Talk of the Town May 2017

EDITION 191

CIRCULATION 4,600

MAY 2017

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

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SALTBURN’S TOWN TALK Letter from the Editor I was working on the finishing touches to this magazine, a voting for a particular party, but I doubt it. I just don’t believe process which was starting to drag on and on, when our Prime a word they say. It is obvious that this election is not intended Minister suddenly surprised everyone by announcing that we to serve the best interests of the country or the people, but that will have a general election in June. I was briefly excited by it it is simply opportunistic calculation. They can say what they but within twelve hours I had become totally disillusioned like but I’m sure they are not fooling anybody. It’s shocking when I realised that not one of the political parties was going that politicians, especially when in government, are fully to have the courage to campaign for what I wanted. At the aware that the public don’t trust them and don’t believe them time of writing it’s still early days and manifestos have not but they carry on regardless, leading us all to ruin. Love, Ian yet been published so I might yet become enthusiastic about Send letters, adverts and contributions for the next issue (by Redcar Lecture Society special event: On Tuesday, 9th Friday, 19th May 2017) to: The Editor, Talk of the Town May from 2.00pm onwards at the Sir William Turner’s c/o Jackie’s Saverstore, 8 Station Buildings, Saltburn, Almshouses in Kirkleatham Village, the Group will be Cleveland, TS12 1AQ. Telephone: 01287 623903 (or holding a Special Picnic to celebrate 60 years. At 2.30pm email: talkofthetownsaltburn@gmail.com). Talk of the Stuart Ramsdale will be talking about the Almshouses and Town has a website: www.tottsaltburn.co.uk and the during the afternoon the Chapel will also be open to visit.

Friends of Talk of the Town can be found on Facebook.

Please remember to bring your own picnic but drinks Craft Club Busy Fingers: 2nd and 4th Thursday of each (tea, coffee etc) will be provided. If wet, refreshments may month, 1.30 till 3.30pm in the Coffee Room, Saltburn be consumed in the Almshouses’ Common Room.

Community Centre.

The Event is free of charge and is open to members Beach shelter to let: Redcar and Cleveland Council report that past and present and interested visitors. Please note that a lot of interest was being shown in letting the former shelter on there is Free Car Parking for the event next to the Marine Parade, opposite the grassy area at the end of Emerald Almshouses. (No parking is permitted on the forecourt.)

Street. It is expected planning permission will be sought to use Here’s hoping the sun will shine upon us on the day the building for commercial use. The deadline for expressions of our Special Event. After this we will be taking a break of interest was the end of April. until September.

Tony Crow The Guisborough and District Branch of the Embroiderers’ Saltburn Farmers’ Market returns on Saturday, 13th May Guild are holding their monthly meeting on Saturday, 6th May with a market packed full of interesting, food, drink and home when our guest speaker will be Gaynor Devaney and her ware that you just can’t find anywhere else. All packed into subject is Sunbeam and Suitcases.

Saltburn Town Centre the market trades from 9 till 2 leaving Visitors are welcome whether non-stitchers, beginners or you the afternoon to browse around the town and enjoy a more experienced stitchers. For more information please coffee! See you there! contact 01642 314860. The car park behind Belmont House Open Studios at Saltburn Studios’ Gallery: Saturday, 6th (council offices) is free on Saturday. Contact telephone number May 12 - 4 pm. Come and see artists at work and view our 01642 314860. new exhibition, ‘Canvas Carousel’, which will showcase the WI Report: A change is as good as a rest. Tonight was the Canvas Carousel project with a slide show of the 6 month evening when we introduced our new start time of 7pm and the long collaborative project and a display of the final artworks. new format to our meetings which allows us additional time to chat and socialise before our speaker is introduced. Everyone Nibbles and drinks.

Emmanuel Church Hall Table Top and Collectors’ Sale: seems to be enjoying this change.

Tonight we learnt about Nordic Walking from Pat The next sales are on Saturdays, 6th and 20th May and then June 3rd and 17th. We have a lot of new stall holders and Smilie. It was interesting to hear about the difference between anyone who would like to join us or just to have a clear out trekking and Nordic walking and how the latter can help to can contact Denise on the number below. What a good start to improve posture with subsequent benefits to necks, backs and the new year we had when a lot of people rang for a table so shoulders. An interesting and informative talk.

This month our many activities have varied from they could have a clear out! We are also doing our usual lunches and all day breakfast, fresh home baked cake, pies decorating eggs with colours and patterns from silk ties to our and scones. Home made refreshments and light lunches are on master class cookery when we made a baked Denver sandwich sale all day. FREE ENTRANCE and a warm welcome to and an almond spice cake. Both delicious. everyone. With over 26 stall holders, selling lots of bric-aOur next meeting is at 7pm on May 11th in the upstairs brac, books, toys, baby goods, and all sorts of collectables, room of the Methodist church hall in Milton Street. Do come there is something for everyone. We have now got a lot of along if you would like to join us. A good way to meet new new stall holders selling lots of different and interesting people and join in a variety of activities. You can be sure of a things. If anyone would like to book a table please contact warm and friendly welcome.

Denise Marshall on 07929 589538.

Diane Falla Cover Illustration: Saltburn Beach Huts 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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The Changing Face of Saltburn-by-the-Sea

Above: Huntcliff School and Saltburn-by-the-Sea photographed from a basket suspended from a telescopic crane during Saltburn Gala Upper Left: Montrose Street and Oxford Street party sports on Glenhow School sports field (1977) Middle Left: Living accommodation at rear of Cat Nab Bottom Left: Coal depot opposite Zetland Terrace before the town became a smokeless zone

Above: Lock up shops Dundas Street West

Saltburn Photographic Society In May we are holding an evening meeting at 7.00pm at South Gare. Tuition for photographers will be available.

For further details please contact Tony Lynn on 01287 622519.

Cath and Tony Lynn 4

Same chef and owner for over 6 years

SALTBURN METHODIST CHURCH Milton Street, Saltburn.

Sunday Services at 10.45 a.m.

Looking for that special gift and card?

Choose from our vast range of products incl: Woodwick scented candles, Jellycat soft toys, Thomas Kent clocks, Arran Aromatics toiletries, Emma Bridgewater & Cath Kidston pottery & much more.

Now also available online.

Visit us at www.bramblesgiftshop.co.uk 4, Station Street, Saltburn by the Sea, TS12 1AE Tel: 01287 623 368 www.bramblesgiftshop.co.uk

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 623145.

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Once Upon a Time in the Wapentake “They called it the Summer of Love/ Burning babies, burning flags/ The Hawk against the Dove.”

I begin with these lines from Richard Thompson’s ‘Beeswing’, the best love song ever written, because we are in the middle of yet another anniversary. Fifty years ago was 1967, the so-called Summer of Love. For me, it’s personal. I was there, not in San Francisco with flowers in my hair, or Amsterdam, or even, except very briefly, in London, but, for most of that year, I was on the campus of an odd little University in North Staffordshire that was ‘doing its own thing’, as we, apparently, used to say. It’s not really true that, if you can remember 1967, you can’t have been there. I was, and I do.

Is this just being written for those of my generation who also remember? I hope not. I’d like to think it might be of some historical interest to younger generations, though I’m not entirely happy with being history. And I’d like to clear up a common misconception. It was easy at the time, and even easier since, to parody the whole thing as just a bunch of not very bright middle class kids with long hair and Afghan coats wandering around like ferrets in a trance, holding flowers and mumbling “Peace, Love, Man.” It was all a lot more intelligent, more purposeful, and very much more complex than that. We really did want to change the world.

Quite what we wanted it to change into was less certain. Was it to be fairer, more colourful, more loving?

Probably. Was it to be more peaceful? Certainly, yet in less than a year many of those who had held out flowers were throwing rocks at those who stood in the way of change, or at least at those who were paid to protect the way things were. In some places, a genuine revolution seemed to be about to happen, but neither rocks nor roses were of any use against tear gas and tanks.

Or was it, as it sometimes seemed to be, about freedom? But freedom to do what?

It is in the nature of freedom that different people will want to be free to do different things. But I think there was a common thread: what really mattered was not freedom to do things, but freedom not to do things. More precisely, the freedom not to live like our parent’s generation, not to have your life mapped out for you. If you were male and passed the eleven-plus, you work in a bank, or teach in a school. If you didn’t pass, you would become a miner, or a foundry man, a plumber or fisherman, depending on where you lived. Both groups would expect to do the same job until they retired. If you were female then the future was even more restricted: a few years working as a typist or hairdresser, then house wife and mother for the rest of your life. I exaggerate, of course, but that was the way it seemed, utterly predictable and very, very safe. It never occurred to those young people wanting adventure that their parents had enough of adventures between 1939 and 1945, and now wanted a quiet life. Nor did we realise that we could take risks and drop out of that safe world of full employment precisely because there was that safe world to drop back into.

At the time such considerations didn’t seem to 6

matter; what was important was the possibility of an alternative, any alternative, the thrill of the new, and a sense that it was possible to be different without being on one’s own.

I didn’t want to spend my life in an office. I did not know why, just because I was male, the only colours I could wear were different shades of grey. I wanted to listen to music more exciting than that played on the BBC Home Service, and I wanted to dance to it, in my own particular way. I wanted to read about things that weren’t dealt with by the books in my local library or by any newspaper that I knew of. And I did not want, to make use of Oscar Wilde’s phrase, a map of the world that had no place for Utopia. It was a pleasant surprise to discover there were others like me, seemingly millions of others across the world. At the very least we were a market, for brightly coloured flared trousers, for new kinds of music, for magazines that reported on things that we weren’t supposed to know about, and books that dealt with anything from Grail Legends to Bio-dynamic farming.

(On my rare visits to the capital in those days, I headed, not for the underground clubs playing my kind of music, but for Compendium Books in Camden Town.)

We did not bring about a reign of universal love and peace, and if we had come as close to achieving it as we sometimes thought we were, we would soon have discovered that those who have a vested interest in keeping us divided, suspicious and afraid of each other have the power to squash such happy dreams. But there is a legacy, in the range of reading material, music and clothes available. I sometimes think that this is not necessarily a good thing, and wish that 2017 would come up with something really new instead of, seemingly, recycling 1967, even though I would probably hate it. It’s also been suggested that the megalomaniac billionaires of Silicon Valley and Seattle, as people who did their own thing and don’t wear ties are also part of the legacy.

Possibly.

Perhaps the most important legacy is the movements that sprang up, or, more accurately, were renewed: Feminism, Gay Rights, Anti-Racism. I suspect part of the reason that this happened was that women, gays and blacks who were attracted to the idea of an alternative found it was too often run by straight white males who laid down the rules about what could be worn and said. They had to make their own alternative. Other factors were at work, of course. It was in 1967 that it became legal to be gay. Similarly the Green movement was stimulated by the desire for the local, the revolt against the mass-produced, but that 1967 saw the wreck of the Torrey Canyon, the greatest environmental disaster in British history, which probably also increased awareness of what was at stake.

I usually try and anchor my articles in the local, so I will conclude by asking you, next time you walk around town, look about and wonder would Saltburn be the way it is if 1967 had never happened?

Tim Beswick

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Councillors’ Column May 7th will herald commencement of the 2017 Saltburn Band Concerts. Running through to October these events will evoke treasured memories and bring much musical enjoyment. Work has started on recovering the vistas that stretched from the redundant bridge end where the current bandstand was created in 1997. Much woodland management remains but it is on the list.

The Cliff Lift experienced an electrifying start to its operating season when the main pump caught fire. With credit to the team on duty and the ever resourceful local Brigade the day was saved. A subsequent period of improvisation allowed the water powered system to continue until repairs were effected. A good example of team working and resourcefulness and an interesting introduction to Marine Parade of a speed retarder.

Tie bars contributing to the pier infrastructure integrity, having suffered deterioration in recent times, are to be replaced during a five week repair and refurbishment programme, phased during the summer when tide and weather permit.

The foreshore will witness further activity on the 19th May. Age UK is encouraging all ages to participate in a world record waltz attempt. The steps are straightforward. Anyone not already signed up can do so right up until the day.

Although not designed as a dating agency, dance partners can be found where required. If all play a part this could be another first for the community.

The extension to the town taking place on Marske Road will bring with it additional traffic. Residents attending the April SNAP meeting raised matters of road safety. A detailed

map is now available in the Library illustrating the new highway layout. Any points of view are welcomed. One positive agreement has been reached with the revised repositioning of the 30 mph signs. After reasonable request the original siting is to be moved at a greater distance West of the horse crossing point.

Residents were also assured that the long awaited internal camera observation of the Princes Road culvert and an attempt at mapping the full water course leading from Guisborough Road to the Hazelgrove outfall will take place this summer, without fail.

After further requests, greater protection will now be given to Forest Halt and Cat Nab car park by the use of Larsen Piling instead of traditional gabions, subject to approval from the Environment Agency.

Extra powers are being sought to clamp down on littering. Practically the entire Borough’s highway road sides are subject to irresponsible littering and substantial fly tipping. The Environment Secretary advises, if we needed reminding: “Litter is something that affects us all – blighting our countryside, harming our wildlife, polluting our seas, spoiling our towns, and giving visitors a poor impression of our country.” Review of local waste collection and recycling is yet again underway to sustain the objective of continual improvement in our waste management.

Restrictions of dogs entering onto the beach begin this month continuing until September. The traditional section is being extended to include the sands along to Skelton Beck.

Philip Thomson 7

Saltburn Beachwatch

Saltburn Charity Crafters

Citizen Science

We will be meeting on Wednesday 3rd May from 2pm to 4pm in the coffee room at Saltburn Community Hall. Do come and join us for a cuppa and a chat if you would like to find out more. (Maybe we can tempt you with a biscuit to go with your cuppa). Or for further information contact Angie on 01287 205153.

At last year’s International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) on 17th September nearly 800,000 volunteers (including 77 in Saltburn) from 153 countries removed 90,000 tons of litter from beaches. Citizen science is at the core of the ICC. Over the past three decades more than 11.5 million citizen scientist volunteers across these countries have documented and removed more than 200 million items of debris from beaches, waterways and oceans. As a result this amassed data set is unparalleled in scope and scale. The goal is to establish a debris baseline for the countries involved.

Currently underway this analysis looks at trends in marine debris that will help decision makers develop more effective policies to confront the diverse challenges of marine litter.

Additionally, the analysis strives to draw out inferences about causative factors such as land use, population density and geographic elements. Research like this highlights the value and power of citizen science and further exemplifies the tremendous effects of this international data.

Apart from picking up litter on our beach at our 4 times per year seasonal litterpicks the Saltburn Beachwatch programme has another vital strand. The collection of data by our volunteers shapes the work done by the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) pollution team. It is a slow job, because changing habits and perceptions can’t be achieved overnight but now, 21 years since our first event, there are really positive signs that beach litter is being taken seriously by the people who can make a difference: politicians, manufacturers, retailers, the media and most of all the public.

The number of projects globally that engage the public in scientific work has dramatically increased in recent years. Although not as prevalent as in other ecosystems citizen science in marine and coastal systems worldwide provide opportunities for individuals to engage in marine conservation activities. Researchers have identified challenges for marine and coastal citizen science.

They found that marine and coastal citizen science is underrepresented mainly because of the challenges of the marine environment not found in terrestrial systems. These include requiring boats, diving gear or transportation to the coast. Safety and liability issues of marine based data collection can be prohibitive and costly especially when involving children.

Researchers from the University of Exeter and Plymouth Marine Laboratory have studied the findings from beach litter surveys carried out over a ten year period by volunteers for the MCS Beachwatch programme. Data for the 2.4 million items of litter collected over 73,000 volunteer hours during the period 2005-14 were studied.

The researchers concluded that organised citizen science programs such as Beachwatch which define sampling methodology and record effort, provide a valid and effective means of monitoring marine litter. They also provide a highly cost-effective method of data collection on a large scale and engage citizens in an issue which affects us all.

Since 2013 our data from Saltburn have been used by Defra in the consultations for a Marine Strategy Directive Framework and what we have seen is that when we have volunteers + data we get campaigns.

Roy Smith 8

Road misery end in sight An end is in sight to the traffic hold-ups in Marske Road, Saltburn, which have caused problems in recent months.

Northern Powergrid said the new electricity pipe work would take six weeks from 22nd March so the contract is due to end in early May. The work, which has been mainly through the town along Marske Road, has caused bus delays in addition to motorists being held up.

Also Councillor Stuart Smith said in his April newsletter that Northern Powergrid had told him overhead electricity cables were being put underground through Hazelgrove allotments to Marske after woodpeckers had eaten through wooden poles.

A £600,000 scheme was being put into Saltburn to improve electricity infrastructure in the town.

In addition, he said, Taylor Wimpey Construction had agreed to delay work involving Marske Road at their new 116 -unit housing estate between Wilton Bank and the riding school because of the electric power contract.

The emergency phone number is 0800 0141 967.

East Cleveland Arthritis Care Group Do you have arthritis or another condition which affects your ability to socialise?

T.O.T.R.A.S. was a self help group which used to meet at Redcar Community Hospital, but are no longer able to do so.

We are now reforming as East Cleveland Arthritis Care Group, and we cordially invite new members to join us for the opportunity to socialise, enjoy the chance to explore mindfulness, quizzes, crafts and activity ideas from members.

Meetings will take place at Lingdale Village Hall on the 3rd Tuesday of the month between 12noon and 2pm. There will be tea, coffee and biscuits.

Meetings 16th May, 20th June, 19th July, 15th August, 19th September and 20th October.

Contact Anne Lake on 01287 650671 for further information.

Watercolour Class Monday 1.00-3.00pm Upstairs Room, Milton Methodist Church, Saltburn.

We have had another fun term, with workshops on painting clouds and painting without drawing.

Next term we are going to be looking at painting in detail.

We have 2 vacancies in the Monday Class, but the Thursday Class is full. Complete beginners are also very welcome.

We start again on Monday, 24th and it will cost £80. If you are interested in joining us please give me a ring on the number below.

Kathryn Harrison 01947 897803

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Saltburn 500 Club At the time of writing this article, we have not been able to make the April monthly draw because of a technical hitch.

The draw will be made as soon as possible.

I am in the process of preparing for my first fundraising event of the year for Saltburn Christmas lights.

Volunteer bakers and kitchen workers have been contacted and tickets have been stuck on to Tombola prizes. The only thing left to do is to bake corned beef pies, quiches and other delights – I help Jean, my wife, with this task by keeping away from the kitchen!

The 500 Club Annual General Meeting will take place, at Saltburn Library, on Wednesday, 7th June at 6pm. All members are invited to attend along with anybody who may be interested in joining the club. I will post a notice in the library and, also, in the town notice board (attached to the portico). Those of a more technical nature will be able to look on The Friends of Saltburn Facebook page, which I have been running for some months (even with my limited technical ability).

We set up the Facebook page to keep people informed about planned events in Saltburn such as the band concerts and Christmas lighting-up parade. Businesses in the town are also allowed to publicise on the page in an attempt to reach out to the public and persuade them to do their shopping in Saltburn.

Marske Brass Band open the 2017 Summer Band performances on Sunday, 7th May. If you would like to volunteer to prepare the bandstand before the performances, or tidy away after the performances, please contact me at the email address below or leave a letter for my attention at the library. You can also contact Councillor Philip Thomson who organises volunteers for each performance. The other May performances are: 14th May Cleveland Concert Band, 21st May Hurworth Concert Band, and 28th May Darlington Community Wind Band. Please go along to support the bands and keep YOUR bandstand going as it is one of the few active bandstands remaining in the area. Don’t forget to apply your sun lotion prior to attending the performances as we all know how strong the sun can be in Saltburn. However, just in case of inclement weather, the performances will be held at Emmanuel Church.

I wish you all a hot, happy Summer.

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

Saltburn Station Gallery The spring themed art competition will be underway as of 1st May, and we will be also be accepting submissions for the Coastal competition starting in June.

A reminder also that Gail Wright’s eclectic range of jewellery is on display with a lovely mixture of fused dichroic glass pendants and cabochons. Artist Chris Higgins will be returning with his popular alcohol ink on tiles artworks.

Saltburn Station Gallery can also announce that a new and updated website is available. Check it out to view our artists’ work and for updates. https://www.saltburnstationgallery.co.uk 9

Friday Friends in May We are an inclusive friendship group, based in Saltburn, for people of all abilities and ages over the age of 18 years. We have activities in the morning and arts and craft afternoons. We are a friendly group and welcome new members.

Our May programme: 5th Seated Keep-Fit to music with trainer Taylor followed by Bingo. Afternoon making a cat pin cushion/ ornament.

12th 10am-11ish Timothy Edwards with stories and folk songs. Tom’s sign language after coffee time. Making paper flowers in the afternoon.

19th Sing-a-long with Ian on guitar - a musical morning.

Painting summer flowers in the afternoon.

26th Indoor Bowling at Saltburn Bowls Club - outdoor boules with weather permitting. Ending the month making a card with a bird design and plant pot decorations.

We meet at Emmanuel Church Hall, Macnay Street, Saltburn every Friday, activities are 10am - 12.30 then arts and crafts 1 - 4pm. Your first session is free as a taster, then there is a small charge of £2.50 per session or £4 all day. This goes towards the hall rent etc., as we are run by volunteers. Carers are more than welcome and are always free.

For more information - 07833 895 501 (or Thefridayfriends@outlook.com).

Anjee Charman-Clark, chair

or email: simon.robson1@ntlworld.com

The Jazz Lads at Saltburn Golf Club Sunday 7th May With Ray Dales (Sax) Jeremy McMurray (Keys) Paul Smith (Drums) Ian Bosworth (Guitar) Adrian Beadnell (Bass)

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. Tickets £5 at the door Music starts at 8.00pm

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We meet each Sunday at 10.30am and 6.00pm.

Saltburn in Bloom What a lovely spell of weather we have had lately, but sadly for the gardens very little rain. The problem our group has, in a dry spring with strongish winds, is that the planters are always in need of water. We employ a waterer in the summer, but our finances don’t stretch to paying for watering at other times. So members of the group try to water some of the plants, which is a very demanding task as the source of water is a problem.

On the subject of watering, tenders are now invited for our summer watering contract, which involves watering the hanging baskets, planters and floral displays around the town and along Marske Road throughout the summer season.

Watering is to begin on 21st June 2017 for ten weeks initially and with a possibility of an additional two weeks at the end of the season. Job share applicants would be welcomed.

Please refer to the advert on page 26 in Talk of the Town.

Some of our gardeners grow plants at home for planting in the tubs and gardens, with the emphasis being on pollinator friendly perennials. Saltburn in Bloom are holding a Table Top at the Community Centre on Saturday, 20th May and we again are having a stall where we sell plants. Roy sells good plants at reasonable prices and offering free advice! We will also be serving homemade refreshments at very reasonable prices all day. Write the date in your diary and come along to see us.

If anyone has any spare plants during the year or if you are splitting perennials we would be happy to receive them (contact us on saltburn.in.bloom@gmail.com).

The Fossil Garden restructuring on Marine Parade is progressing well. Why not walk along Marine Parade and have a look? When the structural work is completed the ground will be left unplanted for 6 weeks to see if any perennial weeds grow, with spraying taking place if necessary. A planting plan is in place and Roy has been extremely busy with the delivery of plants to grow on. We are so grateful for his hard work and enthusiasm.

Lynda Parkes (Chair)

Red Nose success Customers of Sainsbury’s, Saltburn, raised a record £1,100 towards helping poor people through Red Nose Day on Friday, 24th March.

Customer service advisor Lyn Rees said that for the first time the Saltburn store was among the top three among 18 stores in the Tees area for its total contributed.

Among the main money-raising activities were Stevie D singing inside the shop, raising £300, staff baking cakes to sell, a staff buffet lunch, Comic Relief and Red Nose merchandise and buckets on tills. Stevie D said that among the money raised by him was £20 given by a lady, who said she had ‘danced in the aisles’ out of enjoyment.

“We thank customers for their support. Nationally over £11m was raised on the day through Sainsbury’s stores,” said Lyn. Comic Relief says money raised on the day goes to “help change the lives of poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged people living in the UK and across Africa.” The total raised on the day, which saw many local people contributing in different ways, by early April was £73 million.

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11

What are they doing to our libraries?

With so many rumors going around but few hard facts you start to expect the worst news.

One of my fondest childhood memories is of our local library in Norwich where I was born. I remember my mum taking me, sometimes sitting reading in the library, sometimes taking books home.

I could read by the time I was three and could write shortly after. Then the day came: finally I had my own library card, a truly momentous occasion, if only to me. I think I was maybe six, and if I remember I was allowed three books at a time, and as long as I was allowed I would walk to our little library.

It was a wooden hut, like a Hansel and Gretel cottage. I read a lot of fairy stories, Hans Christian Anderson being a big favorite, Famous Five, All the Disney stories. Later Black Beauty, Little Women, the Railway Children, the list was endless.

I could lose myself in a book. I was definitely a bookworm. I would dream of being a librarian surrounded by books, reading of far flung places. Imagining magic carpet rides, Hannibal’s treks, shipwrecked on a desert island or captured by pirates.

Later I read for GSCEs, The Catcher in the Rye, To kill a Mockingbird, Animal farm, The Pearl, Kes. Now the fairy stories become more real and no longer had happy endings, but were gripping tales, books I couldn’t put down.

Tales of real people, in real situations, even though fiction they covered events which happen, politics, pain, suffering both emotional and physical cruelty, love, laughter, smiles, fears and tears.

The authors’ names of so many books stay with me, even now forty years later: Anna Sewell, Louisa May Alcott, J. D. Salinger, Harper Lee, John Steinbeck, George Orwell, Ken Loach.

They helped me see life, from a young child with fairy stories that had messages, be nice, treat people with respect, good manners, do unto others as you would have done unto yourself. The books I read as a teen taught me that life isn’t a fairy story, that the world is a scary place whether fact or fiction but you can survive it.

I’ve read so many different books, Fact, Romance, Fantasy, Fiction, Crime, Forensics, Horror and the list goes on……..

How did this awesome gift grow from the love of a mother reading to and teaching her child to read to nearly half a century of life transforming magic, worlds unknown I could never travel to, beyond my dreams and imagination….

The libraries, the font of all knowledge: have we totally forgotten how important they are to our communities?

Have we got caught up in the age of technology, computers? wifi, data, facebook, wikipedia and on and on. I don’t write their names in capitals, why? Pull the plug, cut the electricity and they vanish. Books on the other hand: no, they go on, in libraries, in museums, they survive.

But our libraries aren’t just about books. They are so much more. My local library is Loftus. It was the first place I went when I moved to the area. It’s the first place to search for everything local. The staff are always friendly, helpful and efficient. What’s on? Where? When? Who can I contact for advise, jobs, benefits, schools? Books, computers, reference. In Loftus as in others we have library clubs with guest speakers, CAB – Citizens Advice Bureau, Ward Councillor surgeries, Family history groups.

Loftus library has just had two new local authors, Maggie Crinnion and Maggie Krauss, talk about their new books: why they wrote them, the background history and they signed copies of their books.

We have coming to Loftus in May John Fletcher talking about his lifelong passion for the steam locomotive, his career and the places he has travelled and he will also be signing his first book.

These are all things that go on in the libraries, but I know just from our library that it’s a lot more: it’s a community meeting place, somewhere quiet to study or reflect, a place not to be lonely, to get out of the house and see a friendly face, just sit, read the paper or a book.

Close our libraries? Just stop and think! Once they have gone they won’t be coming back. They will be a memory, soon forgotten, the younger generations to come who will never know the pleasure of that first visit to the library, that first library card or the journeys a book held in your hands can take you on, where so many have been before.

Please help save our local libraries. If you need any information on anything I have mentioned here please feel free to contact me, Mandy Blackett on 07861 450567 (or email mandywhitehorn@yahoo.co.uk).

Saltburn and District Group for Visually Impaired People At the end of March, some of our members joined the Redcar group for a visit to the Mayor’s Parlour in Redcar. After a guided tour they were treated to tea and cakes – a good time was had by all!

At our regular meeting in April we were again joined by Michelle from the Macular Society. She told us of ongoing research into the growing problem of agerelated sight loss. Prevention and treatments are constantly being sought. We chatted about what the Society can offer to individuals, families and carers, which include a Helpline for any related matter, and a telephone 12

befriending service. They can be contacted on 0300 30 30 111. Michelle will shortly be replaced by a new member of staff so we wished her well and gave thanks for the five years she has supported us.

On May 10th we will be treated to a talk on fossils.

This is also a very tactile session so we look forward to meeting Marjorie, our local expert. Please join us from 2pm in the Coffee Lounge, Community Centre, Saltburn.

For any info about our small, friendly group, please contact Chris Ferguson on 01287 204 170.

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 May 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

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

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Call Liz on: 01287 203571 Mobile: 07834 022289

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.

Email: liz.ingledew@btinternet.com Website: www.liziesdecorating.co.uk

Craft Magic

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Saltburn Athletic FC The season is drawing to a close with few games remaining as Saltburn Athletic teams end another year of football in the Teesside Junior Football Alliance League.

This club was formed in 1998 and I am sure many thought we would not last this long. We have and, having applied for lottery funding through Sport England, we now have our own field which has had a new drainage system installed and was newly grassed last year. Our first season playing on this area has been a success and was used for the two under nine teams and the under 12 Seagulls.

Our next project begins shortly when the old changing rooms begin their renovation. By the time you receive the next Talk of the Town work will have begun and should be finished in time for our gala weekend beginning on the 24th June.

We also have another project which we hope to finalise very soon and we will be able to update you all in the June edition of Talk of the Town.

The team of the year are the under 12 Dolphins managed by Kev Robinson who have won their divisional title for the second year running.

Congratulations to them for an excellent season, being unbeaten.

The under 9 Sharks were unlucky to end the season in third place having just missed out on the runners up spot and automatic promotion.

The team run by Andy Croll and James Kesterton had 13 wins, 4 draws and 3 losses which is a complete turnaround from last year.

The other under 9 team of Dolphins in their first year have also done brilliantly under Mark Grayson with a strong finish to end up mid table.

The under tens have also had a good run in at the end and were managed by Dan Bennett and Ron Campbell. This was also a new team who have learnt quickly as to how hard you have to work to get rewards.

The under 12 Seagulls have had a much harder season but a very credible 4th place is on the cards provided they win their last game of the season. Well done to Phil Barnes their coach.

The other under 12 side the Falcons have found it very hard going but credit to them for sticking together with the promise of a much better season coming. Well done to their coach Rick Day assisted by his wife Sue. The under 13s under Bob Mitchell’s tutorship have had a good season also and if they should win their last game they will come 4th.

Lastly we have the under 14s who have struggled all season but credit to the coach Ollie Whitehead who managed to keep them together till the end of the season; but alas this team has now folded leaving the club with seven teams.

Thanks to all players and parents and relatives for their support throughout the season and to the sponsors who have kindly helped this club.

More news next month. Thanks for reading our column and best wishes to you all.

Andy Croll 07779 648877 14

The Kindness of Strangers May I use the columns of Talk of the Town to thank those very kind people who rushed to my aid one Sunday in March this year?

Attempting to mount my mobility scooter outside Sainsbury’s I suddenly found myself lying flat on my back on the ground. Not hurt, I was puzzled how to get back on my feet when a ring of faces appeared looking down at me. A voice asked ’Are you hurt?

Shall we call an ambulance?’ Hands grasped my arms and another pair were under my shoulders and I found myself standing again.

These Samaritans helped me back onto my scooter together with two bags of shopping. I was able to reassure them that I could safely drive home. To them (I have no names) I am most grateful.

I might never have been able to stand without their help. (I am 89.)

Ralph Dalgleish

Action on Saltburn flooding Saltburn’s floods, which hit national headlines in 2013 were of the 100-year variety, said Andrew Mollon, Redcar and Cleveland Council’s engineer in charge of roads, at a meeting of Saltburn Neighbourhood Action Partnership at the library on 12th April.

He said nearly 400 incidents were reported on 6th September 2013, three properties in the town were flooded and a car washed into the sea near the Ship Inn. Mr Mollon said a new system of checking gullies was in place. He also spoke of a privately-owned culvert causing problems for some houses in The Crescent.

Speaking of a storm last September which damaged the footbridge over the river near the Ship Inn, he said this had been repaired in a few weeks. He reported that extra-strong steel piling was to be put in place at Forest Halt, near the Italian Gardens, for the miniature railway.

He said the council had won back the contract from a private contractor to do pothole repair work.

On problems of cars parking partly on pavements, he said London boroughs had banned this but in Saltburn there were difficulties with some roads being narrow. He said two inspections of roads were taking place annually to check on overhanging bushes and 54 letters had been written to offending households - with 100 per cent success.

On the new houses being built at Marske Road, near the riding school (now only a livery stable rather than a school), Mr Mollon said no roundabout was planned.

Councillor Philip Thomson said the 30mph sign would be moved soon from Saltburn to nearer the big Marske roundabout.

He also reported that the football club had shown interest in buying some of the Hob Hill land near their new football pitch from the council. A map showing the area involved was on display in the library. The last date for objection was 5th May. Councillor Thomson said the Klondike cycle race could become an annual event but it would cost the council £100,000 to stage the full Yorkshire cycle race in the borough. Also the organisers would decide the route.

He said there was a suggestion that the neglected cliff lift could be open all the year round. A small fire in the lift just before it opened on 8th April had temporarily delayed this summer’s opening. But it was now back in action.

Police community support officers reported that bicycles could be marked to cut thefts.

News and views from Saltburn Friends of the Valley Spring is here at last and everything looks brighter in the sunshine. The daffodils are doing okay apart from the ones we planted round the edge of the top lawn which people do keep stepping on and allowing their dogs to lie, pee, and generally crush them. Tulips and hyacinths are bursting into bloom and the buddleias, honeysuckle, lilac, roses etc are all coming on. The wild flower meadow patch has been invaded by grass this year. I have sown some yellow rattle that is supposed to deal with the grass but so far there is no evidence of this. I will need a plan to turn it round for 2018.

Volunteers are keeping on top of the garden and we know that the grass cutting and strimming days are coming soon. We bought a very smart and strong strimmer and lawn mower last year to make this work easier for us oldies!

We have agreed our Events Programme for 2017, and we are looking forward to providing some fun and

creativity in the Woodlands Centre and its garden.

Thanks to the Teesmouth Bird Club, we can provide high quality seed and peanuts all year round with a few additions of fat balls, suet and mealworms. Nuthatches, blue, great and black headed and long tailed tits, are a few of the birds that come to the feeders. Robins and blackbirds aplenty prefer to ground feed. All the birds compete with the local grey squirrels that come with innovative ways to steal the fat balls and nuts which include knocking the whole feeder to the ground and then feasting on the contents.

Valley Adventures decided to leave the valley and are no longer based with us. The shed they used is now full of bins of bird seeds and is a useful shelter for volunteers who enjoy feeding the birds.

The Woodland Centre will soon be home to a new project, the Woodland Gallery which will display some of the beautiful pictures from local photographer Marc Cardaropoli.

Ingrid

It’s never too late I’m sitting, I look down and pinch the skin on my thigh with my hand, and wrinkles appear like waves in the sea seen from above.

I’m forty-seven, my face shows lines around my eyes and forehead from smiling and sunshine and from camp fire living, the years when I smoked and drank beer and travelled round the world and was blessed with music spontaneously strummed around me, humming and growing like sound heating and overflowing.

It is funny to see age, to see oneself aging, but inside me I don’t age. I don’t feel weaker or slower or sunweathered. Yet this body that carries me does.

I was young so little time ago, or so it seems. I was the youngest person in the group so many times in so many places travelling around the world. Now the years have passed like I have barely noticed them. Now most women in their thirties think I’m not exactly attractive: I’m old. Yet I know the important thing is that I can feel the attractiveness in me alone.

I find it intriguing rather than depressing that my youthful body is slowly leaving, I suppose, because I know that I’m in control of what thoughts I’m thinking. These days my thoughts are chosen depending on what feels good and those that don’t are acknowledged then largely ignored.

I know a large part of caring about my body aging is vanity, or what I would call the attachment to how things were, and wanting them to stay the same, when I know full well the one certainty in life is change. I can fight it if I want to and try to swim against the current, or I can let go and flow and accept with appreciation the person I wake up and find in the mirror every morning.

Yet I am aware that my body is slowly losing its agility, the quality of my vision, the capacity of my lungs to keep running, the things my body would happily do before without much struggling.

So getting older is helpful. It reminds me to appreciate what I have before it goes, to appreciate my life

before dying. It reminds me to stay focused on the quality of food I consume that becomes the cells of me. It reminds me of the importance of my morning stretching and exercising and the value of the quiet mind daily meditating and the joy of my regular exercise, walking, cycling and running.

Nowadays I run with great appreciation that my body is still so strong and so able to keep going. I run with a sense of amazement that everything is working so well and harmoniously flowing.

When I was younger I did not stop and think it would be the last time I would see a view, or watch a child play, or take the time to look into the eyes of my lover. I rarely stopped to think that one day I may not see them ever again. Yet if I stop and take on board that everything will one day be leaving, and that is approaching... well, it reminds me to appreciate everything.

It is like tasting a fruit that you only get on one island and your holiday is ending. When you focus on eating that fruit the enjoyment grows, there’s something heightened in the flavour, there’s more appreciation, there’s a certain richness added and it’s there to be savoured.

Such a short time ago my body was young and fully able, and it felt incredible. Yet I do not lament the past, I have travelled far and my body has been filled with great sensations and I love how it still is, so capable, so able to feel, still so reliable.

Young people often play the game of comparison, wishing they had the body parts of someone else. Yet loving who we are is only ever really a game we play with ourselves, in our own heads, and has nothing to do with age but everything to do with how well we focus on appreciating what we have.

Please feel free to contact me, Kendal Aitken, Health and Happiness Coach / Counsellor, on coach@happygreenblueeyes.co.uk or 07944 883961.

15

SALTBURN CRICKET CLUB

SALTBURN BLUES CLUB

Marske Mill Lane, Tel 01287-622761

Last month, I achieved a long-awaited booking - The Marcus Malone Band. Marcus is a superb vocalist, guitarist and lyricist who has many years of success behind him.

Putting on my John Peel hat, I turned my attention this month to a band that is showing tremendous promise in the early stages of its career. I’ve booked the CHRIS KING ROBINSON BAND for Saturday, 27th May. Chris is just into his twenties but he’s awash with talent.

The band’s first single and debut EP both reached No. 1 in the Itunes and Amazon Blues Charts. The talent spotters were doing their job and last year the band was invited to play at the exclusive Lead Belly Festival in New York’s Carnegie Hall. Like Marcus, Chris can write, sing and play guitar.

I believe this will be another band who has appeared at Saltburn Blues Club and then gone on to cement its success in the music world.

Doors: 7.30pm. Venue: Saltburn Cricket Club.

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.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! Tickets for the Saltburn HOWZAT MUSIC FESTIVAL are now on sale. This one-day blues/soul festival has been organised by Saltburn Blues Club, Rotary and Saltburn Cricket Club. It takes place on Sunday, 3rd September 2017 from 2pm - 11pm in the indoor nets hall at Saltburn Cricket Club. Seven first rate acts have been booked: REECE HILLIS, THE EMMA WILSON BAND, HOT TIN ROOF, GROOVETRAIN, BIG RED AND THE GRINNERS, THE KAZ HAWKINS BAND and THE JAR FAMILY. WHAT’S MORE - it’s a charity event in aid of The Great North Air Ambulance. So, it’s the chance of superb music in the company of family and friends, refreshments including a barbecue tea, coffee and beer and, of course, all the while aiding a most worthy cause that depends on charitable donations to provide the vital work it does.

LATEST NEWS! Belfast blues and soul queen, KAZ HAWKINS, has only gone and won the 2017 European Blues Challenge! We’ll see her live here at our festival. Fantastic!

Earlybird Tickets for HOWZAT cost £20. £25 if bought on the day (all details can be found at: www.howzatmusicfestival.co.uk). See the advert on the opposite page.

Don’t forget my show, STILL GOT THE BLUES, on ZETLAND FM, 105FM and online for listeners outside the area every Monday night, 7-10pm. I keep ringing the changes. The last hour now features more laid back blues for night-time listening. It’s also available on Mixcloud. Click on the link at the end of the Zetland FM webpage.

Harry

SLIMMING WORLD – Tuesday mornings @ 9.30 – 11.00am FRIENDLY BINGO GROUP – Weds 10th & 24th May, starting 8.00pm - all welcome Saltburn Athletic Football Club Presentation 14th May Cancer Research Luncheon 24th May Saltburn Blues Club - tickets £10 27th May – CHRIS KING ROBINSON BAND 10% discount for Club members, 7.30pm onwards 29th May 15/15 Cricket 3rd June Bandnight - two local bands WANTING TO PLAY CRICKET, BOWLS OR TENNIS?

Contact us for details – new members always welcome. Competitive and social play, coaching available too! Pre-season training now starting, join us! *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!

01287 624505 16

Keeping It Clean At Saltburn update April has been a very productive and exciting month for KICASaltburn. We held our inaugural general meeting on 6th April and we were blown away by the amount of people who came to support us. After signing our constitution we are now official. Which means we have now been able to apply for funding to purchase #2minutebeachclean boards. These funding applications have now been submitted and we hope that the boards will be appearing along the lower promenade over the summer months. The next meeting is scheduled for 3rd May 7pm, venue to be arranged. Please keep an eye on our Facebook page for further details.

We are currently looking at the possibility of placing some further 2 minute beach clean boards in the Valley Gardens. We are in the process of identifying suitable locations and guardians who will look after the boards, putting them out in a morning and bringing them back in at night as well as keeping any eye on the litter picking grabbers and bags and contacting a member of KICASaltburn if these need replacing. The boards need to be situated near bins and not obstruct public thoroughfares.

If anyone feels they could volunteer to be a guardian please contact the KICAS team either via social media or by e-mail KICASaltburn@gmail.com.

Over the weekend of 8th and 9th April we supported the Marine Conservation Society and Surfers Against Sewage in their beach cleans. On both days there was a phenomenal turnout. Thank you to everyone who supported these events. There is now less rubbish on the beach to damage our environment and that of the marine wildlife.

One last note, you may have noticed that now that the weather is getting warmer, Saltburn is getting busier.

We love that our town attracts so many visitors, who clearly love the town as much as we do. Unfortunately these extra visitors create extra litter and the bins, particularly along the promenade and through Valley Gardens are filling up very quickly, we would encourage people to collect their rubbish and take it home with them, particularly if the bins are already full, rather than leaving it next to the bins. The litter left on the ground around the bins quickly gets blown into the beck and the sea. We have reported this problem to the council, but in the meantime we would like to thank you for your help with this.

Exciting times ahead. Thanks again for your continued support.

KICASaltburn 17

Loftus Bluebells Walk Come on a guided woodland walk on Saturday, 6th May to spot bluebells in bloom. Starting outside Loftus Town Hall at 10.30am, this walk will take you through local woods. Make sure you’re suitably dressed for a muddy woodland walk.

You’ll need a good level of fitness for this circular walk of about six miles that includes stiles, descents and climbs.

There’ll be a lunchtime stop at Liverton Village Hall where a coffee morning and plant sale will be in progress. There’s free parking at South View off North Road, Loftus TS13 4JL; the town is served by Arriva X4 and 5 buses. This walk is organised by Loftus ACCORD Walking Group. No booking is needed; for more information phone 01287 641000 (or email office@loftustc.co.uk).

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Saltburn House this May! ***Karaoke Back on Friday Nights*** Saturday Night Live Bands this month are:

Sat Sat Sat Sat

6th May Deadbeats, 13th May Shiver, 20th May Soul Rebels, 27th May TBA.

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 COMPLETE PROPERTY MANAGING SERVICES A PERSONAL TOUCH

CHRISTINE HACKNEY PROPERTY MANAGER (OVER 10 YEARS EXPERIENCE) 28 HAMBLETON AVENUE REDCAR, CLEVELAND

07881556145

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 20

chrishackney@ntlworld.com

Let me take the hassle out of renting your property.

Earthbeat Vegfest Saltburn’s first Vegfest is coming to the Earthbeat Centre!

On May 13th from 10am to 4pm the Earthbeat Centre, Shanti Vegetarian Café & Dani Delights will host over 30 stalls offering an alternative cruelty-free lifestyle.

There will be veggie/vegan food stalls with cakes, crepes, curry, pies, desserts and everything in between with hot food stalls outside, including Shanti, serving delicious takeaways.

The Earthbeat Vegfest has one main goal – to showcase what is available locally to veggies/vegans to complement their whole lifestyle. The festival will therefore have stalls ranging from cruelty-free make-up to bodybuilding to clothing and be packed full of information and contacts for anyone considering going veggie/vegan or already on the path.

As if that was not enough, throughout the day, there will be talks and demonstrations and live music. Shanti Café, Saltburn’s only vegetarian café, and Earthbeat’s in-house café, will be open serving a full menu as well as Dani Delights, Earthbeat’s in-house raw food shop.

Tony Galuidi, one of the organisers said, “we hope to make this an annual event and that it will grow year on year into an amazing festival. This first one is about gathering together all those local artisans/businesses who are offering wonderful vegan/veggie products and introducing them to a wider audience.”

The event is free and there is some parking on-site.

Earthbeat Vegfest – 13th May, 10am to 4pm – Earthbeat Centre, Marske Road, Saltburn, TS12 1QA.

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Cleveland Diving Club

“The world’s favourite season is the spring. All things seem possible in May.” An apt quotation from Edwin Way Teale (eloquent Pulitzer Prizewinning writer) for the theme of this month’s article. One of the many attributes members of Cleveland Divers have is their enthusiasm to make it possible for all those taking an interest in scuba diving to achieve their goals. The commitment and determination to overcome personal challenges, during training, together with the encouragement of their instructors, makes it possible for trainees to achieve qualified diver status. To acknowledge this the club’s annual March presentation evening makes it possible for this commitment and the recognition of other members’ valuable contributions to the club to be recognised and celebrated. Unfortunately photographs of this year’s lucky award winners are not available.

Although our members dive throughout the year sometimes weather and sea conditions make it impossible to dive during winter months. Winters like these prompt divers to gratify their yearning for the wonders of the deep blue sea by setting off for more exotic locations such as Thailand and the Canary Islands. The opportunity to swim in the warm Indonesian waters (26°C) make it possible to seek out colourful and unusually marked fish (photo 1) and shy manta rays (photo 2) - if only it had come nearer! A little closer to home the slighter cooler Atlantic waters (17°C) of Lanzarote also made it possible to enjoy new diving experiences.

Amongst the many creatures spotted was a not-so-shy sand shark lying contently on the sea floor making it possible to get a really good close up shot (photo 3).

Enthralling marine life aside, our Lanzarote diver also checked out the new and recently completed underwater museum. The underwater ‘Museo Atlantico’ makes it possible to dive and admire art at the same time. It is one of a number created by the world famous English sculptor Jason deCaries Taylor who achieved international recognition with his first underwater park off the coast of Grenada in the West Indies then another off the coast of Cancun in Mexico. The concept of the underwater sculpture parks is twofold: firstly to merge land based art ideas with marine art and secondly, to draw attention to the impact of global and social behaviours such as climate change, conservation and migration whilst at the same time 22

encouraging an awareness of the breath-taking wonder of the underwater environment. The sculptures depict everyday images such as people taking selfies, using mobile phones/cameras (photo 4) or doing business, that highlight the indifference of some people to issues such as climate change. Of the 10 sculptures, each comprised of a number of features, the largest is the ‘Crossing the Rubicon’ which shows a group of 40 people walking blindly towards a gateway within a 30m length of wall (too long to photograph), and another is a play park showing business men amusing themselves (Photo 5). It is well worth a visit.

However, back home diving UK waters begins in earnest at the end of April. The annual (now traditional) long weekend trip to Appin, near Oban makes it possible to dive in the clear, albeit chilly, waters of Loch Creran.

Hopefully there will be some great photos for the next article. Cleveland Divers are always willing to share experiences and use their skills to make it possible for anyone interested in learning to scuba dive achieve their aims. By enrolling in a six week introductory course, £25, inclusive of instruction and equipment you can try scuba diving for yourself. Why not contact us by popping along any Monday night at 8pm at Saltburn Leisure Centre or phone 079 60 60 8529, or via our Facebook page ‘The Diving Club-Cleveland.’

Remember most things are possible!

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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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

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G . Bishop - Decorator *Interiors and Exteriors

*Free Estimates

*All Aspects of Decorating Undertaken *Realistic Prices

Time Served Telephone 01287 624016

*Reliable Service Assured

40 Years Experience Mobile 07757 912575

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

SALTBURN IN BLOOM c/o Saltburn Library, Windsor Road

Saltburn-by-the-Sea, TS12 1JW Charity number 1161127 Email: saltburn.in.bloom@gmail.com

INVITATION TO TENDER FOR SALTBURN IN BLOOM WATERING CONTRACT 2017 Tenders are now invited for the watering contract, which involves watering the hanging baskets, planters and floral displays around the town and along Marske Road throughout the summer season. Watering is to begin on 21st June, 2017 for ten weeks initially and with a possibility of an additional two weeks at the end of the season.

Saltburn in Bloom has a heavyweight water bowser with a mechanical pump. The successful candidate will need a tow bar and a vehicle sufficient to carry this weight. It is expected that watering will be required each day, preferably during the morning and/or evening to take account of traffic and people during the main daytime hours.

Job share applicants would be welcomed.

Anyone requiring additional information should contact saltburn.in.bloom@gmail.com or the Secretary at spf.bs@ntlworld.com Or 07885 663101

Tenders should be sent to the above address or placed in the black Saltburn in Bloom post box at the address above by Monday, 22nd May, 2017.

Northumbria in Bloom Best Coastal Resort 2016

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Posture

Posture and pain have been linked for a long time. Many people take it as a matter of fact that so called “bad postures” such as sitting slouched or standing and walking with a stooped posture are in some way bad for our joints and muscles. These assumptions have permeated western society over the past few hundred years and have been the subject of numerous medical approaches to the treatment and prevention of a wide variety of conditions. Many medical approaches to injury prevention are based on the idea that there are “good” postures and that by adopting these, the risk of damaging body parts will be reduced.

The medical interest with posture gained momentum during the 18th & 19th centuries and it is probably no coincidence that at the same time there was a revolution in our understanding of mechanics and mechanisation. The human body was subjected to the same scrutiny as mechanical devices and certain parallels were made. The most obvious being that deviations of body parts away from an ideal alignment were viewed as a cause for concern, just as they would be in a machine, with mechanical damage being the obvious outcome.

However, the analogy between the human body and a machine is misleading. Stress applied to the human body doesn’t inevitably result in bits wearing out as it would in a mechanical device. In fact the opposite is usually the case, with body parts becoming physically stronger and more robust in response to the stresses that they are exposed to.

When we deal with joint and muscle problems we

routinely assess the common postures and positions that people use in their daily lives and during any sports or activities that they regularly perform. However, we don’t have a list of “good” and “bad” postures, but instead take the view that posture should not simply be prescribed. Instead we encourage variation in movement and suggest that comfortable and natural body positions are the most appropriate.

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

Saltburn, Redcar & Cleveland Philatelic Society May Meetings: Our next Wednesday meetings held at the Community Centre, Durham Road, Redcar, commencing 7:15pm are: 3rd May Stephen Holder FRPSL – Syria; 15th May – Dr Max Melrose – Parcel Post. Your only opportunity to see several 1929 PUC £1s together on more than one item of mail! Remarkable, rare, and spectacular! The outcome of our shortlisted competitive entries in NEPA’s busy Annual Convention (pictured here) held at the end of April will be listed month.

Geoff Reynolds (Secretary, 01642 478229) David D. Turner (01287 624736) 27

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Lest We Forget Throughout military history (in particular WW II), there are many well documented facts and articles of heroic deeds and acts of bravery carried out during battles and various conflicts around the world. Not wishing to detract from the bravery of those who fought and died on foreign soil, but it is easy to overlook those who served King and Country here in the UK and paid the ultimate sacrifice with their own lives.

One of my interests (hopefully not too morbid), is researching military personnel who are recorded in the pages of the Commonwealth War Grave Commissions website (http://www.cwgc.org/). With this in mind and for some time now I have been curious to learn more about two soldiers in particular who served with The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) and are buried side by side in Saltburn Cemetery.

(There is actually three individuals identified during the research for this story, all three were killed in two separate incidents which occurred on consecutive days in March 1941.

The names of those involved are: Private James Fletcher, Private Frederick Gogerty and Private Charles Hammond, all attached to ‘C’ company, 8th Battalion, The Loyal Regiment).

However, the main focal point is actually on the two soldiers interred here in Saltburn, the said individuals are: Private James Fletcher, service No: 3864012, died on the 2nd of March 1941 and Private Charles Hammond, service No: 8323992, who died on the 3rd of March 1941.

Due to the amount of information contained within the actual write up, i.e. copies of recently released 75 year old official documents, incident reports, excerpts from the Evening Gazette (March 1941) and photographs etc, the complete document is too large for inclusion in Talk of the Town magazine. Nevertheless, for those who may be interested in following up on this story, the article can be seen in its entirety at Saltburn Reference Library, under the heading ‘Lest We Forget’.

Dick Armstrong

East Cleveland Batscape

Want to know what we discovered about bats in East Cleveland from the East Cleveland Batscape Project?

Unbelievably the 2 year Heritage Lottery Funded project is coming to an end and we will be running 2 celebratory events to tell the public all about what we have discovered from all the fantastic data, hard working volunteers have been collecting over the past 2 years. Not only have these local volunteers gone out and collected this data, but many have actually undergone training to use Bioacoustic software to be able to determine the different species of bats.

We will provide an illustrated talk on our findings and then we will go out to look for bats using specialist bat detectors where you can experience a unique wildlife experience by hearing bats in their natural environment.

Booking is advised. Free events. All ages welcome.

12th May. 7:30pm to 10:00pm (ish), Woodlands Centre, Valley Gardens, Saltburn. Refreshments available.

2nd June. 8:00pm to 10:30pm (ish), Loftus Town Hall, Loftus. Refreshments available.

Sturdy footwear and appropriate clothing for the

weather are recommended. Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. Walk will be on uneven ground not suitable for wheelchair users.

Please contact sbarry@teeswildlife.org or phone 01287 636382 to make a booking.

The above illustration is of a brown long eared bat, photographed by Tom Marshall.

Sarah Barry

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Stress and The Body Modern life is difficult and is getting more and more so!

We are living in a faster, more complex and more stressful environment than ever before. Our phones are on 24 hours a day, the shops are open 7 days a week, there is more traffic on the roads and family life is busier. We get less and less time to truly relax our body and mind. It cannot be a coincidence that we are seeing a marked rise in stress related illness.

Of course, not all stress is bad. It is a natural response to situations and can help to motivate us when we have a task such as a job interview for example. And in dangerous situations it can be life saving. The raised pulse and blood pressure, faster breathing and the tense muscles are all readying the body to take action.

However, health issues can occur if the stress response becomes chronic. This can happen if the cause of the stress remains long-term or that the body continues to respond even though the stress has gone away. The same responses that were helpful in the short term can turn pathological leading to a suppressed immune system and therefore an increase susceptibility to infection for example. I am sure you have experienced the case of getting a cold just after a stressful event. In the longer term, the prolonged strain on your body due to routine stress may contribute to serious physical health issues, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, as well of course as mental disorders, for example anxiety and depression to name but a few.

I am sure you can think of several instances of stressful moments over the last few days of normal living.

As an example, perhaps a close call when driving in a car.

You have the intense physical and emotional response to the incident and when it is over, you then go home, make a cup of tea and talk to someone about the near miss in the car. You think rationally about the incident, about whose fault it was, etc. Then we may make a plan to change the route we drive in order that the incident does not happen again.

What is happening when we respond in this way? To put it simply, in this hypothetical situation we are using the more rational, thinking parts of our brains, the neocortex to deal with the aftermath of the incident. We talk to someone, we work out what happened, what we did right and wrong, we make a plan to make sure it does not happen again. This is all good, it is what our brains do best; think and figure things out. But we have forgotten about something very important‌..Our body! As you read this, think of a stressful event and see if you can feel what happens to your body. I can feel my jaw clench, my stomach tighten and the area around my heart gets a fluttering sensation; all part of the natural response to threat.

When faced with threat our brains have 3 primitive responses, the flight, fight or freeze responses. While we rarely resort to fighting, for example, our bodies are ready 30

and energized for it. However, when we go home and talk to a friend about the event, we don’t deal with this stored up nervous and physical energy. According to the trauma therapist and researcher Peter Levine, this unreleased response can become pathological over time, leading to actual psychological trauma and to psychosomatic illnesses to name but two. For those interested, Peter Levine’s book Waking the Tiger is an excellent introduction to these ideas.

There are, however, ways to deal with the built up nervous bodily response of current and past stressful situations. Rather than work through language using talking therapies which engage the higher parts of our brain, working directly with our bodily response without language allows us to access the stress patterns we each adopt. One such way of working has been developed in the USA by Michaela Boehm and Steve James and is known at the Non-Linear Movement Method and will soon be available in Saltburn. The method is designed amongst other things, to find and then gently unwind patterns of bodily contraction and to find relaxation in the body. It can be used regardless of age or fitness level and is done either in a class or in a one on one setting (please see the website at http:/ www.thenonlinearmovementmethod.com). Classes to start shortly at http://earthbeatcentre.co.uk.

For a more in depth look at stress and its effects on the body please join me for a free talk at the Earthbeat Centre on the 16th May at 11am and 7pm.

Dr Mark Bowmaker, PhD. Mark grew up in New Marske before heading to Cambridge to study for his PhD. He has worked as an academic in the U.K. and South Africa on a range of topics in biology. He now works as a personal development coach specialising in relationships and stress management/relaxation. He has been studying intensively with Michaela Boehm and Steve James for several years now and has completed trainings in the Non-Linear Movement Method.

For those interested in individual or couples work or in joining a group, please get in touch.

Phone or text 075 2323 5621 (or email: markbowmaker@gmail.com).

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Saltburn’s former priest dies aged 81 A memorial Mass will be celebrated in Middlesbrough on Friday, 12th May for former parish priest of Saltburn’s Our Lady of Lourdes parish, Canon Bill Madden, who has died in his native Ireland aged 81.

He will be remembered locally for many things including sadly being mugged in his presbytery twice, but keeping on with his priestly work.

Bill Madden, who arrived in Saltburn in 1995, was a popular priest who supported the Boro, played golf and was a ‘humourist,’ recalled Northern Echo journalist Mike Amos when he visited Saltburn in 2003 for the parish’s 75th anniversary.

Canon Bill died ‘very peacefully’ at a nursing home in County Cork, where he had lived for the past few years, said Monsignor Ricardo Morgan, who took over as parish priest in 2010.

He survived being attacked during break-ins in his house twice. “I was shocked and admit it has made me more wary,” he told the Gazette after the second mugging.

But to parishioners he seemed to carry on as normal.

He kept working until a few years later and retired aged 75.

Canon Bill took a full part in Saltburn Churches Together, leading outdoor services at Easter at the top of the cliff lift and outside Sainsbury’s.

He opened up his presbytery for coffees by parishioners after Sunday morning Mass and the informal get-togethers were popular with locals and visitors.

His addresses at funerals were from the heart and popular. He also got on well with young people.

The result of the break-ins, which included the tabernacle being badly damaged, was that £20,000 was spent on security measures.

He led a series of services and events to mark the parish’s 75th anniversary of ‘the church in the glen’ in 2003. This included producing a report that 190 people on average attended weekend Masses with the church being packed with 250 at Christmas. Details of some 25 ministries, groups and activities were also given along with many memories of the parish.

Parishioner Liam Gardiner said that it was with a ‘sense of genuine sadness’ that parishioners learned of Canon Bill’s death.

“He was a shy man, who was liked by one and all, from the youngest to the oldest. Children simply loved him and parishioners recognised him as a holy priest, who had time for everyone. He enjoyed his sport. As a young man he

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was a talented hurler and a keen golfer and he always had a passion for horseracing.”

He never complained about the onset of Parkinson’s disease and refused to retire until he was 75.

Along with several other parishioners, Liam visited Canon Bill (known in home town Lismore as Father Willie) in Ireland and found it wonderful to see everyone who met him stop for a chat.

“Canon, we thank you for your service to us. May you rest in peace.”

His funeral has taken place at Lismore, County Waterford. Canon Dan Spaight, a friend for many years, represented Bishop Terry Drainey, at the service. Saltburn parishioners attend Masses at Our Lady of Lourdes on 19th April. A memorial service takes place on 12th May at 12 noon at the Sacred Heart Church, Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough, where Canon Bill was parish priest from1981-95.

Between 1997-2010 he also had pastoral responsibility for St Anthony’s, Brotton.

Mike Morrissey

Garden Newt Survey Thanks to all those who contacted the Tees Valley Wildlife Trust about newts in their garden ponds. If you have a garden pond please take a moment to check for newts and let us know what you find. Try looking at night with a bright torch over a series of days or gently sweep the bottom of the pond with a net. There are three types of newts which may be present in your garden pond. If you are not sure what newts you have, and they can be tricky to tell apart, send us a photo or two and we will try and identify them for you. If you would like a visit to identify newts then get in touch and we will try and fit you in. Your information will help us fill in important gaps in our knowledge of these unusual and unique creatures.

This initiative is funded by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund and Northumbrian Water. Please send sightings and photos to info@teeswildlife.org or call 01287 636382.

Spring in East Cleveland’s Ancient Woodlands Woodland in spring is one of the great spectacles of nature, full of birdsong, wildflowers and the soft bright green of new leaves. In the ancient woodlands of East Cleveland, spectacular ground flora has evolved over centuries to create stunning seas of wood anemones, carpets of blue bells, the smell of wild garlic and the bright colours of forget me not, primroses and early orchids.

As part of our Woodland Diaries Project, funded by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund we will be running a series of walks to explore the colour and biodiversity of three different ancient woodlands in East Cleveland.

These slow paced walks, led by botanist Martin Allen will explore all aspects of the spring woodlands from the canopy to magnificent floral display of the woodland floor. To find out more about the project and to see photographs from the other seasons in the woods visit the project website www.woodlanddiaries.teeswildlife.org or google woodland diaries.

Spring walks: Hagg Wood Moorsholm, Sunday 30th April, 1pm to 4pm.

Meet outside the former Toad Hall Arms in Moorsholm. Saltburn Gill, Saltburn, Wednesday 3rd May, 1pm to 4pm. Meet at Cat Nab Car Park, Saltburn. Clarkson’s Wood, Liverton Mines, Sunday 14th May, 1pm to 4pm.

Please wear suitable clothes and footwear for visiting woodlands. They can be a little muddy. Bring a drink and a snack, cameras and sketching materials. Please park considerately for local residents.

Contact: info@teeswildlife.org to book a place or ring 01287 636382.

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

Brotton Library Knit and Natter Group We are a small group making items for charity whilst sharing skills and friendship. It is free to come to the group. We have a few regular members and would welcome more. Thursday afternoon 2pm till 4pm in Brotton library (attached to Freebrough Academy).

Deborah

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‘Waltz Matilda’ dancers at Saltburn

A 73-year-old man is flying from Australia to ask his keen dancer friend Heather Hartley for a dance on Saltburn’s lower promenade. Heather, who is a member of Saltburn U3A, met Richard Green during a holiday in the USA a few years ago and they see each other every few months.

They are to take part in the Big Waltz day being run by Teesside Age UK on Friday, 19th May. As Talk of the Town was going to press, event organiser Mrs Pat Chambers said that a ‘miracle’ was needed to sign up 2,000 couples by that date to achieve a world record attempt. At present Bosnia hold it with 1,500 couples.

“We have enough couples booked to have a great, good show, just not world record-breaking numbers. So Bosnia will get to keep their title on this occasion unless some miracle happens with the sign-ups.”

The day is focussed on older people ‘loving later life’

and will include the five-piece Pocket Orchestra playing dance music, including waltzes, from 12 to 3pm. A marquee full of displays will be sited on the Cat Nab car park (instead of in the valley gardens, as planned, to improve access). Activities will include line-dancing, yoga and orienteering. Refreshments will be served all day.

Mrs Hartley, who is also aged 73, said she was a keen dancer and was looking forward to pairing with Richard at Saltburn.

Photos: Richard Green, upper right, in Australia, and upper left, Heather Hartley. They met during a US holiday.

Jazz at Saltburn Golf Club The ‘Jazz Lads’ are back at Saltburn Golf Club on Sunday, 7th May and Sunday 4th June. They are: Ray Dales, one of the finest sax players in the area, Jeremy McMurray, virtuoso keyboard player and leader of the Pocket Orchestra, Paul Smith, drummer and a master of his craft, highly talented guitarist Ian Bosworth, of both Tees Hot Club and Musicians Unlimited fame, and Adrian Beadnell, starting his career with Chris Rea in Saltburn more years ago than he cares to remember, on bass.

Building on their successful evening at the Club on the 2nd April, where they were joined by guest guitarist Paul Donnelly, the lads are very much looking forward to playing another programme of exciting Jazz numbers to an appreciative audience. Tickets for future evenings can be bought at the door and cost £5.00. The music starts at 8.00.

What’s Happening at Marske Hall Our fundraising team is busy working on events for May. Check out our Facebook page www.facebook/marskehall.com or call the Hall on 01642 482672.

The annual Summer Fair will take place on Saturday, 17th June. If you’re having a Spring clean why not book a table and sell your stuff?

Call 01642 482672. We need hundreds of tombola prizes for our Winbola stall at the Summer Fair. See below for how you can help.

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.

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.

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The Hygge Room April saw the opening of another new shopping exciting venue in Saltburn. The Hygge Room (pronounced Hoo-ga) opened in the former premises of Book Corner at unit 1 Regency Buildings.

Hygee is a Danish concept, which is simply a way of life for the Danes. Perhaps the closest British equivalent word is ‘cosiness’, but that doesn’t really begin to cover what hygge is. It is about family and friends spending time together, being warm and cosy and taking time to enjoy life. The Danes are obviously getting things right, as they are noted for being the happiest nation!

Alix Gladders, the proprietor, has filled the space with beautiful items to create the right mood for hygge!

There are HOBO soy candles (better for people, pets and the environment), candle holders, a range of cushions, throws, lights, artwork, coffee and so much more. Many of the items stocked are produced in Saltburn. Bought in items are stocked in small numbers, in order to allow customer to have something a little different in their homes or to give as gifts to others.

Why not pay The Hygge Room a visit to have a relaxed browse.

Alix will be happy to welcome you.

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Love dancing? Want to get fit?

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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.

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 lovely readers. We are Winston the dog and Snowy the cat.

Winston is a gentle giant: he is a gorgeous 5 years old male Dogue de Bordeaux (AKA French Mastiff) cross. He is a distinctive sandy red type colour with a wrinkly face. He unfortunately came to live with us after his owner’s health meant he could no longer care for him. He really enjoys lots of attention and fussing; he has a calm temperament and is very patient. Despite his size, Winston prefers gentle strolls, and loves playing football in the farmhouse garden. His ideal home is one where he is the only dog and he can quite happily live with children as he is very gentle and loving.

Snowy is a 10 year old female who came into our care after her owner sadly passed away. She certainly lives up to her name as she is a very striking white coat and she

has golden eyes. She is a lovely, sweet natured girl who is looking for a nice quiet home with no other cats, so that she can have all the attention she deserves!

SARA fundraising events during May The next monthly meeting of SARA will be held in the TocH premises, Albion Terrace Saltburn, on Wednesday, 3rd May 2017, at 7.30pm. New members are very welcome.

Bank Holiday Monday 1st May 2017 – SARA will be holding a Spring Stroll. This will take place from the Stray Café, Redcar, meeting at 11am and finish at 1pm back at the cafe. Come and join us with your family, friends and pets. All the dogs that are looking for loving homes will be taking part. Even if you do not own a dog, come along and meet the members of SARA and learn more about our friendly group.

Saturday 6th May from 10 to 3pm SARA will be holding a Spring Bargain Sale at Foxrush Farm with bargains galore; everything must go. Tea and coffee will also be available. Definitely worth a look.

Saturday 21st May SARA will be holding their Annual Sponsored Dog Walk at Foxrush Farm, Kirkleatham Lane, Redcar, from 11am to 2pm. There are two walks: 30 minutes or 1 hour. The starting point is at Foxrush Farm, with a registration fee of £1.00. Even if you don’t

have a dog we will lend you one. All dogs must be on a lead in the woodlands and on the farm.

There will be various stalls including tombola, pet stall, raffle and others. Homemade refreshments will be on sale. There will also be the opportunity to see the improvements that have been made during the past year.

There is plenty of parking space on the field at Foxrush.

Come along with your family, friends and pets, have a good time and find out more about SARA. Sponsorship forms are available from Foxrush Farm, or our charity shop in Guisborough (you can also download and print one from our website at http.//www.s-a-r-a.org.uk).

Update on Sam the cocker spaniel: Sam was born with a deformed leg. He has now had his second operation and can now use his leg properly. It had rotated to 140 degrees out of true so that he was walking on the upper side of his foot. It is now straight and he is using it. He is out of cage rest (5 weeks) and room rest (4 weeks) and is now running free. Our thanks go out to all who helped him get to this stage.

John Fuller, Press Officer Helpline: 01642 488108 37

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4 THINGS 4 YOU 2 PONDER

BY REV ADAM REED In this 150th anniversary year of the foundation of Emmanuel Church there are a number of events and activities you are warmly invited to join. Below are just 4 of them. Many of you already support the Drop-In Breakfast. We are dedicating the one in May to supporting the charitable work of Christian Aid in its 60th year. At the breakfast and elsewhere I come across people who have questions about the Christian faith and contemporary issues. One place you can explore this is at the monthly Thirst 4 Thought event. In May the theme is ‘Evolution: Theory or Fact?’ Alternatively, we are holding an introductory meeting for anyone who would like to explore adult baptism or confirmation on Sunday 21st May. Lastly, at the beginning of June we are beginning a timely series of reflections on Christianity and Islam. Nabeel Qureshi will be our guide and inspiration. I would encourage you not to miss this opportunity to learn about both religions. Please do contact me if you would like to know more about any of these events.

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 May

Saturdays 6th & 20th 10am - 4pm

Sundays 14th & 28th 1 - 4pm

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Talk of the Town’s monthly

Pride of Saltburn Award

Open 7 days a week Quality Fresh Fruit and Veg at Competitive Prices.

If it’s grown locally we do our best to source it.

Stocking a wide range of health foods, chutneys, jams and honeys.

Monday to Saturday: 9.00am to 5.00pm Sunday 11.00am to 4.00pm

5 Station Buildings

Grasers 07703 884184 Find us on Facebook Try something different at Grasers The winner of this month’s Pride of Saltburn Award is Ann Dewing. Ann was nominated by Adele and her staff at Cheveux Hair Salon. About Ann she says “I would like to nominate Ann Dewing for the Pride of Saltburn award.

Ann is a lovely lady and my second Mam! She is always willing to help and although she hasn’t been in the best of health recently she is always there for family and friends.

We love you, Ann. Ann is a keen church goer and is a willing helper in the Emmanuel’s Church Help Shop on Milton Street. Ann has had a bit of a rough time lately and so we thought that she deserved some TLC. She is much loved and respected by the whole community and well and truly deserves this bouquet of flowers.” Thank you, Ann, for being you, the Pride of Saltburn.

Every month, a £30 bunch of flowers, kindly donated by Ruby Lilly’s Florists of Marske, is awarded to someone in Saltburn who has earned admiration, gratitude and love for whatever reason. Talk of the Town invites nominations from readers, to chose whom to receive recognition and a bunch of flowers. Send your nominations to Talk of the Town’s postbag at Jackie’s Saverstore, 8 Station Buildings, Saltburn, Cleveland, TS12 1AQ or email Ian (talkofthetownsaltburn@gmail.com). (Please include your name, phone number and the reason you are nominating the person of your choice.) Please also confirm with the nominee that they are willing to receive the award (many people feel shy about it). All the nominations will be read and kept for future use, so even if your choice doesn’t win this month, they might do so next time.

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English Asparagus and Yorkshire Hollandaise English asparagus is in season from the end of April until June. It is a very healthy food, promoting ‘friendly’ bacteria in the intestines and is rich in vitamins K and C. It goes really well with delicious Yorkshire Hollandaise Sauce, made from award-winning Yorkshire rapeseed oil, free range eggs, butter and garlic etc. This particular Hollandaise is a limited edition so try it while you can!

Crowds turn out for cycle race

CHEERING CHILDREN: The Walker family cheer on cyclist Charlie Renshaw. From left Harvey and Oliver, twins aged six, with parents Mike and Ann. LITTER PROBLEM: Saltburn’s town crier Sharon Wilson looks at a sign denoting the end of a littering zone during the race. She appeals to townsfolk to keep Saltburn tidy by occasionally picking up discarded cans, bottles and packets.

Large crowds lined the route of the Klondike cycle race, which created an exciting spectacle in the town and throughout East Cleveland on Sunday 2nd April.

One of the 140 competitors Charlie Renshaw, 19, of Sheffield, who dropped out half way through the race at Saltburn’s Marske Mill Lane, said: “There were loads of people clapping us which was very encouraging.”

Among several points in Saltburn where crowds gathered to wave green and yellow flags was outside the Marske Mill Lane office of Saltburn, Marske and New Marske parish council. Clerk Tracy Meadows. said money was raised for Errington School through serving refreshments. The school PTA and Saltburn WI contributed cakes.

WARDEN’S WORK: Simon Wilcox, warden of Saltburn, Marske and New Marske parish council, looks at one of the 15 old bikes he painted to mark the competition’s route at Marske Mill Lane, outside the council’s bungalow office. He welcomes more unroadworthy bikes to paint for the 2018 Klondike despite three being stolen from sites in the area before the race.

Pupils from Huntcliff school - through ‘Tommy’ decorated an old bike which was fixed to a fence.

Parish warden Simon Wilcox painted 15 old bikes, which had been given, in the race’s colours of yellow and green to mark the route in the parish.

Three of the bikes were stolen from Marske Mill Lane and had not been found by the date of the race.

“We will be collecting old bikes for the 2018 race the event is due to he held here for the next three years,” said Mrs Meadows. “We have been pleased at the turnout of people in the town where it is really busy. It’s been a really good day.”

Saltburn’s town crier Sharon Wilson was busy in the town centre where refreshments were served outside the community theatre.

She noted that signs denoting the end of the race’s litter-dropping zones had been put up for the event.

Asked about them, she said: “Littering in the town is not too bad. I’m pleased groups of people help with picking it up and keeping the town tidy. But it would be good if more would pick up little, maybe five items a day (as a target).”

Mike Morrissey

41

Packaged individually Individuals or individuality seems to be something of a theme in forthcoming productions at Saltburn’s theatre. On Thursday, 4th May it is showing I, Claude Monet, an investigation into the work of the artist using his own words as a commentary on his paintings. Monet is one of those artists who is so well known that his work may be seen as clichéd, but clichés are often simply truths that are frequently stated.

The film’s commentary is composed of quotations from Monet’s writings, read by Henry Goodman, which should give the narration a sense of individuality and authenticity. It is wonderful that, unlike so many other well-known artists, he is famous for his paintings and not for details about his personal life. The film, directed by Phil Grabsky, is one of a series of productions that have explored the work of major figures in the History of Art, either by taking the audience to current exhibitions or, as in this case, exploring an individual by visiting a succession of galleries. The films are only shown at authorised venues and are not on general release. The resulting ‘live’ experience of remotely viewing paintings has quickly become a part of the same circuit that brings ‘live’ theatrical performances from the National Theatre and elsewhere. It is the first attempt in Saltburn to show one of these documentaries.

As an introduction to the film there will be a 30-minute lecture given by Trev Wardle to place Monet in his context in the art world of the second half of the 19th century and the first two decades of the 20th. Trev is a Courtauld Alumni, a lifelong Boro supporter, and an occasional advocate of the Oxford comma; he is also one of a number of individuals in Saltburn who quietly keep their specialisms to themselves.

The theatre is keen for more of these people to come forward and contribute to future events.

Fifty years before the Broadway musical Chicago, Cecil B DeMille created one of the 1920s’ most famous films based on the same storyline. In the same period Alfred Hitchcock directed Blackmail, a tale of crime, romance and suspense. Both are movies featured in the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival showing at the theatre on Thursday, 11th May. The individual that links both films is the pianist Jonny Best who will be playing a traditionally dramatic live accompaniment at both the afternoon and evening screenings.

His CV reads like an inventory of major British theatre companies – the NT, RSC, ENO, Royal Opera, Opera North, Cameron Mackintosh Ltd... He has also led a number of successful festivals in the North of England and is a Clore Fellow and a Fellow of the Royal College of Arts. Now that he can add SC&AA to the list we hope that he won’t let it go to his head.

Art with Heart is a small theatre company with an individual performer who will be staging their latest production Declaration in the Community Hall on Tuesday, 16th May. The reason for leaving the main auditorium will become obvious at the performance. Sarah Emmott plays herself in the production which is in danger of giving Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) a good name.

The seriousness of the subject is evidenced in the support the company has received from medical professionals and mental health support groups. The success of it as a piece of theatre is evidenced by the acclaim from The Lowry in Salford and by Sarah being nominated as Best Actress in a Studio Production 42

in the Manchester Theatre Awards for her performance in Declaration. If individuality is about being different, then Sarah’s candid treatment of her own frustration and the confusion of trying to understand the condition and then trying to persuade others that it exists fits the bill. All of which sounds very worthy but the actuality will be an evening of energy, weirdness, humour, conversation and thought.

The theme of individuality continues into June, not least with Emily Bacon’s appearance at the Jazz Club on Friday, 2nd June. She now fronts The Good Time Gang with Mam and Dad, Liz and Paul, still following a New Orleans tradition. For this gig they will be joined by another stalwart of this style of music, Sammy Rimmington. The Jazz Club is on the first Friday of each month and is further evidence of the quality of live music that typifies the centre. On the Sunday of the same weekend Julie Felix will be performing in the theatre. Julie was one of the most popular folk artists of that barely-remembered place they call The Sixties; she is still recording and, obviously, still touring. It was a delight to see Al Stewart, Ry Cooder and Shirley Collins still ‘doing the business’ at the Radio 2 British Folk Awards last month and Julie was a contemporary of theirs on the 60s’ Folk scene. It was also good to see Amelia Coburn among the nominees for the Young Folk Award – Nunthorpe born and bred.

Born and bred somewhat further afield is the Belgian pianist Yulia Vershinina who is fast becoming a major player on the international circuit. Her list of previous concert venues reads like a travelogue for a music enthusiast – Bridgewater Hall, Hamburg; Brussels Royal Conservatoire; Carnegie Hall, New York; International Music Festival, Portugal; and last month in St Martins-in-the -Fields, London. Last year she was also winner of the Wales International Piano Competition. She will be playing works

by Beethoven, Schubert, Schönberg and Bach in the theatre on Thursday, 8th June and is the first of four classical musicians who will be giving concerts in the theatre at Saltburn this year. The centre is able to attract artists of this calibre partly because of the Steinway piano, partly because of the acoustics and partly because of a lot of hard work.

If Monet is on the list of the most readily-recognised painters then Alan Bennett must be on the equivalent list of playwrights. His Talking Heads monologues were one of the landmarks in TV drama; coming direct from his native Leeds, the Library Theatre Company are bringing two of them to the theatre on Friday, 16th June. This is another young theatre company which SC&AA is glad to encourage and typifies its commitment to promoting both professional and amateur touring companies. Bed Among the Lentils and A Lady of Letters are probably familiar to most of The Town’s readership but it is that familiarity that is part of Bennett’s appeal.

The article this month has highlighted both the individuality of the theatre and some of the individuals that contribute to that individuality. However, though they are a group of individuals, SC&AA wish the ’53 Drama Group all the best in the semi-finals of the All England Theatre Festival at the Saltburn theatre on the weekend of the 6th and 7th May.

Megan’s Mind

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At the time of writing it’s Easter and I am very excited. I love chocolate. Although when you get older you don’t get as many, if any, Easter eggs which is disappointing because I still want eggs and I still want to have Easter egg hunts. The only bad thing about Easter eggs is that they are hollow and I really think that they should be solid. And include more bars of chocolate or whatever inside. I think my mum has got me an egg so I plan on making it last as long as I possibly can.

Chocolate that you get at Easter just tastes so much better than any other chocolate, don’t you think? It’s like advent calendar chocolate. That’s the best, actually. I don’t know if it’s because it’s in the run up to Christmas or because you’re only allowed a little bit every day but there’s just something about it that tastes different. I ALWAYS have a Cadbury’s advent calendar but the chocolates from there are much nicer than the bars but they must be the same. I’m surely not the only person who thinks that Easter egg chocolate and advent calendar chocolate is nicer than other chocolate, am I? I’m going on holiday to London soon, and I can’t wait.

I love holidays. The only thing is that I will have to miss a French lesson and a Spanish lesson and I don’t like to miss them. I will just have to ask my teachers for extra homework so I don’t feel like I’m falling behind. My lessons aren’t a class or anything - it’s just one to one with my teachers - but I love having a lesson every week and I feel a bit funny if I don’t get to have one because I just love it so much. My teachers are my favourite people in the world: they are so lovely and supportive and encouraging. My French teacher makes me laugh a lot, she is so bubbly and hilarious and cute and my Spanish teacher reminds me a lot of my grandma. If my grandma was Peruvian! Both of them keep telling me that we’re moving faster than they ever thought I would and that I have a talent for languages. My old teacher used to tell me this a lot too but I never really believed it much! I suppose now I should that I have heard it from three people. I think I must have learned and remembered a lot more than I thought I did from lessons I had before because my new teachers keep teaching me things and I think ‘I already know this!’ I’m glad that I’ve got a passion and a hobby and it is something that I’m good at. My grandma was good at languages too. I think that must be where I get it from. Before she died we said that we were going to learn Spanish together but we never got round to it. I wish she was still here because she could help me with French homework just like she used to at school. I’m sad that she isn’t here learning Spanish with me and her Peruvian equivalent but she would only show me up, because she would learn it so much quicker than I ever could!

Megan

43

Social Care in Redcar and Cleveland: Part Two “We have particularly good relations with Redcar and Cleveland Council. They are committed to helping carers within the resources available,” says Julia Bracknall of Carers Together.

Following my interview with Councillor Dave Walsh, Deputy Leader and Cabinet member for Adult Services at Redcar and Cleveland Council last month, I contacted Julia Bracknell and Charles Folkes, Owner and Managing Director of Caremark for more information about caring services in our area.

Caremark (Redcar and Cleveland) is a Home Care provider offering domiciliary care and support services, to people within their own homes and in their local community. With an office in Guisborough, Charles employs more than 170 staff and provides 18,000 care hours per month. He is an approved provider of services to Redcar and Cleveland Council and has some privatelyfunded clients too. Caremark is part of a national franchise network: there are 100 offices nationally.

“Redcar and Cleveland Council is our biggest customer. Our good working relationship means that we can achieve more with partnership working. This isn’t the case in all areas of the country,” says Charles.

He explains that funding is the issue of the moment.

“Successive Governments haven’t addressed the funding of Social Care. Linked into this is the relationship between hospital discharge and Social Care. It’s not streamlined.”

Charles believes that there should be a better process in place for people to come out of hospital and have home care readily in place. The lack of this leads to bedblocking, with people in hospital who don’t need to be there.

In his view, the lack of funding means that a lot of people needing care don’t receive it, because the threshhold for getting it is so high. Many people who are isolated and lonely could do with some companionship, care and support, but they don’t get it. The result can be more health problems, both physical and mental. Where Caremark is funded to deliver, staff can turn lives around.

“We also produce an emailed newsletter three times a year and celebrate the achievements of our staff through annual staff awards,” he says.

Caremark has a website: www.caremark.co.uk/ locations/redcar-and-cleveland and the local contact details are email: redcar@caremark.co.uk and phone: 01287 634706.

Carers Together supports and connects carers in local communities. It is a registered charity, established in 2004 and based at 23 Queen Street, Redcar, although there is also an office at the St Mary’s Centre, 82-90 Corporation Road, Middlesbrough, not far from Cineworld. Carers Together has a contract with Redcar and Cleveland Council and also receives some money from the NHS, through the Clinical Commissioning Group, three Charitable Trusts and the National Lottery. Accessing funds is a constant challenge, but it is important to the staff and volunteers to keep the service free at the point of use.

When I ask Julia what the issues of the moment are, she replies: “There is increasing pressure on unpaid carers, who are typically family, friends, relations and neighbours, 44

due to elderly parents living longer and to the reduction in public services. The burden falls on carers, who may feel they have to give up paid work to care, but then they are faced with an inadequate income. The carer’s allowance, for those who are eligible, is only £62 a week. We see a lot of people in financial difficulties.”

The biggest age group of carers is the 45-59 year olds and the next largest is the 65+ group. There is an increase of couples in their eighties caring for each other and of those looking after adult children with mental/physical issues and learning difficulties. There are 7000 carers in Redcar and Cleveland known to Carers Together, although 16,000 people ticked a box on the 2011 census form to say they were carers.

Changes in the welfare benefit system are currently causing distress. Carers are sometimes in despair and feel they have failed if they’re not able to achieve the best outcome for the person they love. They are often not looking after their own health and this compounds problems.

It has been assessed that carers in Redcar and Cleveland contribute £354 million worth of care in a year and nationally, the figure is £132 billion, a sum similar to the whole NHS budget. Carers want to continue, but they appreciate being able to apply to the Carers Individual Activity Fund for money to provide a modest break. Redcar and Cleveland Council assesses the application forms, which Carers Together helps the carers to complete and has awarded the carers with sums to fund such items as a sewing machine or gym membership.

“Not all Councils do this, but it is a great commitment and helps the carer keep going for longer at little expense,” says Julia.

Carers Together provides individual support and groups for carers, training sessions and a Dementia Advisory Service. Details are in the magazine ‘Caring Together’. The May meeting of the East Cleveland Carers Support Group is at the Earthbeat Centre, Saltburn, from 12.30 to 2.30.

(Please phone for details.) It will be a Tai Chi Taster Session.

Readers (and prospective volunteers!) are welcome to email: carerstogether@btconnect.com or phone 01642 488977 or call in to the office between 9.00 and 5.00 Monday – Friday.

Rosemary Nicholls

MILES HUTCHINSON & LITHGOW SOLICITORS ARE PRACTISING IN SALTBURN ONCE MORE We are pleased to announce that our new offices are open at First Floor, 15 Station Street Saltburn-by-the-Sea and we have a presence to serve the people of Saltburn again.

Our present Partners Fergus M Grant and Alastair J Gowans and our Paralegal Sara Dewing are now on hand to offer our previous friendly and efficient service and Mr Grant’s Saltburn Legal Secretary Sam Caley has returned to us.

Our Practice has a long history and was formed approximately 115 years ago in Middlesbrough by Miles Hutchinson & James Lithgow and although the Partners have changed over the years we have retained the name as a recognizable brand name in the Teesside area.

In 1977 we amalgamated with another well established Practice in Middlesbrough named W. Stanley Smith & Partners.

Many people will remember Stanley Smith as being from Saltburn and at that time he had a very small office in Dundas Street and so began the establishment of Miles Hutchinson & Lithgow’s branch office in Saltburn.

In 1978 we relocated to 27 Milton Street and were able to employ more staff and have a full time office in the town.

In November 2016 we were able to take on the lease of the first floor at 15 Station Street which is a more centralized office. People in Saltburn may remember this as Langham’s Dental Surgery which had been empty for many years and required extensive building work to turn it into the bright and airy modern office that we have now opened. As our address says we are on the first floor and have stairs but if anyone is unable to deal with the stairs

then we are still happy to carry out home visits to accommodate our Clients. Please ring to make this request.

We pride ourselves in being one of the few High Street Practices remaining as many changes in the profession have seen more factory style services being offered which deal with Clients remotely but we prefer being the face to face Solicitors who build a friendly relationship with our Clients.

Our Partners have 77 years of experience in the profession between them. Our Senior Partner Fergus Grant is head of Conveyancing, dealing with both domestic conveyancing and commercial leasing, Probate, Wills, Powers of Attorney and related issues. Alastair Gowans is head of Family and Criminal and an accredited Family Law member and Criminal advocate and also works in Wills Probate and Conveyancing and related issues. Sara Dewing is an accredited Immigration Specialist and attends the Saltburn office one day per week to offer her services in this area of law.

Our charitable work includes taking part in Will Aid each year. Over the years we have raised thousands of pounds for this very worthwhile Charity by interviewing Clients, preparing drafts and then engrossing their wills for signature in return for them donating the cost to Will Aid. In this we give our services free.

We offer this service at both of our offices and will be doing so again this year in November. Look out for the Will Aid announcement in the Local Press and the announcement already on their website and you will see that they support nine charities including AgeUK, British Red Cross, Christian Aid, NSPCC and Save the Children.

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The Cons Club Blossoms in May Before writing my article from the Cons Club I must express my personal concerns and disappointment in respect of Saltburn Cliff Lift. This column is being composed on Easter Sunday and yet again we are having operational problems. I have been told by the operative at the top that there is no water in the holding tank and workmen have laid out hoses to pump water in from a standpipe located behind Marine Parade. Why was this not done before the season opened and where has the water in the tank gone? I know of at least one other day this week where a notice was displayed saying ‘closed due to maintenance work’. If this was the reason I ask again why was this not done before the season opened. It appears more likely that it has been another breakdown. It is very worrying that we are encountering so many problems at this early stage of operations for the coming year. To compound the situation my wife and I were told that there are now no concessions for wheelchair users and senior citizens as we have now all been classed as Adults. This means that the price for these people has gone from 50p to £1 meaning a 100% price increase. Anybody in a wheelchair, who obviously needs another person to push, will have to pay £4 to get down and back up again. As it is almost impossible to push a wheelchair up and down to the bottom prom and also a massive inconvenience to fold and unfold a wheelchair to get on a bus (which only runs every hour on a Sunday) the Council are holding wheelchair users and senior citizens to ransom with this increase. You either pay the fee or you don’t go down.

Moving on to Cons Club matters and we have just returned from the first Club trip of the season to Ripon where we participated in our tradition of testing out the local hostelries and eating houses, visiting the shops and some of the group visited the three local museums. We had one of our best tours and a massive thanks goes to our stewardess Michelle, who did all the organising. Michelle also laid on a superb buffet on our return to the Club which was followed by a Music Night. It was a great day out and was enjoyed immensely by all who went.

I can now confirm that the painting and wallpapering of the Club commenced on Tuesday, 18th April. The initial work started in what was the old lounge and we will fully finish this area before moving into the old bar area to finish off the work. New lights will be fitted, the carpets will be taken up and new flooring will be laid in both rooms. New furnishings will be added to complete the work. I would like to think that when you receive this month’s copy of ‘Talk of the Town’ there will not be a lot left to do. Continuing on the theme of change, it has been agreed by the committee that we will alter the snooker room into a function room. As I write we are in advanced stages with a buyer for the table and when we eventually remove it we will need to carry out small improvements to the décor to ensure it is satisfactory until a time when further improvements can be made. It is very

unfortunate for the very few members who play snooker but it is a very big room which is not bringing in any money and we need to move forward.

The Club’s Annual General Meeting was held on 10th April and this showed that membership and cash turnover had again increased and the Club Auditor was very pleased with the continued upturn that we had achieved which he said was much against the national trend. Wendy Shepherd has now taken the position of Secretary and we welcome three new committee members in Reg Thompson, Nash Fraser and Janette Smart with Mike Sellars also rejoining the committee. Joe Cockfield was again elected Chairman. It is always nice to see lady members elected onto the committee and I’m sure Wendy and Janette will enjoy the experience.

Events happening in May commence with the monthly SLUG (Saltburn Line User Group) meeting which takes place on Tuesday 2nd. Any person having an interest in trains, especially the local services, is invited to the monthly meetings. Normal meeting time approx 7-15pm.

On Saturday, 6th May we begin our summer season of regular Music Nights with a ‘Disco Night’. Shaun Cook will be on the decks and the night will start at 7-30pm and continue till late. Entry is free and all are welcome. We finish the month’s entertainment with our regular ‘Open Mic Night’ with Teesside Steve & Liz Bishop on Friday 26th bringing you the opportunity to sing, play or just join in.

This is live entertainment at its best and a night not to be missed. Again, entry is free and all are welcome. Remember you can keep up to date on all Club events on our Facebook page ‘Saltburn Conservative & Unionist Club’.

The month of May brings the opening of the barbecue season. Notices will be going up in the Club and in the town advertising the dates. Please come along, the barbecue is open to you all and you will get the best barbecues in the best beer garden in Saltburn. A sheet will be on the notice board for volunteers to help serve. All members and friends are asked to help whenever possible.

Don’t forget our regular weekly events which are the Club draw for Meat Voucher, Wines & Chocolates on Tuesday and the Beer Draw and Rollover on a Sunday at 6pm. Happy Hours are weekdays 5-30pm to 7pm and weekends from 3pm to 5pm. Membership is still open and if you join in May it will only cost you £8 until the end of the year, renewable at £12 every January. As a member you will also receive 15% off all alcoholic drinks.

I look forward to seeing you all enjoying the new facilities, entertainment and barbecues that we have to offer.

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 May Every Tuesday: Club Draw Nights for Meat Voucher, Wines & Chocolates… 10pm Every Sunday: Beer Draw & Cash Rollover. Increases by £25 each week if not won … 6pm.

Saturday Afternoons: A get-together by ‘The Conmen’ Americano Musicians ‘ Jam sessions... 3pm Tuesday 2nd: SLUG (Saltburn Line Users Group) Meeting. 7.15pm start.

Saturday 6th: Disco Night hosted by Shaun Cook. 7.30pm.

Friday 26th: ‘Open Mic Night’ hosted by Teesside Steve & Liz Bishop… 8pm.

46

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Spotlight on Saltburn for Semi-Final of All England Theatre Festival Award winning drama from across the North arrives in Saltburn next month when the town hosts the Northern Semi Final of the All-England Theatre Festival. Over the weekend of 6th-7th May, theatre groups from Liverpool, Cumbria, Dewsbury, Sedgefield and Blackburn will join Saltburn ’53 in the one-act play festival.

Competition is fierce with the winner going through to the Grand Final in Bridgwater, Somerset on June 3rd. And the spotlight will be shining on Saltburn ’53 who are hoping to repeat the success they had in the first round when they swept the board winning an astonishing 10 out of 13 trophies. Their entry, Moles & the Habits of Birds, is a heart wrenching play based on the events in Aberfan 50 years ago when a colliery tip buried the village school killing 116 children and 28 adults.

Featuring a cast of 28, the play seeks to explore the effects of a disaster on individuals and the community. Directed by Susan Pierce, it will be one of three performances at Saltburn Community Theatre on the evening of Saturday, 6th May, with other entries from Dewsbury Arts and the winner of the Leverhulme Drama Festival which took place at the end of April.

The following day, Sunday 7th May, the curtain will rise on another three performances from CATS from Bolton, Sedgefield Players and Blackburn Drama Group. Says Sheenah Taylor, chair of Saltburn ’53, “This is such an important and exciting event in our calendar with groups from right across the North arriving in Saltburn. All of these groups have already won the first round of the festival – some competing against up to 19 other groups – and so there really will be some exceptional performances.

“Each play is a maximum of 50 minutes and can feature anything from a cast of just two to ensemble pieces like Saltburn ’53’s entry. If you have never been to a drama festival before, we would love you to come along and see just how high the standard is.”

Weekend tickets priced £12/£8 (conc) and individual evening tickets £7/£5 are on sale from Saltburn Community Theatre, SPAR Gosnay’s in Milton Street (and online at www.saltburnarts.co.uk).

400 at Easter service About 400 children from Saltburn primary school walked in procession to Emmanuel church in the week before Easter to take part in their annual pre-Easter service.

This featured an enactment of the Stations of the Cross, which showed the dramatic events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday.

A number of children were dressed in biblical clothing to enhance the presentation, which was mainly organised by the school.

Huntcliff School pupils take part in a pre-Christmas service at the church in December.

47

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48

The Saltburn Profile by Rosemary Nicholls John Hannah “Uploading old Loftus photographs onto the East Cleveland Image Archive (www.image-archive.org.uk) is a real joy to me,” says Saltburn Scout Leader, John Hannah. “I can spend hours working on it and enjoyed explaining it recently to Saltburn Retired Men’s Forum.”

He has been successful in obtaining funds for the Archive’s development, including a £5000 Community Grant and now the site has 3,600 photographs. He is the Lead Editor and has had some fascinating conversations with local people who recognise themselves.

John, the eldest of four children, was born in Bladnoch, Wigtownshire, the home of the most lowland southerly Scottish distillery, but when he was eighteen months old, his father became a Clerk at Dorman Long Steelworks and brought the family to live in Saltburn’s Eden Street. They had a local connection as John’s grandmother: Grace Illingworth, was a District Councillor here in the 1940s and 1950s.

John attended Saltburn Infants’ School in Upleatham Street and did one year at the adjacent Junior School, before moving to Skelton, aged eight. His next Primary was Skelton Green before secondary schooling at Stanghow Lane and Brotton County Modern. He moved on to Cleveland Technical College to take ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels.

At Skelton, the family had a smallholding of one and a half acres and an allotment garden. John grew veg and sold it to a Guisborough market stall holder. He also liked working with animals and planned to go into farming, but summer work in East Cleveland Libraries at fourteen changed his mind.

He needed a Science qualification, so studied Geology at Stockton-Billingham Technical College in the evenings, while he worked as a trainee librarian at Whitby. Then he went to Liverpool for two years to study Librarianship, before taking up a post in the Reference and Information Department at Northallerton Library.

In 1971, he married Jeanette Hall, an East Cleveland girl, and two years later, he moved to Loftus Library.

Cleveland County Council was being set up and John ran both Loftus and Marske Libraries for five months. He moved on to Acklam Library, which was the largest Branch Library in Cleveland County. “I had a staff of twelve and we were issuing more than a thousand books a day,” he remembers.

A house move to Nunthorpe was short-lived, as their parents needed more help and they set up home in Easington.

By now, they had three young children: David, Duncan and Rachel. As well as travelling to Acklam daily, John took a part -time Honours degree in Literature at Teesside University and graduated in 1984 with a 2:1.

During this time, John became involved in Scouting.

He volunteered to help at a Cub meeting in Easington, which his son was attending and two years later, was asked to be a Cub Scout Leader at Brotton; Jeanette became his assistant.

Next, he became Assistant District Commissioner. The death of the Group Scout Leader at Brotton led to him taking on his post for the next twelve years until 2002. Then he became District Commissioner for East Cleveland.

A reorganisation at Cleveland County Council meant that John was appointed as Group Librarian for Marske, Saltburn, Skelton, Brotton and Loftus Branches and he was responsible for computerisation. This led him to being placed at Billingham, where he oversaw computerisation and the reorganisation of mobile libraries.

“Following that, I was made Bibliographical Services

Officer in Stockton and given a budget of one and a half million pounds per year to buy books,” he says. “But the working environment was not good and I left. After three and a half years out of service, I saw that Loftus Library was advertising and I returned there for nine happy years until I took early retirement in 2012.”

Retirement has given John time to become Cleveland Safeguarding Officer for Scouts, providing training for uniformed leaders, ensuring child protection and dealing with any reports of bullying. He oversees Health and Safety at the District Camp Site at the former Kettleness Railway Station.

“I’m Group Scout Leader now at the 1st Saltburn Pack and it is thriving. We have 22 Beavers, 24 Cubs and 23 Scouts,” he explains. “My daughter Rachel is now District Commissioner too.”

As befits a librarian, John loves reading. He enjoys thrillers, including those of Lee Childs and Carl Hiaasen, science fiction and Louis L’Amour Westerns. Also sought by him are books on local history, industrial archaeology and gardening.

He is Secretary and Treasurer of North Skelton Allotment Association and has had an allotment for about fifteen years. He grows fruit and veg, including different coloured ones: red or purple kale and purple podded peas.

Some of his seven grandchildren like to come and visit to forage. On Wednesday and Sunday mornings, he oversees the allotment shop.

John has had Rottweilers in the past, but now enjoys the freedom of going away without dogs. He has never been abroad or flown, but he towed a caravan around this country for twenty-five years, booking a seasonal pitch in Wensleydale for the last ten. John loves being outdoors and was a keen cross-country runner in his youth. He has run the Lyke Wake Walk five times and walked many long distance footpaths, including the Pennine Way and Offa’s Dyke. Nowadays, he is thinking of trying bowls.

49

1st Saltburn Scout Group Just as we closed for Easter, the clocks had changed and so as we now prepare to meet again, we hope we can get out; especially if it continues to stay dry!

We hope this pleasant weather continues enough for us to enjoy our annual St George’s Day Parade and Service at Saltburn (change of plan owing to double booking at Guisborough!); which we will have enjoyed by the time this article appears in May. As Beavers closed for Easter they were saying farewell to Felix and Tom as they ‘moved on’ to Cubs; the Colony should welcome Arran, Darcie, Kyah, Talay, and Theo, so numbers in the Colony remain at a constant 24 members. This increase follows a parents’ meeting about assistance. More later!

Cubs will welcome Alexander (‘moving in’ from a Colony in Stockton), Felix and Tom (from our own Beavers), giving a Pack of 22 Cubs; all keen and eager to experience their surroundings and developing their abilities.

At the same time they are equally optimistic about the lighter nights and the chance to get outside and explore!

The Scout Troop will total 22 after the break (Kane ‘moves on’ to Explorers at Marske), which gives 1st Saltburn a very healthy Troop. But they are equally desperate to get outside; parents have also volunteered to assist (thanks to Ann and Tony), also Keith our regular helpful dad has offered to take on a role so we have a prospect of greater ability to get out; hopefully the weather will be kind!

Saltburn Line User Group Next Meeting: Tuesday, 2nd May 2017 at 7.15pm.

This May meeting will be the AGM to be held at Costa Coffee, Regent Walk, Redcar with speakers from Northern, TransPennine Express and Grand Central.

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

A parents’ meeting was called in April to discuss the future of the Group. Those that attended after an initial discussion about the abruptness of the possibility of the Group closing; many had not been at the Group AGM last year and so were unaware of the District Commissioner’s warning.

Several have volunteered to undergo a DBS check which we need to undertake to ensure the safety of all involved; some seemed surprised that we should need help and asked could we attract assistance from the District or other Groups. I do feel that some seemed keener on trying to find help from elsewhere (be it Teesside University Scout and Guide clubs, etc.) rather than volunteering themselves! Explaining that what was needed was several people to lead; another Assistant Beaver Leader, a Cub Scout Leader and Assistant as well as a Scout Leader and Assistant. The present situation of only myself as a Wood Badged (fully trained) Leader cannot continue; the Beaver Leader has to complete their training, until then either I (or another trained Leader) have to be present. At the same time we need to have a trained Leader leading the Cub Pack and the Scout Troop; such training can be achieved in less than two years, but in the meantime I could conceivably have to remain at Saltburn! My problem is that ignoring my own private life (I feature in the Saltburn Profile this month - see page 49), I am the Safe Guarding Coordinator for Cleveland (our Scout County area) and lead and present Safe Guarding sessions for Leaders; I am a Trainer Advisor and heavily involved with our District Camp Centre at Kettlenesss (of which I am a trustee). But at the end of it all I would like to enjoy my grandchildren and pursue my other interests of old photographs and gardening!

We will be seen out and about as summer is now upon us; but we continue to welcome assistance in all our activities and if you 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.

Old Wives’ Tales by Alan Butler After so many years as a historical researcher and writer one lesson I have learned is not to dismiss out of hand either the observations or advice that have come down to us from our ancestors – sometimes even from thousands of years ago. Just because people who lived so long ago were less technologically advanced than us does not imply that they were any less intelligent and I have come across dozens of examples of their ingenuity and inventiveness to prove the fact. However, this has never come home to me more than has been the case across the last few months when I learned just how clever our remote ancestors actually were.

Readers might recall that a few months ago I talked about a device I had created that was guaranteed to keep snails and slugs away from tender plants in the garden. My discovery in this case had been to do with the properties of copper and the way it could be made to produce a small but constant electrical charge – though without the addition of any battery except one that exists as a natural consequence of chemistry. It was my discoveries in the garden that ultimately led to another realisation about the possible properties of copper, though this time to do with humans and not gastropods.

There is an enduring belief across the world that bangles and bracelets made of copper have the ability to alleviate pain, particularly that caused by rheumatism and arthritis. Supposedly one only had to wear such a bracelet in order to gain at least some pain relief, though the mechanism by which this might work was unknown and the whole thing fell into the realms of magic.

What started me looking at this was an article I had read concerning the work of two biologists at Glasgow university, who are presently working on ways to improve wound healing, especially in people suffering from diabetes, who are often troubled by sores that don’t heal well, particularly on their feet. The researchers have come to the conclusion that wounds heal better in the presence of a small but constant electric current and although their research did not touch on any analgesic benefit of electrical charges it got me thinking.

Two recent studies into copper bangles had turned up no real evidence for their ability to alleviate pain but I began to wonder if those carrying out the tests might have made a few mistakes in the way they conducted them, though through no fault of their own. Like everyone else they had no idea ‘why’ copper might have this remarkable ability and this almost certainly prevented them from carrying out a truly fair test.

It seemed to me that if copper could give slugs and snails a small electric shock, it could do the same to human beings. Copper bangles for pain relief go back as far as Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece and both those cultures had something that we in our northern climes don’t generally have – and that is a hot climate. Both cultures also lived in areas where the soil is rich in zinc and iron, both of which would be present in their sweat, together with chemicals known as electrolytes. They had all the ingredients necessary to turn the copper bangles they wore

into tiny batteries, which would constantly create a one volt current around their wrist or ankle. Bearing in mind what the Scottish researchers had discovered I wondered if this small but constant charge was in some way responsible for the supposed pain relief. People had previously suggested that small amounts of copper from the bangles had somehow got through the skin of the wearer and it was this that accounted for the therapeutic action of the bangles but there was no evidence at all that this was indeed the case.

I contacted the professor who was carrying out the research in Glasgow and we had a long talk on the telephone. He did not dismiss for one minute the possibility that this little electric charge could have a bearing on the electrical signals constantly moving back and forth across human neural systems to and from the brain and thought that the idea was definitely worth pursuing. So I took the device that I had invented to deter our slimy friends in the garden and essentially turned it inside out by applying it to the inside of a band. Because it is composed of copper plus another reactive metal it does not rely on the human body to supply either zinc or iron and since I applied it to a tight fitting bracelet that naturally encouraged the skin under it to glow, it also encouraged the body to produce the other component of the electric circuit – the electrolytes. As a result the same conditions experienced by those who wore copper bangles in sunny countries were being recreated and I could observe by using a voltmeter that the current was indeed flowing.

A whole series of my friends and relatives who suffer from pain of one sort or another are now wearing the bi-metal bands that I have made and I am carefully monitoring the situation. I have modified the bands constantly in order to get them to work more efficiently and the results so far seem to be extremely encouraging.

If it turns out that they do work, even for a percentage of people I will be most gratified because there is surely nothing more debilitating or depressing than the constant presence of pain.

Any thanks due here does not go to me. After all I am simply replicating something that was being done up to four thousand years ago but adapting it to work in a cooler climate. Those people in the Nile Valley and across the beautiful plains and mountains of Greece could not have had any idea ‘why’ their copper bangles achieved what they did but they probably put it down to the mystique regarding copper, which was the very first metal used by human beings and which seems to have been deeply revered in its own right. It might also partly explain the huge amounts of copper and bronze articles that were given as votive offerings in sacred streams and temple sites – perhaps in some cases a thanks to the gods by grateful wearers of copper bangles and bracelets.

It all goes to show that continued observation can be just as important as technological ability and also demonstrates just how bright our ancient ancestors really were.

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Saltburn Allotments Association May is usually a brilliant yet very busy month, when everything seems to be happening. If you planted potatoes in early April they will probably need earthing up. Leave the tops of the stalks visible to the sun otherwise growth might be affected. Covering up the majority of the new growth keeps the potatoes themselves sun free and encourages more potatoes to form from each tuber.

One thing I’ve noticed a lot this year, is that rhubarb is bolting (rather than revolting, which it isn’t).

I think this is because we have had a warm dry(ish) spring. The plants, of course, want to produce flowers and reproduce but that’s not our plan. We want lots of thick juicy stalks. The plants will tend to give up doing this when they’ve flowered as their job is done. Cut out the flowering stalks down to ground level and keep doing this whenever you see signs of flower shoots.

This way you should still get plenty of harvest. If you have a glut, bring it to our Farmers’ Market stall on May 13th and we’ll sell it to raise funds and show people how much tastier locally grown produce can be.

I sowed my first courgettes in March and some of them are looking good: May and even into June though, is time enough. You could sow them directly into the ground or start them off inside to plant out when the seedlings are established. You will still be cropping in autumn, after mine have finished. Also, May is plenty of time to start off runner, climbing French and dwarf beans, for planting out when they are healthy and strong. You can plant them directly into the ground but mice love the seeds and slugs and snails love the first sweet shoots.

Other crops you can sow now include most of the brassicas, salad leaves and lettuce, spring onions, carrots and parsnips, peas and broad beans and for successive harvesting, beetroot, onions, leeks, herbs, maize, turnips and courgettes, squashes and pumpkins. You might be harvesting early salad leaves, such as cut and come again varieties; I’ve been harvesting land cress through most of the winter and spring from a bed where it’s gone mad. I finally dug most of it up recently as it was flowering and had gone very woody and bitter. I’m hoping, though, that as it had set seed, I will be getting some new plants popping up among my newly planted little gem lettuces and rocket plants.

People often talk about hardening plants off before planting them out. I’ve been doing that with the dahlias, lilies and gladioli I planted to give me flowers for cutting and I’ll soon be doing it with my brassicas.

What you do is put the plants outside in their pots during the day and bring them back in at night, or put them in a cold frame, if you have one, and close the lid at night to shelter them from the cold. It gives the plants much less of a fright when they are planted out in the soil.

Anyway, happy gardening, Sue. 52

Saltburn Labour Party News I’d like to begin this month by paying tribute to former Saltburn Labour Councillor Joan Guy, who died on April 13th. I can’t claim to have known Joan very well, but I know she worked hard to represent Saltburn throughout her time on the Borough Council, and had a passionate commitment to our town ever since she came to live here in the mid-1980s. Along with many others, I also witnessed her determination to be involved in Saltburn life in the face of debilitating illness. She clearly had a great deal of commitment to the issues and values she believed in.

I have a strong sense of following in Joan’s footsteps, firstly as a Saltburn councillor, then as Lead Member for Children’s Services, and now as chair of Saltburn Labour branch.

This brings with it a strong feeling of responsibility. Joan lived to see extraordinary and very encouraging developments in our branch over the last two years. From four or five members meeting regularly in Saltburn library, we now average twenty to thirty (forty on one occasion) members in Saltburn House every month. And these numbers are only the people we have met so far - the total number of Saltburn Labour members now, together with registered supporters and union affiliates, is much higher.

Such an unprecedented change in our fortunes is not without its challenges. Many new members have arrived, as I did myself, with a strong sense of worry, and growing anger, over increasing social deprivation in our reportedly rich country. Child poverty, for example, declining from the mid1990s till 2010, is now increasing again, with the added impact that now it affects working families as well, leaving them seriously worried about their own and their children’s futures.

The total effect of all tax and benefit changes since 2010 has been to enrich those on higher than average income, but impoverish below-average earners. Such changes can’t continue without unravelling the fabric of the society we take for granted. This has, in my view, created a new mood in the party, in which many members come with tackling inequality as their first priority and expecting to hold those in elected positions to account. I think this is a very positive thing and that, despite some early turbulence around the country which is bound to come with new times, new people, we will be able to tackle inequality successfully if we all participate in its demise. It is not only the poor and vulnerable who need this, but the economy, indeed the country, as a whole.

Having said that, I’ve discovered over the past two years what Joan certainly knew, that effecting change in almost any aspect of local administration is usually a hard slog, with persistence the most necessary quality. And sometimes it is unexpected things that are the most difficult. In my own experience blocking a recent attempt to reclassify some land at the edge of Saltburn which is, and should be, designated as green belt in the Local Plan was relatively swift and simple, but getting our roads marked with yellow lines successfully goes on and on!

I hope it won’t be read as too self-serving if I say that I think communities should be grateful to those gluttons for punishment who are prepared to endure the insolence of office, and the spurns that patient merit of th'unworthy takes, on behalf of those they represent. Frustration and exasperation are our frequent companions.

So farewell Joan, requiescat in pace and thank you for all your work for Saltburn and the Borough. You leave behind a thriving branch, an up-and-coming town, and a Labour group of councillors determined to fight on for the best decisions for our residents, and that’s not a bad legacy it seems to me.

Councillor Craig Hannaway

The Muses of Jim First of all I must start with an apology. To the Jackson Family of Skelton, because I got the first name wrong of their family member and for the shock that Les must have had when reading that he had died. He is looking rather pale at the moment, don’t you think? What can I say other than a very meaningful SORRY. On the other hand, I am not prepared to comment on the matter of bullying apart from thanking the people that supported me.

The week after the attack at Westminster I had to visit Parliament for a meeting of the National Council of NALC of which I am a member at Portcullis House and to meet and speak to Local MPs about several local projects I have in mind. Rather than the very sombre atmosphere I was expecting, it was almost a very jolly experience. There were very many people outside, most of them taking selfies with Big Ben in the background, or rather the Clock Tower, since of course, as everyone knows, Big Ben is the bell. On going through security I was asked to remove my belt and place it in a tray with the rest my loose belongings and then I said my trousers might fall down. The Security Guard said that’s why we have that camera behind you to cheer us up! Brilliant British humour, and the two nearest armed police officers burst out laughing at the joke. The three MPs were very supportive, unlike the others from the old Cleveland area.

I had to catch a much later train than usual but I was contented with the job done well.

The highlight of the month was a trip of a few days to Edinburgh with my number three daughter, Jill, her partner, Brian, and their two children, Charlie and Molly.

At least this time I was staying at the same hotel if not on the same floor. The hotel at the end of Princess Street, opposite the Castle. There was a rail strike affecting the Saltburn to Darlington route. It was a protest about plans about the opening of doors. At the moment it’s us passengers that open the doors to get off the train. At Darlington I couldn’t find my tickets which I had bought earlier at Redcar Station. So I had to buy another set of tickets. As is the custom of important families, I travelled by different trains in case of invasion from outer space.

The journey north is much more interesting than travelling down to London as well as being much cheaper. There are many stunning views, the vista of Durham, the Angel of the North, Holy Island, Bamborough, Berwick on Tweed, North Berwick Law and Arthur’s Seat.

Once ensconced in the lovely posh hotel, the boys went off to a football match and the rest of the party started to explore the sights of Edinburgh. After a meal at the McDonalds in Frederick Street, on leaving my seat I felt ill, dizzy and confused and it was worst when out on the pavement. Then it became even worse and I asked for an ambulance to be called. Jill, who is a nurse, responded well, calling for an ambulance without laughing or going through my pockets. The ambulance men were great.

They tried to stabilise my blood pressure as it kept going up and down, as it often does at times. As Mollie didn’t

want to get in the ambulance we had to wait until Brian and Charlie made their way to us, which they quickly did.

Off to the Royal Hospital and I was quickly checked over and left on a trolley until it was my turn to be attended to.

Which wasn’t too long although the hospital appeared to be busy. I was X-rayed and given a scan. After about three hours I was released. We had been booked into a café for tea which we missed because of my blimp.

Next day it was a trip to the zoo. This is a must for all visitors to Edinburgh and it was for the same reason for me: I was eager to see the pandas. Unfortunately, only the male was on view and he was certainly playing to the gallery. I could have stopped there longer but the party wanted to move on. Another delight was the koala bears, although they were not as entertaining as the pandas for it seems that all they do is sit in trees and eat leaves all day.

Whilst the zoo was wonderful because it is built on the side of a very steep hill, I found it very tiring indeed. The next day, after a later start, it was the turn of the sight-seeing tour bus to entertain us. The one we used was the one with live commentary which continued even when we were stuck in traffic jams, of which there were several and even when we experienced a detour. But still, it was well worth the money.

The normal buses have an exact change policy.

Although there are day tickets. The first time I used the normal buses I only had two pound coins so I lost 40p. I cried myself to sleep that night. As both boys are keen golfers, the next occasion for them was a planned visit to Saint Andrews Golf Course. Golf, I think, is a walk spoilt.

So I stayed in town and had a mooch around to Newtown visiting places Betty and I enjoyed when the four girls paid for a long weekend for her Birthday, but I could not find the Top Hole Hotel we stayed at. Three things struck me about Edinburgh. How beautiful the city is. The number of beggars throughout the city and the lack of public seating for the elderly in shops and public streets. We returned home on different trains. Me standard class and the Lowes’ first class.

When I walked into the house I thought I had walked into the wrong house as it was that clean and tidy. Spud was that pleased to see me that he danced around the top of my desk, knocking off something and smashing my hub. I then had no internet but I spoke to a very nice lady from Virgin Media in India, who speedily arranged for an engineer to visit the next day, which was Good Friday. He arrived on time and quickly fitted a new and much quicker device. Sorted.

Finally, I must confess that whilst I enjoyed the adventure up north it had knackered me that much that even the cheap but excellent beer could not recharge my batteries on my return and I fell asleep in the club in opening hours, having to be woken up after time had been called and leaving a half empty pint glass. The shame of it all. I am not sure how my false teeth ended up on the table and I know nothing about the bodily noises I was accused of making. I think I was drugged.

Jim Wingham 53

The Saltburn Crossword no 191 set by Advena Across 1 5 9 10 11 12 14 16 19 21 23 25 26 27

Is this local landmark the scene of a feline capture? (6) Instruction to add weapons to this comfortable seat? (8) H.M. there at Saltburn’s beginning (5, 8) Parasitic insects seen irregularly on the person permitted to sell alcohol (8) I twice followed how all women arrive initially at this US Pacific state (6) Strangely amused by the Greek gorgon (6) Ballot in seed reversed enthusiastic fans (8) Send dart awry to be left high and dry (8) An open wine container in the Royal Academy centre café (6) Treasured when shortened Valerie due sorting (6) Badly made ale stops the Christian disciples (8) Rebuilt yard differs in the alliterative Saltburn group (6, 7) For a very lazy type of garden pest, drag backwards (8) In minor ways, this country is Scandinavian (6)

Down Name___________________________________ Address_________________________________ ________________________________________ Telephone_______________________________

2 To obtain what sounds like a twentieth of a ream of paper (7) 3 Surprisingly nice Eddie first becomes a female relation (5) 4 Sounds like the players stay on their feet at this local music venue (8) 5 An aromatic liquorice flavour eased in mixture (7) 6 In this format cheating is a sporting contest (6) 7 Redirected earthward it’s not a problem for our local supply (4, 5) 8 Visualise a song by John Lennon (7) 13 We’re told that 9 across described life this way (9) 15 9 across also gave our town it’s well known description (9) 17 Unfortunately true, Alf is visibly emotional (7) 18 Edward F strangely made things seem smaller (7) 20 Free flexible ISA with a fragrant flower (6) 22 Awfully mad about the Royal Academy rearranging one of Saltburn’s festivals (5) 24 Suite normally includes a male singer (5)

Solution to Crossword no 190

The winner of last month’s crossword was Margeurite Barber of Wiltshire Road, Skelton.

D. V. Townend & Co 8 Dundas Street East, Saltburn TS12 1AH

Country Outfitters Tel: (01287) 623754 Website: www.dvtownend.com Email: info@dvtownend.com Specialising in practical but stylish leisure and outdoor wear, we also stock a wide range of accessories, gifts and leather items from the most famous brands including Aigle, Magee, Seasalt and Tumble & Hide.

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Send your completed crossword to: Saltburn Crossword no 191, c/o Jackie’s Saverstore, 8 Station Buildings, Saltburn, TS12 1AQ

by Friday, 19th May 2017. First correct solution out of the bag wins a £10 voucher kindly donated by Tim and Sheila of Real Meals.

Saltburn Bandstand Concerts 2017 Organised by Saltburn 500 Club

1st 8th 15th 22nd 29th 5th 12th 19th 26th

7th 14th 21st 28th 4th 11th 18th 25th 2nd 9th 16th 23rd 30th 6th 13th 20th 27th 3rd 10th 17th 24th

Saturday Concerts 2.30pm – 4pm July Marske Junior Band Guisborough Big Band New Horizons Band Goodfellas Teesside Wind Band August Platinum Doc Noir & Friends Goodfellas Rockulele Sunday Concerts 2.30pm – 4pm May Marske Brass Band Cleveland Concert Band Hurworth Concert Band Darlington Community Wind Band June Bilsdale Silver Band Bearpark & Esh Colliery Band The Silver wood Band Cleveland Constabulary Band July Northallerton Silver Band Hurworth Concert Band Aycliffe & Brancepath Brass Band Bearpark & Esh Colliery Band Lockwood Brass Band August North Skelton Brass Band Northallerton Silver Band Cleveland Constabulary Band Teesside Wind Band September Cleveland Concert Band Bilsdale Silver Band The Silverwood Band Marske Brass Band

A Perfectly Spiffing Night of Drama with

Daisy Pulls it Off

Saltburn ’53 Drama Group’s Spring production, on May 18th, 19th & 21st is Denise Deegan’s Olivier award winning comedy Daisy Pulls It Off. Set in the 1920s, this parody of the jolly hockey-sticks girls’ boarding-school world of Angela Brazil, with its dorm feasts, hidden treasure and climactic cliff-edge rescue, has more than a hint of Harry Potter, though with more laughs – not least because the girls are played by adults!

Daisy is the first elementary school pupil to win a scholarship to an exclusive girls’ private school and the play is about the obstacles and prejudices she has to overcome. Taken as an escapist romp, or as a comment on snobbishness and divisions in English society, it offers apt entertainment for our times!

There are performances on the Thursday, Friday and Sunday nights - as Daisy has a perfectly spiffing midnight feast organised for the Saturday that she simply can’t miss! Tickets priced £7/£5 (conc) are on sale from Saltburn Community Theatre, SPAR Gosnay’s in Milton Street (and online at www.saltburnarts.co.uk).

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