Talk of the Town February 2016

EDITION 176

CIRCULATION 4,800

FEBRUARY 2016

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

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SALTBURN’S TOWN TALK Letter from the Editor

February is an important month for me because it is the anniversary of when I took over the magazine, my first edition being March 2002, no 10. Now we have reached edition 176 and it’s only exactly two years before we reach 200. The magazine has become almost an ‘institution’ during this time. Saltburn residents regard it as an essential part of Saltburn life and long may it continue.

This month’s magazine has gone back up to 64 pages and is unusual in that I have succeeded in getting every single contributed article in. Normally I am submitted far more material than I can find space for and I can’t simply add

another page to include everything because the magazine has to increase by multiples of four pages. I don’t see that as a limitation because the advantage of having a publication printed on paper far outweighs any dubious benefit of digital ‘on line’ publication. Yes, there are some differences: obviously the internet is quicker as is television and radio, but people still want paper that they can hold in their hands and read at their own pace, rather than be confused by the bewildering, rapid and transient delivery of other media. But then I’m biased: I still read books and think. Love, Ian. Send letters, adverts and contributions for the next issue (by Friday, 19th February 2016) to: The Editor, Talk of the Town c/o Jackie’s Saverstore, 8 Station Buildings, Saltburn, Cleveland, TS12 1AQ. Telephone: 01287 623903 (or email: talkofthetown@tyasi.freeserve.co.uk). Talk of the Town has a website: www.tottsaltburn.co.uk and the Friends of Talk of the Town can be found on Facebook.

Saltburn Farmers’ Market returns on Saturday, 12th March. The organisers say, “what a splendid year Saltburn Farmers’ Market had last year. Thanks to everyone for shopping at it and supporting local producers. See you all on March 12th!”

Shelter Consultation: Residents are being asked by Redcar and Cleveland Council to ‘vote’ for the design of a shelter to Brockley Hall will reopen in mid-May. See next month’s replace one damaged in the 2013 storm on the bottom magazine for more details. promenade nearly opposite the pier. Forms are available in WI Report: The ladies of Saltburn WI started the New Year the library with a cut-off date of Saturday, 6th February. Early with the first of their activity craft classes on the 4th January. indications were that many people were preferring a This was an opportunity to catch-up after the activities of Christmas for a chat and for a member to demonstrate the art of traditional style.

Redcar Lecture Society: On Tuesday, 9th February at decoupage. Ladies were busy cutting out pictures and then 2.15pm in the Redcar East Community Centre on Durham building them layer upon layer to make them into cards or Road, Ian Goodman will be presenting his Illustrated Talk on pictures. The morning finished with a shared lunch. Next ‘The Life and Work of a Magistrate’. Then, a fortnight later month craft club members will need to take their button on Tuesday, 23rd of February, we shall have a return visit boxes. On the 7th and 21st January the Tai Chi class swung from David Rodway, who this time will be Visually back into action with some members promising themselves to Presenting ‘Cornwall’. Admission at the door is £2.50 and be as active as possible in the forthcoming year. On the 12th January members at the Carers Together cookery class, held on visitors are very welcome.

DeBrus campus, Skelton, made pizza and tiramisu (an Italian The Guisborough and District Branch of the themed lunch) for their first offering of the New Year.

Embroiderers’ Guild are holding their monthly meeting on The first Friday stroll of the New Year was on the 8th 6th February 2016 in Sunnyfield House, Westgate, January. However, the weather as usual was wet and miserable Guisborough TS14 6BA. The meeting starts at 1.45pm. The and the walk planned was shelved in favour of a shorter route guest speaker will be Maggie Smith, and her subject is ‘Still around Saltburn ending with a coffee stop. Weekly Friday Life as an Inspiration for Stitch’. Visitors are welcome strolls (except the first Friday of the month) start at the Esso whether non-stitchers, beginners or more experienced garage at 10am (all members welcome to join). On the 14th stitchers. We will be very pleased to see you. For more our speaker at the monthly meeting was Sue Bolderson telling information please call 01642 314860. us about environmental issues, very topical with the flooding Linda that has plagued the North of England this winter. The 20th of Emmanuel Church Hall Table Top and Collectors’ Sale: January saw the commencement of the flower class and on the Our next dates are Saturdays 6th and 20th February, and then 2lst January members of the Book Club met in the Marine Saturdays 5th and 19th March. FREE ENTRANCE and a Hotel at 7pm. On the 28th January members met in the ECHO warm welcome to everyone. With over 26 stall holders, building at Emmanuel Church for their post Christmas Meal selling lots of bric-a-brac, books, toys, baby goods, and all which is always enjoyed as it offers an opportunity to chat, sorts of collectables, and some crafts, there is something for relax and enjoy good food and company. Diary and News of everyone. Home made refreshments and light lunches are on Saltburn WI can be found on its website sale all day. Our all day breakfast and lunches and popular (saltburnwi.org.uk). New members always welcome. The next home baked stall are always available. Our kitchen is very meeting will be the AGM on 11th February at 7.30pm in the busy and popular. Our hot meals seam to be popular now the Methodist Church Hall, Milton Street, Saltburn, with the election of officers followed by a pooled buffet supper. weather is so cold.

Barbara Spanner Denise Marshall Cover Illustration: Rainbow after the winter storms in Saltburn by David Hankin 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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Saltburn Photographic Society—Lilian Waton, an appreciation Sadly on the first day of January 2016 we received the news that our Chairman Lilian Waton had died in hospital on New Year’s Eve whilst awaiting an operation.

Lilian joined Saltburn Photographic Society in 1969 and was a very active member through the years. She held the post of publicity secretary from 1977 to 1982 and was chairman from 1982 to 1984, representing the Society on the North Yorks and South Durham Association committee in 1990 and 1991.

Her photographic credentials were secured by winning the Ladies Trophy in 1975 and 1976, the Harry Brittain Silver Salver in 2002. Together with other ladies of the society they gave three presentations with taped commentary. These were shown at the society meetings, following which they were then taken and presented to several other local groups including York and Hartlepool photographic societies. The success of this venture led to having a Ladies Night included in the programme for 8 years from 1978.

In December 2015 her last input to the society’s programme was to co-present the annual Christmas Quiz.

Her activities were not confined to the Photographic Society; she had many interests both within the town and beyond. One project we had the pleasure of working with Lilian and others connected with Winkies Castle Museum at Marske was the preparation of two booklets “Winkies Castle” and “Changing Marske by the Sea”. Lilian was the current chairman of Friends of Winkies Castle. We will certainly miss Lilian.

The Society finished 2015 on a successful note when the results of the Inter Club Competition (11 local clubs) were announced. Saltburn was first in the Print Class and second in the Projected Digital Images class. Ian Snowdon won the trophy for the Best Monochrome Print.

The images show some of our entries in the competition.

Waxwing with Berry by Tim Cossins

Cuckoo by David Beadle

Guy in a hurry by Alan Parker Life from within by Ian Snowdon Best Monochrome Print 4

Cath and Tony Lynn

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

Cllr. Thomson: 01287 624883.

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Once Upon a Time in the Wapentake Has anything much happened since last I wrote? Nothing much, except weather. But what weather: rain and wind, wind and rain. On Monday, 4th of January it was Saltburn’s turn for a month’s worth of rain in a single night; on Thursday, the 14th of January we went to Whitby and the wind almost blew us away.

And it isn’t just Northern Britain that is suffering from extreme weather. Wild fires were raging in the State of Victoria, and in Northern Spain (in the middle of winter!); there were devastating floods in Argentina, and unseasonable tornados in Texas.

And as the blizzards swept the Eastern Mediterranean it was reported that Istanbul was colder than the North Pole, the North Pole being some 50 Degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it usually is in mid-winter.

Records are made to be broken, but not by so much as that.

Extreme weather events have always happened, but only once a century, not twice a week.

And it is an El Nino year (El Nino = The Christ Child, so called because the events usually become noticeable at Christmas.) and the El Nino is a natural cycle, triggered by a still unexplained warming of the Pacific Ocean. But this is an El Nino year like none since records began. It seems almost certain that Climate Change is greatly increasing the El Nino effect, just as the warming seas it is bringing are creating more and bigger hurricanes, and heavier rainfall on islands such as ours in the North Atlantic.

This may even be the tipping point. If the icecaps continue to melt at the present rate, then the sun’s rays will no longer be reflected out into space; instead the oceans will be absorbing even more heat. And the Siberian permafrost is melting; releasing millions of tons of methane, a greenhouse gas ten times more potent than Carbon Dioxide.

It is very hard any more to believe that something serious isn’t happening, though there are some who still do so, possibly the same people who are certain that the Earth is flat, and Elvis Presley is alive and working in a chip shop in Dormanstown.

What is, of course, more open to debate is the extent to which Global Warming is our fault: whether it has really been caused by our reckless burning of coal and oil and gas. I think the wisest words I have heard on that were from the man who used to be called John Selwyn Gummer (he’s now Lord something or other) and who was once a Conservative Minister for the Environment. What he said was something like this: “At least 95% of those scientist who have studied the matter believe that we must stop burning fossil fuels. If we do what they say, and they turn out to be wrong, then we will have, at least, made our atmosphere fit to breathe. If we don’t do what they say, and they do turn out to be right, then we’re doomed.” (He didn’t actually say ‘doomed’ but the word he did use is not really fit to be printed in a publication for all the family to read.) In other words, it is a good idea to stop pumping out 6

huge amounts of CO2. Full stop.

Some readers might be thinking that all this is nothing to do with them, and not at all the cosy little sort of article that they want to read in their local community magazine. I can only apologise, but as long as Saltburn is part of Planet Earth, and as long as our community’s future is bound up with that of everyone else’s future, then I believe what I am writing is relevant to us all.

We live on top of a hill, it is true, and, as the sea levels rise, we could look down on those who live at sea level and think, well, we’re all right. But it will affect us.

Hundreds of millions of people live close to the sea, for two reasons: so many of the world’s great cities began as seaports, think Shanghai, Mumbai, New York, London, Middlesbrough, and, for obvious reasons seaports tend to be close to the sea; and secondly because at the mouth of the world’s great rivers, the Nile, the Mekong, the Yangtze, for example, are vast areas of very fertile silt which support massive populations of peasant farmers.

Even a small rise in the sea levels will set vast numbers of people on the move looking for somewhere to live, looking for higher ground. Our existing institutions seem incapable of coping with the arrival of a few thousand people fleeing the horrors of Syria, Iraq, Sudan and Afghanistan. How well will they cope with what may be about to happen?

Another way that we will be affected will be because of the damage to the world’s agriculture, from rising seas as already mentioned, from drought, from wind erosion, from rising temperatures, and too much rain at the wrong time of year. We, in this country, have for centuries got used to importing food, not just luxuries, but essentials. Just look in your shopping bag (or trolley) and see how much or how little is locally grown.

Two problems have to dealt with: what to do with the immediate problem which here and now is too much water, but which may next year be drought or a heat wave, and which soon may involve taking care of those fleeing lands now uninhabitable; and, if it is possible, do something to halt, perhaps even reverse the Climate Change that is causing the problems.

There is much we can do as individuals, and as a local community to deal with these two things, but we cannot do it all on our own. Never has it been so true that no man (or woman) is an island. It is a problem for the world, and the world must work together.

A city that builds walls to send the flood waters down stream to flood another city solves nothing. A state that shuts down a factory that emits too much CO2, only to find that factory opening in another country, solves nothing.

Like it or not, we work out rules together, and then obey them.

With the editor’s permission I will devote my next article to my ideas of what can and must be done.

Tim Beswick

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Councillors’ Column Residents will be aware that land south of Marske Road has now been allowed outline planning permission for 130 houses.

The Planning Inspector was clear in his findings at the Public Inquiry. The Council could not demonstrate a sound argument to justify the stance taken on its housing need calculations.

Neither could the Council demonstrate any clear definition of the Strategic Gap which it had advocated to delineate green space between settlements. A sad reflection on the standard of advice given by professionals and further demonstrating the failure to provide a robust draft Local Plan that would have stood the test of objective scrutiny.

A salutary lesson perhaps for those who are not interested in the detail of proposed legislation but simply see political divide in any rational questioning of policy. Residents attending the recent Saltburn Neighbourhood Action Partnership (SNAP) meeting heard of an application for a 20mph zone in Wilton Bank. Occupants of that area would now be consulted on the proposals before a final decision is made.

Reference was also made to new Traffic Control Orders being published for consultation, proposing to bring in restricted waiting on Marske Mill Lane, Windsor Road and certain junctions within the town centre. Concerns over road safety can be directed to Ward members but also to Officers at the Fire Station in Leven Street who lead on the local Road Safety Committee.

Recent heavy rain again brought flooding to certain areas of the town. Hazelgrove Bottom and Princes Road Enterprise Centre experienced levels of water that prevented normal passage.

` A mapping of all water courses and maintenance access points, promised after the September 2013 downpour, has not been achieved. Following a further meeting renewed commitments have been made to prepare maps, introduce a published maintenance schedule and bring these to a future SNAP. In December 2013 the one remaining public shelter on the lower promenade was persuaded by the elements, assisted by human encouragement, to finally fall. After years of neglect and minimum maintenance another piece of Saltburn’s heritage was reduced to fragments of historic past. Since then promised reinstatement has been slow to manifest itself. Now the prospect of replacement is in the air.

However, it may be to a different design. Five options are presented for resident consideration. Design boards are in the Library for inspection and comment. The consultation period ends on the 6th February. Please have a look and have your say. Plans and online survey can also be accessed at redcar-cleveland.gov.uk/SaltburnShelter for anyone unable to visit the Library.

Efforts to engage with residents on matters financial have not elicited a Borough wide response that might be described as enthusiastic. In attempting to receive views on Council Tax, social care precept and capital programme spend, online and live consultation was organised. 94 tax payers took the time to respond to the on-line public consultation offer on Budget options for the 2016/17 setting of Council Tax. 27 residents took the time to physically attend consultation meetings.

Philip Thomson 7

Saltburn and District Group for Visually Impaired People Saltburn VIPs welcomed Mike Irvine to our meeting in January.

Mike is a retired Tees River Pilot. Mike started by telling us of his younger days, his reluctance to take further education as a child, and how, with the help of his parents and good fortune, he made the decision to become a River Pilot.

This started with a three and a half year apprenticeship – totally unpaid! (I do not think that would happen in the modern day!) It took him a total of fourteen years to reach First seaman and be in control of supertankers entering Teesside.

Mike told of narrow escapes getting onto vessels in rough seas, and the sinking of a vessel which could nearly have cost him his life. Sadly all ten crew which were on board did lose their lives. This was not on

Mike’s watch thankfully, although he paid a major part in the enquiry.

Since retiring Mike has enjoyed a full life travelling to many countries. A lot of this is done as a speaker onboard cruise liners – nice work if you can get it!

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, February 10th, at 2pm, in the coffee lounge, Community Centre, Albion Terrace, Saltburn.

We will have a short delivery from a representative telling us of On Line Today, a scheme led by RNIB and Action for Blind, on getting as many visually impaired and hearing impaired people as possible, on line.

We will also be joined by Mike Morrisey, who many of you will know.

Please join us if you can.

Contact Chris Ferguson on 01287 204 170.

News from Saltburn Library Friends of Saltburn Library are happy to welcome for their February entertainment, Mr Graeme Aldous. His talk entitled “Forgotten Roads” is very interesting and unusual. It is the story of a Land Rover’s journey across 18 thousand miles from London to Singapore taking six months, seen through film footage that was “lost” for almost fifty years. To say more would spoil the enjoyment of the talk, so come along on Tuesday, February 16th at 2.00pm to be gripped by this story. It’s a great adventure, also true! Refreshments will be served afterwards.

A heads up for our forthcoming events: Tuesday, 15th March, a talk by Chocolinis; Tuesday, 19th April, Peter Morgan, A history of Tocketts Mill; Tuesday, 17th May, Ripping Yarns and on Tuesday, 21st June, Liz and

Steve singing a selection of favourite songs.

Remember if you are looking for something to do in the half term, pop along to the Library. We have toys, a lovely play kitchen, plenty of good books(!) and if the weather is good you can venture into the garden and help out. We will have a number of activities - so look out for information about those nearer the time.

Tracey Saltburn Library and Tourist Information Windsor Road, Saltburn-by-the-Sea Yorkshire TS12 1AT 01287 623584 Email: saltburn_library@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk Website: http://www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk

Saltburn Photographic Society Wednesday, 3rd February: A Tour of France by Jim McCormick. Wednesday, 10th February: Results of the Jarvis, Lynn and Ladies competitions. Wednesday, 17th February: Favourite Images by Mike Kipling. Wednesday, 24th February: NY&SDPA prints and digital projection portfolio the results of inter club competition.

Practical nights will be held frequently; more details

available from contact number or web site.

Meetings are held in the upstairs hall, Saltburn Milton Street Methodist Church TS12 1EB at 7.30pm.

Visitors are welcome to any of our meetings; there will be a small charge. For more information visit our web site www.saltburnphotographicsociety.co.uk or contact Tony Lynn 01287 622519.

Saltburn Athletic FC Due to the consistent rain no games are being played as the pitches are waterlogged. We also had a two week break over the Christmas period.

Saltburn Under 11 Seagulls would like to thank Car Care of Marske for the sponsorship to provide four winter sub suits. Also thanks to Alessi’s Restaurant for sponsoring an away strip and lastly a big thank you to Gary Roper whose help ensured these sponsored deals happened for the 8

Under 11s team managed by Phil Barnes.

The weather has been a factor over the last month and has badly hindered our training schedules but fortunately we are still able to do some indoor sessions.

We are still seeking new players for the school year two and three age groups.

Contact for the club is Andy Croll on 07779 648877.

Old Shadows, New Peppers: An exhibition of work by Shaun Cook in SCA2gallery 8th February - 6th April This is a personal reflection of a lifetime spent in Saltburn.

Shaun Cook was born in Scarborough in 1973. He attended Saltburn Primary School and Huntcliff Secondary School before going to Art College in Middlesbrough and then the University of Sunderland where he studied Fine Art/ Photography. On leaving university he became a freelance commercial photographer and also started lecturing at Cleveland College of Art & Design, teaching Photography on the Foundation Course and as an element of the degree on the BA in Graphic Design. Since leaving the college he has concentrated on training to become a psychotherapist at the Northern Guild of Psychotherapy. Throughout this time he has continued both his professional career as a photographer and to develop his own personal work.

The exhibition at SCA2gallery concentrates on his experiments with pinhole and low-tech photography, allowing time to become a contributing factor in creating a portrayal of a scene or incident. It also concentrates on Shaun’s remembering of his youth in Saltburn and how that affects the pictures and how he takes them. This means that time, thought and memories become not only the subject of his work but part of the process of its production.

In 1999-2000 he produced a series of simple shots, one taken every day, of the permanence of Saltburn-by-its-Sea. This was during the time when fears of the Millennium Bug were rife and doom-mongers were predicting the great computer disaster that never happened. Shaun simply and obsessively produced a record of Saltburn’s stability and durability and a

part of that series will be on show in the gallery.

His work on show also includes recording projected pictures from his youth onto the same original location either at his father’s home in Harome or family homes in Saltburn.

The pinhole camera allowed him to fix these images of the past by casting shadows of them in the present. He has also photographed the actual evidence of his family whether it be the lack of sunlight that left a trace of his grandmother’s chair on the fading wallpaper, or the dust marks left on his air rifle between outings, or the repeated footmark of his father climbing the stairs, always to the right of the tread and always alternating steps.

Having taken a break from lecturing he still continued and continues to work towards helping people to recollect, reconstruct and reaffirm their own identities. Perhaps inevitably, this led him to do the same thing to himself but perhaps less inevitably using a red pepper as his camera. For this exhibition Shaun has agreed to record the forgotten and remembered events of his childhood in Saltburn by concentrating on details from his conscious and unconscious memory. The time he has spent making and recording the different stages of his youth is further endorsed by the fact that low light levels need a long exposure time and by performing the developing process in situ he makes the location more a part of the act of production. The works are highly personal and may need explanations to rationalise them but the belief is that the pepper and its tripod will allow Shaun to share familiar places and situations with his audience.

The Van That Runs on Sunshine Marske computer specialists Gbiz IT see sunshine – even in the rain The sun might not exactly be shining every day at the moment, but Marske based computer and technology specialists Gbiz IT are still able to enjoy enough sunshine to run their company van completely free of charge!

And, after buying their new electric van and installing solar panels at their shop last summer, the company is in line to save more than £1,300 over the next 12 months in energy & diesel costs alone.

“Buying this new van six months ago has proved to be absolutely fantastic for us,” said Garry Stonehouse, a keen environmentalist and an IT professional for over 20 years. Even though the sun isn’t exactly shining every day, the solar panels we’ve installed at our shop here in Marske still generate enough solar power to charge the van, as well as reducing our overall usage from the national grid by a third.

“So, not only have we slashed our energy costs by over 30%, we’re also on target to save over £1,000 this year in diesel costs alone.”

And, says Garry, powering up the van couldn’t be easier.

“We have a charger at the back of the shop, we simply plug the van in between calls or over lunch, and we’re ready to go. The van can travel up to 100 miles on a full charge – more than enough for us to cover all our customers around Teesside and East Cleveland – and it doesn’t cost us a single penny!”

Gbiz IT expanded quickly through popular recommendations after setting up over ten years ago as a mobile PC repair service They went on to open a small shop in Saltburn before re-

locating to their current larger shop in Marske in April 2007.

“We’ve always been conscious of the environmental impact of our business,” said Garry. “For example, one of our services is cloud computing, which has a huge impact in helping to save power when servers would otherwise be sat for hours doing relatively nothing and wasting energy.

“And our new van is a winner on two fronts. Firstly, it saves energy and is obviously great for the environment. And secondly, it saves money and helps us keep our costs as low as possible for all our customers. Basically it’s absolutely perfect for a small business like ourselves.”

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27 Milton Street Saltburn-by-the-Sea

How well do you know your body?…..

Following on from last month’s theme about ‘listening’ to your mind, I wanted to write about really knowing and listening to your body. As a teacher of Pilates, or a teacher of ‘movement’, which is all it really is, I look at the way people move and try to teach them how to move efficiently and for this precise way of moving to carry over into everyday life as grace and economy of movement.

How well do you know your body? You have lived in it your whole life so you should know it pretty well. Have you ever had an injury and not known whether to rest or train? So you turn to someone or something outside of yourself for advice. We’ve all done it, myself included, but do we really need to?

Your body talks to you all of the time, when acting a certain way your body will send out a signal to let you know how it feels: if your body sends a signal of comfort you know to proceed and if it sends you a signal of distress you know to be wary.

We all have the ability to listen to the messages we

Friday Friends Friday Friends is a Saltburn based inclusive friendship group, suitable for people of all abilities, over the age of 18.

Firstly, two good bits of news - the sponsored walk we did in September has raised an amazing £1,231.51! Thanks to all the walkers, dogs and sponsors. Also thank you to Local Giving who helped us double some of the money. And thanks go to the wonderful Jean - who, while on the sponsored walk, cajoled a defenceless builder who emptied his pockets. See, that 1p really helped! Secondly, thank you to everybody who made the Christmas Party such a success - it was a wonderful party - the hall was buzzing! Here’s our February programme: Feb 5th, I’m very glad to say terrific Taylor and his Seated-Keep-Fit will be a regular monthly feature from now on! It really is a thorough work-out, which you can take at your own pace, or go crazy and do the lot. 10-11.

Then Bingo till lunch and then painting a shell for the arts n craft afternoon.

Feb 12th, We have a fire safety talk by the Saltburn fire safety officer and they are bringing their brand new fire engine with the hydraulic platform and are hoping to give us a demonstration!

Feb 19th, Board games and a skittles championship followed by card making. All the arts and craft materials are free for you to use and enjoy.

Feb 26th, 10-12 Saltburn Bowls Club for indoor bowls then back to the hall for an afternoon of making paper jewellery. As always we have board games, colouring in, tea, coffee and biscuits too.

We meet at Emmanuel Church Hall, Macnay St, Saltburn every Friday. Activity mornings 10 - 12.30. Craft afternoons 1 - 4. Your 1st session/day is free and carers are always free. Then there is a small charge to help cover costs of £2.50 per session/£4 all day.

For more information - 07833 895 501 (or Thefridayfriends@outlook.com). Feel free to pop along.

Anjee Charman, Chairperson.

receive from our bodies, we just need to learn to tune in to the messages, and this takes practice, fine tuning will help the body and mind become great allies.

Why not take 5 minutes now, stop what you are doing, feel the weight of your feet into the floor, close your eyes, take deep breathes in and out through your nose and start to listen to your body. Stay in the moment for as long as you like, when you feel ready to open your eyes, note down any sensations that you felt in your body. Practice makes perfect.

Your body is precious, make it your business.

Vicky Rees Vicky lives in Saltburn and is Pilates Teacher and owner at Studio 21 Yarm, a Pilates and Yoga Studio on Yarm High Street. Vicky is happy to answer any questions about health, fitness and nutrition; please contact mail@studio21yarm.co.uk (or http:// www.studio21yarm.co.uk).

Saltburn 500 Club Congratulations, this month, go to D Jefferson for winning the £100 First Prize in the January 500 Club Prize Draw.

Reading some of the articles in the January edition of Talk of the Town was not pleasant for some of us. Reading about the lack of volunteers/committee members in the Friends of Saltburn and Saltburn in Bloom articles should cause all of us to be concerned. As you know, I regularly grumble about this problem in my monthly article and will carry on doing so because I think Saltburn is a town worth saving!

I think it is fair to say that, pre Jackie Taylor days, the town was starting to look a little shabby and run-down.

The creation of Saltburn 500 Club had the effect of concentrating people’s attention to the position the town was in. Yes, Jackie and her team of volunteers did sterling work to turn the town around and it is now down to the people who have taken on this responsibility. We can all stand and admire the wonderful floral displays and the tidy condition of Saltburn Cemetery; we can all admire the Christmas lights spectacle each year. The people who organise these things have not got magic wands and we all DO need help in any way you can offer it. We need people who can get involved in fund-raising, wield a garden tool, plant up a hanging basket, or even just pick a few weeds. It is the responsibility of all of the people of Saltburn to maintain the high standard that has been set.

I am organising the schedule for the weekend band performances at Saltburn Bandstand. Most of the Sundays have now been booked up but I am struggling to find anybody interested in performing on the Saturdays. If you are interested, please contact me on the email shown below, or, leave a letter for me in Saltburn library. The season for the Bandstand goes from Saturday, 7th May to Sunday, 25th September.

Trevor Welburn Secretary, Saltburn 500 Club/Friends of Saltburn trevor.welburn@btinternet.com 11

Skelton Men’s Group Skelton Men’s Group was established in 2003 by the Rev. Graham Pacey, at that time Vicar of All Saints Parish Church, and the late Peter Light, village resident and Church member.

It was predominantly for the benefit of men who attended the Parish Church but was also open to ‘outsiders’ by invitation.

During the Autumn to Spring period meetings were held indoors at a local hostelry, whilst in the summer months we undertook outdoor excursions.

The Group is now independent of the Church and we are seeking to expand our membership to any resident of the Skelton villages and the surrounding area—we have members in Lingdale, Marske and Guisborough.

Our indoor programme includes illustrated talks about local history and travel, quizzes and the occasional games night ie Pool and Dominoes. Outdoors we visit gardens, join river cruises on the Tees and Tyne and completed a short, level walk.

At present we meet in the Bull’s Head, North Skelton, on the 3rd Tuesday of each month, starting at 7.30pm. There is an annual membership fee of £5.00 per person and subs of £1.00 per person each time you attend a meeting. We round off indoor meetings with a cold buffet supper. Some events are subsidised from our funds.

Our programme for the next 3 months is as follows: 16th February. Illustrated talk about the development of the London Underground; 15th March Illustrated talk about Classical Italy; 19th April Games night—Pool, Dominoes, Darts.

A warm welcome will be extended to anyone who wishes to join us. For further details contact the Group secretary, Stuart White Tel 01287 654132, or just turn up on one of the above dates.

New Tea Room Opened at Local Plant Nursery A new tea room has opened at Longbeck Nurseries, Marske. The family run nursery now in its eighth year of trading has listened to customer feedback and opened a tea room on its ever expanding site. Serving fresh ground coffee, teas and a fresh home baked menu open Tuesday Saturday 10am - 4pm. An old nursery building has been given a new lease of life as a stylish open plan tea room.

12

Michelle Rudd Dip NTC MPTA CGLI Piano Tuning and Repairs by a qualified and experienced professional (Est. 1983) Covering Teesside, East Cleveland and the North York Moors. Free advice, friendly service.

Tel 01609 779983 Mob 07740 201188 email: michellerudd@hotmail.com website: www.pianotuningyorkshire.com

Saltburn Beachwatch Unnatural Fibres After the seasonal festivities 36 volunteers turned out in awful weather to remove 14 bags of rubbish weighing 57kg from the beach in 1 hour on Saturday, 9th January.

The winter storms that have been battering us over the last few months have brought with them large amounts of rubbish onto the beach. However, we can only remove the litter and rubbish which is visible.

It now looks as though one of the major sources of pollution of our marine environment comes from something as mundane as washing our clothes. Because of the use of man-made fibres such as Nylon, acrylic and polyester, billions of synthetic fibres are entering the seas around all the countries of the world. Synthetic fibres contained in many fabrics wear out through use and when cleaning microscopic particles break off and are washed down the drain and eventually go into the ocean via returned waste water and sewage outfalls. Water treatment plants cannot filter out these particles which are mistaken for food by marine animals and fish who falsely consider them as plankton. This has resulted in these synthetic particles ending up on our plates via the food chain. The problem is not just the fibres themselves but their ability to absorb toxins in the ocean including Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs, pesticides and other pathogens). We know that these toxins can accumulate in the bodies of marine creatures and are having an effect on the endocrine systems of different species helping to reduce fish populations, reducing species evenness and biodiversity. At this point in time not enough research has been undertaken on the affects of this pollution on human health. Over the last few years British ecologist Mark Browne has studied this problem and he has found that about 2,000 synthetic particles come off each item of clothing at each wash! There are millions of pieces of clothing like this washed every day in this country and throughout the world. Also here in North East England Mark has found that in samples taken from seashore sediments, 80% of microplastics derive from clothing made with synthetic fibres and where sewage has been deposited there were 250% more microplastics in sediments than where sewage had not been dumped. It is now apparent that clothing made with plastic fibres are a major source of plastic pollution and we are all unintentionally contributing to this rapidly increasing environmental problem.

Due to scientific evidence and public pressure, over the last few years manufacturers of beauty and grooming products have started to replace microplastic beads in their products. So far the response from the global textile industry to the question of what we should do about microplastic fibres has been initially to dismiss these findings as too preliminary and that plastic fibres are classified as inert in law and therefore non-toxic. Over the coming year Saltburn Beachwatch, marine environmentalists and others will publicize these issues so that people become more aware of the problems and some of the ways in which these problems may be overcome.

Roy Smith 13

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

"We love Him because He first loved us."

(1 John 3:19) Please join us as we gather to worship and learn more about Jesus, to build and strengthen our faith, and encourage one another to grow more like Him. We meet each Sunday at 10.30am and 6.30pm.

or email: simon.robson1@ntlworld.com

Saltburn, Marske and New Marske Parish Council At the recent Parish Council meeting it was noted that design options for the replacement shelter on the Lower Prom, Saltburn would be displayed in the library until 5th February 2016. There are six options and residents are urged to go along and give their opinion via a short questionnaire.

Following numerous reports of criminal damage to tractors in the boat park on the Lower Promenade, the Police reported that this would become the ward priority and would be monitored closely.

It was agreed that a letter of objection would be sent to the Borough Council in response to the proposal to implement a no waiting restriction at any time, on Windsor Road. The Parish Council had previously objected to the planning application for a convenience store in the former car showroom on Windsor Road and despite the concerns of residents regarding road safety the Borough Council had approved the application. As a result of this they were now proposing to restrict access to residents to accommodate a private business.

The Chairman reported that the Parish Council Carol Service, held just before Christmas at Saltburn Methodist Church, had been a huge success. There had been approximately 150 people at the service and there had been standing room only for the refreshments afterwards. Thanks were given to all those that supported the event and it was noted that the collection raised ÂŁ170 which was split between the Church and Winkies Castle, Marske.

Best wishes for 2016.

Tracy Meadows Clerk and RFO to the Parish Council Tel: 01287 623477 email: office@smnmpc.co.uk www.smnmpc.co.uk

Saltburn Charity Crafters Saltburn Charity Crafters will be meeting on Wednesday, 10th February from 2pm to 4pm. Do drop in for a cuppa if you fancy joining us. We meet in the Coffee Room at the Community Hall. Please use side entrance. For further details please contact Angie on 01287 205153. Please check beforehand if weather is bad.

Shane Slater Plumbing & Heating All aspects of domestic plumbing

Tel: 01287 625657 Mobile: 07812 391418 Bathrooms Fires/Fireplaces Showers Boilers Tiling Heating Systems Underfloor Heating Systems

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4 People Not Profit present

‘Forks Over Knives’

4 People Not Profit’s film night ‘Open your mind’ returns with a follow up film to last month’s shocking film ‘Cowspiracy - The Sustainability Secret’ with ‘Forks Over Knives’ which examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods.

The film will be screened as usual upstairs in The Marine, Saltburn and will be on Thursday, 18th February.

Doors at 7pm and the film starts at 7.30pm. With time for discussion after the film, and as ever the event is free entry.

Dr. Campbell, a nutritional scientist at Cornell University, was concerned in the late 1960s with producing “high quality” animal protein to bring to the poor and malnourished areas of the third world. While in the Philippines, he made a life-changing discovery: the country’s wealthier children, who were consuming relatively high amounts of animal-based foods, were much more likely to get liver cancer. Dr. Esselstyn, a top surgeon and head of the Breast Cancer Task Force at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic, found that many of the diseases he routinely treated were virtually unknown in parts of the world where animal-based foods were rarely

consumed.

These discoveries inspired Campbell and Esselstyn, who didn’t know each other yet, to conduct several groundbreaking studies. One of them took place in China and is still among the most comprehensive health-related investigations ever undertaken. Their research led them to a startling conclusion: degenerative diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even several forms of cancer, could almost always be prevented—and in many cases reversed—by adopting a whole-foods, plant-based diet.

Despite the profound implications of their findings, their work has remained relatively unknown to the public.

The idea of food as medicine is put to the test.

Throughout the film, cameras follow “reality patients” who have chronic conditions from heart disease to diabetes.

Doctors teach these patients how to adopt a whole-food, plant-based diet as the primary approach to treat their ailments—while the challenges and triumphs of their journeys are revealed.

Forks Over Knives utilizes state of the art 3-D graphics and rare archival footage. The film features leading experts on health, examines the question “why we don’t know,” and tackles the issue of diet and disease in a way that will have people talking for years.

NEEDS YOU Saltburn 500 Club is looking for new members to join!

The 500 Club, along with Friends of Saltburn, raise funds to help to improve/maintain the pleasant ambience of the town.

Funds raised pay for, or go towards: Christmas Lights Summer Band performances Flower displays around the town Plus many other activities/displays There is a monthly prize draw which pays a top prize of £100 and 5 other cash prizes.

Membership of the 500 Club is £12 per annum, which can be paid monthly.

Membership forms are available from Jackie’s Saverstore or the library.

People not wishing to participate in the 500 Club can make donations to Friends of Saltburn, which is purely for fund‐raising.

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Campaign to Protect Rural England

The countryside you cherish is disappearing fast!

England is an astonishingly beautiful country, with its rolling green fields, ancient woodlands, dramatic lakes and mountains and heather-clad moors. Most of us cherish it.

Yet, on average, every year for the past decade 20 square miles of countryside has been ripped up and replaced with housing, roads and industry—which includes wind farms.

Further threats are coming from large spreads of solar panels and fracking.

The biggest culprit is urban sprawl. As the demand for housing grows, more and more of our green fields are sacrificed because they make bigger profits for developers.

Throughout the country there is sufficient previously developed land that could be used instead, enough for up to 1million houses.

Several examples are in evidence locally.

Guisborough has several sites currently under development. Planning permission for a 130 house site at Saltburn has just been granted and land is under threat at Ormesby (320 houses), Marske (1000 houses plus hotel and park/ride facility) and Saltburn is under threat from the prospect of a further application from TaylorWimpey. The strategic gap separating the communities of Saltburn and Marske is down to 610m. This will reduce even further if outstanding Planning Applications are granted.

Also, there is an on-going threat locally from wind turbines. Fortunately the proposed wind farm on Eston Moor has been resisted and the plan withdrawn. We are hopeful that an application for two wind turbines above Yearby and Kirkleatham will not proceed. Unfortunately, applications for individual wind turbines in the Brotton/ Moorsholme area have been granted: collectively they will give the appearance of a wind farm.

Strenuous efforts have been made to resist inappropriate development by local campaign groups and the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), a national rural protection agency with branches in every county and over 200 local groups throughout England. Members work tirelessly, monitoring planning applications and campaigning to protect the countryside. National office gives the countryside a voice in Westminster and the media.

CPRE is not opposed to all development; we understand the need for change, but change needs to come about without damage to our countryside. It needs to be positive and sustainable. There needs to be more use made of previously developed land and less erosion of our green and pleasant land.

Members play a vital role in fighting this battle and with ever increasing threats to our towns, villages and rural areas we would welcome your support. If you would like more information, or wish to become a member, please contact Stuart White, Chairperson, R & C District Group, Tel. 01287 654132 or ring our National Office Tel. 0800 163680.

If you love the countryside, the time has come to fight for it!

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

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

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

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

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

Neil Wilson Builder and Joiner

Your local professional builder Established 1974.

All aspects of building and joinery work undertaken by qualified, experienced tradesmen.

For free estimate call:

01287 652124 or 07976 628783 Member of the Federation of Master Builders

Science News Scientists have known for a long time that women are a lot more likely to suffer from depression, post traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders than men. All of these have been linked to chronic stress. However, until recently studies of people’s responses to these types of stress have focused primarily on men. Now, many more scientists are studying what happens at the cellular and at the genetic levels in the brains of rodents who are suffering from stress - both male and female rodents - to gain insight into the human brain. These studies are starting to show differences between the male and female rodents and this may help explain the variability in their reactions and maybe the studies will help provide a very much needed insight into why women are more prone to stress related disorders. Studies show that a common stress hormone triggers different responses in specific brain cells of male and female animals. These differences make the males more able to adapt to chronic stress.

Other studies that are exploring how exposure to that same hormone influences gene expression in the part of the brain that controls moods and behaviour. However, other research suggests that a different hormone could make females more susceptible to depression and anxiety and post traumatic stress disorders than men. An enhanced response to stress could help females as they are most often the care givers for their children as they help them remain alert and ready to take action in times of stress. There has not been an answer found yet as to how animals tie into a specific behaviour in humans, but the studies are the important first step in understanding how hormones and gender contribute to a person’s response to stress. Results from these studies also offer hope in finding a way to detect and treat stress related disorders in both males and females.

Scientists have also found that dogs can form abstract mental representations of negative and positive emotions and recognise what their owner is feeling.

Seventeen domestic dogs were part of the experiment and they were shown pairs of pictures, either of a person, one happy and one angry or of a dog looking playful or aggressive. They were then played sounds of aggressive barks or happy barks or a person’s voice saying ‘come here’ in either a cheerful tone or an angry tone. The scientists found that the dogs tended to look at the photo that matched the tone of voice picking out the right human facial expressions more often than not. The dogs were even better at recognising the tones of other dogs.

But this study showed that dogs are more capable of going beyond just recognising facial expressions and tones of voice.

Apparently it is likely that by 2025 there will be drugs available that will radically push back the age at which people start to develop dementia. This is the first time that a medication has been shown to work on the underlying disease process itself rather than just the symptoms. It works by clearing out the amyloid plaques which stop brain cells from communicating with each other. The drugs would be given by infusion but experts say that there could come a time where people who are at risk of dementia are screened and given prevention drugs.

Megan Bridge 17

Saltburn in Bloom Sponsorship 2016 Now is the time when Saltburn in Bloom turns its efforts into fundraising through sponsorship for the floral displays around Saltburn. This might seem very early to you, but we have to confirm our order for plants in early March for the summer ahead.

Have you ever considered donating to the cause to keep Saltburn looking good? We really need your help as times are so difficult for many businesses in Saltburn. Many of our existing sponsors do this in memory of a loved one – perhaps this appeals to you?

You can support us by: Sponsoring a hanging basket, costing £40 for 12 weeks during the summer months.

Sponsoring a planter on Marine Parade, with all year round planting £40.

Sponsoring a planter in Albion Terrace, with all year round planting £60.

Sponsoring a barrel at the Cliff lift or Station Portico for the summer months £60.

Making a cash donation towards plants or shrubs.

We would really appreciate your support. If you wish to do so, please complete the form below and with payment, preferably a cheque in a sealed envelope, and place it in our drop box in the Library before the end of February.

If you wish to contact me, my contact number is 01287 209518.

Lynda Parkes (Chair) SALTBURN IN BLOOM SPONSORSHIP 2016 Name of Sponsor ___________________________________ Address __________________________________________ _________________________________________________ Tel. No _________________________________________ Email ____________________________________________ Tick your preferred option No of hanging baskets Donation for garden plants Black amberol planter on Marine Parade Planter in Albion Terrace Barrel at the Cliff lift Barrel at the Station Portico Name / Dedication (Maximum 50 characters) _____________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ 18

Megan’s Mind I’m now a fully insured Personal Trainer. I have my own business cards and clients and everything and I’m very excited! However, I still train at a gym which I pay for. If I had enough equipment, I would quit going to the gym altogether and just train using my own things. I love going to a gym, using the equipment etc but just sometimes I get put off by the staff and other people training as sometimes it can get too busy!

Sometimes, I feel like the staff are more interested in using their mobile phones than people actually training! But anybody who knows me knows that I don’t really like gyms run by the council anyway; I think privately owned gym are much, much better!

They offer more support and guidance and instead of being ignored for a mobile phone, you are helped and encouraged. I’m much more of a ‘hardcore’ gym kind of girl. I just think that they are better for anyone with a dream and goals, the atmosphere is unreal and Personal Trainers in hardcore and private gyms are more dedicated to their clients and actually care about their progress and being in a privately owned or hardcore gym is like being a member of a family. That is just me though! But I do understand that most people probably think hardcore gyms are scary and everyone has different needs when it comes to their training. I’d love to work in a scary gym! A proper ‘means business’ gym; I think I’d feel so at home and I’d also love shouting at my clients to work! Hopefully one day I’ll be able to open my own gym and then I wouldn’t need to worry about commercial gyms.

That’s one of my dreams, to open my own gym.

Other dreams include but are not limited to: having hair like a Disney princess (big, bouncy, voluminous and unrealistic), travelling the world and learning to play piano. I started once when I was quite young but I gave up because it was after school and I was so tired from school I couldn’t concentrate properly in my piano lessons! I thought I was quite good at it as well. I sometimes wish I was musical but I’m not so there’s not much point in worrying about something I can’t change and am not really bothered about anyway. I’d rather know my way around a gym or speak 100 languages than be musical. But still, I would like to play the piano.

I had to have an Echo scan on my heart because people with hyper mobility or Ehlers Danlos Syndrome are at a higher risk of heart problems and my scan came back unclear so the cardiologist is sending me for a Cardiac MRI! I don’t think I’m that nervous about it, I’m more annoyed because it’s typical that my scan came back unclear! I’ve got a few weeks before my MRI though and we’ve got to go all the way to Northallerton for it! Hopefully, I won’t have to wait too long to get the results from it. I am so impatient and I hate waiting but when the letter comes with my results in it I will probably be too nervous to open it!

Megan

Award winning web designer bringing the world to you!

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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 Website: www.annescomputingdesigns.co.uk

Local literacy charity launches New Year campaign to boost children’s reading Local literacy charity Beanstalk is looking for volunteers who want to help local children as one of their New Year’s resolutions. By starting as a Beanstalk reading helper you will provide a child with the gift of reading, having a life-changing impact on their ability, confidence, and self-esteem.

Each Beanstalk reading helper supports three children and sees each child for two 30 minute sessions a week, during term-time, for three terms. With Beanstalk’s support the child’s approach to learning and enjoying reading is transformed.

Janet Skeen, Area Manager for Beanstalk Yorkshire and North East said: “The New Year is here and this is an excellent time for people to start a new, exciting, challenge by becoming a Beanstalk reading helper. Our volunteering programme allows you to have a direct impact on changing the life of a child, giving them the skills, confidence and imagination they need to succeed in life. We’d ask anyone who wants to make a difference in 2016 to contact us directly if they would like to give a child the gift of reading.”

With the support of the local community Beanstalk aims to help 450 children in the area by recruiting an additional 200 Beanstalk reading helpers.

Volunteering as a Beanstalk reading helper is extremely rewarding, makes a lasting difference to children’s lives and is a great way to give something back to your local community.

Why not make this your resolution for the year?

To find out more, or to become a Beanstalk reading helper, call Beanstalk on 01325 315040 (or visit http:// www.beanstalkcharity.org.uk/reading-helpers).

Christina Simpson Bespoke Furniture, Joinery

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

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1st, 2nd Fix Doors, Flooring, Skirting, Loft Conversions Hand‐Made Kitchens/Bedrooms, Painted Furniture

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Call 07773 091727 Email: simpsonc999@gmail.com 19

SALTBURN CRICKET CLUB Marske Mill Lane, Tel 01287-622761

Weds 3rd & 17th Feb – BINGO – all welcome 5th Feb - SALTBURN DIVERS PRESENTATION NIGHT Wed 24th Feb U3A QUIZ – all welcome Sat 27th Feb...SALTBURN BLUES CLUB …all welcome ** TIM AVES & WOLFPACK support RICHARD TOWNEND ** All-ticket night (£10) with 10% discount for Club members ***Free WiFi in Club ** NEW 55” screen TV showing SKY sports etc *** ***FEATURED IN CAMRA GOOD BEER GUIDE 2016!!*** ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A VENUE FOR family events, weddings, parties & meetings - free use for charity & community groups' meetings or fundraisers during normal opening hours.

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!

For Sale, Price £85,000

Villa in Cyprus Situated in Liopetri, a small village approximately 2.5 miles from Agia Napa and close to all amenities.

Constructed in 2005 from manufactured stone the villa is situated in a small development and consists of two bedrooms with fitted units. The property is double glazed and air conditioned throughout and benefits from a roof terrace. There is a covered drive area for one vehicle with room for a further one on the drive.

There is an 8’ x 6’ shed and ample additional storage space. The villa has mature gardens with an automatic watering system and access to a communal swimming pool if required. The property is offered for sale fully furnished. For further details contact Richard on mobile 07981 030262.

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SALTBURN BLUES CLUB Looking forward to the gigs booked for 2016, there are some cracking dates for your diaries. By pure chance and great good fortune, I can announce that two members from the legendary band, LINDISFARNE, will be appearing at Saltburn Blues Club. I had no idea that ROD CLEMENTS, founder member of Lindisfarne, would be in our audience to watch Harry Manx last November. He thoroughly enjoyed the gig and the venue and agreed to return with his regular touring partner, bassist IAN THOMSON. They’ll be performing for us at THE EARTHBEAT CENTRE on February 20th. Besides his flair for song writing (penning some of Lindisfarne’s most enduring material including ‘Meet Me On The Corner’), Rod is a talented multi-instrumentalist and has discovered a love of performing to smaller audiences than of old, in intimate venues like ours. He decided to revisit all his songs and record them in their stripped down format as they were originally written. They’re perfect for performing acoustically. This is a real coup for Saltburn.

Also in February, we have the ever popular, TIM AVES and WOLFPACK performing on the 27th. The soul and passion of Howlin’ Wolf and other blues greats are captured by Aves & Co and given a 21st Century twist. Energetic and hugely entertaining, award winning singer, guitarist and harpman, Tim Aves, leads the pack that includes guitar phenomenon, Joel Fisk. The support for this evening is RICHARD TOWNEND. There’s warmth and a deceptive effortlessness to Townend’s laid back vocals accompanied by guitar work that ranges from soulful Mississippi Blues to some beautiful ‘Dire Straits’ touches. It’s back to SBC’s regular venue for this gig – Saltburn Cricket Club.

Tickets £10 available from 07960 935263, Whistlestop Wines, Saltburn (and www.yorkshiretickets hop.co.uk). Doors 7.30pm. Find all our details at www.saltburnbluesclub.co.uk and our Facebook page.

A reminder that my radio show, ‘Still Got The Blues’ is on Zetland FM, on 105FM and available on line 7-10pm every Monday. You can also listen to it on Mixcloud any time you choose.

Harry

01287 624505

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Emmanuel Church Hall, Macnay Street, Saltburn Tuesdays at 3.30pm, 5.30pm and 7.30pm.

Telephone Stevie on

01642 474920

This month’s Bargain Buy: 9 Pack (3 Ply) Quilted Toilet Rolls Only £2.49 22

23

Cleveland Diving Club There is a saying that, “Life has a positive and negative side. Happy people ignore the negative side.” This, I believe, is very true of our cheerful and resilient club members who are definitely feeling very positive about this winter’s fundraising efforts, which have so far raised a substantial amount for the RNLI and the Great North Air Ambulance. Fund raising of course relies on support and Cleveland Divers would like to thank the organisers of Saltburn’s Farmers’ Market, on Saturday, 13th December for their support and extend a great big thank you to those members of the public who endured the persistent rain, along with our wet but willing volunteers, (first photo) while either buying tombola tickets or making a gratefully accepted donation. We are happy to say that by the end of the day a grand sum of £201 was raised. Further funds, of an undisclosed amount at the time of print, was raised by a number of volunteers, including members of Cleveland Divers, as part of the long established ‘Jim Maidens’ Boxing Day Dip’ event (second photo). After posing for the cameras, these hardy souls braved a long rain-soaked walk to the edge of the tide before valiantly charging into what was a rather turbulent and cold North Sea (third photo). Thankfully, a warm fire, hot soup and tasty bacon butties were on hand to applaud and warm our champions. Many thanks to the staff of The Ship Inn, for these entries, it was greatly appreciated. Our members would also like to thank family, friends and work colleagues for their sponsorship and patrons of Saltburn Cricket Club, who are always happy to support the club’s fund raising events and weekly raffles. It is greatly appreciated.

At the time of writing this article this winter’s weather theme of ever present dark clouds determined to release a deluge of long heavy spells of rain continues and is enough to make even the most saintly of us despair. However, amongst our members there is a more than positive posture as we look forward to the onset of what is hoped will be a dryer (by comparison) spring.

In the meantime, Cleveland Divers members, who are always keen to work with our local and regional communities, were engaged during January in practical training with the RNLI team based at Staithes. The Staithes RNLI team and Cleveland Divers have come together to collaborate in shared learning and training exercises. The training has two main objectives. Firstly, to provide practical experience for the RNLI team in the best way to rescue scuba divers. This will help the team become more familiar with the wide range of equipment that different divers may be using at the time of rescue.

Secondly, Cleveland Divers members will be provided with reciprocal training in how to correctly deploy distress flares, which is an essential skill requirement when diving from a boat at sea.

Other events happening in January and February is the popular six week scuba course which aims to provide an introduction to scuba diving within a warm and safe environment. The course is scheduled to begin on 24

Monday, 25th January 2016, although this date is not set in stone. So if you fancy giving it a try, contact us on 07960 608529. You never know we may still be able to enrol.

25

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26

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At Ryedale Auctioneers,

OllieB Lovely Ladies Clothes and Accessories 12 Dundas Street East Saltburn-by-the-Sea TS12 1AH Telephone: 01287 623715 Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm We have an extensive range of clothes and accessories to suit most ages and sizes.

Brands include Masai, Joe Browns, Lily & Me, Luca Vanucci and Pia Rossini.

New stock arriving all the time!

Lots of great Winter items available now, including scarves, hats, gloves and warm tights and vintage style socks.

We are now making way for our Spring/Summer stock, which will start to arrive in February/March.

Look out for our Bargain Rail at the front of the shop!

For updates and details of our various special offers, like us on our Facebook page:

OllieBSaltburn

we have fortnightly general sales, with live internet bidding. We also have Specialist Sales, Antique & Fine Art Sales, Militaria & Sporting Sales and Railwayana & Toy Sales. We also do house clearances, and have our own collection/delivery service. We provide valuations for probate, insurance and sales.

Upcoming Sale dates for February are: 6th and 20th General Household Sales 13th Outdoor Sale 7th Militaria & Sporting Sale

Ryedale Auctioneers Cooks Yard, New Road, Kirkbymoorside, York YO62 6DZ

Tel: 01751 431544 Email: ryedaleauctioneers@live.co.uk Website: www.ryedaleauctioneers.com

Oprey Tickets go on Sale Tickets have gone on sale for next month’s Grand Ol’ Oprey of Cleveland musical extravaganza which is staged every Easter by the Rotary Club of Saltburn.

This year’s four night event which starts on Easter Sunday at the Saltburn Community Theatre is aimed at helping to reach the £1Million Appeal target for the South Cleveland Cardiac MRI Scanner. Last year’s Oprey raised £4,000 for the Scanner Appeal, and the Rotary Club which has just 12 members says that it is a cause which touches just about every home in the region.

The artistes, who represent the top talent in Blues, Rock, Country and Roots, all perform for free and many travel long distances to make a valuable contribution to play at the Oprey, which has established a name on the music calendar. “Most Oprey nights, which cost just £8 a ticket, are now a sell-out which says everything about the public support and the quality of the bands and individual performers,” said Rotary president Les Manship.

The line-up for Oprey 2016 with Doors Open at 6.30pm is: Easter Sunday, 27th of March a Blues Night sponsored by another local charity the Saltburn Blues Club, featuring Zoe Kemp, Easy Street, Josie Lloyd, Martin Fletcher and Chris James Band.

Monday Night 2: Old School, Marie Marx, John Weighell, Peg Fowler, and Joe Kemp Tuesday Night 3: Steve Dagleish, The Dam Jammers, Plumhall, Les Glover, The Caffrays Wednesday Night 4: The Guisborough Big Band

Tickets are on sale at: Destinations, and Whistle Stop Wines in Station Street, Saltburn, and at the Saltburn Community Theatre Box Office and On-line.

Other Rotary news – the Rotary Club of Saltburn has recently given £250 to the flood appeal for Cumbria and North Yorkshire, and £250 to the Kandy Appeal for disadvantaged children in Sri Lanka, which was a fundraising project chosen by this year’s Rotary District Governor Terry Long.

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The 19th Century Woodrow Family John Woodrow was my three times great grandfather who was born in Hingham Norfolk in 1812 and later moved to nearby Wymondham. While working as an agricultural labourer he made a life changing decision to leave his ancestral home and move to Holbeach in the Fens. In the past decade he had buried a wife and child, been a single parent to his surviving daughter, and entered into a second marriage with Martha Middleton, who already had two children of her own. Before they moved in 1851 their family had grown with the birth of another five children.

The Fens would have appeared foreign to the family who had left the undulating leafy lanes of their Norfolk home for the fertile, windswept, treeless landscape of Holbeach. I can only imagine it was poverty that caused the move. The grain harvests of 1848-1853 were very poor, and this would have made vegetable growing in the Fen a more viable prospect.

Around 1861 the Woodrows moved to their final destination of Saltburn-by-the-Sea. They had been enticed there by the success of Martha’s sister, Elizabeth, and her husband, Thomas Knott. Thomas Knott and been Butler to Joseph Pease, and Elizabeth may have been Lady’s Maid to Emma (née Gurney), Joseph’s wife, who also came from Norfolk.

In 1851 Thomas and Elizabeth were working in the Pease residence, ‘Southend’, in the St. Cuthbert’s district of Darlington. In 1853 the Pease family opened their first mine in Hutton, which created a vacancy for an ‘Iron and Mineral Commission Agent’. Thomas must have been an exceptional servant because he acquired and held this position successfully for over twenty years. On leaving service to take up this appointment, Thomas and Elizabeth were now allowed to marry. Unfortunately, they were not blessed with children as Elizabeth was already 44 years old.

Thomas installed the Woodrows into a family business, a draper’s shop; the Woodrows now lived on Ruby Street. Thomas’s own business premises were at The Royal Exchange in Darlington, and he was now living in a villa, ‘Glenhowe’, in Albion Terrace, on the corner of Lune Street.

Thomas was now making a lot of money of his own and investing in shares in Cleveland Water Company, the Dean and Chapter Lease Holders and was also President of Saltburn Benefit Building Society.

By 1877 Thomas had become a director of Saltburn Pier Company and was a strong member of the Liberal Association. When Thomas and Elizabeth attended high society functions they were mentioned in the Darlington and Middlesbrough newspapers. I wonder whether the Press were aware of their humble beginnings? As former senior servants, they would have been educated in social graces and been able to mimic their ‘betters’.

There were closures of some local mines in 1880, bringing hardship to the community. The draper’s shop failed and John Woodrow was now working as a general labourer.

He was residing at 11 Garnet Street, and by 1881, many properties were lying empty. In 1883 Thomas Knott was on the Saltburn Health Board and trying to improve the street and the condition of the drains.

Then in 1888 it was all over. Thomas Knott was declared bankrupt. Maybe a bad investment? I found advertisements for the sale of the Villa, his furniture and his carriages, including a landau. In 1891 Thomas was killed in a tragic accident with a pony and trap. He was seventy years old. one of his obituaries mentioned that he had once been a butler. He was buried at St. Nicholas Church on September 28

John and Martha Woodrow

23rd 1891.

The 1901 census shows Thomas’s widow, Elizabeth, now aged ninety-three, living at Eden Street with her sister, Martha Woodrow, aged eighty-six, also a widow, John having died in 1900 aged eighty-eight.

In the next generation, Jonathan Woodrow, son of John and Martha, was the most enterprising member of the family.

He already owned a coal dealership, which had been made possible by the assistance of Thomas Knott. However, Jonathan was now also taking advantage of the growing tourist industry: A feature in the Northern Echo Durham on the 9th May 1870 announced, “To open: Woodrow’s Refreshments Tent.

Excursions to Saltburn-on-sea. Supplied with hot water, tea, coffee and refreshments at any hour of the day at moderate charges. Schools contracted for at a low rate.” The tents were near The Cat Nab. Jonathan married Martha Lithgow in 1873 and they set up home at Primrose Cottage, near Hilda Place.

They became a great partnership with a growing business. In 1888 they were advertising for staff, including cooks and coal delivery men. Martha’s side of the business was furnished holiday rental properties. In 1900 Jonathan had six swing boats for sale at the price of £55, a lot of money - he paid a coal roundsman £1 a week.

Jonathan was also the owner of several bathing machines. On August 1st 1900 one of his sons saved the lives of two ladies who had been carried out to sea by a strong currant.

The young Woodrow detached his bathing hut horse and swam out, towing the two Misses’ Walker, one on each chain, back to shore. Only the previous year, at a parish meeting, Jonathan had requested that a rescue boat be kept close to the bathing machines, and had offered to provide one at his expense.

During the First World War in 1916 Jonathan advertised for a ‘Coalman Carter, ineligible for the army, or a Strong Woman’. I found evidence for members of the family being pigeon fanciers and horse breeders and dealers, winning prizes at shows with both. Jonathan died in Saltburn in 1935, aged eighty-eight.

There must still be descendants of the Woodrows and Middletons left in Saltburn today. (I see on the town map there is a Woodrow Avenue). I would love to hear from family or local historians who may have pictures of the family or businesses, who can fill in the gaps or correct my research. A great deal has been taken from newspapers of the time and is possibly not completely accurate.

Deborah Sutton, Norfolk email kennethkesutton@btinternet.com

A BEAUTIFUL NEW STORY BOOK FOR CHILDREN OF ALL AGES! There are some wonderful books containing Bible stories for children and young people, but It is not easy to find one that faithfully tells the whole story. And especially one that does so with flair, imagination and stunning design. But in ‘The Biggest Story: How the Snake Crusher brings us back to the Garden’, Kevin DeYoung and Don Clark have done just that. Kevin recalls that the book began as a Christmas morning sermon, ‘I tried to deliver the message like I was reading a book—a book for children sitting by the fire on Christmas morning.’

There is something profoundly attractive and homely about storytelling and reading, especially around an open fire. And it’s seen to be increasingly important for child development.

On this subject Tim Keller recently wrote, ‘In August The New York Times ran an article titled “Turn the Page, Spur the Brain.”

It presented empirical findings showing that reading to children, even infants, was crucial for brain development. They found that exposing children to a video or a picture short‐ circuited the child’s imagination. One expert said: “They’re not having to imagine the story [for themselves]; it’s just being fed to them.” Another pointed out that children who were exposed to reading “showed significantly more activity in the areas of the brain that process visual association, even though the child was listening to a story and could not see any pictures.” In short, verbal communication makes your mind and heart do the work of grasping and imagining the story for yourself. Images tend to feed you what some other person’s imagination has created.’ (From ‘What I’ve learned about the Bible’, on ‘The Gospel Coalition’ website.)

This may be old news to some of you, who enjoy reading for your own enjoyment as well as reading to others. But for others, I hope you may be inspired to read a little more, and, if you have children, to encourage them to dive into the world of books and stories.

I also hope that you will give ‘The Biggest Story’ a chance. Both, the book recommended here, and also the real life changing Story that this book points to. And the best way to encounter this Story is through the Bible itself, as Tim Keller testifies: ‘For years I thought God could be active in my life through the Spirit, and the Bible was a book I had to obey if God was going to come in. I now realize the Bible is the way that, through the Spirit, God is active in my life.’

Every blessing and happy reading, Rev Adam Reed (Vicar of Saltburn & New Marske) PS ‘The Biggest Story: How the Snake Crusher brings us back to the Garden’ is available online, but why not support your local Saltburn bookshop, ‘Book Corner’.

Sundays at Emmanuel Church: 9.00am & 10.45am services with refreshments served from 10.10am Tuesdays at Emmanuel Church: 9.30am service with refreshments served from 10.15am Emmanuel Church: Tel: 01287 622251 / Email: emmanuelsaltburn@hotmail.co.uk / www.saltburnparishchurch.co.uk

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Live by the Sea 2016 February 2016 brings a new and exciting live music night to Saltburn-by-the-Sea. The Spa Hotel is launching ‘Live by the Sea’, a monthly miscellany of top musical talent to span all genres expect to see both household names and behold the rising stars of tomorrow.

The Spa’s self-contained function room holds up to 200 people standing or 160 seated so you are guaranteed an informal yet up close and personal experience. The hotel itself has a long history as a music venue. The building was originally the town’s Assembly Rooms, opening as a concert hall in 1885. In the 70s and 80s it became famous, first as the Philmore Country Club, and later as Philmores, a nightclub with a capacity of 1400 over split levels. To date Philmores reunions are still held at the hotel and the venue holds special memories for many. Chris Rea and Sting both played here during their early careers and Chris Rea famously wrote his hit single ‘On the Beach’ about Saltburn beach, over which the hotel boasts spectacular views.

‘Live by the Sea’ was born from a desire to build on this legacy and introduce an ongoing commitment to diversity and musical integrity. The ‘Live’ calendar commences on Saturday, 27th February with the hugely popular Kirk Brandon, a North East favourite, who departing from his usual role in Spear of Destiny/Theatre of Hate, will be performing an intimate and ‘aKoustiK’ set along with cohort Sam Sansbury on cello. Launch night celebrations will include canapés, a complimentary glass of Prosecco on arrival and maybe one or two surprises!

This year’s programme will run from February to November. Future artists confirmed for 2016 include: Jeramiah Ferrari, an upcoming reggae crossover band from Manchester; Chris Helme, former frontman of John Squire’s post Stone Roses band the Seahorses; John Bramwell, the distinctive and spellbinding voice of I Am Kloot; ex-The Specials and Funboy, the original rudeboy, Neville Staple; 80s synth-pop sensation, China Crisis.

There are also designs for some very special and varied happenings. Proposals include a classical evening led by a

‘guerrilla’ orchestra, and even a punk rock band with added scientists... but we can’t say any more than that for now!

The events team at the Spa Hotel are equally determined to promote homegrown talent and are currently looking for a headliner who hails from the surrounding area.

They are also offering the opportunity for local artists to showcase their talents as support acts throughout the year.

The long-term ambition is for the Spa to be known as a music destination of choice. Their promise is to bring you an eclectic mix of talent and top names, but most of all good times.

Tickets for Kirk Brandon aKoustiK are available from the Spa Hotel reception priced at £12 on: 01287 622544 or online via Eventbrite (booking fees apply) at: http:// bit.ly/1O4Dq53 For further details of all ‘Live by the Sea’ events go to the Website: http://thespahotelsaltburn.co.uk, Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/thespahotelsaltburn/, Twitter: https:// twitter.com/TheSpaSaltburn.

Local music artists who are interested in support slots (email: julie@thespahotelsaltburn.co.uk).

News and Views from the Valley Santa’s Grotto and Magical Miniature train ride were a huge hit with all the little visitors and not so little visitors who came to see Santa in his Grotto (in the Woodland Centre) and were lucky enough to take advantage of the train ride! The weather was unseasonably warm but people were still keen to be presented with snacks and a hot brew whilst waiting for a visit! This was one of the those events that could only take place in Saltburn with people who just want to make something special around Christmas time! How fantastic, to arrive by miniature railway which was bedecked in tinsel and decorations and complete with its own reindeer and dressed up drivers! They ran the train both days for anyone who was around and fancied a lift. Huge thank you to the miniature railway for ALL your help. Volunteers dressed as elves, soldiers and even a snow queen assisted with directing folks to 30

Santa who was kept busy for both days! We must also thank PERCY Middlesbrough who lent us some fantastic evergreen panels to make the Grotto so magical! We have already had interest in next year, in the meantime Saltburn Woodlands Centre intend to create more events for you to enjoy the woodlands and the special place in which we live.

We must also thank Saltburn Folk club for putting on a fundraising event at the Golf Club on Saturday, 16th January, - big cheers and thanks to them!

So there is now a new facebook page for Friends of the valley Saltburn (https://www.facebook.com/Friends-of-theValley-Saltburn-1671154883152300/) and very soon we will sharing our events for this year. So keep checking!

Jane Cuthbert http://www.saltburnfriendsofthevalleyltd.co.uk

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Saltburn House • Sky Sports!

• The best beer garden in Saltburn!

• Function Room available to hire!

• Saltburn House is a members only bar for non‐residents.

Visitors welcome when signed in by members • Saturday Band Nights in February: 13th, Tom Jackson 27th, TBC • Sunday Carvery starts Sunday, 21st February

For more information or to reserve a booking please contact us on 01287 622008 or email us at: saltburnholidaycentre@hotmail.co.uk Welcome to Andy and Ann at Saltburn House We would like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves, Andy and Ann Mitchell, the new management team at Saltburn House.

My wife Ann and I have had many years’ experience of running pubs with accommodation, clubs and also restaurants, and one of our pubs won ‘The Yorkshire Eating Pub of the Year’ award.

Saltburn House has stood on the corner of Marine Parade and alongside Milton Street since 1872 and is remembered more recently by most people as the C.I.U. Convalescent Home. In 2014 the property was purchased by the Hayes Working Men’s Club, in Middlesex and is now run as a competitively priced Hotel and Members’ Club.

We have Twenty-Seven bedrooms, made up of 6 Single Rooms, 12 Twin rooms, 6 Double rooms, a Disabled equipped room on the ground floor and a Family room that accommodates 2 adults and 3 children. All the rooms have now been refurbished and each room has en-suite facilities. The rooms come equipped with Flat screen TV, Tea and Coffee making facilities and Hair-dryer.

Bookings can be made for any length of stay and we welcome coach parties for holidays and midweek or weekend breaks.

The very successful Sunday Carvery will be starting again on the 21st of February. We will be serving a choice of roast meats accompanied by roast and new potatoes, a selection of fresh vegetables, to include a choice of carrots, cauliflower cheese, peas, swede and cabbage, homemade Yorkshire puddings and our tasty gravy. The price: 32

only £6.95!

Why not treat mum on Mother’s Day and let us do the cooking for her. We are now taking bookings for 6th March and look forward to seeing you there.

We also have two lovely function rooms that we hire out for meetings and parties; these are available for £100 for a full day or £20 per hour. Full catering can be provided with anything from tea and biscuits, a hot or cold buffet or a full three course meal with waitress service. Just give Allison or Ann a call to discuss prices and your requirements.

Ladies, why not call in for afternoon tea, served in our residents’ lounge. Bring your friends along for a chat.

Relax with a tea or coffee, sandwiches, cakes and scones are served for £6.95, per person or spoil yourselves by upgrading to an English tea with a glass of Prosecco for only £9.95 per person.

Our band night will resume on February the 13th. An evening with Tom Jackson is back by popular demand!

Bands will be appearing every other week after that. Other entertainment includes: Quiz nights, Karaoke and Talent Competition.

If you haven’t already, please like, share and follow our Saltburn House Facebook Page!

Both Myself and Andy are really looking forward to meeting all of you, so please continue to show your support for your local hotel and members’ club by popping in, having a look round, sign yourself up to our yearly membership and enjoy been a part of your Local Club.

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Canine Rehabilitation and Fitness

New steam engine is ready for Easter

SMART: The refurbished and repainted steam engine named after the late Reg Blacklock at the miniature railway’s shed in the valley gardens. Looking smart in its black and red livery, it is ready for the new season starting at Easter.

Members of Saltburn and District Retired Men’s Forum are particularly looking forward to the start of the Spring programme at the town’s miniature railway as the newlyrefurbished engine named after their late chairman Reg Blacklock will run for the first time.

Volunteers have spent two years on rebuilding the engine and it is now ready for starting a season of carrying fare-paying passengers. All tests have been passed.

The spring/summer season start at Easter (end of March). The miniature railway plans to hold an official opening ceremony at around that time, but the precise date has not yet been fixed.

Reg was a past chairman of both the miniature railway and retired men’s forum. He was one of the railway’s founders in the 1960s and died two years ago.

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The Virtual Gastric Band is in your area!

Licensed Hypno-Band Practitioner www.hypnoband.com Like any medical or therapy procedure there can be no definite guarantees. Even a surgeon cannot guarantee that an actual gastric band will work.

However, the virtual gastric band has been proven to be effective in aiding significant weight loss.

It should be noted that it is YOU that holds the key to losing weight.

What if you could have all the benefits of a Surgical Gastric Band, without the surgery and cost? Well now you can! By using the Hypno‐Band hypnotherapy system we create a state of mind where you will believe you actually have a Gastric Band fitted! You will eat smaller portions and feel full. The Hypno‐Band system is a long term solution to your weight problems.

Contact us today for full details.

Contact: Julie Spitler Saltburn Hypnotherapy www.saltburn‐hypnotherapy.co.uk Tel 07795 174965

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The Vista Mar Mediterranean & Tapas Bar We are pleased to introduce our NEW extended menu.

As well as several new European dishes, we have lots of fresh fish dishes such as Swordfish, Sea Bass, Tuna and our highly recommended Fisherman’s Net dish – a medley of fresh Mussels, Clams, Calamari, Octopus, & Giant Prawns in a white wine & garlic broth. We have kept our firm local favourite – Traditional Fish & chips on the menu, and can confirm that we will continue our famous Sunday Carvery throughout the winter months.

Why not try our new Cocktail menu.

With weekly promotions of 2 for £7 on selected cocktails.

DANCE YOUR WAY TO FITNESS IN 2016!!

The EASY TO FOLLOW, toning version of Zumba® packed with Latin rhythms!

Mondays 6pm & Thursdays 10am MISS BOOTY WORKOUT!!

TONE UP & GET FIT with this fun & exciting Cabaret style fitness class.

Using a chair, wearing heels or trainers, this class will give you a WHOLE BODY WORKOUT! Mondays 7.05pm A PILATES, YOGA & BALLET inspired fitness class. Spirals works on core strength, toning and flexibility.

Wednesdays 7pm

Spirals

Enjoy FREE classes with the DANCEFIT LOYALTY CARD, and DISCOUNTS for ‘back to back’ ZUMBA GOLD & MISS BOOTY WORKOUT on Mondays…

For all information about classes, venues, prices etc.

The Hop & Vine Wine & Steak House We will be re‐commencing our ultimate Steak menu – following recent kitchen alterations.

From a 6 oz Fillet to a 30 oz Porterhouse – we have them all!

Bookings on 01287 626055 from 5pm (closed Sunday & Monday )

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Supply & Installation of Kitchens & Bathrooms Managing your project from start to finish 15 Years experience Quality workmanship guaranteed Reliable tradesmen Free estimates Tel: 01287 637702 Mobile: 07870 176370

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! We are Lara the dog and Jasper the cat. We both currently live with SARA but are both looking for new forever homes. It’s ladies first: Lara is a beautiful girl with a white coat with black spots on her ears. She looks to be part Boxer dog. She is a firm favourite with all the staff and volunteers up at SARA, as she has such a wonderful personality. She loves to play with her toys and fetch her ball and she also enjoys playing with her doggy friends too.

She is very friendly and affectionate and will make a lucky person a loyal and loving friend. Unfortunately the poor girl has sensitive skin so she has to be fed on a special hypoallergenic diet and have regular baths to control and soothe it. The kind people at SARA will be able to tell you

a bit more about her.

Jasper is a handsome lad with jet black fur and green eyes. He is such delightful lad who has sadly been returned to us after 5 years with a family. The unfortunate reason given for this is “a stray cat has moved into the area and Jasper has become stressed”. The poor boy! The fab people at SARA believe that Jasper would feel happier and more secure if becomes an indoor cat, as he is a bit nervous it may be best if he was an only cat. He is a big softy and loves to be warm and safe, curled up on a lap on an evening. If you would like to meet us please come at visit us and our friends over at Foxrush Farm.

Love, woofs and purrs from Lara and Jasper.

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

We have one event this month: on Saturday 6th we will be holding a coffee morning at Marske Leisure Centre from 10am to 12pm. We look forward to seeing you there.

The year started off with our very successful New Year’s Day Dip. Thank you to everyone including the dogs who took part in this event.

In 2016 we continue with our 20th anniversary

celebrations. Our anniversary year ends in March. We have had a marvelous response in 2015 and hope this year is as good. Please think of getting involved, and help us to give the increasing number of animals that need our help, the love and care they deserve We have finally joined social media by setting up a Facebook page. Why not come and see us?

John Fuller, Press Officer 01642 472875 or 07817 402145 37

Botton Village Steiner School: A unique education for children of all abilities Are we doing right by our children? Slowly we are realising that we need something more than conventional education with its tests and targets. The growing demands on children are taking something away from the joy of childhood.

The world seems to be overflowing with ‘educated’ people, but many lack creativity or practical skills. We are taught to be competitive more often than co-operative.

Steiner Waldorf Education: A genuine child-centred approach to education. For nearly 100 years Steiner Waldorf Schools have been developing a wholesome, well-rounded, more holistic education with a focus on developing each individual’s unique talents and abilities. It represents the largest and longest-running alternative education system in the world.

Put simply, Steiner Waldorf Education supports rather than drives the natural development of the child. So, for example, children under the age of 7 would attend a Kindergarten (literally a child’s garden) where they are encouraged to learn new skills, grow and blossom through imitation and play. For the first 7 years children are allowed to develop free from the hardness and abstraction of numbers and written words; social and practical skills are encouraged.

Only at 7 when children start to awaken to the world of self and others is formal learning introduced. They develop numeracy and literacy skills, but in a gentle and artistic way that is without anxiety for the child.

After 7, children enter the school proper. Steiner schools boast what has been called the world’s most exciting curriculum, with lessons being arranged in ‘blocks’ of several weeks, covering an exhilarating array of topics: Fairy tales, Norse Myths, Farming, Botany, Geometry and Geology. This keeps both children and teachers fresh and makes numeracy and literacy so much more interesting! Besides this, there are a variety of subject lessons – Music, craft, games, languages (from age 7) etc. By making the lessons creative and practical, we aim to foster a child’s innate interest in the world.

Only around fourteen, as the child emerges into a deeper and more separate sense of self, does the curriculum focus on the development of clear independent thinking.

To encourage abstract learning before the child is truly ready is like cutting open a chrysalis in the hope that the butterfly would emerge sooner!

Recent research has shown that despite a late beginning with formal learning, Steiner Waldorf educated children not only ‘catch-up’ but go on to excel in many areas of understanding and achievement measured by orthodox standards. Pupils are often confident, enthusiastic and sociallyaware young adults with a lifelong love of learning and a desire to follow their dreams.

Botton Steiner School: Not just a school. Botton Steiner School, situated in the North Yorks Moors national park, currently provides education for three to fourteen year olds.

This unique school has 55 years’ experience of educating children of all abilities.

With its close connection to the pioneering community in Botton Village, there is an intimate link to a vibrant and multi-faceted working village, where cheese is made, bread is baked, wooden products produced, garments woven and books printed and bound. They come into daily contact with the learning disabled of the community, developing a deep empathy for humanity in its many forms.

How can my child enjoy such a unique education? How 38

can I get my child there each day? A minibus service is now provided from Saltburn and it is intended to extend this to Whitby and into other towns as the need develops.

How can I prepare my child under 7? Parent and Child Groups and Kindergartens – Kindergarten is available to children from the age of 3. The school is looking at provision for children younger than this. Kindergarten Facilities – currently available only in Botton Village – are being planned for development in communities locally.

Parent and child groups additional to the one the school already runs in Saltburn are also under consideration.

What happens when my child reaches 14? Transitions to local secondary schools at age fourteen currently work very well. The young people are welcomed warmly, their qualities and attitude to learning and work are appreciated by the staff; they integrate well and perform successfully in GCSE courses. There are possibilities for children to continue with Steiner Waldorf Education in the many upper schools in the country. Our long term dream is that a regional upper school could be established for this age group.

How Will I afford it? Although Botton Steiner School is a private school, it operates a contribution rather than a fees system. It aims to be genuinely affordable to everyone.

(Three and four year olds can have up to 15 hours of free provision, subsidized by EYFS arrangements).

Contact: Botton Steiner School on 01287 661206 BOTTON STEINER SCHOOL Cherishing Childhood in the Heart of Nature New daily school bus service from Saltburn 01287 661206 admin@bottonvillageschool.co.uk www.bottonvillagesteinerschool.co.uk

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Redcar & Cleveland Philatelic Society February 2016 meetings and 2015 Review February’s Wednesday meetings at the East Cleveland Community Centre, Durham Road, Redcar, 7:00 for 7:15 pm will be: 3rd February: Competition Night 8 or 16 sheets – the latter our entries for the North East England’s (NEPA) annual competitions in April. 17th February: Choice of Members’ entries for the local Spirit of Teesside Trophy.

On 16th December President Martin Snowden very generously provided all food and drink for our annual Christmas Party and conducted our Annual Philatelic Quiz.

The winning team (only 1 point ahead of enthusiastic runners up) comprised Bill Gamble, a relatively new Saltburn member, Alan Rodgers and David Turner. The most gratifying feature of their win was the valuable contribution Bill made on his debut. Well done Bill! On 6th January, the wide variety of displays enabled Phil Harriman to offer erudite advice on writing up exhibits for future local and regional competitions. At the time of writing, President Martin’s display on the 20th is eagerly awaited.

2015 was perhaps our strongest year so far, as two members displayed at both national and international events.

Most importantly we helped North East England and Yorkshire Philatelic Associations (NEPA and YPA) finally convince the Royal Philatelic Society, London, that the north could offer the July York Stamp Fair as the northern venue for National Philatelic events! Previously, only two

Left to Right: Bill Gamble, David Turner, Alan Rodgers.

philatelic events, (Stampex) were held annually in London – where only 3 R&CPS members have displayed, each bringing back a minimum of either one Gold or one Large Gold Medal each time. We hope the York venue (15/16th July) will tempt other members to begin competing at national level. But irrespective of such ambitions, R&CPS will support all major regional NEPA and YPA 2016 events, and are proud announce we are to host YPA’s Annual Convention on 4th June.

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

Margaret Blair A keen volunteer in Saltburn has died in the town’s Laurieston care home at the age of 88.

She was Lazenby-born Margaret Blair, who married Dick Blair, owner of the threashing business at Lazenby known as The Farmers’ Friend, which later specialised in selling and repairing lawn mowers and cultivators. They had a son Tim and daughter Annette Adams. Grand-daughter Rosemarie recalled in a eulogy at an Emmanuel church funeral that Margaret was a keen volunteer, particularly at the church. She served at the Milton Street church shop and as a Meals on Wheels driver. She continued with this role even when her GP thought she should be receiving meals rather than delivering them.

Rosemarie said she, “zipped round in her prized turquoise Fiesta with the dog-tooth upholstery.”

At the church she took an active role including welcoming duties, flower-arranging, Sunday readings and serving coffee. Her home group was also very important to her.

She also enjoyed dressing up and helping during Saltburn’s Victorian week. To Rosemarie her grandmother was Saltburn’s version of Mrs Bucket, of Keeping Up Appearances, always immaculately turned out with outfit, shoes and jewellery all colour-coordinated.

Margaret Blair’s week as a married woman in several 40

houses in Saltburn (Cambridge Street, Irvin Avenue, The Green, Diamond Street and Windsor Road) was “probably quite typical for the early 60s.” Monday: washing day. Tuesday: ironing and Young Wives group in the afternoon. Wednesday: socialising over coffee with friends. Thursday: housework. Friday: wash car then to the hairdressers. Saturday: coffee morning and shopping in Middlesbrough or visiting her mother followed by an evening at the cinema. Sunday: church, lunch at mum’s and car drive with either a picnic tea or, on special occasions, at the Grinkle Park Hotel.

She was educated at Saltburn Girls’ high school and she dreamed of becoming a gym mistress but she had to work in the family home during WW2 because the maid, a daily help and gardener had all been pressed into working in munitions factories to help with the war effort.

A keen pet-lover, she married her childhood sweetheart Dick Blair, who became head of Charles Turner and Sons, of Lazenby. Sadly he died in 1989 aged 64. Margaret’s health deteriorated and a few years ago she moved to the care home where the staff were “brilliant” in helping.

Rosemarie recalled at the well-attended funeral that Margaret was known at the Indian restaurant Spices as ‘Princess’ which mirrored her interest in the royal family.

“She just loved the glitz and glamour. That’s how I would like you to remember her today as we celebrate her life.”

Talk of the Town’s monthly

Pride of Saltburn Award

Open 7 days a week

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

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

Quality Fresh Fruit and Veg at Competitive Prices.

Monday to Saturday: 9.00am to 6.00pm Sunday 10.00am to 4.30pm Open till 7.00pm on Fridays

Grasers 07703 884184 Try something different at Grasers The winner of this month’s Pride of Saltburn Award is Heather Garcia, seen here with Becky Tregoning. Heather was nominated by Linda Bates. Linda said, “I would like to nominate Heather after the recent event from the storms on 21st November, at 4am when all staff received a call that the Seaview Care Home was to be evacuated when the roof from the adjoining property became unsafe for residents to stay. I arrived around 5am to find Heather in the kitchen making tea for the residents, fire fighters and ambulance crew. As she came through with the tea trolley the ceiling in the corridor fell in behind her. The transfer of the residents to Greta Cottage went as well as could be expected under the gale force winds. Heather and her teams worked round the clock making sure every resident had warm clean clothes, food and a bed for the next four nights stay. Heather was on hand to offer support to families and the teams of workers and making sure the wellbeing of all the residents was met. I felt that during these devastating events Heather went above and beyond and deserves recognition for what she did. Both the teams from Greta Cottage and Seaview say a big ’well done!’ for all her hard work.” Thank you, Heather, for being you, the Pride of Saltburn. Heather added that all her staff deserved recognition too and so she was photographed with Becky, who is a senior and had come out at four in the morning as well.

Tahini and Nut Butters Most of us are familiar with peanut butter, though some of us might not have tried the real thing. The peanut butter sold in supermarkets has usually been spoiled by the addition of sugar, but Grasers sell a variety of wholesome peanut butters without unnecessary added sugar which ruins an otherwise very healthy food. In addition to smooth, crunchy, dry roasted and organic peanut butters Grasers also usually stock almond butter, made from almonds of course, and cashew nut butter. Delicious! Tahini is like peanut butter in the way it is made but instead of peanuts it is made from sesame seeds. It is used to make hummus but is delicious on its own or on toast and in sandwiches. It is rich in calcium. Not in the above photograph, there are also sunflower seed butter and pumpkin seed butter available which Grasers hope to get in for February. All these products are rich in proteins, minerals, fibre and beneficial oils not considered to be fattening.

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The de Brus Symposium

The de Brus Symposium is a day which will open your mind and discover the real story of our North Yorkshire Heritage.

The Symposium is to take place in Prior Pursglove College in Guisborough on Saturday, 5th March 2016 from 10.00 to 4.00pm.

This is a full day event with free parking, coffee on registration, light lunch and guided tours of the de Brus Cenotaph in the Parish Church and also to Gisborough Priory. There will be stalls and displays on site for everyone to enjoy.

Tickets for this event are only ÂŁ20.00 inclusive.

Details of how you can obtain tickets we ask you to visit the website, www.debrustrail.org.uk, or telephone 01287 633700. Tickets are on sale now so please book this memorable day of interest and intrigue.

Hands On Therapy Clinic Remedial Therapy Sports Injuries

Reflexology Relaxation

Louise Clark ITEC Diploma MBSR, GCP, BCMA Reg Saltburn Leisure Centre, Marske Mill Lane

Tel: 01287 625700 Mob: 07775 610745 43

Chocolinis Chocolatier

Continental Chocolates Moulded Figures Our Own Recipe Bars Speciality Ice Cream Celebration Cake Toppers Wedding Favours Luxury Hot Chocolate Coffees Teas www.chocolinissaltburn.com

3 Windsor Road Saltburn TS12 1AX 01287 626141

CHOCOLINIS NEWS NUGGETS February’s news We are nearly finished the repairs to our damaged front steps and wall.

However, the Chocolate has not been affected and we have been rated as 5 Star for Hygiene, again.

It will not have gone un‐noticed that this month we Celebrate Valentine’s Day. Yet another reason for us to select some new delicious flavours to add to our range of Continental Chocolates.

Our Customers can keep up to date with our new creations via our Website, Instagram and Facebook all of which keeps us Busy.

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See articles for both these adverts on the opposite page

Smart Exercise My New Year’s resolution is the same as many people’s and that is to get back into a regular exercise routine. Of all the things that we can do to improve our lives, there can be few things that rival regular exercise. The benefits are numerous and far reaching. These include reducing the risk of developing and even reversing the effects of many diseases and ailments including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular conditions and some lung disorders. Regular exercise has also been shown to improve mental capacity and to help alleviate depression. If some studies into New Year’s resolutions are to be believed, then less than 10% are achieved. With such important potential health gains at stake, it’s important to do all we can to make sure that we don’t fall by the wayside with our exercise resolutions. So I thought that this would be a good time to highlight some of the things that can derail our good intentions and some tips to help keep the exercise habit going.

My advice to help you exercise regularly is to work “SMART”. This stands for Strength, Mix, Amount, Routine & Team.

Strengthen Sustaining an injury is a common reason for people stopping exercise and sport. So to reduce your injury risk, make sure that you do some strengthening work that helps to maintain or increase your muscular strength. Strength training is the best way of reducing injury risk and of maintaining many aspects of health and physical independence.

Mix Boredom is a common reason why many exercise regimes fall by the wayside. If you have some variety in your exercise programme, then you are more likely to stay engaged and boredom won’t set in. Mixing a few contrasting kinds of exercise into your programme will also engage and stimulate different physical & psychological systems, which is good for the body.

Amount One of the most common reasons for people stopping regular exercise is discomfort or injury and doing too much too soon is a common cause. There is no exact science at

present that can tell you how much or how hard you should be exercising. So, we have to rely on some common sense.

The first thing to say is that it is important not to do too much too soon. When it comes to deciding how much exercise to do, how often to do it and how hard to push yourself, the best advice is to listen to your own body. If you work at an intensity that feels challenging but isn’t uncomfortable, then you are probably in a safe training zone. At the end of your session you should feel comfortably tired and you shouldn’t perform a similar level of exercise, until you have fully recovered. Make notes of your exercise sessions in a training diary, as this will help you to make steady and sensible exercise progressions. This personalised approach to training programme performance & progression, avoids the pitfalls of following a one size fits all training programme, that could either be too easy, or too hard for your particular needs.

Routine Make your exercise sessions a part of your weekly routine. Do some planning at the start of the week and schedule your exercise sessions into your diary. Writing things down improves the chance of them being completed.

Try to get into a regular exercise routine as this will help you to keep going from week to week and from month to month.

Team Try to do some or all of your training with someone else or with a group of people. This will help you to complete those exercise sessions that may not get done if your will power is dipping, as you won’t want to let your training partner(s) down. It also makes exercising more enjoyable and remember that “stuff that’s fun, gets done”.

You can find more information about the benefits of exercise on our website and can also contact us if you have any issues that are hampering your exercise ambitions.

Philip Newton Chartered & HCPC Registered Physiotherapist www.newtonphysio.com

Cloneen Residential Care Home Cloneen Residential Care Home changed ownership and management in 2015 and as a result has been updating its services and facilities on an ongoing basis.

Cloneen Residential Care Home is located in Saltburnby-the-Sea and situated on a beautiful residential street overlooking the Valley Gardens and within a refurbished Victorian House. Cloneen specialises in looking after older people including older people living with dementia in a homely, warm and personal care environment while promoting independence and dignity.

Our staff are fully trained to assist with all of the requirements of this type of client. We do this by supporting them in their daily routines, such as assistance with maintaining personal hygiene through support with bathing, washing and dressing.

We provide them with healthy home cooked meals, whilst leaving the choices in their hands.

We support medication application, co-ordinating with the client’s GP where required.

We encourage activities and entertainment to keep our clients stimulated, such as day trips and scheduled activities tailored to suit our smaller client base, and as a smaller establishment we are able to offer a very personal touch to

our personal care.

With 24 hour care, our clients and their families can feel confident that they are in the best hands at all times. Staff are on site at all times, to make sure all clients are being given the care they require.

We currently have registration for 15 residents located over two floors and we provide lift access.

Bus and rail services run directly into Saltburn to make this location easily accessible and a beautiful place to live by the sea.

Our services include...

1 Private and Local Authority funded Residential and EMI Care.

2 Respite Care/Short Stay – Offering families and carers the opportunity to leave their cared for person in a safe and comfortable place, so they can have respite and be confident in the knowledge their loved one is in the best hands.

3 Day Care upon request - Offering clients companionship during the day, with meals and a drop off/pick up service.

Ensuring that clients suffer no isolation at home.

For further information about our services including vacancies and respite please view our website www.cloneencare.co.uk or telephone 01287 622832.

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What Motivates You? Mike Fohner, cross country running coach, tells this story about one of his students: Last year, one of my young cross-country runners was fully content walking up the hills and avoiding physical exertion to the maximum extent possible. I tried all sorts of tactics and motivation techniques… to wits end. Even my “walkers club” (post practice sprints for those that walk during practice) had no effect. One meet, this runner unexpectedly knocked 3 minutes off her best time to which I gave a look of amazement to her parents. They smiled and said, “Well…she didn’t walk…so I guess we owe her ten pound!” So it appears that money is an effective motivator for all ages!

The statistics Brace yourself. According to Rod K. Dishman, Ph.D., director of the Behavioral Fitness Laboratory at the University of Georgia, nearly 50 per cent of people who begin an exercise program drop out within the first 6 months. The question is, “Why?” What is it about sticking with a fitness routine that causes so many people to abandon it?

The answer? Motivation. They don’t want health and fitness badly enough. It is a simple fact of human psychology that if we want something badly enough, we’ll do everything we can to get it.

Your challenge is to find out what motivates you to get serious about fitness and stick with it.

Unlocking your motivation Mike Fohner’s student found that money was the motivation she needed to push her out of her comfort zone and into a commitment that she previously hadn’t been interested in.

Bryan Reece found a different motivation. Told by his doctors that he was minutes away from a heart attack, Bryan decided to fight back. Even though he had not been in a gym in 30 years, he turned his life around and eventually became a finisher in the Arizona Ironman competition. You can read his story in the book, You Are an Ironman: How Six Weekend Warriors Chased Their Dream of Finishing the World's Toughest Triathlon by Jacques Steinberg.

You do not have to be part of that 50 percent who

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 January for babies and newcomers to the town 46

quit. You can stay committed and finish strong. It is all about finding what motivates you personally. Here are some possible motivators for you.

1. Do it for your health. Consistent exercise and healthy eating are the two very best things you can do for your health. You will develop a strong, healthy heart, reduce your chances of many cancers, prevent diabetes, keep a sharp mind and resist dementia and avoid many of the common ailments that come with aging. It is possible to age without decay, and the key to this is exercise and eating well.

2. Do it to look better. Appearance isn’t everything, but most of us care how we look. A strong and healthy person just looks good. And it isn’t all physical. Your demeanour will change as you develop the confidence that comes from the discipline of fitness. You will appear more energetic and confident because you will be more energetic and confident!

3. Do it to relieve stress. Really! It isn’t a cliché.

Exercising really does cause physical changes in your brain and nervous system that results in feelings of calmness and well-being. In fact, you may get so hooked on the mental benefits of exercise that you will crave it!

4. Do it to be strong. If you have never done focused weight training, then you literally have no idea of the total transformation that you will feel after just a few weeks. There is nothing like bending over to pick something up that normally results in discomfort, strain and even pain, only to find out that it is a piece of cake!

And by getting strong now, you reduce your risk of agerelated falls and fractures because you have the core strength and balance to keep yourself stable.

It is worth taking the time to discover the powerful motivators in your life. Don’t worry about ‘bribing’ yourself: do what it takes to get yourself moving. Find out what makes sweating worth it. Find out what you want more than that brownie. Your health is at stake; in fact, your very life is at stake. It’s time to transform yourself.

Dedicated to your fitness, Brian Bennett Invictus Strength & Fitness Academy

STEVE WALKER BUILDING SERVICES ALL BUILDING WORK UNDERTAKEN EXTENSIONS LOFT CONVERSIONS uPVC WINDOWS, DOORS AND FASCIAS BRICKWORK PLASTERING FITTED KITCHENS BLOCK PAVED DRIVES

HOME 01287 625540 MOBILE 07919 121895 www.stevewalker.org

Marske Hall FEBRUARY EVENTS Marske Fisherman's Choir—Friday, 12th February, 7.00pm. Join us at Marske Hall for the first fundraising event of the year.

Refreshments and tombola. Tickets £1 each, available from the Hall or pay on the door.

Coffee Morning—Wednesday, 24th February, 9.30am-12noon, Marske Library. Enjoy a tea or coffee and a homemade scone and try your luck on the tombola.

National Leap Year event - Make that extra day count and use it to raise money for a cause close to your heart.

Look out for details of how you can get involved on our Facebook page or contact Ruth at the Hall.

Look ahead: Spring Ball - Saturday, 12th March, 7pm -late, Spa Hotel, Saltburn. Join us at our annual Spring Ball.

Tickets £30 each include a three course meal and disco. A ticket could make an ideal Mother’s Day present! Sponsors for tables are welcome (this will help to pay for carers to attend with our service users). For details of sponsorship or for tickets please contact the Hall.

Appeal: Bottles of wine or other drink along with bottle gift bags are needed for the bottle draw at the Spring Ball. The fundraising team is always looking for tombola and raffle prizes to use at events throughout the year.

Vintage cups and Saucers are needed for our tea party event in May. They don’t even need to match!

Simply call into Marske Hall from 9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday or telephone 07714 291979 for collection (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).

1ST SALTBURN RAINBOWS – THANK YOU We would like to everyone who supported our Tombola which we held in December – we raised £117 which will be a huge help towards future activities for our Rainbows. In particular we would like to thank the following for their tombola gift donations and support during the day: Saltburn Pharmacy, Brambles Gift Shop, Jackie’s Saverstore, Stonehouse Bakery, Celebrations, Gosnay Butchers, Smith Butchers, Chocolinis, Asda Skelton, Bookers Stockton on Tees, Mrs Denise Marshall and the other Table Top Ladies & Gents of Emmanuel Church Table Top Sales.

Craft Magic Craft Magic is a beautiful new 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.

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

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

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

t: 01287 624644 m: 07960 967865 www.scurator.co.uk info@scurator.co.uk www.beamdesignservice.co.uk

NEED HELP? • Decorating • Joinery

I’M YOUR GUY Based in Saltburn CALL GUY ON

07780 008985 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 47

Citizens Advice Bureau Getting the right advice?

Over a third of people could have benefited from money advice when going through a divorce or separation, says Citizens Advice Redcar & Cleveland.

Many people could have benefited from money advice at key times of their lives such as when they have a baby, get divorced or fall ill in order to avoid financial problems in the future.

Citizens Advice Redcar & Cleveland is encouraging people in the area to come to them if they need help and advice.

In a new report, national Citizens Advice reveals almost half of the adult population (48 per cent) – over 23 million people – would have taken money advice at different key moments of their lives if they had been offered it.

The findings highlight the number of people who would accept money advice available at the key life stages they had been through such as: ● More than a third (35 per cent) when they start working or change jobs. ● 37 per cent when going through a divorce or separation. ● More than 2 in 5 (44 per cent) when seriously ill. ● 38 per cent after a bereavement.

Research shows that too many people aren’t getting money advice, support and guidance at important times in their lives such as when they have a baby, move house or get divorced. This kind of support could make all the difference to people in moments such as when they are experiencing higher costs or a reduced income.

SOUTH BANK LIBRARY Friday Normanby Road 9.30am – 12.30pm LOFTUS LIBRARY 1.30pm–3.30pm

Thursday – every 2nd & 4th week

SKELTON LIBRARY Monday – every 1st & 3rd week 1.30pm – 3.30pm TELEPHONE ADVICE Friday 10.00am – 12.00 noon 01642 469880.

Flying Needle Repairs and Alterations

£4 and concessions

A safe and

The Health Store opened in October with a great response from local people, much appreciated.

welcoming place

Love life, be free and meet people

Products Include: Solgar Supplements Natures Aid Supplements Organic Barley Grass (relieves IBS symptoms) Homeopathic remedies Homeopathic First Aid Kits Homeopathic Kits for Animals and Pets

Follows Law of Attraction, letting music lead you into happiness, and the rest of your life will start to get easier, and your dreams begin to flow

Get in touch Kendal 07944 883961 For details, bookings and coaching enquiries Email coach@happygreenblueeyes.co 48

GUISBOROUGH Monday & Wednesday Belmont House 9.30am – 12.30pm

And

Dance anyway you want Every last Sunday of the month Earthbeat Centre 4 till 6.00pm

REDCAR LIBRARY Tuesday & Thursday Redcar & Cleveland House 10.00am – 1.00pm

Heritage Health Store

Dance of Attraction

Anyone seeking advice on the above or any other issue can contact us as below: Call the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 040506, (or go online at www.citizensadvice.org.uk).

Opening Times: Monday and Tuesday 10.00-3.00pm Wednesday and Sunday Closed Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10.30-6.30pm Formerly Moola, at 1 Dundas Street West, next to Easy PC

Cons Club Looking Ahead February is a strange month coming between Winter & Spring when the weather is cold and the money is short. The early forecast for winter was not good with ice and snow predicted from November onwards owing to the ‘El Nino’ factor influencing the jet stream around our shores. This forecast has now been revised to a warm first half of winter (which we have had) followed by a much colder second half of winter (which may follow). As I write this article it is cold and wet and we have just had the first hard frost of the year. We shall see what follows with interest. Will the forecasters get it wrong again? Certainly this is happening more times than it should.

The weather has had a big bearing on the spring bulbs I planted at the end of Autumn / early winter. The three barrels/planters outside the front door to the club, the planters in the garden and the bulbs in the soil are all showing strong stems and leaves with the early signs of the flowers starting to show, which is earlier than usual.

Amazingly, most of the snowdrops have flowered and are now dying away.

One thing, however, that is not dying off is the support from the members of the club. The bar-takings for 2015 have surpassed every other year and the number of members is increasing each month. The comments from new members highlight the fantastic atmosphere and welcome they receive whenever they use the club, the functions and entertainment that is put on for the benefit of all members and how easy they have found it to make new friends. You can be part of this yourselves by filling in a new members application form, available from the bar.

Come and try us out before you decide; you would be made most welcome. Membership costs £12 each and is renewable in January each year.

With regard to membership subscriptions, this is just another reminder that subs have to be paid by the end of January to avoid your discount swipe card being deactivated. Once de-activated, you will pay 15% more for all alcoholic drinks until you have paid your membership. If you still have not re-joined for 2016 by the end of February you will lose your membership and will have to re-apply to become a member. To avoid the hassle for you and me please pay subs ASAP if you have not already done so.

Activities in February include our monthly ‘Open Mic Night’, hosted by Teesside Steve & Liz Bishop on Friday 26th from 7-30pm. These music nights are proving to be very popular with members and guests. New and established singers and musicians create a great atmosphere where you can sing a song, join in or just listen. Whichever

you choose you are guaranteed a good night. The beer draw takes place every Sunday at 6pm and the cash rollover on this draw currently stands at £450. To have a chance of winning this you must be a member and you must be in the club when the draw takes place. The club draw takes place every Tuesday when you could win a meat voucher, bottles of wine and chocolates. The draw takes place at 10pm and all are welcome. Other monthly events in the club are the meeting of SLUG (Saltburn Line Users Group) and the Book Club which meets in the new snug. Dates for these meetings are available from the club and new members are always welcome.

Although it is a long way off, our stewardess, Michelle, has arranged another of her now famous club tours. This will be taking place on Saturday, 7th May and the tour is to YORK, where we will be participating in the food and liquid refreshment, plus the shops. The cost of the tour is £9 each which includes food, buffet style, in the club on our return.

This will be followed by a Music Party Night with Shaun on the Decks. A sheet is on the club notice board for people to place their names and a deposit or full payment is required, payable over the bar. Coach times will be published nearer the date. As you can imagine, there will be a very big response to this day out and you are strongly advised to book your place on the coach at your earliest convenience.

We had originally arranged a Quiz, Bingo & Buffet Supper Night to be held on Wednesday, 20th January. Owing to the fact that this night fell between two big functions in the club and the lateness in making the arrangements because of the Christmas & New Year period this function has now been re-arranged for Wednesday, 10th February at 8pm. Tickets cost £4 each and are available from the bar. These nights normally sell out so don’t leave it too late to buy your tickets.

Hopefully, when my next article appears we will be approaching Spring with better weather and the barbecue season just round the corner - what a fantastic thought.

To finish, can you help me? Do you have any photographs, stories or reminiscences relating to Saltburn Pier up to 1974 when it had its original Pier-head with its sheltered seating (full length)? This would be of great assistance for a book a relation of mine is writing and it would be much appreciated. Anything you can pass on could you send it to me, (or pass the information on to tpf.fotos@tiscali.co.uk).

Many thanks and hope you all have a good February.

David Rigg, Club President Email: davidrigg21@yahoo.co.uk Article financially supported by Saltburn Conservative & Unionist Club

Saltburn Cons Club Future Events to entertain in February Every Tuesday: Club Draw nights for Meat Voucher, Wines and Chocolates.

Every Sunday at 6pm: Beer Draw & Cash Rollover. This increases by £25 each week if not won.

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

Tuesday 2nd: SLUG Meeting (Saltburn Line Users Group).

Wednesday 10th: Quiz, Bingo & Buffet Supper. Tickets from bar £4 each. 8pm Start. Get your tickets early to avoid disappointment.

Friday 26th: ‘Open Mic Night’ with Teesside Steve & Liz Bishop. All welcome 7-30pm start. Great night of entertainment not to be missed.

Book Club: Check date of meeting in the club. All welcome.

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80 Saltburn wreaths on display Saltburn-themed wreaths were on show at Emmanuel Church during a Christmas exhibition which ended on 10th January.

Among the 80 on display was one of several balls of wool harking back to the yarn-stormers whose work was shown on the pier. Another was of nearly 30 babies’ dummies found on Saltburn streets or beach and another of a crown.

Marjorie Wieland, who was one of the volunteers manning the church during the weekends of exhibitions, made her wreath of sea creatures on a lifebelt. It was called ‘Save our seas.’

She said the number of exhibits was more than during the last similar exhibition at the church. A workshop was held before the series of weekend showings to help beginners at wreath-making.

The church is being opened on a selection of Saturdays and Sundays during the year. Exhibitions are often put on at the back of the church and there are many features of interest to visitors including world war links.

SEA ECHO: Marjorie Wieland, right, shows visitor Evelyn Crichton the ‘lifeboat’ wreath of sea creatures she made for the Emmanuel exhibition.

Details can be had from the church office or by checking the parish website.

Veterinary Matters This month had a few questions on the internet.

Firstly was the issue of glass. Saltburn is a very popular town and we get a lot of visitors all year round. It is very sad to hear of our dogs getting their feet slashed open on glass in the woods or on the promenade. If we see broken glass we should inform the council and they will clean it up as soon as they can. It is not only a risk to our pets, but also to young children, folks on skateboards, or even those of us that like to sit on the benches and take in the lovely view.

Should your dog get a cut to a leg or foot, then you need to stop any bleeding (by using anything that is clean and to hand) and get it seen by your vet to be treated.

As a sort of follow on to cut feet, the topic of “Alabama Rot” has been cropping up in the press again.

This is a significantly acute type of infection, initially being seen in racing greyhounds in America, often causing severe sepsis and possible death. Really, it is a badly contaminated wound that is not cleaned up or treated soon enough.

Working with greyhounds in this part of England, I have seen a lot of racing dogs with this kind of infection, and if treated correctly, they recover. This form of disease can occur in any animal, be it a dog, cat or horse, that has a dirty cut, and is not properly looked after. So, the rule is, as ever, speak to your vet and get their advice as soon as possible.

As a country, we are fortunate not to have many infectious diseases such as rabies. This means that we, as a nation, are in the habit of going up to strange dogs and patting them, sometimes without asking first. This affectionate behaviour towards dogs can, on occasions, be seen by the dog as antagonistic, leading to the dog retaliating with aggression. The best way to approach a dog is to ask the owner of the dog if it is okay to pet the dog, and not to take offence if the owner says no. Similarly, with a lot 50

of our dogs being on controlled diets, offering a treat, any treat, can cause the dog to snatch from that person, or could possibly lead to the dog becoming unwell later that day if allergic to that particular food.

When I was a young boy, my parents got a tortoise for a pet. At that time there was very little written for the public to read about the care of the tortoise, and also, there was little information for the veterinary profession on husbandry and diseases. Over the years a lot has changed; many books have been written for both owners and vets on looking after tortoises. Nowadays, as a vet, I find that exotic pet owners are much more knowledgeable. Where I work we have Exotics Vets and also Exotics Nurses to give advice and treat all manner of pets. Back to the tortoise; this weather is playing havoc with their normal hibernation, leading to them not waking up fully and not taking on board enough food to keep going. It has been difficult to keep them cool enough up to the start of the year, and now it is predicted that the UK will have a very cold period. Should you find that your tortoise is waking, then you need to decide if you should wake fully and start feeding in earnest, or hope he/she goes back to “sleep”. If in doubt seek advice.

Remember that the 1st April is the date that all dogs in England over the age of 8 weeks must be microchipped.

As ever, if you are not sure or have any questions, ask your vet.

If you want to ask me a question or raise a topic for this article, contact me by email on j.haddow@live.co.uk or call where I work at Jacqui Paterson vets on 01642 604555.

James Haddow, Veterinary Eye Consultant, GP and Saltburn resident.

The Men’s Shed “Many men don’t talk face to face, but they will talk shoulder to shoulder,” says Geoff Fox, who with his wife Ruth has been a prime mover in the setting up of the Men’s Shed at 17 Queen Street, Redcar. The workshop welcomed males and females to its Open Day in November, but now it’s strictly for men.

Men’s Sheds are non-profit organisations that originated in Australia and when Geoff and Ruth visited the continent this year, they made their way to Cairns to learn more. They found congenial, safe workshops where men were working on meaningful practical projects at their own pace, in their own time and in the company of other men. There were no age restrictions, but many of the men had been made redundant, were retired or widowed.

“We talked to the men and listened to how important the Shed had been for them,” says Geoff. “We heard comments like ‘It’s saved my life’, ‘It‘s saved my marriage’ and ‘It’s saved my wife’s life!’ Geoff and Ruth soon decided they would like to see a Men’s Shed in Redcar.

Ruth is well-known in the Redcar area for her work with the charity Footprints in the Community. It has become an umbrella charity supporting seven local projects. She has a flair for setting up projects and bringing people in to run them. “I’m motivated by my Christian faith and beliefs,” she explains. “I want to help others.”

Most of the projects have arisen through the Foodbank. “We saw a young mum come in struggling with a broken pushchair, so we set up a project to help young mums. We had a lad come in with only the clothes he stood up in. He couldn’t open the tins we were offering him, so we bought two dozen tin openers and gave him a kettle as well as a food parcel to start him off. We work closely with a local charity shop and provide a change of clothes for those in need.”

Geoff has subdivided the former building at 17 Queen Street to set up a Next Steps food shop and the Men’s Shed workshop. “He’s into woodwork,” says Ruth.

Ideally, they would like a warehouse type of premises, but the current rooms are welcoming and well-equipped for woodworking. “We have drills, power saws, sanders, a wood-turning lathe and some other woodworking tools,” says Geoff. “Most are new, but we will consider donations. If donated items are unsuitable, we can pass them on to Tools with a Mission, a charity which sends refurbished tools to developing countries.”

In time, Geoff and Ruth would like to have facilities for metalworking and if men have ideas for craftwork, everyone will try to help. Geoff will be the leader on Saturday mornings and Rob will be in charge on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. Opening hours will initially be from 9.00am to 1.00pm on those days. But they hope that the men will get involved in the development of the Shed when they feel at home. “For example, at Cairns, there was a problem with mynah birds - there was a plague of them. So in the Men’s Shed, they made traps. They sold twelve hundred at eighty dollars each! That’s what worked for them.”

There will be a membership fee of £12 a year, but

that won’t be charged until March or April. Then there will be a charge of £2 a visit. The money will cover tea and coffee, electricity and insurance. Funding in the future is an issue. Ideally, Ruth would like the initiative to be selfsustaining, perhaps through the profits of a successful fulltime community cafe, but for now she is administering a bid to the People’s Projects, formerly the People’s Millions. A total of £50,000 is available and she hopes that everyone will vote for the Men’s Shed. If successful, Geoff and Ruth hope that they can set up Men’s Sheds in Skelton and South Bank as well.

Ruth’s efforts at publicising the Open Day at Redcar were very fruitful. “We went on the radio and into pubs to leave beer mats advertising our opening,” she says. “They were well designed by Nic Gibson, retired Head of School and Technology teacher at Huntcliff School.” Redcar and Cleveland Voluntary Development Agency sent the information on to everyone on their mailing list. In all, thirty -two people visited and twenty men said they wanted to come again. There is room for six to work comfortably along side each other and room for another six in the coffee room.

“With the recent redundancies at SSI, we feel we have something to offer men who are feeling down,” says Geoff. “Men often feel they’ve got to be strong in times of trouble, but if they have no one to talk to, they can become depressed and develop mental health issues. We can make a difference.”

Since Men’s Sheds became a formal association in Australia in 2005, it has grown to represent nine hundred sheds countrywide. Their members come from all walks of life - the bond that unites them is that they are people with time on their hands, who would like to do something meaningful with that resource.

Rosemary Nicholls 51

Is self-harm keeping us from happiness?

I now work as a happiness coach but for many years I worked as an addiction counsellor running groups in rehab centres and working with people one-to-one. I really enjoyed working with those who wanted to move forward, get healthy and stay clean. One of my stock phrases was “I’m not here to persuade you.” I would tell them straight: “if you still want to take drugs, that’s fine by me, go ahead; it’s your life and your choice.”

Drugs are both simple to understand, you either take them or you don’t, or they’re a super complex mix of selfharm wrapped up in childhood or adult trauma, lack of selflove, patterns of thought and behaviour mixed with social acceptability and peer pressure, to name just some of the factors involved in this sticky web that has more people caught than most people realise.

For example what if I told you that refined sugar was a harmful and addictive substance that will help kill you if you take it regularly? Some of you might know that already, others will be surprised, but many will still continue to carry on taking it. So If you want to know what addiction is all about but you’ve never taken an illegal drug then try giving up sugar completely, for a month. It’s in most bread, pretty much all cereal, almost all processed food, pasta sauces, curry sauces, ketchup, mustard etc etc. It should be easy for you if you are not addicted, if not ...spare a thought.

This kind of information about sugar can help to show that, yes, defining someone as a drug addict is ... well, unclear and can depend on all kinds of factors such as cultural norms and a person’s own willingness to acknowledge that they have an addictive pattern. Drinking multiple cups of tea every day in England you are unlikely to call a serious addiction, in Italy or Colombia coffee wouldn’t be either, in Pakistan or Turkey cigarettes wouldn’t be either, and in Jamaica or Belize marijuana wouldn’t be either.

One of the definitions of addiction is that a person has to acknowledge it for themselves before it can be sensibly classed as addiction, as it is largely about acknowledging the harm it’s doing, and people don’t always want to admit it’s doing harm. For example if someone is sexually fixated and watches pornography but sees it as part of healthy sexuality, that is one thing but if they recognise one day that they are continually drawn to it and spending hours of their day doing it and it’s affecting their work or blocking them having a relationship or negatively affecting the relationship they have, then at that point they may acknowledge that they have become addicted and with that self-acknowledgment they can make a change or start to look for support.

You may know people who have a couple of glasses of Chardonnay every evening, yet most wouldn’t consider themselves a low level drug addict. Yet they may know someone who smokes marijuana every evening and considers them clearly a drug addict; a large part of their rationale may come from the fact that one of those substances is legal and the other is not.

It may well be that neither the marijuana smoker or the alcohol drinker can see any harm in what they are doing (the drinker can quite easily see themselves as elevated away from the marijuana smoker because their dealer is the legal supermarket or the pub landlady). In fact social acceptability can be a very deceptive mask, of all the drugs alcohol is by far the most harmful socially. It’s claimed that two thirds of all 52

A&E entries are in part or fully due to alcohol, and rehabs are about half filled with alcoholics, while tobacco kills more people than all the other drugs put together, and coffee is causing anxiety en masse at harmful levels and prescription drugs from your GP or pharmacist are an epidemic of harm that is still currently hidden by the cloak of legality and acceptability.

Essentially all drugs are really a question of degrees, quantity and regularity and most people even if they drink and smoke regularly would not like to admit to themselves let alone to others that they have an ‘addiction’. It might well only be acknowledged as a ‘problem’ when longer term they see the drug affecting their ability to stay emotionally connected to their partner, or to arrive at work on time or when one day they get told they have liver damage or throat cancer, by which point the acknowledgement may be rather late.

Where addiction plays a role in the happiness philosophy is three fold, one is that it is harming your body with long term use, (your body will tell you if you listen to it, or just notice how you feel the day after). Two, they often make you socially or psychologically uncomfortable, depressed, anxious or unfocused and three, if we take just the mind altering substances such as sleeping tablets, antidepressants, ecstasy, heroin, alcohol and many more... well, they alter your mind for a time, feel good short term, but can slow down or even halt your progress towards feeling genuinely good in the long term.

And the question is, if we were happy already why would we feel a need to change our state, why would we self -harm or self-medicate? If you are doing it regularly then there is probably something underlying that you are emotionally trying to hide away from, and drugs will just bottle it up, perpetuating your emotional pain for longer and deeper.

Though at times, let’s be honest, drugs can be fun, in a pub or elsewhere and useful for personal experimentation and for gaining insight into ourselves and into life. Yet the big issue about all drugs is that almost always to get the same experience you had yesterday you have to increase the dose you have today, and that can quickly lead to excessive use on a regular basis and thus to addiction which can have some very negative implications both for you and for anyone around you.

Mind altering drugs, especially taken regularly, essentially affect your ability to think clearly and thus to be honest with yourself and therefore it can be hard to know if you are honestly harming yourself or not or if you are honestly addicted. It can also get in the way of practising some of the other important elements to remaining happy such as eating well and sleeping well and taking regular exercise. Without clarity of mind it’s hard to know if you are seeing clearly and being honest about anything, to yourself or anyone else.

If this article has brought something up for you or you know someone affected by drugs and want support you are welcome to get in touch for advice. There is never a cost for consultation. For comments, questions or support, contact me on coach@happygreenblueeyes.co.uk or 07944 883961.

Kendal Aitken Health and Happiness Coach / Counsellor.

53

The Countryside Ranger and Volunteers, February 2016 Despite some mild days, the countryside is still very much in the grip of winter. The Saltburn Countryside Volunteers however, are a hardy bunch, braving the worst of the weather, they have helped to refresh and re-develop many areas around the Valley and opened paths blocked by fallen trees.

Our mini-beast area was looking a bit sorry for itself.

But with a restock of nicely rotting timber sourced from around the valley, and some new more secure fencing, it is now a much more attractive spot to stop and search for some of the Valley’s smallest inhabitants. Remember to replace the logs if you look to see what is lurking underneath!

The Community Orchard has benefited from a good clearing back of encroaching Blackthorn and also the cutting and raking between trees to encourage wild flowers.

We have, however, gained a mysterious inhabitant…a Leylandii specimen. Sadly this is neither native, nor a fruit tree, so we will be looking to relocate it to a more suitable area.

If any readers do wish to plant/sponsor a tree within the orchard/wider woodland, we would ask them to contact us in the first instance. This gives all involved a chance to decide on both suitability of the tree and its location. On that particular note we have been donated some trees (x3) by a local resident. I won’t mention names, but hopefully you will be reading this and know how grateful I am for the donated trees.

It may seem like winter to us but to our resident tawny owls spring is in the air and the end of February is a time for courtship. At the start of the breeding season, the owls become extremely vocal and, if you take a woodland walk at dusk or after dark, you may hear their familiar calls: harsh screeches are common as is the familiar ‘terwiitterwoo’ of duetting pairs of birds. It is likely that within a week or two the female will be sitting on eggs. The nest site may be a tree hole or crevice. Nesting takes place this early in the year so that the chicks and newly-fledged owlets can take advantage of early spring’s food supply in the form of new families of young mice and voles.

As winter progresses, berry, fruit and nut supplies in the countryside become depleted and many birds are forced closer to towns and gardens in search of food. This makes them all the easier to see. One species in particular that is affected in this way in mid-winter is the fieldfare. This

smartly plumaged member of the thrush family then turns up in sizeable flocks in open areas with short grass such as urban parks and school playing fields. They were often seen on Camp Bank when the grass was kept short. In common with its cousin the redwing, the fieldfare is a flock-forming winter visitor to Britain and the two species often mix in suitable feeding areas.

Fieldfares are appreciably larger than redwings, however, and closer in size to the mistle thrush. A close view of the fieldfare in good light reveals an attractive bird with mainly blue-grey and chestnut upper parts and pale under parts marked with dark streaks.

Candlesnuff fungus grows on rotting wood in clusters, which are 4-6cm high, with branched, antler-like projections.

At first the fungi are pure white but as they mature they blacken from the base, until eventually they become completely dark. Candlesnuff fungus is common throughout most of Britain and is mainly encountered in deciduous woodlands where there are plenty of rotting stumps and fallen wood. Although it can be found throughout the year, it tends to be most conspicuous in late winter and early spring.

Being amphibians, newts are perfectly able to survive on land as long as their immediate environment is tolerably humid. This ability enables them to leave the water in autumn to forage for food on land. During the coldest periods of winter however, they become torpid and hibernate, seeking refuges away from the elements and the prying eyes of predators. In the countryside, palmate newts typically hibernate under fallen logs or in holes in the ground among tree roots. If you have a pond in your garden and wish to attract newts on a permanent basis, remember that creating a pond is not enough – make sure there are plenty of secure hiding places in the garden, not too far from the water. Piles of logs and branches make ideal sites for the newts, but don’t disturb them in winter.

Practical conservation work continues every Friday from 10am. If you would like to help with the management of the valley, come and look for the volunteers who usually meet near the centre. For more information please contact paul.murphy@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk (or the volunteers at saltburncountrysidevolunteers@virginmedia.com).

For volunteering opportunities please contact Karen Preston (at karen.preston@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk).

Paul Murphy

Greta cottage residential care home, caring for the elderly and EMI needs. We provide a home from home, our staff are friendly and fully qualified. We have a daily activities programme which includes trips out in our mini bus and musical afternoons. Our rooms are individually decorated and all food is homemade on the premises.

For any further information please contact us on 01287 622498 or e‐mail gretacottage@outlook.com where our staff will be happy to help.

Greta Cottage – Greta Street, Saltburn 54

The Saltburn Profile by Rosemary Nicholls Margaret Allen “I am told I’m the oldest Keep Fit teacher in the country!” says Saltburn’s Margaret Allen, who has been featured in the national press. She has been taking classes for over fifty years, making up all the routines herself.

Margaret was born in Stanley, County Durham in 1920. She has a younger sister, Joan, who also lives in Saltburn. Almost all the men in Stanley were miners and her Dad was a Deputy. Margaret was brought up there until she was six, when her Dad suddenly died of silent pneumonia. The family moved locally to Grange Villa and she learned to play the piano, practising regularly at Grandma’s. At ten and a half, she was the only child in the class to pass the scholarship for High School.

However, she couldn’t take it up, because her Mum moved the family to her sister’s at Skelton and the scholarship was not transferable to another county. “I’ve got three hard luck stories to tell of my life and this was the first one of them,” Margaret says cheerfully. However, she settled in happily at New Skelton School and progressed with her music.

Margaret left school at fourteen to become a maid in Leeds. The people took her home each month and on a visit, her former Headmaster told her that she’d been awarded a free scholarship to the Royal College of Music.

“But I couldn’t take it up as it was for an unemployed man’s child and they wouldn’t bend the rules,” she remembers. “This was my second disappointment.”

While she was in Leeds, her Mum and her sister moved to Saltburn and Margaret applied for an office job at Skelton Co-op. She passed the exam, but as her Mum wasn’t a Co-op member, (it cost money) she couldn’t have the job. “So that was my third hard luck story!” she says.

She next went to work in a shop called Fabres in Dundas Street, Saltburn. “It sold everything and was a very good learning experience,” she says. During these years, she met Joe Allen at the Spa Ballroom and he encouraged her to try for a better job as a railway clerk at Boosbeck and Loftus. She got the job and married Joe, living for a time in the cottage at Rigwood, next to Rushpool Hall.

Judith and Richard were born and Margaret didn’t go back to paid work, feeling that she couldn’t do justice to both. She did volunteer for charities, though. “I worked at the Red Cross shop in Amber Street and I was a collector for Christian Aid and for the National Children’s Home (now called Action for Children), all for forty years. My sister Joan always used to be baking for the charities and she was known as the ‘Scone Queen’,” says Margaret.

She attended her first fitness class in Loftus in 1943 and has been active in classes for over seventy years. She became the pianist for the Evening Institute Keep Fit class in Saltburn and then she started her own class, devising routines and setting them to music. At one point she had a class of eighteen (and a dog).

She has inherited her Dad’s love of opera and she also enjoys Strauss waltzes and some musicals. Husband Joe sang in the Apollo Male Voice Choir for twenty-five years. He had a much admired tenor voice. At the time of writing, Margaret looks forward to moving to a Retirement

Village in Warwickshire to be nearer to her son, but there isn’t room for her to take her piano. “This will be a big wrench,” she muses, “but Richard has a keyboard and will only be ten minutes away,” Margaret is a keen attender of University of the Third Age Scrabble sessions and she has been President of the Methodist Church Women’s Fellowship for almost sixty years. When she was eighty-eight, she did a computer course at Saltburn Library, but decided not to pursue it and doesn’t have a computer. She has produced nine books of poetry and Barclays Bank has decided to double the amount she has raised by them for the Heart Foundation. The late Martin Nesbitt developed one of her poems into a song, which his daughter, Faye, sang on television.

Margaret has written volumes of stories, as she has a keen memory going back to when she was two and a half.

“They’re for my family to read in the future,” she says. She has four grandchildren and five great-children. Twice a month, she goes to a Writers’ Group at ECHO. She studied the diarist Samuel Pepys for two years and prepared three talks on him, which she has given hundreds of times.

When the family were living at Rigwood, they had a dog called Rusty, which was always escaping. Margaret and Joe also took on sister Joan’s dog, Jamie, when Joan’s husband became too ill to manage him. “He became Joe’s companion and we loved him,” Margaret says. Son Richard, who is now retired, has many animals in Warwickshire: five horses, four dogs, ducks, chickens and cats!

“But above all, I’m a people person,” says Margaret. “I just love people.”

55

1st Saltburn Scout Group Another year (2016) starts our annual census, which records the numbers of young people (by Sections), Leaders, Sectional Assistants and helpers; as well as our Executive (Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Trustees).

Our Leader with the Beaver Section, Lindsey Snowdon, having been with the Group for a year, continues to enjoy working with this active section and as we open after our Christmas break she has a colony of 20 Beavers. Having been joined now by Bodhi, Harry and John, all appear to be settling in well and getting used to being with a very active group of young people. Visits planned for this term already include the pantomime in Saltburn and a session at the swimming baths (hopefully some will achieve their Swimmer (Stage 1) Award at the same time). Lindsey with assistance from Jo Hopkins, as well as several mums and dads, has an active term planned and they are also awaiting details of Beaver events planned within the District.

Cubs having been joined before the Christmas break

by Conrad, Jacob, Rowan and Seb, means the pack now is some 26 cubs strong! It can seem noisy and games take longer to run as with more participants it takes more time to have a turn, but all are enjoying themselves. This year is the Centenary for the Cub Section (Cubs 100) so we are officially one hundred years young! Hopefully we have an activity planned for every month (some are our regular activities) but others include a camp for all Cub Scouts in the district; as well as a ‘Human Monopoly’ event and a thank you party in December. At the same time Cubs are achieving their Skills Challenge and their Home Help Badge (this was received with great pleasure by parents as

Saltburn Line User Group Next Meeting: Tuesday, 2nd February 2016 at 7.10pm Meetings at Saltburn Conservative Club are held on the first Tuesday of the month starting at the new time 19.10pm. As always, all welcome.

On 2nd February our speaker will be Mr Charlie Walton on the Friends of Locomotion, Locomotion and the Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership

Talk to Saltburn Line User Group.

The Group exists to protect passengers’ interests.

Find us at www.facebook.com/ saltburnlineusergroup

Telephone the secretary on:

07875 242350 56

it involves Cubs having to tidy rooms, wash up and generally be helpful round the house); all activities they seem to forget about normally. Forthcoming district events already include the quiz (which 1st Saltburn won last year) and a visit to the trampoline centre in Stockton. Bouncing cubs springs to mind!

Scouts spent their last three night before Xmas with evenings dedicated to delivering Scout Post; great fun for the Scouts. They were disappointed upon their return in January that we were not going out. Numbers are also increasing here, now being joined by Drew, Harry and Leon; our troop has now 19 Scouts. The first night had to be activity based as Scouts were full of energy and needed to be exercised. They also are looking forward to the Scout’s District Quiz (they were joint winners last year), so we live in hope.

Scout Post was a success for the group again, thanks must go to: Co-operative Petrol Station, Sainsbury’s, Saltburn Furniture Centre, Saltburn Leisure Centre, Saltburn Library and Saltburn Store for permitting placing of our collection boxes. The Group raised £650+ for funds; our parents and young people ensured deliveries before Xmas; a massive thanks to all involved. No problems this year with peculiar names and addresses, even the ‘miss-delivered’ cards into a Scout Post box were solved. (Mrs Hall retrieved her cards and got them sent elsewhere in the country!)

Our parents continue to offer assistance in a variety of ways and must be thanked for their excellent support; but our recruitment strategy continues, so if you can offer assistance or are interested in joining us, please enquire.

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

John G. Hannah

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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.

Simply send a cheque payable to “Gbiz IT” for £33.50 to TotT Subscriptions, 9 The Wynd, Marske, Cleveland, TS11 7LD. Don’t forget to enclose your name and address. Alternatively, you can call us on 01642 477200 if you wish to pay by credit or debit card.

Talking to the World by Alan Butler As I write these words I am glancing periodically at the clock. That is because in less than an hour I will be talking on Skype to a radio audience in the United States of America. There is nothing particularly unusual about this because it’s a regular occurrence for a writer whose books sell to all parts of the globe and when a new book appears, as one of mine has recently, the interests for interviews goes up, especially in the United States.

As common as this is for me at the moment we tend to forget how new and revolutionary this sort of communication is. I cast my mind back to when I was growing up in Leeds and to a particular summer when I was about twelve. I wanted to arrange to go to Saltburn to stay with my Aunt Madge, who had a guest house in Pearl Street. Being a hotelier Aunt Madge did have a telephone but we certainly did not. I remember the phone box on the corner being out of action and so, being as polite as my mother brought me up to be, I walked round to Mrs Stewart’s house, with a silver sixpence grasped in my hand. Mrs Stewart was a friendly and accommodating lady and the only person in our street who had a telephone of her own. Young readers will not believe me but it’s a fact that to talk to someone directly who lived nearly eighty miles from my home was a treat and even something of a wonder and like everyone else in the world at that time I could never have envisaged what a revolution would take place in terms of communications during my own lifetime.

Incidentally, although it’s a side issue I remember one time when I was even younger that I had been despatched to the telephone box on the corner, trusted to make my first solo call. Telephone boxes in those days had two buttons – button A and button B. Four old pennies had to be posted into the telephone before one rang the number. If someone answered it was necessary to press button A. On the other hand, if nobody took the call, one pressed button B and the four pennies were returned. On this occasion nobody answered the telephone so I pressed button B but no money was returned. Anxious to recover the cash I eventually pushed my fingers as far as I could up the returned coins shoot and found that someone had stuffed a rag up it. When I removed the rag a great shower of pennies followed it. I can’t remember how rich I was that day but I do know that I hit the sweet shop at the top of the road pretty hard.

I was always a great fan of the television program ‘Tomorrow’s World’. We only had two channels on our tiny black and white television set but fortunately the BBC was one of them. About the same time I spoke to Aunt Madge from Mrs Stewart’s house there was an episode of Tomorrow’s World in which the presenter was trying to convince both me and the rest of a disbelieving world that one day we would not only be able to ‘talk’ to those living on the other side of the planet but to ‘see’ them at the same time. In order to demonstrate this he turned to a machine about the size of a furniture van and after a great

deal of struggle managed to produce a grainy monochrome picture of his fellow presenter at the other side of the studio.

“Of course,” he assured us, “you would have to go to a specific store or post office in order to be able to achieve this miracle!” Other episodes of Tomorrow’s World dealt with the possibility of mobile telephones, the earliest examples of which would have required a small car to carry them and their associated equipment around.

Back then it was obvious to us that ‘ordinary’ people would probably never aspire to such luxuries, even if they ever became a realistic, commercial proposition. After all, it cost a whole £1 each minute to talk to my cousin in Australia on the phone – at a time when the average working man’s wage would not have been much more than £10.

Admittedly this was all just under fifty years ago but half a century is an incredibly short period of time in the growth of communication, especially considering that the first primitive telephones only arrived at the start of the 20th century. My Skype call to the United States this afternoon will cost neither the radio station nor myself a single penny. Even three or four years ago this would not have been possible because the quality of Skype and similar systems were very poor when they were first rolled out.

How quickly we become acclimatised to these massive technological advantages. The nearest we got to personal communication devices when we were children was two cocoa tins and a length of string joining them together. In those days telegrams were still regularly in use, though everyone tried to avoid using them because since all the tragic communications during the First and Second World Wars telegrams to ordinary people had a very bad connotation. In the end it was down to letter writing, which I suppose is now something of a dying art.

How small the world has become. This leads to quite odd situations. For example, Kate and I talk to her youngest daughter Sarah in New Zealand, and of course ‘see her’ far more than we did when she only lived down the road in Hull. This magic even extends to Sarah being present at family parties because since Skype is free, a computer is set up in the room where the festivities are taking place and Sarah becomes a participant. She even took part in charades and other games with us last Christmas.

Of course the next logical step is to find a way in which it will be possible for a person to actually ‘be’ somewhere else to communicate with a friend, relative or business associate, either in a virtual sense or even in reality. Such a thing seems to be so far into the future that it is only worthy of a science fiction film but I’m not so sure. If there is one thing I have learned it is this: ‘If we can envisage it, it won’t be long before we do it.’

57

SCA2gallery – a new era Saltburn Arts & Community Association provides the opportunity for a range of exhibitions and is currently focussing some of its attention on improving and revitalising this aspect of its work.

An important part of this is the development of the exhibition space in the bar and its linking corridors. The Association has appointed a Director of Visual Arts, Trev Wardle, to oversee and manage the area that will serve as a venue for a changing two monthly programme of temporary exhibitions. By keeping to an A2 sized frame it is intended to give a special identity to the variety of exhibitions and to present work that is appropriate for the small intimate gallery space. For this reason, and to create a specific character, the space will be referred to as the SCA2gallery.

The programme of exhibitions will be a mixture of group and solo shows concentrating on both art and craft activities. These will not necessarily be about the local area but will occasionally include some regional content or element of significance to the town and its surroundings. In order to further involve the local community it is intended to devote the last week of each exhibition to include a response from visitors to the gallery. This response will be aimed at differing sections of the local audience and will give an opportunity for them to submit work to be seen alongside the works on show during the final weeks of each exhibition. This will be an important element of the ethos of the Association’s Reach Out programme and it is hoped that some of the proceeds from a fundraising concert in June will provide further funds to install a large ‘noticeboard’ in the Coffee Hall to allow public responses to be on display and occasionally provide space for larger works.

In addition to selecting work the Visual Arts Director is seeking to re-establish links with local schools and colleges to give them the opportunity to be involved with the gallery. This could take a variety of forms including helping to organise the space, gaining work experience, contributing to the Reach Out programme and generally promoting SC&AA’s involvement in the Arts throughout the community. It is also hoped to forge links with other local museums and galleries with the intention of working mutually to raise the profile of the Arts in the region and to share common concerns and aspirations.

The Board is currently looking at developing a new visual identity and ideas about the new logo and look for SC&AA are presently at an early stage. It has decided to put on show the range of proposed visuals at a display in the Main Hall on Sunday, 14th and Monday, 15th February between 10.00am and 2.00pm. What better way to spend Valentine’s Day? Visitors will be given the opportunity to comment by completing a response form at the exhibition.

These responses will form an important part of the Board’s final decision concerning the choice of a new ‘look’.

The Director is currently researching for an exhibition at the end of 2016 looking at Winter Customs and Traditions in the area. He would welcome any recollections of past and/or present rituals that families share about the period from Bonfire Night to the Hope of Spring, from Advent to Epiphany, from Harvest to Sowing... Please send all contributions or comments to: Trev Wardle, Director of Visual Arts, Saltburn Community & Arts Association, Albion Terrace, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, TS12 1JW. 58

DOWN THE LINE – an occasional article from the Saltburn Line User Group Many users of the Saltburn line will already be aware that the Department for Transport (DfT) has awarded the Northern franchise to Arriva to operate local and inter-urban rail services in the north from April 2016 until March 2025. Arriva, to be known as Arriva Rail North (ARN), has promised new trains, increased services and improved facilities.

Particularly important to us is their commitment to the removal of all Pacer trains within three years and the full refurbishment of the remaining fleet.

When the Northern Rail franchise was awarded back in 2004 it was on a “no-growth” basis. What was not foreseen was the exponential growth in passenger usage of rail services nationally, and especially here in the north. The government has finally acknowledged this fact and now sees rail as a major player in facilitating economic growth as part of its muchvaunted “Northern Powerhouse”. Contributing to this wider vision for the north, both the Northern and Trans Pennine Express (TPE) franchises have committed themselves to the purchase of new trains, increased staffing levels at many stations and enhanced services. Under the new TPE franchise the platforms at Yarm will be lengthened enabling the station to be served by new 5-car 125mph trains. These will be “bimode” trains which can run under both diesel and electric power, for example diesel power on the non-electrified section between Middlesbrough and Northallerton and then electric power down to York on the East Coast main line. The benefit of having 5-coach TPE trains will be evident to anyone who has tried to travel to York on a busy Saturday morning when trains are often full to standing on leaving Thornaby. Two additional daily TPE services are also planned for Middlesbrough.

What improvements are we to see in local services centred around the Middlesbrough “hub”? The Durham coastline service between Middlesbrough, Stockton, Hartlepool, Sunderland and Newcastle is to become half-hourly providing 30 trains per day in each direction. At least 10 of these services will be provided by refurbished air-conditioned trains running through to Carlisle. There will also be earlier first trains and later last trains along the route.

Here on the Saltburn line what we have been offered is not all that we would have hoped for or have been campaigning

Saltburn’s December Daffs Daffodils flowered in December before Christmas in The Ridge, off Marske Mill Lane, Saltburn. It is thought to be the first time they have been seen in the sheltered cul-de-sac so early. Usually they blossom there in early or mid January.

for, but it is an encouraging start. The unloved Pacer trains will go by 2019 and we will receive refurbished trains “cascaded” from other parts of the network which will provide more seats and a better ambience. Two additional services per day leaving Middlesbrough after 19.00 will give a half-hourly service later into the evening. Our aspirations for an earlier morning departure and a later evening arrival have not been met, nor for the 08.30 to 09.30 service gap to be filled – but there is hope here. Workers and students living in Whitby and the Esk Valley have been promised an earlier departure than at present, enabling them to reach Middlesbrough by 08.30. This should, in theory, release a train unit which at the moment runs from Nunthorpe (on the Whitby line) to Middlesbrough in the morning peak hour, to run instead from Saltburn at 09.00, but we will need to lobby strongly to make this happen. The Whitby line is also to benefit from an all-year-round Sunday service from 2017. A further improvement to Esk Valley line services should come as a consequence of planning permission for a new potash mine, whereby the developer has agreed to fund infrastructure enhancements that will enable an increase in service frequency between Middlesbrough and Whitby.

Although we in SLUG have battled long and hard for the improvements we wish to see for passengers on our line and, although we haven’t obtained all we wanted or asked for, the new franchise will at least see us rid of the Pacers. However, it also provides us with an opportunity: because the DfT is no longer so prescriptive in its franchise demands, ARN - the new incumbent – can be persuaded to make improvements to the timetable if it sees fit. The welcome future increase in the number of local services also provides a better opportunity for ensuring good connections, especially at Middlesbrough, and we need to emphasise this in our negotiations with the train operating companies. We will be contacting ARN and TPE in this respect and intend to invite representatives to attend our AGM in May. However, we really do need more members, particularly users of the service who share our aspirations for continued improvements to train services on the Saltburn line.

SLUG can be contacted on 07467 132439 or 01642 456675, or email thesecretarysaltburnlineusergroup@yahoo.co.uk SLUG also has a Facebook page.

New Exhibition at Studios Gallery Saltburn Studios Gallery is open every Saturday and Sunday from 12noon - 4.00pm. An exciting new exhibition by Chris Graham opens on Saturday 27th February until Sunday 27th March. With fused glass, ceramics, pots, prints and paintings there should be something for everyone!

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Paris Climate Change Talks A group of us from Redcar and Cleveland travelled to Paris in December for a long weekend to take part in the protests at the end of the Climate Change talks. These were the 21st talks; they have taken place on an annual basis since 1995. The talks have had varying degrees of success but it was generally acknowledged that Paris would be very important if there is to be any chance of limiting the global temperature rise to 2°C. The shootings on 13th November had made us slightly apprehensive about going to Paris and, more importantly, the state of emergency introduced by the French government meant that the ambitious demonstrations planned by climate change activists that we had intended to take part in could not take place.

Anyway, we had bought our tickets so decided to still go.

We went by Eurostar, which is a lovely way to travel, 6 hours from Darlington, some of it spent in the buffet car, watching the French countryside speed past the windows.

We arrived at Gare du Nord and took the metro three stops to our hotel. There was a lot of pushing and shoving on this train and attempts were made to pickpocket three out of the four of us, but you have to be very good to outwit a Yorkshire resident so thankfully we hung onto our assets!

Our hotel was in Place de la Republic, a place that became familiar to most of us via the television coverage after the shootings. The monument in the centre of the square remained covered with flowers, candles and messages. The square and other public places were full of young armed soldiers, a sight that is rather unnerving to British eyes. On the first night we walked down the road a short distance and were surprised to find ourselves outside one of the restaurants where shootings had taken place. It had been reopened a few days earlier and a large poster declared. ‘Je suis en terrasse’, implying solidarity with the five people who had been shot at tables outside the restaurant. The place was busy and as an act of solidarity we also ate there, just four weeks after the shootings had taken place.

The following day we travelled out to the suburbs to a large arts centre that had been taken over by activists for the week. It was called Cent Quatre, referring to its address, 104. Inside there were lots of rooms and halls with different events taking place. In the café we bought beer for young Dutch activists and congratulated an older couple proclaiming themselves to be ‘Norwegian grandparents against climate change’.

We went to the hall and sat on the floor as there were no chairs. Babies were being nursed, people greeted each other; it was all very reminiscent of an earlier era.

We were addressed in a mixture of French and English.

We were in time for a legal briefing. It seemed that some actions were going to take place the following day but that the Police had not yet given their permission. As a result there was a chance that people could be arrested. I will freely share the tips we were given, you never know when they might be useful. First of all, as you are being handcuffed you should clench your fists and bend your 60

hands over in order to make your wrists as thick as possible. This will stop the cuffs being quite so tight and uncomfortable. Secondly, sign nothing, thirdly state ‘I have nothing to declare’. Fourthly in France you can have a solicitor but only if ask for one by name, this required us all to learn the names of several friendly local solicitors.

The English grasp of foreign names and languages resulted in all of us preferring to remember the name of one Alice Becker, meaning that she would be vastly overworked while the other five solicitors would rarely be requested.

In the event, on the following day the Police announced that they would allow a demonstration to take place at the base of the Eiffel Tower. This proved to be rather disorganised, not surprisingly, as it was not the original planned demo and there had only been a few hours to make arrangements. We turned up at the tower and milled around for a while before discovering a stage and music. We linked hands with an international crowd of people and overall it was an inspiring event.

The Paris talks have been hailed as a success. It was agreed to limit the temperature increase to 2°C but there was no plan about how this will be achieved. The emissions reductions that countries have promised will result in 3°C of warming and those promised reductions are not even legally binding, there will be no penalty for not meeting them. Climate change will be disastrous for all of us but much worse for people in poorer and more vulnerable countries. As a Filipino campaigner said, ‘For us people who are really affected by climate change, we need to change the slogan, ‘1.5° to stay alive’ to ‘1.5° we might survive’ because already at 0.8° we’re already suffering loss of lives. We will pay in the global south in terms of millions of lives and millions of people displaced.’

You may remember that most of the World leaders attended the first day of the talks. Our own David Cameron spoke movingly about the need to take action and about how he would not know what to say to his grandchildren in the future if he failed to address the issue now. These were fine words but sadly they have not resulted in any actions that might achieve the aims. A month before the talks Cameron dismantled a total of ten green initiatives which were favouring alternative energy. Within a week of the talks ending the Tory government passed a bill agreeing to allow fracking in areas of natural beauty. As one of the placards in Paris said ‘Leave the oil in the soil’. Put simply if we are to stand any chance of achieving the 2°C target then we have to stop burning oil now. Experts say that the 2°C target is achievable, but only just. It will require significant changes and we need our politicians to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.

As the climate change activists say, we need system change not climate change and we are running out of time.

If you would like to be involved in lobbying for change then please join your local Global Justice movement. We meet at the Marine Hotel and we often take part in actions locally (our contact email is globaljusticecleveland@gmail.com).

Barbara Welford

The Muses of Jim I hope everyone had a great Christmas and that 2016 is all you expect and deserve. The start of a new year can be quite daunting, bringing new opportunities and closing doors. Looking back I feel I had a reasonable year. My four grandchildren made me feel very proud with their achievements and with their modesty about their activities. I was only threatened by assault by two people, which I am very grateful for (an all time low). Also the support from my children continues to be the same high standard, even though I do grumble about their bullying ways at times.

On the other hand many Saltburn residents will suffer because of the actions of other people in the past. It must be common knowledge that the town will be painted yellow over the next few weeks. This is due solely to the actions of fellow citizen by inconsiderate parking. For example, parents dropping children at school. Even Blue Badge holders have abused their privilege status, breaking the law. We can’t just park where we wish. Oh yes, I am disabled too. Both the Parish Council and the Saltburn and Marske Road Safety Committee support Parking Restrictions Scheme. I only hope it is more successful than the attempts to stop dogs leaving parcels around the town. Clearly, this must be the fault of the dogs; because any normal, decent citizen of our wonderful community would make sure their dogs did their duty for Queen and Country and of course for the

love of Saltburn.

Spud had a bit of a shock in the New Year by getting shut in a room several hours before being discovered and released. He sulked for days. We are now friends you will be glad to hear. Although, he still thinks he is the top cat in the house and I suppose he is in a way, when you think about it. Perhaps I should get another, younger cat to give Spud some form of seniority in the household.

I have ordered a new composite front door as the old and original one is as bent as a nine bob note, and as my central heating failed over the Christmas period. At this time I discovered how much cold air was rushing in through the front door. Interestingly, the cost of a new door was £495 cheaper than the first newly built house Betty and I bought in Pontefract in 1965 and £1495 cheaper than the house in Leven Street cost where I now live.

Talk about history repeating itself. Yesterday I was in Redcar and Molly, one of my Granddaughters, walked passed me in the company of another young girl. I said “There’s no need to speak, Molly.” She replied, “Hallo Granddad”, and continued to walk on with her friend. The mother of the child, asked Molly who I was, and was told, ‘just my Granddad’ and they continued walking. I did the very same to Grandma Wingham some 65 years ago in the Market Place in Pontefract.

I was lucky to see two pantomimes this year, one at Billingham and one in Manchester. The one over the Pennines had the stars Torville and Dean and was Cinderella. Rather wooden even though they were on roller blades at all times. On the other hand, the Billingham’s Goldilocks was much better with the cast enjoying themselves and involving the children. Whilst I enjoyed both, I much preferred the one at the Forum. As a child in the late 40s I was taken to a theatre in Castleford during the season to see a different Pantomime every week, even seeing the late, great Norman Evans, the man that the late great Les Dawson copied.

I am writing this wearing a coat as the boiler has failed again. I have hot water though from my black panel.

The problem is that my black panel is more powerful than my boiler which goes on strike. It appears I need a one way valve to stop this happening. Any help would be very welcome indeed. I have other forms of heating, but remember I am a Yorkshireman. I was brought up in a council house than only had the range for heat. We just wore extra clothes when in other rooms. How life has changed. I still remember windows patterned by Jack Frost and the thrill of bare feet on the bedroom lino.

To get back to the start of the year 2016. Who knows what it will hold for us. Which valued friends will we lose or even a loved one? Which world event will affect how we live if any? Will the world be a better place to live in?

Who knows, but I do know that we will take what comes on the chin. Perhaps, the only thing that would upset most people is the sudden death of a popular character in a television soap.

Jim Wingham 61

The Saltburn Crossword no 176 set by Saxton Across 3 Culpability for second rate poor excuse? (5) 8 REM boy confused over foetus (6) 9 and 18 Across Saltburn’s are seldom called Italian these days but very glad lane’s shaken up (6, 7) 10 Thorny shrub demonstrated by British Rail before deranged song (5) 11 Famous television cook returned ailed (5) 13 Daft in his ill yodelling (5) 14, 20, 28 and 29 Across Local place of interest preparing venomous dinner using metallic men (9, 9, 6, 6) 17 and 23 Across Saltburn shop where grand stories are told? (7, 5) 18 See 9 Across 20 See 14 Across 23 See 17 Across 24 Water bird found in meagre belongings (5) 25 Erect, upsetting upset (3, 2) 28 See 14 Across 29 See 14 Across 30 She has a shop in Saltburn where Elizabeth loses herself (5)

Down Name___________________________________ Address_________________________________ ________________________________________ Telephone_______________________________

1 Magic charm finds infertile hybrid horse in short thanks back (6) 2 Describes the North Pole or recent Saltburn weather (6) 3 Explosive device places vibrating word between two second rate grades (4) 4 Against upsetting what remains after sag removed (4) 5 Always she very nearly hides (4) 6 Saltburn in Bloom displays are so like an American state that has lost its end (6) 7 Most common insect on Earth sounds like one of the Fab Four (6) 12 Capital city real GIs turn around (7) 13 Unwanted nocturnal sound Ron’s gin can cause (7) 15 Hidden by brave Gandalf’s ethical diet (5) 16 Visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum weighs little (5) 19 Northern biscuit made from oatmeal and treacle sounds almost like a transport problem (6) 20 Person of the Canadian 2 Down (alternative spelling) at home with the French night (6) 21 Sincere, the Queen bird’s home (6) 22 Ancient counting frame a second, a third American? (6) 25 Wise herb? (4) 26 Asian sounding equal in score (4) 27 Big cat found backing a Muppet (4)

Solution to Crossword no 175

The winner of last month’s crossword was Geoffrey Watkins of Zetland terrace, Saltburn.

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 176, c/o Jackie’s Saverstore, 8 Station Buildings, Saltburn, TS12 1AQ

by Friday, 19th February 2016. First correct solution out of the bag wins a £10 voucher kindly donated by Tim and Sheila of Real Meals.

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