations on Station Street and the Community Theatre.

45

New Look coming to the Cons Club Welcome to the monthly article from Saltburn Conservative Club.

It’s so nice to feel the return of warmer weather when I go out for my morning papers. The cold and wind of early February is making way for the coming of spring and everywhere suddenly looks brighter. In the Cons Club garden the snowdrops are flowering, the daffodils are in bud and the tulips are making an appearance. It’s a magical time of the year which heralds in the summer months of sunny weather, barbecues and visitors in their thousands to our beautiful town.

In the Cons Club everything is also blooming with work due to start on the planned alterations to knock through the wall dividing the bar and the lounge and building a new bar which will allow us to serve drinks into both rooms. A suspended ceiling with downlights will be fitted above the bar.

The seating area in what was the lounge will be re-upholstered along with the fitting of new curtains. Both rooms will be repainted and both rooms will be wallpapered with paper matching the snug wallpaper. This will provide a flowing continuity to integrate the club. New lighting will be fitted. A new heating system will be fitted into the old lounge plus we are opening up the original fireplace in the old lounge where we will be fitting a woodburner. An archway at the garden end of the bar will connect the two rooms and we will be incorporating the means to isolate the two rooms when required for such things as private parties, meetings etc. The initial work to knock out the wall and fit a new bar and ceiling will be carried out over a 4 day period during which time the club will be closed, with the rest of the work continuing over the following days & weeks.

This work has been possible owing to the tremendous support and backing we have received from our fantastic members. Every function that has been arranged has been fully supported with big attendances and the regular money making activities throughout the year have always brought a big response. Without this support the club would not be in a position to keep upgrading and improving the facilities. We are not a profit making organisation and all spare monies raised are re-invested back into the club. The membership has exceeded all expectation with an average of approx. 10 new members joining every month. Residents of the town and surrounding areas are now becoming aware of the great atmosphere that we have achieved and they know that they can have a relaxed and social time out in a friendly and safe place.

We will continue to provide our members with the best facilities and social entertainment that is possible and look forward to seeing more new members who can appreciate the efforts that we are all putting in. To join us you need to fill in an application form, available from the bar, and the cost is £12 per year, renewable every January. New members pay on a sliding scale from £12 in January to £2 in November (you pay £1 for every month left in the year) For an extra payment of £2

you can get a Conservative Club Affiliation Card which enables you to enter any Conservative Club in Great Britain and have full use of their facilities. There is a space on the application form to enter this requirement if you wish.

Talking about membership: the closing date for renewal to continue membership for 2017 is February 28th.

Reminders have been sent to all members who I have an email address for and notices have been in place at the club from the beginning of the year, so there are no excuses if you miss out. Any person failing to pay by the above date will lose their 15% discount on all alcoholic drinks plus their eligibility to receive heavily discounted prices on drinks during the club’s ‘Happy Hours’.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: PLEASE NOTE THAT OWING TO THE BAR ALTERATIONS THE CLUB WILL NOT BE OPEN FROM MONDAY 13TH MARCH TO THURSDAY 16TH MARCH INCLUSIVE. WE WILL RE-OPEN ON FRIDAY 17TH MARCH. Moving on to events happening in the club in March and we begin with a SLUG Meeting (Saltburn Line Users Group) on Tuesday 7th. If you are a train enthusiast or have questions to ask regarding the local train services this is the meeting you need to attend. For start times contact the club (it’s normally around 7 to 7-15pm). Unlike the trains I am sure this meeting will start on time. On Saturday, 25th March we have arranged a Party Night with Shaun Cook on the music to celebrate the completion of the alterations. This will be a brilliant fun night and an opportunity to wind down after all the previous hard work. It will also set us up for another season of great entertainment and party nights. On Friday, 31st March Teesside Steve and Liz Bishop will again be hosting the monthly ‘Open Mic Night’. If you wish to play or sing names are taken from 7-30pm and the music starts at 8pm. Fantastic live entertainment at its best and a night not to be missed. As always, free entry.

Advance notice is given that the Annual General Meeting this year will be held on Monday, 10th April at 730pm and nomination sheets for Officers and Committee will be placed on the club notice board on Monday, 20th March. This is one week later than normal owing to the alteration work taking place in the club.

It’s approaching the time when myself and Dave Harris will soon be working in the garden in preparation for planting out new shrubs and flowers in the borders, containers and hanging baskets. What a wonderful thought.

The garden is a very important feature of the club and every effort will be made to continue improving this jewel in the crown.

Keep happy and safe. Best wishes, David David Rigg, Club President Email: davidrigg21@yahoo.co.uk Article financially supported by Saltburn Conservative Club

Saltburn Cons Club Future Events to entertain in March

Every Tuesday: Club Draw Nights for Meat Voucher, Wines & Chocolates.

Every Sunday: Beer Draw & Cash Rollover. (Currently standing at £425). Increases by £25 each week if not won.

Saturday Afternoons: A get-together by ‘The Conmen’. Americano Musicians’ Jam sessions from 3pm.

Tuesday 7th: SLUG Meeting (Saltburn Line Users Group). For start time contact club.

Saturday 25th: Party Night with Shaun Cook on the Music (celebration of opening of new bar).

Friday 31st: ‘Open Mic Night’ hosted by Teesside Steve & Liz Bishop.

46

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Jim Maidens Fund On the 27th of January about eighty supporters of the Jim Maidens’ fund gathered in the Ship Inn for the final presentation evening, during which £1000 was donated to Redcar RNLI, £800 to Staithes RNLI and almost £500 to GNAA. The fund started in 1998, following the tragic death of Jim, a very popular local plumber and a keen fisherman, in a boating accident. A few of the fishermen decided to raise a bit of money for the Redcar and Teesmouth Lifeboats, by holding a beach fishing competition. Thirty anglers turned out and raised £100.

This became an annual event and will take place this year on March 19th. Many thanks must go to Redcar Angling Centre who have sponsored the Competition for many years and are still doing so.

Shortly afterwards three stalwarts decided to brave the cold North Sea on Boxing Day, so beginning another annual event and the numbers of dippers increased year by year.

Many years ago we added a Christmas Raffle which boosted the fund substantially but would not have been possible without the generosity of the traders and organisations of Saltburn who have supported us with prizes. Our appreciation goes to them and to all the people who have sold and bought tickets over the years.

All organisations need a base and the Fund’s base has always been the Ship Inn. Ron and Kate were our hosts for many years and Lisa and Ian have taken over the mantle for the last three years and we could not have managed without them.

Our thanks are due to many other organisations and individuals, too numerous to mention but they know who they are. However, I would just mention Cleveland Divers and the Fund’s Treasurer for the last ten years, Phil Anniss, both of whom have contributed a vast amount of time and effort. To all these people (and probably to many others whom I have omitted) I would extend my heartfelt thanks, for they have raised over £40,000 in the last nineteen years.

Though it was the last Presentation Night, I am delighted to say that the Jim Maidens’ fund will continue, as the administration of it is being taken over

by Cleveland Divers, so it may be that you, the generous people of Saltburn and the surrounding area, may still be asked to show your support for our charities. Please give as generously in the future as you have done in the past!

Bob George

Valley Players The Valley Players are looking for some brave souls who are up for the challenge of impersonating Elvis Presley in our Elvis extravaganza in August, commemorating forty years since his death. Age, gender and experience are immaterial! All you need is a knowledge of his music and enthusiasm.

Please contact Djenane by email at djenane@valleyplayers.org.uk and spread the word. It’s going to be a ball, a respectful ball of course!

Djenane 47

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The Saltburn Profile by Rosemary Nicholls Ray Richardson Ray Richardson will be a hard act to follow. With his wife, Lily, he has supplied 120 hanging baskets and 32 tubs for the annual Saltburn in Bloom display and been responsible for frequently checking them. Some of these have been placed near the pier, at the end of the old Halfpenny Bridge and at the station, brightening up the summer days of Saltburn residents and visitors. He has now retired from this voluntary role, which he has carried out firstly with Jackie Taylor and latterly with Lynda Parkes.

“It’s been very satisfying to be part of the team getting the awards,” he says. “I’ve really enjoyed planning what to put in from my greenhouses.”

Ray, an only child, was born in Eston. His Dad was a sculler at the steel works. He went to the new school at the top of Flatts Lane in Normanby and on leaving, was due to become an apprentice joiner at Dorman Long steelworks.

But his Mum found him a summer job at Wilson’s Market Gardens and he decided to stay.

At twenty-one, he had to do his National Service.

He was sent to Aldershot, where he became a cook in the Catering Corps. He was moved around the country and enjoyed his time in the Army. Afterwards, he went back to Wilson’s, where he met Lily. The terrible winter of 1962-63 froze the ground for months on end and they were both made redundant. Fortunately, a labouring job came up with the Council Parks Department and after taking this, Ray rose to be a foreman and then a supervisor.

When Langbaurgh Council came into being, there were more people than supervisors’ jobs available. “I moved to become a Development, Entertainments and Recreation Support Officer,” Ray remembers. “We laid out housing estates and did tree planting. With some marquees, we supported local carnivals too.” He pays tribute to the other workers, who helped to make the tasks a real team effort. It was at this time that Ray met Saltburn community stalwart, Jackie Taylor.

He worked in this job for ten years, but after the death of the Parks Manager, Ray became the Superintendent for Redcar, Saltburn and Marske. Later, East Cleveland was added too. His team looked after the Council gardens and cemeteries. “Then Margaret Thatcher came in and privatised everything,” he says. “We won the first three year contract, but things were very tight.”

At the time, Ray and Lily were living at Lackenby, in a house with a lot of land. There they kept chickens and geese and their daughter Sandra’s horse, Olefines Meg. The Generating Board wanted to buy the house and land, so they moved to The Forge at Moorsholm, which had six acres of land. A year later, Ray took early retirement.

At Moorsholm, Ray has 35 chickens, four geese and four big turkeys. He has two dogs: Holly, a rescue dog from Saltburn and Bonny, a Jack Russell and spaniel cross, which used to belong to his grandson. The chickens produce seven or eight dozen eggs a week, which he has sold in Saltburn for about six years.

Ray has two greenhouses, 60 by 40 feet each. He learnt a lot at Wilson’s years ago and both his Dad and Lily’s family had allotments. Each year, Ray and Lily take part in the National Open Gardens event and welcomed 400

people to The Forge last June. “It raises a lot of money for charities, such as Cancer Research,” he says. For about nine years, they were involved in a team of thirteen cooking Christmas dinner in the village hall to raise funds too.

Ray enjoys building things, such as the conservatories he brought from Lackenby. Although Lily goes off to Scotland in their motorhome with Sandra, he is happy to stay local. As well as daughter Sandra in Winchester, they have a son, Graham, who lives at Marton and is a Health and Safety Manager. Sandra has a son, Ashley, and she used to be a cook. Graham has two daughters; Emma is training to be a solicitor and Vicky is doing Business Studies at University. Lily and Ray spent a lot of time with the grandchildren when they were little.

Ray likes watching news programmes and some documentaries on TV. He is a fan of all sports and keeps up with how the Boro are doing. When Brian Clough was there, he used to go to matches. He enjoys watching athletics, swimming and diving. “I learnt to swim myself when I was 65,” he adds. “I was taking Vicky to Eston Pool and I was persuaded to sign up and learn breast stroke myself.”

On his land, Ray has built a pond 70 by 40 feet, as Lily has always wanted one. It had 75 roach in it, each about a foot long, but they didn’t survive the harsh winter of 2010-11. “We had 30 inches of snow from 24th November to 26th February and we just couldn’t get the air to the fish,” he remembers. Now, they have small fish, as ducks bring the eggs in on their feet, hundreds of frogs, newts and toads. “There is a heron too and moorhens breed every year, but they never get tame!”

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1st Saltburn Scout Group My Talk of the Town article for last month concluded the opening paragraph after mentioning our Annual Census with “The results are pleasing in young people, but still woefully short on Leaders!” and that is the problem. With a youth membership – Beavers, Cubs and Scouts of 67 – and only two uniformed Leaders (Lindsey Snowdon as Beaver Leader still undertaking training and myself the only fully trained Leader in the Group) well supported by Jo, Gary and Jonathan (Section Assistants) we are approaching a crisis! WE NEED ADULT HELP; with adults willing to undertake training and wear the uniform, otherwise come July 1st Saltburn Scout Group could well cease to exist!

Essentially Beaver numbers have remained steady, with the new members who joined us in January all having settled in well. However, Leaders are already looking at who needs to ‘move on’ by Easter to create the spaces needed to accept those wanting to join. The demand is now such that we will only accept applications to join 1st Saltburn Group from residents of Saltburn. In the past three months there have been ‘Want to join’ enquiries from Brotton, Carlin How, Lingdale, Marske and Skelton.

Attendance at Saltburn schools or being ‘best friends’ with an existing member is not a valid reason; we cannot cope with the demand! The Beaver Colony and especially Lindsey and Jo are struggling to cope with the sheer volume. We need more parents to just be present to ensure

Saltburn Line User Group Next Meeting: Tuesday, 7th March 2017 at 7.10pm.

Meetings at Saltburn Conservative Club are normally held on the first Tuesday of the month starting at the new time 19.10pm.

As always, all welcome.

Talk to Saltburn Line User Group.

The Group exists to protect passengers’ interests.

Find us at www.facebook.com/ saltburnlineusergroup

Email the secretary on: slugsecretary@virginmedia.com SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL LINE 50

the well-being of both Beavers and the adults; so can we have some volunteers?

The Cub Pack will be totalling 24 Cubs after Easter with a transfer from Norton of a former Beaver (and Saltburn resident) who came to us briefly some 18 months ago but was being schooled out of Saltburn. This following the non-arrival of a new recruit in January; cricket was the preferred choice!

Cubs are busy ‘practising’ for the District Cubs Quiz and having won the event previously live in hope of a repeat!

Ably supported by Gary (Section Assistant) with Sam (Young Leader Explorer Scout) and a new helper Peter (who is undertaking his Duke of Edinburgh’s Award) the Cubs are being kept active and entertained.

Scouts, with a Troop of 23, is proving boisterous and as with all Scouts very active! Their only disappointment being that as we closed for half-term break, the planned night hike and sleepover at the building had to be cancelled. The weather conspired to prevent the eagerly awaited train ride to Redcar and walking back along the beach – linking the two piers as the theme – to Saltburn, then after eating and games to sleepover at the building. This was to be undertaken with Scouts from Brotton. But we will do it again; hopefully with better weather. Scouts are also preparing for their District Quiz (and just like Cubs; they also won a previous years’ event), so again we live in hope! Particular thanks to Jonathan (Section Assistant); also to Gordon and Keith (two active Scout parents) for their continued assistance.

Some of our parents continue to assist us with Section activities; but as I have said repeatedly previously we need help! If you can offer assistance or are interested in joining us, please enquire.

John G. Hannah 07811 801627 or johnghannah@yahoo.co.uk

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Postal Subscription to Talk of the Town If you enjoy reading Talk of the Town, why not subscribe to the postal service? You can have the magazine delivered to your door, anywhere in the UK for as little as £33.50 per year.

Write to us at TotT Subscriptions, 9 The Wynd, Marske, Cleveland, TS11 7LD. Don’t forget to enclose your name and address or alternatively, you can call us on 01642 477200 if you wish to pay by credit or debit card.

Mixed Blessings by Alan Butler The Sun is 150,000,000 kilometres distant from us and my nose sticks out from my face by about 2.5 cm. Since 2.5 cm divides into 150,000,000 kilometres 600,000,000,000 times it cannot be suggested that my nose is really all that much closer to the Sun that is the rest of my face. This being the case it’s hard to fathom why it is that people’s noses are more likely to get sunburned than the rest of their faces.

The only real reason I mention these facts is that I am presently doing a fairly good impression of Tycho Brahe, the eminent 16th century Danish astronomer, who in 1566 lost a part of his nose in a duel in Rostock. My circumstances are somewhat different to his since it was the scalpel of a surgeon that took away a chunk of my nose and the only other tenuous connection between myself and Tycho Brahe is that I am very interested in astronomy.

Fortunately things have moved on somewhat since the 16th century and whereas Brahe spent the remainder of his life wearing a prosthetic nose, made of silver and gold my nose is expected to eventually more or less heal of its own accord – though like Tycho I do intend to tell everyone that what remains of the operation is a duelling scar because that sounds infinitely more romantic than the truth of the situation. What actually happened was that for over 60 years my nose was closer to the Sun than the rest of my face and as a result I ended up with a series of basal tumours, some of which were removed a few years ago but the most inconvenient one did not announce its presence until a few months ago.

The main difficulty with my most recent lump was that it decided to appear at the very tip of my nose and right in the middle. When the surgeon had finished it looked as though he had used an admittedly smaller version of the gadget they use to take a core sample from a Stilton cheese and used it on my nose instead. The resultant hole was about 1 cm in diameter and Kate told me it was so deep she could see the back of my head (though I think she might have been exaggerating somewhat). It was decided at the time that it would be better if no skin graft was placed over the hole, since the surgeon said that in similar circumstances the result had been a dent in the person’s nose that would never resolve itself. Better by far, he assured me, to let the thing heal up naturally – though it would take much longer than would a skin graft. So for up to two months I either have to stay indoors and wander around in the shadows like the Phantom of the Opera or else subject Teesside to the horror story that is my perforated nose.

Those of you who know me personally will be aware that I am a very gregarious person by nature. I love to get out and about every day, meeting people, going for a coffee, visiting the shops and seeing friends but during the last ten days or so that has become a significant problem. There is nothing to prevent me from leaving my nose uncovered except for the fact that it would most

certainly have people screaming and running for cover whenever I walked past. I feel as though I should be carrying a bell like the poor lepers of the medieval period so that people would be warned in advance and could either turn away or take a different route. The only other option is to keep my nose covered and even this presents its own problems. Putting a dressing on a nose is not easy. Kate says it makes me look like some sort of cartoon spaniel. During the recent cold spell it was possible to wear a scarf across my face but now the Sun has come out again to do so means I look like a bank robber. This is a salutary lesson to all of us that the six hundred billionth part difference between nose and face in terms of the distance to our star really does make a difference.

I would not want anyone to think that I am in any way ungrateful for the operation to put my nose right.

We are fortunate indeed that we live in a time and place where such things can be done, even if to do so means a little inconvenience on the way. The alternative would have been that if I lived long enough my nose would have eventually disintegrated altogether, which would certainly have put an end to my television appearances and would also have meant that any lingering thoughts I might have of entering the Mr Universe competition would have been dashed forever. And in any case, as my mother was apt to point out on a regular basis: “There are plenty of people in the world who are worse of than you, Alan.”

While we are on the subject of health I can also report that I had to go for an MRI scan yesterday. I hasten to add that this had nothing to do with my nose but related to another part of my anatomy which I think would be best to avoid mentioning in a family magazine.

To say it was a strange experience would be an understatement. If you haven’t had an MRI scan it’s a bit like being the filling in an extremely noisy sausage roll. I had to wear special hospital trousers, which I quite liked and would have brought home if it had been possible, and I was posted into the machine by a very jovial man who told me the experience might prove a little unsettling but that it would only last twenty minutes - “And what’s twenty minutes out of a life?” he wanted to know.

I’m very pleased to say that I survived the experience, though by the time it was over I felt like one of the first astronauts who were sent into space in something no larger than a telephone box. The machine wheezed, groaned and clattered all around me and by the time I touched down I was glad that I am being so carefully monitored but it isn’t something I would like to endure on a daily basis. One thing is certain, and that is that no matter what anyone says to the contrary we are lucky beyond belief to have the NHS. Long may it continue!

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Saltburn Allotments Association The last couple of days have been really spring like and I’m really enthusiastic to get the season started.

Some of you will be well on your way already and I have seen that there are quite a few plots where the over winter rough digging has been turned into a fine tilth. For people who are this well prepared, there are a lot of things you can sow directly into the ground in March. You could warm the ground up by covering it over with plastic or cardboard for a couple of weeks first for an even better start. Seeds you can sow directly include broad beans and peas (though watch out for mice), beetroot, carrots, summer and autumn cabbages, chicory, calebrese, leeks, kale, parsnips, spring onions and turnips.

The only seeds I sow directly in the soil are carrots and parsnips. This is because I never manage to time it right to transfer the little plants into the ground before the roots have run out of room. If the roots start to twist round the pot, they end up being forked rather than a single long root when it’s time to dig them up. I have sown my first sprouts, cauli, cabbage, spring onions, leeks, lettuce and rocket in pots on my kitchen table. I have also sown tomatoes, aubergines, some cucumbers, chillies, sweet peppers and some basil and coriander. I have put them all in a tray facing the window and put thin sheets of polystyrene around the other three sides of the tray to reflect the light. This should help stop the seedlings becoming too leggy. I think it might have made a bit of difference. I am also using a desk lamp to light them from above to increase and lengthen light levels. I hope this will make the seedlings think it’s later in the year and so come on more quickly.

The Farmers’ Market starts again this month, I’m sure, on the second Saturday. Hopefully between us on the Allotment Association Committee and anyone else with any spare produce, we should have enough goods to sell on our usual stall. There should be soup as usual, possibly leek and potato.

Anyone who walks through the allotment site may have noticed that we’ve taken back control of the wildlife garden. The first raised bed as you walk in is being made into a strawberry bed. The idea is for passers by to help themselves in summer.

Anyone who’d like to give them a quick weed would be most welcome to do that too, but…please don’t weed out the strawberries. There is another bed which has been dug over and is clear that we are planning to make into our courgette and squash bed.

Again, anyone who would like to pull a few weeds out when passing would be welcomed and your gift will be a few squashes and courgettes when they ripen.

Happy gardening, Sue. 52

Saltburn Labour Party News What’s in a name? There are everyday household things that have dangerous-sounding names, like a shredder, and there’s terrible things that have neutral or technical names, like eugenics.

Many readers won’t yet have heard of the NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plan.

This is the latest reorganisation of the NHS, and is said to be necessary because the NHS needs to ‘save’ £128 million in this area. A plan with farreaching consequences for us all, in essence it hopes to achieve this cut in funding through ‘self-care’ and more care in the community. We will all be required to become better at looking after ourselves.

The plan was recently presented to our Health and Wellbeing Board, so I took the opportunity to ask the lead person how people in poor housing, people with mental illnesses, elderly people with long-term conditions, lone parents on benefits, people juggling several jobs on minimum wages, people suffering from work-stress, people who can’t afford a car or holidays, are going to self-care. Some items on this list might look a bit odd, especially the last one. I was actually reading the list straight from a book by world-class health researcher Sir Michael Marmot, who has shown that all these people - not just the obvious ones - are more likely to be ill. People in stressful, low-paid jobs, for example, are 34% more likely to develop heart disease. This is not a Labour Party claim, it is mainstream academic knowledge.

The lead person responded by asking a different health official to answer my question, and the health official said that ‘my concerns’ would be addressed at a later stage of planning. My own view is that, to stand any chance of working, the plan needed to start with addressing these problems.

We pay national insurance. As any insurance executive will tell you, the aim of insurance companies is to get the largest possible pool of low-risk clients who pay their premiums and rarely claim. The harder they find this, the more market forces will tend to drive up premiums for several economic reasons. The NHS, right from the beginning, has solved this issue by putting all of us in the pool, and therefore having a very large base of healthy people who won’t need much treatment till they are older. There is nothing wrong with trying to increase this low-risk pool, but if you are trying to do that while the pool is shrinking because of increased illness in all the people on Marmot’s list, and the number of elderly people is rising as well, you’d better have a good plan to address those issues. The STP is not such a plan; it claims that people will get better at caring for themselves, and that, among many other benefits, there will be 40,000 fewer Accident and Emergency admissions in this area in the next few years. That is the figure they plan for, so presumably that is also the figure they will budget for.

My biggest ‘concern’ is that if, as seems very probable, the plan does not work, we will be told that the only solution is fullscale privatisation of the NHS. In practice, many things are already in place for privatisation. The Chief Executive of South Tees Hospitals Trust, for example, who earns £225,000 a year, has a long CV in the private sector and specialises in ‘transformations’ (I refer the reader to my first paragraph).

I think one way of responding to this is to keeping talking about the NHS, both what we value in it and what needs to be improved. I would very much like to hear from readers about their experiences of the NHS: good, bad, or a combination of both.

Please contact me at Craig.Hannaway@redcarcleveland.gov.uk. All comments will be used anonymously, and will be very useful next time health officials have to decide which one of them should answer my questions.

Craig Hannaway

The Muses of Jim It was very pleasing to see that in the letters page of The Gazette last week, an illustrated letter concerning the matter of the Saltburn Gill. The letter in question was thanking the people who had taking on the task of tackling the problem of the pollution of the Gill and how it has returned back to normal by the repopulation of its natural wildlife with a before and after photograph. I had fortunately persuaded The Parish Council to hold a Public Meeting on the problem of the Gill and the affect it was having on the visual and physical impact on Saltburn. At the meeting, which was held upstairs at the Methodist Hall, around 28 people attended, not a bad number considering the Boro was playing a Cup Match at home.

From the meeting a group was from local people.

Fortunately, within this group were people with the skills and contacts to bring more knowledgeable people into the fold and several remained members to this day. Over the years people joined and left the group, all making a valuable contribution. The members with contacts brought organisations to the group. Organisations with clout and money. We were mentioned in The House of Commons. (Remember a member of the public wrote to Talk of the Town complaining about my jolly to London, thus giving me a reputation of doing nothing other than feed my ego.) Leaving my ego alone, the heart of Saltburn Gill Action Group was always Community based, recognised and respected by the National

Organisations that advised the group. Now that it has been decided to work to improve the three valleys that help to make Saltburn and of course its hinterland, I hope people will join the new organisation; see below.

Another delight that I have just discovered is the free Book Shop on Redcar High Street. It is next door to the Research Kidney Charity Shop. Yes, that’s correct a free bookshop. Just walk in and browse at your will. It is very well organised by subject matter and the volunteer staff are very friendly and helpful. I have to resist myself from going everyday to select books. It is really an asset to the area. I recommend one visit at least. You will be surprised at the wide range of books. I found Cooks’ Yorkshire Sieges of the Civil Wars and Plutarch’s Fall of the Roman Republic, translated of course. Also there is a wide range of magazines and you will certainly be made welcome. If I was trusted with my grandchildren I would happily take them there.

As usual I am late writing this article (sorry, Ian) but last night I was at a posh do at the Spa. It was a celebration. Twenty-five years of operation of Redcar and Cleveland Mind. This organisation has been working quietly away assisting local people and their families.

Mental Health is a secret illness that hides away. The Dinner was arranged both as a party but mainly as a fund raising event. The meal was superb. I had forgotten what I had ordered but the staff at the Spa knew the number of meals at each table so it worked out well and I ended up with what I had ordered. On arriving we had to buy a balloon and we started off the evening popping the balloon to discover what we had won. Fortunately, I won a £5 drinks voucher. Then there was a blind auction for various treats and then an open auction for similar high value treats. The bidders were in a very sociable mood, bidding against each other. All in all £5,000 was raised, a wonderful amount. The group was very good, if somewhat loud for my taste but they certainly gave value for money although I could recognise only one song, but that was probably an age thing.

The only poor thing about the night was the walk up the bank back to my home in Saltburn.

Mind have a charity shop and cafe near to the Clock in Redcar so please come in and see what it can offer, and use it. It does give very good value, in addition to the help and assistance Mind can offer. All the money earned is spent in the Borough, unlike some charity shops in the area that send the monies raised within the local area to their national headquarters. That’s not fair is it? Using a local resource in a different area.

Earlier, I mentioned in my first, rather long paragraph, about the new group that has been formed to help support, improve and develop the three valleys of Saltburn and to this end I am going to suggest the Parish Council holds a Public meeting so that the general public have a opportunity to join and take part in the next great adventure in Saltburn’s development.

Jim Wingham 53

The Saltburn Crossword no 189 set by Saxton Across 9 Ornamental plume at the top of acre street (5) 10 Ailments shown 6 directions after I will contracted (9) 11 Soft duck feathers for the quilt (9) 12 Else alternative (5) 13 and 15 Across Saltburn street shows Saltburn hotel on the balcony (7, 7) 15 See 13 Across 17 Fight puts uncooked in British Leyland (5) 18 Deliver or clear found back in redirection (3) 20 Methods circulating names (5) 22 Musically fast car? (7) 25 Hobby revealed by Grandpa’s timetable (7) 26 Faith in property company? (5) 27 Stranger from abroad sorts ring foe before the Queen (9) 30 Sort out race clean removal (9) 31 More in sex training (5)

Down Name___________________________________ Address_________________________________ ________________________________________ Telephone_______________________________

1 Spots about cane (4) 2 Violent feud backing VAT Ted never pays (8) 3 Move by repeated circular movements to cause disturbance (4) 4 Di’s command produces chaos (8) 5 Scheme for extraterrestrial with heavenly body (6) 6 Airports confusing mere road so (10) 7 Breathing disease has mat sorted (6) 8 Russian emperor now some sort of political expert (4) 13 Striped mammal located with craze brands (5) 14 Dangerous reptiles appear when I roll a stag about (10) 16 That which will follow when suet conceals (5) 19 Forced abroad from harbour within deed (8) 21 Make into feeling like a 27 across when extraterrestrial consumed! (8) 23 and 29 Down Saltburn street all rude or a rebuild (6, 4) 24 Upset not on at the close (6) 26 Eat like Robin Hood’s friar? (4) 28 Mountain goat hiding behind fib before former lover (4) 29 See 23 Down

Solution to Crossword no 188

The winner of last month’s crossword was Kathleen Ward of Lumpsey Close, Brotton.

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Send your completed crossword to: Saltburn Crossword no 189, c/o Jackie’s Saverstore, 8 Station Buildings, Saltburn, TS12 1AQ

by Friday, 17th March 2017. First correct solution out of the bag wins a £10 voucher kindly donated by Tim and Sheila of Real Meals.

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