bp13 06 359

JUNE 2013 No. 359

the Birstall postY O U R C O M M U N I T Y N E W S P A P E R

www.birstallpost.co.uk

Duck race sunshine Get involved� Send your stories...� Send your pics...

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A RARE warm and sunny bank holiday saw crowds flockingto the White Horse, Birstall to enjoy a day out at thisyear’s Duck Race.

“This years race was amaz-ing and the good weathermeant attendance was veryhigh, there was a great atmos-phere and everybody wasgetting involved to raise mon-ey for Birstall United JuniorsFootball club” said CharlotteFoy of the White Horse.

There were appearancesfrom Peppa Pig, Welford, theTigers Mascot, as well asactivities, stalls and gamessuch as: Donkey Derby, foot-ball games, Coconut Shy,Teddy tombola, cake stall,bouncy castle, Face painting,River boat rides and BBQ.

The event raised £3285.“This money will be used forcrucial work to maintain thepitch facilities at the club byimproving drainage, re-seed-ing them and adding fertilizer”said Phil Hughes, from BUJFC.

There were nearly 2,000ducks sold, many on the day.The race winner was number78 and thanks to the generosity of manylocal businesses there were lots of win-ners as there were 35 prizes. All win-ners have been notified.

The White Horse and Birstall United

Juniors FC would like to thank all thosewho donated prizes, namely; Lily andGrace, Shapes, Aroma Spice, MichaelsButchers, Be Beau, Bains, Silly Prices,Ruby Tuesdays, Leicester Outdoor Pur-

Continued on page 2

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JUN 2013THE BIRSTALL POST2

suits centre, Next, Boden, B&Q, Co-op, Chic Revive, TJCycles, Birstall Fisheries, Tesco, Dining Room, Friends inSoggy Homes, Lambourne Cafe, Great Central Railway,Birstall Pet Supplies, Glenwood Interiors, StonehurstFarm park, Leicester City Football Club and LeicesterRiders. Thanks also to the Leicester Tigers promotionalteam who gave a family ticket to the Semi finals as 1stprize on their pass challenge game, Woodlands Nursery,Unique, Nandos for selling ducks, Paddle plus for riverduties and boat rides and Think Sign & Print.

“Thank you to all of you who came down to the eventand made it a real day to remember!” said Charlotte.

www.thewhitehorsebirstall.co.uk

BIRSTALL PARISH Council held itsAGM on May 13.

Cllr Ann Marshall was elected Chairman for theensuing year and Cllr Tony Fowler Vice Chairman.

A new floor has been fitted in the Village Hallkitchen at a cost of £8483. An examination of thefloor had revealed dry rot.

It was reported that the Council expected tomeet soon with Charnwood Borough Council todiscuss the potential users of the new communityhall planned for Hallam Fields.

The Council agreed to proceed with the con-struction of an access track from Meadow Lane tothe Worcester Avenue allotments. The cost is£10,455.

It was reported that the Council is liasing withneighbouring Parish Councils about providing ashared dog warden service. This would only coverParish Council land. The Council receives morecomplaints about dog waste than any other subject.

A new village noticeboard will be erected onKingsgate Avenue. A professional survey has valued

the property owned by the Parish Council,excluding the bowling club, at£2,693,000. The current valuation of thebowling club is £181,890

• Extracts from the Financial Report& Accounts, year ended 2012/13

Net Reserves increased by £24,545 to£284,509

Income: Room Hire £33,837; PlayingFields £4,758; Allotments £2,351; Ceme-tery £16,450; Precept £376,953. Total:£461,009

Expenditure: Wages £231,948; EstatesExpenditure £48,721; Rates/Utilities£37,987; Youth Café £8,820; Gala/CivicService/Christmas £7,966; Postage £970;one-off items £68,481. Total: £436,464

A complete copy of the Annual Report& Accounts is available from BirstallParish Council

[email protected]

ParishCouncilnotes

A TEAM of nine pupilsfrom Stonehill Schoolwere the winners at anOlympic legacy day atLoughborough University.

The students prepared for the eventpractising their sporting skills anddesigning team logos and mascotsbefore taking on teams from Roun-dhill Academy and Wreake ValleyAcademy at sitting volleyball, tablecricket, polybat, curling, boccia andwheelchair basketball.

Stonehill were first with 106 pointswith Roundhill second on 84 points.Teacher Bridget Clarke said: “Through-out all the practice sessions and theday itself the whole team had a greattime and played amazingly. The spiritof last year’s Olympics was reallyembraced.”

Pic: (top) sellingducks are CharlotteFoy, Jenny Doyle& Janet Foy

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JUN 2013THE BIRSTALL POST 3

Stonehill High School have begun theformal process of re-designating as an11-16 school, and are also in the proc-ess of conversion to academy statuswhich is planned for October 2013.

Leicester College’s new principal MrsKirstie Black has expressed her “sur-prise” at Stonehill’s plans. In a letter toStonehill’s headteacher Alan Monks shesaid: “We must register our surprise…asearlier this year you seemed to be stress-ing the importance of working togetherto secure 11-19 on theLongslade/Stonehill campus; indeed thatthis was essential in ensuring the besteducation for the young people of Bir-stall and making the best use of theresources available.”

Stonehill announced its plans in Apriland is consulting parents – it organisedan open evening on April 30 at theschool. One parent who attended thatevening said: “The future for Stonehilland Longslade is now unclear. Longs-lade has now expressed that they aremaking changes and becoming an acade-my which now appears to be a battlebetween the two schools with the chil-dren in the middle and parents in thedark.

“As parents we are looking for thebest education for our child but weseem to have ended up in the middle ofa war between the two schools.”

Longslade Principal Kirstie Blacksaid: “We are not at war with one anoth-er. Any changes are a long way off andwe are still in a consultation phase. Weare looking at working with Alan, wewant to work together. It is all in limboat the moment and I’m aware there issome confusion – parents have raisedthe matter with me at our informationevenings.”

If Stonehill were to re-designate as11-16, it does not necessarily mean allstudents would do their GCSEs at Stone-hill and Longslade would become a Post16 College, said Mrs Black. “There arelots of models out there of how wemight work together” she said, citing asan example the new Charnwood Collegewhich was formed in 2012 by combin-ing Garendon High School in Loughbor-ough with Burleigh Community Collegeunder a single leadership team. The twoschools are on the same campus, likeStonehill and Longslade.

In the announcement published onStonehill’s website, headteacher AlanMonks said: “Secondary Education inLeicestershire has been undergoingsubstantial change. The 11-14 and 14-19 model put in place in the 1950s iseffectively being replaced. The drivingforce for this change has been the needto improve outcomes for young people.Exam results at 16 in Leicestershire donot compare well with schools fromsimilar areas in the country. In Birstallthis is no different. Progress of pupils inthe two high schools which feed into theupper school is seen by OFSTED asgood, however, at 16 the exam resultsare not adequate and we know they do

not reflect the potential of the pupils.The strength of Stonehill High School inour very recent OFSTED report is seenas the way we personalise learning forthe needs of the young people. We areable to do this be getting to know theyoung people well. There are thereforeobvious advantages for our children tocontinue their education at StonehillHigh School until they are 16 years old.”

Mr Monks added: “The children aresupportive and excited by these plansand we had a lot of support and encour-agement from parents. We don’t see thatthere is any other option, this is whatwe have to do to improve education inBirstall for the whole of the community.”

Mr Monks also expressed his con-cern at Longslade’s announcement fornext years Year 10 that will cut downthe number of subjects students canchoose to study at GCSE, so that moretime is spent on English and Maths. “It’snot appropriate for all students” he said.

A spokesman for the Local EducationAuthority, Leicestershire County Council,said: “We are not involved in the consul-tations, although we are aware that theyare taking place. We would encourageboth schools to think carefully aboutwhat’s in the best interest of the commu-nity, and would also encourage partner-ship working.”

If Stonehill’s plans are given thego-ahead by the Department for Educa-tion, it will need to reduce the numberof pupils it admits to accommodatestudents staying on in Years 10 and 11.It currently admits 262 children eachyear ant this would fall to 150. Thereare 540 pupils currently at the schooland the capacity of the school is 786.

Stonehill has plans to build someextra classrooms and convert some ofits existing classrooms into science labs.

Stonehill will publish a report of itsconsultation process in September 2013and a decision is expected sometimeafter October 2013.

The students begin their GCSEs whenthey reach Year 10. The current Year 7at Stonehill are expected to be the firstyear group at the school that wouldprogress through to Year 10 at Stonehillin 2015, if the re-designation is ap-proved.• Shortly before going to press we received aletter for publication from Stonehill’s Chair ofGovernors - it is printed on page 8.

shaw demonstrating his riotgear to Doreen Stirk at ameeting of Birstall Method-ist Thursday Group.

Des introduced himself to the groupand talked about local policing andasked members to raise any concernsthey had.

STUDENTS COULD stay at Stonehill for an additional twoyears and take their GCSEs there, instead of moving up toLongslade aged 13-14 as they do now.

OUR PICTURE shows Birstall’s Beacon Officer PC Des Hearn-

Group ready for riot

Stonehill’s plans tobecome 11-16 school

The July issue ofTHE BIRSTALL POST

will be published on June 28.The copy deadline is June 14.

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THE CONSERVATIVE candi-date Iain Bentley is Bir-stall’s new CountyCouncillor, taking the seatfrom the Liberal Democrats.

Cllr Bentley (50) lives in Wanlip andis the owner of Bentley’s Garden Build-ings. He said: “I am delighted to havebeen elected, Roger Wilson will be ahard act to follow.

“I will be lookingto press for a pri-mary school to bebuilt on HallamFields, that is mynumber one objec-tive.”

Cllr Bentley alsoidentified betterpublic transportwithin the village and not just on themain roads as an important issue, aswell as parking problems near Highcliffe

All this hard work, both on and off thefield, means that on Friday May 17 BirstallRFC were represented at the LeicestershireRFU awards dinner to collect an unprece-dented four trophies to mark what hasbeen the most successful season in itshistory.

On the Bank Holiday Sunday May 5,President’s Day brought the season to a

jubilant close, with the 2nd beating a SteveDelves’ Invitational side, and the 1stsclaiming victory against a President’s Invi-tational XV. A spokesman said: “A goodcrowd turned out to support both teamsand enjoy a BBQ and beer tent on whatturned out to be a warm and sunny day.Presentations concluded a successful dayand the customary celebrations continueddown at The Plough!”

Off the field the club strives to promotestronger links with the community andwere represented at the RemembranceSunday parade. They also used the recentvillage showcase event at St James’ Churchand have had a recruitment drive aroundthe local hostelries. This summer they areholding Touch Rugby sessions from May30 to June 27 and these are free to bothladies and gents 15 years and over. Thesessions are run by fully qualified coachesand will be held on Stonehill School fieldsfrom 7-8pm every Thursday.

“Many thanks to everyone who has of-fered their support this season, whetherthrough playing, sponsoring, support ortaking part in our social events. The at-mosphere down at the club remains everpositive and we look forward to a brand

new season with the 1st team joining The

Midland League structure and the 2nd

team gaining promotion to LeicestershireLeague 4!” said the spokesman.

School and on Whiles Lane.Charnwood Borough Council have

identified a site for 1500 homes at‘North Birstall’, and an associated Wanlipbypass. Cllr Bentley said: “I think theNorth Birstall development will affectWanlip more than Birstall, they haveconcerns about the link road and infilldevelopment and I am very much ontheir side.

“Charles Palmer Tomkinson [the land-owner] has given me his personal assur-ance there will be no infill at Wanlip onthe eastern side of the link road.”

Residents with issues or concernscan contact Cllr Bentley on 07973634017 or [email protected]• May 2013 Birstall Election Result (turn-out 29.5%) Iain Bentley (Con) 1152, Simon San-some (Lib Dem) 975, Marion Smith (Lab)659, Ken Tilson (BNP) 258• Seats at Leicestershire County Council Con 30 (-6), Lab 10 (+6), Lib Dem 13(-1), UKIP 2 (+2)

The club brought their season to aclose with a spectacular finish by being inthe running in both leagues and two cup

finals. In the President’s Spring Cup the 1st

XV rode to a hard fought victory againstBurbage winning 24-20.

Spurred on by this success, they thentook on much fancied Ashby 1sts on Fi-nals Day at Vipers ground in the CountyShield on Sunday April 28, narrowly miss-ing out in a very close game to a convert-ed try in the closing minutes to conclude19-26. In an equally close finish to theirLeague 2 campaign they eventually had tosettle with runner-up place against Ashby2nds having beaten every other teamhome and away all season, and losing out

by a mere 3 points. The 2nd team howeverhad better luck by finishing top of theirLeague 5 campaign, clinched by beating astrong Hinckley side and now look for-ward to much stronger opposition nextseason.

NewCountycouncillor…

BIRSTALL PARISH Councilelected a new chairman atits AGM on May 13.

Cllr Ann Marshall joined the Councilin 2011 and has lived in Birstall for 44years. She said: “I feel very privileged totake on the role of chairman, and willdo my best to discharge it as well as Ican, with the valuable support of theParish Councillorsand the Council’sdedicated staffteam”.

She added: “Ithink we need toraise the profile ofBirstall ParishCouncil, to letpeople know whatwe do, what we areresponsible for, tolisten to residents’concerns and try, if we can, to do some-thing about them.”

Cllr Marshall is married to Ed, has adaughter, and two granddaughters whoalso live in the village.

Prior to her retirement she workedin the NHS as a qualified nurse andHealth Visitor, initially at the Royal Infir-mary and latterly in the community,managing a team of health professionals.

Contact: [email protected]

…& ParishCouncilchairman

BIRSTALL RUGBY football club is celebrating the most success-ful season in its history.

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Pic: Cllr Iain Bentley

Pic: Cllr Ann Marshall

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A SERIES of public exhibitions andconsultation sessions are beingheld to give people the chance tohave their say on Charnwood Bor-ough Council’s strategy, whichincludes plans for 1500 homes at‘North Birstall’.

The six week consultation aims tofind out what people think about thesoundness of the strategy which willguide development in the Borough overthe next 15 years.

At the same time, a new website hasbeen launched to help explain the Coun-cil’s plan and includes an interactivemap which allows users to see wheregrowth is planned to take place acrossthe Borough. The site can be found atwww.localplan.charnwood.gov.uk.

The Core Strategy will also be availa-ble to view at the Council Offices, CountyHall and all libraries during the consulta-tion period.

The Core Strategy includes plans toprovide around 9,000 new homes, in-cluding affordable homes and createemployment land to help boost the localeconomy.

The consultation will begin on Mon-day, June 10 until 5pm on Monday July22, 2013.

Cllr Matthew Blain, Charnwood Bor-ough Council’s Cabinet member forPlanning and Regeneration, said: “As aCouncil we are committed to helpingour Borough grow and prosper and Ibelieve this plan will help us achievethat aim. It has taken a long time toreach this stage and I am very happythat we are now in a position to askresidents to comment on the soundnessof our plan. Not only will this strategyprotect the Borough from unwanted andinappropriate development but it willalso enable the Council to providemuch-needed homes and employmentopportunities for our residents. We havetried very hard to balance the views ofresidents with the growth that needs totake place. We have reached this stagefollowing years of consultation and evi-dence gathering and this, we feel, is thebest possible solution to address hous-ing shortages and improving prospectsin our Borough.”

Planning Officers will be available toanswer questions about the plan andthere will be an exhibition of the planon show.

All the comments received during theconsultation will be summarised andconsidered by Full Council in Octoberand, if approved, will be submitted withthe Core Strategy to the Secretary ofState for an Examination in Public. Theindependent inspector will consider allthe comments and come to a view as towhether the Core Strategy meets legaltests and is otherwise ‘sound’: positivelyprepared, justified, effective and consist-ent with national policy.

For more information, visitwww.localplan.charnwood.gov.uk, call01509 634929 or [email protected]

• Exhibition at Wanlip Village Hall onJune 11, 6-8pm and at Birstall VillageHall on June 12, 6-8pm

NINE GARDENS will beopen to the public at thisyear’s Birstall Garden Trail.

The gardens are all around theBlenheim, Allington & Worcester Ave-nue area, and will be open from 2-5pm on Saturday and Sunday June 8& 9.

Admission to all the gardens is by‘Passport’ which can be purchased oneither day from the stewards on dutyat each of the open gardens. Price ofthe passport has been held again at£3.50, but you can purchase one inadvance for £3 from the coffee shopat the Methodist Church or these retail-ers: Birstall Shoe Repairs, Went RoadNews, Kingsgate News, McColl’s News,Kingsgate Stores, Birstall Garden Cen-tre, J Michael butchers, Stonehill Ave-nue Post Office, Ruby Tuesday, MarkPatrick Butchers, Supercare Dry Clean-ers and Ann-El-Maria Hairdressers.

Proceeds will go to Cancer Re-search UK and Birstall MethodistChurch.

In addition to the nine fully opengardens there will be four ‘front gar-dens’ each with a stall selling plants,jewellery, ice cream and ‘afternoontea’.

PLANS FOR a 60 bedroom care home, a two-sto-rey nursery and a residential/retail building forHallam Fields’ central hub have been submittedto Charnwood Borough Council by developers Jel-son

The care home will be a three-storey buildinglocated at the western end of Hallam Walk. The sitewill also have a two-storey building with four retailunits on the ground floor and five apartments on thefirst floor.

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A POPULAR lunch club hasre-opened at a local church.

The Birstall Methodist Lunch Clubhad been running for around 40 yearsuntil last December when the cookstepped down and problems with trans-port saw the closure of the facility.

“This was a huge loss to the village as

many of our elderly diners were lost withoutit – we have 12 over the age of 90 on thebooks. However, having revamped the trans-port and catering arrangements we have risenfrom the ashes again” said Rev Rachel Parkin-son.Pics: (above) volunteer Mary Downs (ctr) withEdith Appleton & Sheila Cockerill; (inset) volun-teer Lyn Banner

ELMFIELD HALL was filled with the wonderful fragrance offresh flowers as 29 ladies welcomed Kate from the Birstallflorist Lily and Grace to our meeting on May 13.

As usual the evening commenced with a particularly rousingrendition of Jerusalem and this was much enhanced by theexcellent acoustics in the hall.

Rosalie reported back on a trip to hear the Hathern Band inLoughborough and Bethan told us about an open evening thatshe and Kath attended at Ragdale Hall. Final plans were dis-cussed for our 95th anniversary celebrations and our CoffeeMorning on June 22. We will be competing against Anstey WI onMay 20 at Birstall Social Club in the first round of our SkittleTournament and a team will attend the Federation Quiz eveningon July 26. As usual these are only a few of activities in thepipeline.

Marion Thwaite will represent Birstall and Wanlip WI at theNational AGM at Cardiff at the end of May and will vote for uson the resolution concerning the decline of our High Streets.We are asked to support local shops and call on decision mak-ers do what they can to halt this decline and make the HighStreet the focal point of communities once more. The WI is anorganization of over 200,000 women and together we can influ-ence the ‘Powers that Be’.

Then it was time for Kate to weave her magic and createthree gorgeous flower arrangements in a jam jar, little spottybucket and a cup and saucer. She certainly displayed her ‘tradi-tional with an edge’ philosophy. A raffle of the flowers raised£31 for the charity Birstall Bags. As ever it was a truly delightfulevening and we all learnt so much about the mysteries of flowerarranging.

Next month’s meeting is our 95th anniversary party at thePlatform Café on June 3. We are asked to dress in clothes of1918 and the best costume wins that month’s competition.

From Birstall & Wanlip WI

A NEW online map showing Leicestershire’sfootpaths, byways and bridleways has beenlaunched.

Residents and visitors who enjoy ex-ploring the county by walking or ridingcan access the map by logging on towww.leics.gov.uk/pathsmap

Developed by Leicestershire CountyCouncil, it features approximately 1,896miles (3,052km) of public rights of way.

The guide is based on Google maps sousers can easily zoom in on featuredpaths and also use the satellite option,which gives detailed aerial photographs,to get more of an idea of the surroundinglandscape.

The map also shows walking routesthat are promoted by the council. Click-ing on the routes provides links for fur-ther information, including some leafletdownloads.

Lunch club re-opens WI news

Online map ofcounty paths

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Saturdaywill featuredance dis-plays fromthreelocalacade-mies,per-form-ances bylocalbands anda Bhangra drumensemble. Sunday willfeature more dance, and music fromjazz, swing, brass and a big band.

There will be dozens of stalls and afun fair on both days. Stalls are stillavailable on both days –at the last galathere were over 70 charity and privatestalls. To book one contact Birstall Par-ish Council or download a form fromwww.birstallparishcouncil.org.uk

For health and safety reasons, bar-beques are not permitted at the promsin the park concert but visitors are wel-come to bring their own picnics.

The gala is organised by Birstall Par-ish Council who this year are asking fora £1 donation to help with the runningcosts. The net cost of the gala in 2011was £7,277 up from £5,699 in 2010.

The £1 donation will purchase aprogramme that contains a raffle ticketfor the prize draw, held during the inter-val of the Sunday concert, and containsdetails of the weekend’s event. The pro-gramme will be your proof of entrythroughout the weekend.


BIRSTALL’S ANNUAL summergala will conclude with afirework display at 10pmand a proms in the parkconcert at 7.30pm per-formed by the Hathern Bandand soprano Jenny Saunders.

The two day event takes place onSaturday June 29, 12noon to 9pm andSunday June 30, 11am to 10pm at theSchool Lane playing field.

ST THERESA’SChurch on FrontStreet celebrat-ed its Silver Jubi-lee on May 3.

There was animpressive flowerfestival leading up toa Celebration Masson the Friday evening.

The mass wasattended by many

local Deanery and Rosminianpriests, members of the LocalChurches Together, the Mayorof Charnwood and other civicdignitaries.

The occasion concludedwith a large celebration inthe Parish Hall.

FOR THE first time Charnwood Borough Council is asking peopleto choose their three biggest environmental gripes so officerscan take action during its award-winning Don’t Muck Aroundcampaign later this year.

The campaign, which was originallylaunched in 2011, uses a combination ofenforcement and education to significant-ly reduce dog fouling, fly-tipping andlitter across the borough.

Cllr Jane Hunt, the Council’s Cabinetmember for Regulatory Services, said:

“The council is always keen to hear theviews of residents so we can make surewe are tackling the issues which aremost important to them

“We are essentially inviting residents totake control of the council and steer itin the direction they want it to go – itreally is Big Society in action.

“Don’t Muck Around has been sosuccessful in the past and I believe byinvolving residents in the planning stage,it will be bigger and better than ever.”

The campaign was crowned the bestenvironmental campaign in the UK at the2012 Keep Britain Tidy Network Awards.It has also won a number of awards forthe way in which it has been communi-cated.

To find out how you can have a say,visitwww.charnwood.gov.uk/dontmuckaround

LEICESTER’S INDOOR marketis to be demolished.

The 1970’s building which housedthe fish and meat traders will be re-placed with a new glass, steel andtimber pavilion on the edge of theCorn Exchange.

The new building is part of a£7million re-development of the area.Construction is expected to start soonon the pavilion which should be openby Christmas 2013. Once the fish andmeat traders have moved in, demoli-tion of the old building will start,making space for a public square onthe site.

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On March 30 Kelly Bliss and I ar-ranged a special party at Birstall SocialClub, for Oliver Burton age 10 of Bir-stall who is terminally ill with leukemia.

The day was such a success, it wasadvertised on local radio & East Mid-lands Today came along to film. Therewas a raffle, first prize big thunder offroad driving experience donated bySusan Shale which was won by StuartBingham. Stand up bingo £50 cashprice donated by Sue Norman won bySacha Astill Ford & there were manymore prizes.

There was hair colour spraying byLisa Vasilev, nail painting by Donna,Paige & Kelly, Kimmy's fun faces, Char-lotte Smiles who brought a pets' corner,& a big thank you to Jackinaboxentertai-ment who gave the children entertain-ment all day in their costumes. And myfamily & friends who helped throughoutthe day. And to the Birstall Social Club

as we could not hold these events with-out their support.

Over 350 people came throughoutthe party some people just coming todonate, at the end the children hadhelium balloons which they wrote a wishon & we went outside to let them go.

group and would welcome new mem-bers, especially violinists.

On June 29 we are giving a shortconcert at the Parish Church so why notcome along, have a coffee and listen toSummer Days by Eric Coates and ShowBoat by Jerome Kern etc, proceeds bydonation, as always, to charity.

Cynthia Coltman

than they have been getting and improv-ing education must involve the communi-ty engaging in the discussions we arehaving. This is why we have spent con-siderable time talking to Parents both atStonehill and in our feeder PrimarySchools.

Andy DentChair of Governors, Stonehill School

YOUR SAY...

The Birstall Post welcomes your viewsand opinions on any subject. Letters,which must include your name andaddress, (though not necessarily forpublication) can be posted to: The Bir-stall Post, Longslade College, WanlipLane, Birstall, Leicester LE4 4GH, orhanded in at Birstall library or email:[email protected]

Oliver's family & friend had a lovely time& Oliver had lots of smiles.

We raised in total £3540! The gener-osity & kindness of the community wasunbelievable & how so many came tosupport this very special little boy. Iwould like to thank everyone who came,donated & helped to make Oliver's partysuch a success.

Can I also put a huge thanks in toRiverside primary school that had a nonschool uniform day & raised £350,great!

Paula Clifford

Many thanks to the person who kind-ly put our dog’s lost address tag throughthe letter box, on Blenheim Road. Wesearched all over for it, but with nosuccess.

Bernard and Valerie Codd

Past members of the 663 Ensemblemay be interested to know that we arestill in being although now quite a small

I came into school yesterday to talkto Alan Monks. As Chair of Governors ofthe school I was deeply concerned thata letter addressed to us from Longsladehad found its way into your hands be-fore we have even had a chance to an-swer. I am very surprised that TonyStott the Chair of Governors at Longslade,would have sanctioned the release of aletter to the press. Particularly a letterwhich purports to wanting collaborationbetween the two schools. We believethe starting point for collaboration istrust.

Like myself, most Governors of Stone-hill give up a huge amount of their owntime and live in this community and wewant to take decisions in the best inter-est of the community. That is our job.We know this is also the case for theGovernors at Longslade. Unfortunately,we fear that important decisions havebeen taken out of their hands becauseof the imposition of a Multi-AcademyTrust. Even before the Academy Trusthas been given the go ahead they aretaking decisions which will have a nega-tive impact on the children at this school[Stonehill] both now and in the future.Shortly before the imposition of theBelvoir and Melton Trust both myself,Tony Stott and the Head teachers of bothschools had reaffirmed their commit-ment to working together collaboratively.

We are consulting on changes toeducation in Birstall because we havereceived considerable support fromparents and the community to do so.The children of Birstall deserve better

A few words about a smashing coupleof people who live in Birstall, I’m refer-ring to Gill and Ian formerly from Bir-stall DIY.

They have been very supportive to mygym, Gunns’ Gym on Birstall Road overthe last few years, and even when clos-ing down they have donated a fantasticwood burner (it cost £72) for my Pres-entation Raffle which takes place in Julyat Birstall Parish Council Rooms.

What a nice couple, they are alwaysvery helpful to us at the Gym, they willbe missed in this village, one of fewbusinesses who supported us at Gunns'Gym

Good luck to both of them and onbehalf of the kids at the gym, thank you.

Yours in sportCarl GunnsChairman Gunns’ Charity Gym

I frequently take my four-year oldGranddaughter to the Birstall PlayingFields as she loves to ride down theHelter Skelter.

Can someone from the Parish Councilexplain why that the Helter Skelter is theonly piece of equipment that looks as ifit has not been re-painted for years!

It is disgraceful.Most of the other equipment is fine,

so, please invest in the paint to give thischerished slide a fresh look!

Bill Hill - Birstall

Whilst walking through Birstall Parkon Friday at around 6.15 pm, my sonand I noticed a man calling his dog(who was off the lead and should nothave been). The dog and man weresome way apart from each other andunfortunately, the dog did not respondat all to the man’s commands. The dogthen took it upon itself to come up to ussniffing at my bag of shopping, jumpingup at my son and generally providingunwanted and unwelcome attention toourselves.

We basically could not get it to goaway and it continued to make a nui-sance of itself stopping us from carryingon our journey. I was very angry by thistime and shouted (as he was some wayfrom us, and had made no effort toapproach his dog to try and retrieve it)that his dog should be on a lead. Hethen verbalised a string of obscenitiesdirected at myself and my 10 year oldson.

Unfortunately, by this time my sonwas getting rather agitated and afraid ofthe dog that would not leave him aloneand started to run, the dog thereforechased him. My son was extremelyafraid that the dog was going tobite/attack him, as was I. I then shoutedagain at the owner and he said “he isnot going to hurt you”. My response wasthat – “how do we know that”. Eventual-

Thanks

Thanks

Concert

Stonehill Thanks

Helter skelter

Dog incident

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ly the dog went back to the owner butnot before my 10 year old child wasshaken and visibly upset. I made itquite clear that I thought that the ownerwas a very ignorant person (withoutusing expletives). Needless to say he didnot apologise just swore continuously atme again. The dog in question was awhite pug. The owner was a very igno-rant man who failed to control his dogwhilst it terrorised my son and I. Whenare dog owners going to learn that no-one wants unwelcome attention fromtheir dog? They should also not be letoff the lead in this area but unfortunate-ly there is never anyone to implementthe fines.

Just because you assume you knowyour dog and consider that it is not athreat, the rest of the general public donot. I urge dog owners to be morethoughtful in this respect as was I, whenI had a dog myself for many years.

Name & Address supplied

cases because of our duty of patientconfidentiality. Except to say we weresorry to read the comments in Mr X’sletter. We take all complaints very seri-ously and we encourage any patient withconcerns to raise them with us directlyso that we can try and resolve them.”

put up a fight and the Tories know this.The local elections are always difficult asmost people vote for national interestsnot local interests.

The turnout was also low, just 29.5%,which is a shame as local elections canbe as important as general elections.

One of the surprise results of theelection was the Labour vote, I metMarion the Labour candidate at thecount, she was very nice but she wasalso election agent for another candidateand so no Labour information went outin Birstall, but they managed to get over600 votes. This comes back to my previ-ous comment of voting for nationalissues rather than local as there wereno Birstall issues raised by Labour, asthey didn’t campaign.

What was interesting at the count isthe Labour representatives knew theyhad little chance of getting elected inBirstall and wanted the Lib Dems electednot the Tories.

This is my first time standing forelection in Birstall, (I haven’t decided ifit’s my last just yet) and the reason Idecided to stand is because Birstall ismy home village. If it was Syston, Thur-maston, Loughborough I would not havestood.

I’m hoping that the elected Cllr Bent-ley will take on the issues I raised in theelection campaign: Hallam Fields nothaving a Primary School or CommunityCentre, getting the park and ride usedfor City games, Tigers games and EastMidland Airport, getting a Leisure Centreor Stonehill Swimming Pool reopened,dealing with the travellers sites issuesand actually defending Birstall by keep-ing it a village.

On a personal note I would like togive a massive thank you to my cam-paign team, I could not have stood inBirstall without the assistance of localfamily, neighbours and friends.

Simon Sansome (Lib Dem Candi-date)

I expect many people have noticedthat recently a large new gate has beeninstalled on Greengate Lane at the en-trance (just beyond the bridge) to thelarge area of land adjacent to the GreatCentral Railway. This area extends to thehedge which goes up to the boundary ofBirstall Golf Club and I understand thehedge to be the boundary between Bir-stall and Leicester. Over the years thisarea has been mainly used for grazingcattle but last year all the grass was de-stroyed by the application of a weedkilleror chemical. I have been told the area isowned by Jelson Ltd Builders so it seemsthe ground has been prepared for theconstruction of a housing estate due tostart at any time and the recently in-stalled gate is obviously to provide accessfor lorries etc.

With the recent announcements that1500 or more houses are to be builtnorth of Birstall and with a similarnumber to be built at the city’s AshtonGreen site and with hundreds more to bebuilt eventually by the city council ontheir land between Greengate Lane andthe Golf Club it is obvious that in thenext few years some 4000-5000 houses(this is not counting the several hundredon the Hallam Fields estate and whichcould be extended eventually to the rail-way) are going to be built adjacent toBirstall. These will accommodate an extrapopulation of probably between 12,000and 15,000 and the additional number ofvehicles using the main roads and thosecars probably coming into Birstall to usethe banks etc will be tremendous.

In view of the future scenario of hav-ing thousands of extra houses in thevicinity it is even more important that thepresent green wedge bounded by Green-gate Lane, Leicester Road, the westernbypass and the Great Central Railway ispreserved as a natural area for wildlifeand hopefully for some community use.Before the Queen’s visit to Leicester last

What is wrong at Birstall MedicalCentre? You can’t get an appointmentwithin a week, even if you don’t ask fora particular doctor, or specific time.

The receptionist asks what you wantto see the doctor for, even if you don’task for an urgent appointment. Whywould I want to discuss my health prob-lems with a receptionist in a waitingroom of people who can’t avoid listening,even if they wanted to?

To get an appointment at the DiabetesClinic is impossible. The surgery write toyou, asking you to make an appointmentbut there are never any appointments forthat month, and you are told to ring atthe end of the month when the new rotais available. Of course the next month’sappointments are taken when you ring.

Now the Diabetes nurse is on sickleave for several months, no appoint-ments are available. Why hasn’t the sur-gery got temporary care for thisimportant role?

There are also regular problemsgetting a repeat prescription. Severaltimes I have gone to collect my prescrip-tion from the Co-op pharmacy only to betold that the surgery has failed to issuethe paperwork, or the Doctor hasn’tsigned them. I know this is correct asonce I was actually in the surgery, andheard the receptionist talking to thepharmacy and my name was mentioned(as well as others).

I do not want to change surgeries, asI am told that the one on GreengateLane is not much better.

Name and address suppliedThe Birstall Post invited Birstall Medi-

cal Centre to respond to this letter:“We cannot comment on individual

Many houses in the side streets ofBirstall were built during a period whenordinary workers did not have cars.Most commuting was done by bus or onfoot. There was little coming home invans.

As a result Birstall was left with manynarrow streets, and grass verges. Myparents protested against verges as theybecome receptacles for dog mess and itschild unfriendly toxocara.

Some selfish residents seem to fly tipgranite blocks. I have witnessed childrenhaving accidents with the blocks. Betteroff residents very wisely have their verg-es converted over with tarmac.

By removing verges altogether theroad can be widened and traffic calmingmeasures taken more advantage of. Thusthere would be room for emergencyvehicles rescuing and serving children aswell as grown ups and enough room fortwo sumo wrestles to pass. There wouldbe room for two fat ladies. I don’t seesigns of withdrawal symptoms on PagetAvenue or the Meadway. Also there is noenhanced flooding hazard. Job done,end of mud.

A E Nixon

First I would like to say a massivethank you for all your support in theLocal Elections, I didn’t win but I camevery close. Running an election cam-paign is not an easy task, it takes a lotof planning, a lot of effort and an armyof volunteers, support and good willgestures, like cooking burgers, givingout muffins and cups of tea, or just aplace to sit down for a rest for a bit. Idon’t mind telling you I was exhausted.It was nice meeting a lot of people whoI haven’t seen since school. It was aunique experience.

Just to give you an idea of how muchwork goes into an election. I designedthree leaflets which were delivered toevery house in Birstall that’s about15,000 leaflets.

I have a pedometer on my phone andby the end of the election with the assist-ance of Google maps I had walked justunder a 136 miles. I lost over a stonein weight (let’s face it I needed to). WithRoger Wilson, who has held the seat for20 years, retiring it was going to be anuphill struggle, but with your support I

Medical Centre

Mud

Thanks

Field

Continued on page 10

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year I wrote to the mayor Sir Peter Souls-by suggesting a Jubilee Wood be createdon the green wedge as was happening inmany other places. He replied saying thatas many trees were due to be plantedthroughout Leicester last autumn he didnot feel a Jubilee Wood in addition tothose was necessary.

Then I had a letter published suggest-ing that needed sports pitches in Leices-ter could be established on the level areaof the green wedge with woodland creat-ed (involving Leicester schools) on therest of the site. There was no reaction,no response from Sir Peter Soulsby,which raises the awful suspicion that hemay be regarding the green wedge as asite for even more houses as well asaccommodating a permanent travellerssite. It seems that those who are interest-ed in preserving the green wedge as amainly natural site are probably going tohave to fight for that.

An item published in May 2012 in-formed us that a study by the think tankPolicy Exchange revealed that the plan-ning system was failing to protect Eng-land’s wildlife and natural areas many ofwhich are facing serious decline. It statedthat developers should be required toensure large construction projects delivermore benefits for wildlife than the harmcaused by building on or near importantnatural sites. In the announcements fromLeicester City Council and CharnwoodBorough Council about their proposedhousing construction there has been nomention about delivering benefits forwildlife. It would appear both councilshave forgotten about wildlife or are delib-erating and cruelly ignoring it. It will beinteresting to know if the two councilshave a policy for the wildlife which willbe disturbed and mostly excluded fromtheir proposed construction sites on thenatural/greenfield areas.

J Woods

Thurcaston & Cropston

Open GardensTake a tour through the gardens ofprivate houses opened to the publicSat/Sun, June 29 & 302-6pm£4 per adult covers both daysWheelchair users and accompaniedchildren freeDetails: Linda 0116 2363872www.tcog.org.uk

Leicestershire Embroiderers’ Guild

Open DayJune 2211am-4pmat Braunstone West Social Centre(otherwise known at St Mary’s Hall)Some of the work will be from recentworkshops, other items will be frommembers’ own projects and some willbe a creative expression of embroi-dery.During the day demonstrations willtake place, amongst which will becrewel work, working with silks, ma-chine embroidery and transferring de-signs to fabric, with an opportunity totry some. These demonstrations willappeal to embroidery and needleworkenthusiasts alike including those whoare just starting out. Information willbe available on where to learn theseskills and techniques.If you wish to discover the joy ofstitch and handling and manipulatingfabrics, come along, refreshments areavailable and entrance is free.For further details contact DeborahPhillpott on 01455 612261

Birstall Methodist Monday Women’sGroup

Coffee MorningSaturday June 1510am to 12noonWanlip Lane Methodist ChurchTombola, cakes, plants and books

Come along and grab a bargainProceeds to our charity Motor NeuroneDisease Association (local branch)

Winners for the 200 Club (St JamesDay Centre) for May1st Mrs Valerie Tate2nd Mr Howard Johnson3rd Miss Katie Ball4th Mr Roger Cowham

A Simple Approachto HealingA talk entitled‘A Simple Approach to Healing by aSimple Dowser’will be given at the next meeting ofLeicestershire & Rutland DowsersSpeaker will be Julian HollandThe meeting which will start with re-freshments from 10-10.30amwill be held on Saturday June 8 at StJames’ Day Centre, Birstall VillageHall, on Birstall RoadEveryone is welcome

Open Churchfor Tea, Cakes and Books at St Leon-ard’s Church, Swithlandfrom 2-4.30pmon Saturday & Sunday, June 8 and 9

The Charnwood Orchestra

Summer ConcertChurch of St James the Greater, Lon-don Road, LeicesterSaturday June 29 at 7.30pmBorodin: On the Steppes of CentralAsiaProkoviev: Violin concerto No.2, solo-ist Benedict HollandSibelius: Symphony: No.2Tickets £10 (£8 concessions) and £3for accompanied children under 16.Available from the Box Office: 07718153117 oremail:[email protected],from Leicester Tourist InformationCentre on 0844 8885181, from mem-bers of the orchestra or on the door.There will be an interval bar selling

wine, Castle Rock Real Ale and fruitjuice

Scout & Guide

Summer GalaSaturday June 15 at 2.15pmat The Close, School Lane, Birstallby kind permission of Mr & Mrs WatersBand display, teas, cakes, stalls,games, barbequeAdmission 20p

Highcliffe Primary School

Summer FairSaturday June 8, from 1-4pmThe Great Highcliffe Bake Off, BouncyCastle, Homemade & Craft Fayre, Fun& Games, Photo Competition, FoodStalls, Entertainment, Car Boot SaleEntrance fee 50p, Primary school chil-dren (all schools) freeTo book a car or stall please [email protected]

Abbeyfield

Summer FeteSaturday June 8, from 2-4pmCelebrate Grove House’s 30th yearCrafts, homemade cakes, refresh-ments, face painting, raffleFun for all agesFunds in aid of AbbeyfieldGrove House, 35 Church Hill, Birstall0116 2671523Entrance 50pAll welcome

Film PresentationsFrom Thurcaston & Cropston ParishCouncil‘The Life of Pi’Friday June 14 (120 mins)June’s film is a beautiful adventuredrama based on Yann Martel’s popularnovel. The young Pi is charming andfunny as he struggles to stay alive in afishing boat in the Pacific Ocean withthe other survivor, a Bengal Tiger,with whom he makes an unexpectedconnection. This film was nominatedfor several Bafta awards.

We invited Jelson to comment on thework at the Greengate lane field. “Theland is owned by Jelson but the presentactivities are in relation to its agricultur-al use – not development. We had atenant on the land who hadn’t paid rentfor 3 or 4 years who has now been evict-ed and it is now being managed directlyby the farming side of the business. Theland has been neglected and needs quitea bit of work. The gate at Henson Closeis too small to get our equipment in andso the access at Greengate Lane hasbeen widened and set back so that wecan get equipment in clear of the roadfor health and safety reasons. There wasan existing gate there already but it hadbeen buried in the undergrowth.”

Terry McGrealLand and Planning Director, Jelson

Limited

Noticeboardall details printed free

Continued from page 9

Visit gardens in theBlenheim Road & Allington Drive

area of BirstallBirstall Methodist Church’s

GARDEN TRAIL

In aid of Cancer Research UKand Church Funds Sponsored by Birstall Garden Centre

Adults £3.00 in advance (passports obtainable fromlocal retailers or telephone 0116 2677576)

£3.50 on the dayAccompanied children (16 & under) free

Plant Stall, TombolaRefreshments, Ices &Raffle

Saturday and Sunday8th and 9th June 2013

2.00pm – 5.30pmGARDEN & TREEMAINTENANCE• FENCING• GENERAL MAINTENANCE• CLEARANCE• NO JOB TOO SMALL

FREE NO OBLIGATION QUOTESFamily run businessFriendly, reliable service

Mob: 0744 3333194Rearsby, Leicester

JUN 2013THE BIRSTALL POST 11‘Lincoln’Friday September 13 (150mins)Daniel Day-Lewis won the AcademyAward for ‘Best Actor’ in this mgnifi-cent film which follows our summerbreak. In 1865, President Lincolnstruggled to being to an end theAmerican Civil War. At the same time,he was endeavouring to achieve theconstitutional amendment whichwould ban slavery in the United Statesfor ever. How did he achieve thesenearly impossible talks?‘Les Miserables’Friday October 11Thurcaston and Cropston Parish Coun-cil will be showing these films atThurcaston Memorial Hall. Starting at7.30pm, tickets cost £4.50 and con-cessions are £4. The price includesrefreshments and a lucky prize draw.Advance tickets can be purchased viathe parish office, 0116 2367626 or atthe door.

Birstall RoyalBritish LegionJune 1: Ben Fischer (M/V)June 8: Mandy Mac (F/V)June 15: TBCJune 22: Michael Jay (M/V)June 29: Rick Shaw ShowDancing every Saturday night with liveentertainmentBingo, free beer raffle and not forget-ting Open the BoxEvery Tuesday night Bingo starting at9.15pmQuiz nights Sunday June 9 and 30,starting at 9pmAcoustic night Sunday June 16 at 8pmRock & Roll nights Wednesday June 5and 19Food available every Saturday12noon-2pmWakes catered for

Coffee MorningSaturday June 22Birstall & Wanlip WIMethodist Coffee Shop, Wanlip Lane,BirstallCakes, plants, crafts and tinbola

Welcome &HospitalitySt James Church, Church Hill, Birstall isopen every Saturday morningfrom 10am to 12noon and a warmwelcome awaits all visitorsIf you are looking for quiet time andprivate prayer, just to have a lookaround or have a chat, do pop in.A cup of tea or coffee will be provided

Birstall Flower Club‘Lost in Wonderland’ Jo PoulterWednesday June 26 at 7.15pmBirstall Village HallVisitors very welcomeSylvia Simes2674206

Birstall & District Local History SocietyThursday June 13 at 7.30pmBirstall Village Hall, Birstall Rd, Bir-stall

‘Loughborough Carillon’Speaker: Mel GouldAll visitors are very welcomePlease note there are no meetings inJuly and August

Mountsorrel United

Charities Feteis being held on The Green in Mount-sorrel

Saturday June 8, from 10am to12noonStalls including crafts, jewellery,cakes, jams, bric-a-brac and also chil-dren’s games, BBQ, bouncy slideThe Mountsorrel school choir will besinging and there will be refreshmentsin the Scout HutThe Mountsorrel Heritage will alsohave a display in the Scout HutPlease come along and join in the fun

Mountsorrel Methodist ChurchPresents the 6th in the 12th series ofSunday Night @ Eight

Organ Recitalson Sunday June 16at 8pm, by Ian Orr: Buffet from 7.30pmOrganist WigstonAdmission freeDonations for Development Fund

Coach Outingto GloucesterSaturday June 22The coach will leave Birstall at 9amCost of coach £17 with an optionaltour of the Cathedral at £4.95For further details and to book a placeplease phone Gill Pope 0116 2675086

Birstall GardenTrailJune 8 and 9Blenheim & Worcester Avenue area2-5pmPassports £3.50 on the day from anyopen garden

Coffee ConcertSaturday June 29, 10.30-12noonSt James Parish Church, BirstallCoffee provided by St James MondayGroup and concert of light music per-formed by the 663 ensembleDonations to charity

Age UK Leicester Shire & Rutland

Birstall Sponsored Walk2013

Sunday September 8Watermead Country ParkMeet 10.30am at St James Centre or11am at Meadow Lane car parkThe walk is only a few miles long so thateveryone can hopefully take part, but if youcan’t you are invited to sponsor PeterRalphs, one of Age UK’s staff who enjoysmatching £ for £ sponsorship from his pre-vious employer, Barclays Bank. With Gift Aideach £1 pledged to him will be worth £2.25to the charity! See Contacts below.Please join in the walk and bring your fami-ly and friends with you. You can obtain asponsorship form from any Age UK ResourceCentre or by calling or emailing the AdminTeam on 0116 2992233 [email protected]

Wanlip Sailing ClubOpen DaySaturday June 1511am to 4pmCome along and try sailing at ourfriendly club(Wear suitable clothing)Families and children welcomeWe are off Wanlip Lane (A46) SystonSee www.wanlipsc for details orphone 0116 2601216

Parent/Toddler Group

Cheeky Cherubs0-4 yr oldsevery Monday (term time)Birstall Methodist Rooms9.30-11.30am. £1 per personinc unlimited teas & coffees for par-ents and snack for childNo weekly commitmentPlease feel free to just drop in or con-tact Paula on 07934551563 for fur-ther details

BirstallGalaSat Jun 29/Sun Jun 30Sat: 12-9pm, Sun: 11-10pmProms in the Park: Sun 7.30pmFireworks: Sun 10pmStalls, funfair, dance, musicSchool Lane playing field

THREE MEN were arrested afteran attempted robbery at a Bir-stall bank.

Police say no-one was injured andnothing was stolen at the incident, whichtook place on Wednesday May 8 at12.20pm at the Santander bank onLoughborough Road.

The men arrested were aged 17, 20and 25.

A FAMILY run funeral directorshas opened in Syston.

Chris Meynell and his wife Kathrynhave lived locally for 40 years and withtheir four children are active in the localcommunity.

Chris said: “The benefit of usingChris Meynell and Family Funeral Direc-tors is our devotion, personal pride andlong term commitment to the local com-munity. There are no shareholders toplease or head office to answer to –families are our number one priority.

“We endeavour to create a personalrelationship which leads to a unique,sensitive service on every occasion. Mostpeople find it easier to deal with peopleyou know and the relaxed, flexibility thatcomes with that relationship – we feelthe same.”

Contact Chris Meynell & Family Funer-al Directors at 28 Wellington Street,Syston LE7 2LG. Tel: 0116 2607954,email:[email protected]

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Proud manager Phil Hughes of theBirstall United Juniors under 10 Foxeswatched his side win their place at theNational Youth Futsal Finals in Birming-ham by finishing as runners up in theregional finals in May.

Futsal is an exciting, fast-paced smallsided football game that is widely playedacross the world and is officially recog-nised by both UEFA and FIFA. The na-ture of the game places a largeemphasis on technical skill and ability insituations of high pressure.

The national finals will take place onJune 29 at the Birmingham @Futsal Areawhere the Foxes will play teams fromacross the UK.

Phil Hughes, manager of the Foxessaid: “As you would expect in a regionaltournament, the standard was very highindeed and so to qualify, undefeated, forthe nationals from such a tough groupis a great achievement. The kids haveadapted to this format of the game reallywell indeed and they are all seeing a bigimprovement to their skill levels andtheir confidence on the ball.

“What was very encouraging for mewas that the organisers of the regional

tournament commented on how well thekids were passing the ball around andas a manager that makes me very proudto hear. The kids are all really excitedabout going to Birmingham at the endof June and representing the East Mid-lands and it’s going to be a great experi-ence for them to play against teamsfrom all over the UK. This is a greatbunch of kids and they are a credit totheir club and their village and weshould be very proud of them.”Pic: Daniel Yadav, Dylan Sands, Emillio Stavrou,Emmanuel Kambulu, Finley Hewitt, Joel Hughes,Matty Hull, Parees Patel, Parmvir Jurm, VivekParekh, Louis Marsden (not in picture)

The club’s committee, includ-ing coach Laura Morley, were onhand to give advice to juniorsand seniors alike.

Seven juniors, six families, onesenior and one student all joinedand can look forward to playing

A spokesman said: “The summerleague competitions started well. Duringthe first week of matches, all four men’steams won, as did the second women’steam – a really positive start.”Pics: Newcomers go through their paces at theopen day

“A GREAT bunch of kids who are a credit to their club andtheir village” have reached the finals of a national footballcompetition.

AN OPEN day at Birstall Watermead Tennis Club saw the courtskept busy as potential new members discovered what the clubhas to offer.

tennis throughout the year.The three courts are all floodlit, pro-

viding court time for social and competi-tive tennis.

VISITORS TO Watermead CountryPark can now enjoy coffee andrefreshments thanks to a mobilecoffee shop.

Leicestershire County Council and Leicester-shire Food Links have found a local supplier toprovide the service : Picks Organic, who will setup at the King Lear’s Lake car park every Sun-day from 10am to 4pm.

A spokesman for Leicestershire CountyCouncil said: “We are delighted to be able togive our visitors the opportunity to enjoy goodquality refreshments at our parks.

“We hope the provision of locally-sourcesfood and drinks will enhance the visitor expe-rience and keep people coming back formore. There are also other plans to furtherimprove the experience during the summermonths.”

Tennis club open day

Park’smobilecoffeeshop

Juniors reach final

Local emergencydenture repairs& denture cleaning

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A celebrationMay 11 2013 marked a very special

day for the parish churches of Birstalland Wanlip when, with a joyful serviceof celebration at St. James, the tenchurches which are bordered by theSoar and the Wreake, came together to

inaugurate the TwoRiver Partnership.The presence of Bish-op Tim Stevens putthe seal of approvalon the event, whichwas made colourfulby art work and flow-ers, and hearty sing-ing rang around thechurch. A number ofjoint events are al-ready planned, rang-ing from a D Daydance at Thurmastonon June 4 , a Scarecrow walk on theweekend of June 22 at East Goscote, toa Journey in Faith course (starting Sep-tember), marriage preparation groups,and even a first aid course!Summer events planned

In the (hopefully) warmer month ofJune some dates for your diary. OnSaturday 22 June a coach trip is beingarranged to Gloucester, leaving Birstallat 9am and returning at approx. 8pm.The cost will be £17 with an additionaloptional charge for a guided tour of thecathedral. Names are required as soonas possible, either on the list in eachchurch, or phone Gill on 2675086.Closer to home, St. James MondayGroup, with the 663 Ensemble, are hold-ing a coffee concert from 10-12 noon inSt James church on Saturday June 29, toraise money for the Friends of Uruguay.A church in Salto, Uruguay has beenbuilt and dedicated in memory of thelate Cathy Harrison of Birstall, whoworked among deprived children there,and was a tireless fund raiser for thepoor and homeless.

At the Birstall Gala, there will be aservice at 11am on Sunday June 30, ledby Churches Together. Every one isinvited to attend (bring your own foldingchair!), and during the day there will bea tent, where you can rest or chat withchurch members.

From Beryl McHugh, ParishChurchesPics: (top) Bishop Tim (centre) and ArchdeaconTim (to his left) with some of the Two RiversMission Partnership leadership team; Two RiversMission Partnership banner depicting silhou-ettes of the 10 Churches, produced by membersof St James the Great Church.

Garden TrailThe Church is grateful to the garden

owners who have kindly agreed to opentheir gardens for the 2013 Birstall GardenTrail which takes place on June 8 & 9. Fulldetails are shown elsewhere in this editionof the Birstall Post.

The Church is quite sure it will be moresuccessful than the Bluebell walk whichtook place in April at Hambleton nearRutland Water. Although the weather waslovely – only one solitary bluebell wasseen!Messy Baptism

How do you have a ‘Messy Baptism’?When it is part of ‘Messy Church’! Leahwas the first youngster to be baptised inMessy Church which meets on Saturdaystwice a month.

Our Minister Rachel Parkinson said: “Ittook a moment to realise that if I wasserious in what I’d always said - that Messyis church in its own right and not just a

“way in” to church on Sunday - then I need-ed to be looking at Saturdays not Sundays!In the event, it turned out to be one of themost special baptisms I’ve ever taken partin”. On the day Messy Church followed theusual Messy pattern of spending the firsthour in a variety of crafts, this time allthemed around baptism. Brenda Cobb, agreatly gifted artist on the Messy Churchteam, designed a font that people couldhelp to decorate. A card and candle weredecorated for Leah and the whole groupdid crafts based on the “footprints in thesand” reading to link to following Jesus.

“Both Leah and I had arrived messilydressed for the crafts but we both got toput on a white dress which helped markthe worship out as special. All those attend-ing were able to use all the symbols pre-pared and all enacted the turning awayfrom evil and turning toward God. I foundthis far more powerful than just saying thewords in the service book. And afterwards?Messy Church had a party! The “bring andshare” tea wasn’t the most nutritionallybalanced meal in the world but it all disap-peared and they all finished the afternoonon a sugar high as well as a spiritual high!”

Messy Church, has a “Seaside Special”on Saturday June 15, from 4pm to 6pm.

From Tony Moore, Birstall Methodist Church

Money was raised from club fundsand a development loan from BowlsEngland.

The whole process was completed inunder a week by Fineturf, who arebased in Grantham. The old grass(which was over 50 years old) wasremoved, the area cleared, it was aerat-ed, cultivated and levelled, and 40tonnes of sports sand spread, beforefertiliser was applied and the final topsurface sown. Photos of the project canbe found on the Fineturf websitewww.fine-turf.co.uk

Despite the less than perfect winter,the green was ready to be played on atthe end of April and both Men’s Presi-dent Duncan Brown and Ladies Presi-dent Val Ross were on hand to deliverthe first bowls on the new green.

A club spokesman said: “Later thismonth Pa Walker, Jan Everitt, JennieGroves and Di Hurst will be representing

Birstall, Leicestershire and England inthe British Isles Championships, whichare taking place in Glasgow. Everyoneat the club wishes them the best of luck.”

The club would welcome new mem-bers and for further information, ladiescan call Diane on 0116 2675457 andmen can call Andy on 0116 2677969.Pic: Ladies President Val Ross and Men’s Presi-dent Duncan Brown deliver the first bowls. (Pic-ture taken by Tony Griffith)

AT THE end of the last outdoor season, Birstall Bowling Clubhad a new green installation.

A MAN has been charged followingan incident in Cropston in October2012.

The man aged 39 has been accusedof attempted rape, kidnap and causinga female 13 to engage in sexual activi-ty.Discussion Topics

You may have heard the story of a youngschoolboy busily painting in class when thehead teacher, who was walking around theroom, stopped to look at the boy’s work.

“What are you painting?” he asked. “God,” theboy answered. “But we don’t know what Godlooks like,” the head teacher said. “Well, wewill when I’ve finished!” the boy replied. Thisis the subject of the Discussion Topic forJune, entitled: “What is God like and how canwe know?” If you missed the informationgiven last month, these discussions are opento individuals of any denomination or religion(or none) and you can opt to attend as manyor as few of them as you wish. They are freeof charge, last about an hour, are informaland it is expected that participants will showrespect for others’ views. If you would like toattend this month’s discussion, then pleasecontact the number given below to registeryour interest and state your preference forday(s) and time (morning/afternoon/evening)and we will get back to you with an agreeddate, time and venue.Sunday Services

Our services are generally held in theCommunity Room at Highcliffe PrimarySchool (LE4 3DL) at 10.45am and you willbe most welcome to join with us. Owing to avariety of reasons, we are in the CommunityRoom only on June 16 and 30. Please ringfor the venues on the other Sundays. Ourvisiting speakers for June are Nick Stenfalt(Wigston) on 9th and Simon Harrison(Leicester) on 30th.

Further information: Please ring 01162674248.

From Anne Taylor, Birstall Independent BaptistChurch

Church news

Club’s new green

Man charged

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Swans take 2-3 weeks tobuild their nest and sit ontheir eggs for 5-6 weeks.

Watermead swan volun-teer Julie said: “I remem-ber two swans nesting inBirstall a few years ago.They had been sitting forfive weeks and their eggswere due to hatch anyminute. I kept going downto see if they had hatched.Disaster struck, someoneput planks of wood acrossthe water and cruelly tookher eggs. the poor swandidn’t know what to do,she just sat there on herempty nest. The public who had beenwatching her over the past few weeks ea-gerly awaiting the sight of little cygnets justcouldn’t believe that someone could bethat cruel to her.

“The following year we saw a very differ-ent sight. The students from Longslade and

Stonehill all came down to see her andkeep an eye on her from a safe distance.That was fantastic to see. Her cygnetshatched that year and thank you to all thestudents for their concern, care and inter-est.

“If you see eggs in a nest without a swanthey are not deserted. A swan will returnto them. Swans will get off the nest to feed.If you take eggs you are committing anoffence. You are also being very cruel,killing what has the potential to grow intoa swan and you are also spoiling enjoy-ment for other people.

“This area is patrolled and the nestingall logged. Any illegal activity is reported tothe police. I know many of the public liketo help too by keeping an eye open andreporting things to me.

“We have a fantastic area for swans andbirds. Not everybody is fortunate to havethis on their doorstep. If you’re interestedcome down and enjoy watching theirprogress and bring your binoculars. Watchnature and see what happens to thoseeggs.”

June 15 from 10 to 12 at the old coun-cil office (opposite the garden centre)on Sibson Road. Please pop in for achat and see what security products wehave (all sold at cost price). We alsocode cycles for free.

From Birstall & Wanlip NHW

THE SWANS at Watermead Country Park will be nesting and layingeggs now that spring has come.

THE WEATHER is getting warmerand we all need to be extracareful, both at home and whenwe are out.

If you are out in your garden enjoy-ing the sunshine, please make sure anywindows and doors are locked. It is alltoo easy to leave valuables on show andforget that you have left your windowopen. If you are gardening, please makesure you lock your tools away in a shedor secure place. Leaving tools outsidecan be used by an opportunistic burglar,as can ladders which are not secure. Ifyou are going away please make surethat your property is secure and youhave told somebody that you trust thatyou are not at home.

It is a good idea to ask someone tomake sure any post is pushed throughyour letterbox, as this is a sign thatnobody is home. Please try not to putyour bin or recycling out a week early,ask a neighbour or your coordinator todo it for you. Curtains that are closed allday when they normally would not be isan obvious sign that you are not athome.

You can get several gadgets that turnlights on and off at set or random times,these can be a visual deterrent as itlooks like someone is home. Finally,please be careful if you are on holiday.It is all too easy to feel safe and actdifferently to how you would when athome.

Please use your common sense andkeep yourself and your valuables safeand secure. Above all, have a lovely timein the sunshine and enjoy your holiday!The next advice shop is on Saturday

NHW newsADULT LEARNERS can access loans topay course fees from August 2013,after the Government announcedchanges to the funding of adult edu-cation.

For the first time adult leavers aged24 or above have the option of applyingto the Student Loans Company (SLC) fora loan to pay their course fees.

Learners will only need to start repay-ing the loan once they have completedthe course and are earning over£21,000 a year.

A spokesman for Leicester Collegesaid: “This new funding means that manymore people over the age of 24 will havethe opportunity to study on level 3 andlevel 4 courses, allowing them to experi-ence the related benefits such as in-creased wages and job satisfaction.”

The loans will not be means testedand applicants will not be subject tocredit checks. They will meet 100% ofthe course fees.

Loans are available for courses includ-ing Advanced & Higher Apprenticeships,QCF Diplomas/Certificates at levels 3 and4, Access to HE courses (full and part-time) and A levels.

Leicester College has a range of fulland part-time courses at levels 3 and 4,from hair and beauty to business, IT andcare.

A college spokesman said: “Whateveryour age, whether you are retired andwant to advance your knowledge, areworking and want to boost your careerprospects or want to study for a profes-sional qualification, Leicester College canhelp you.”

To find out more:www.gov.uk/advanced-learning-loanswww.leicester college.ac.uk, tel: 0116

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A THIRD of ‘pain sufferers’ in the EastMidlands worried about their dependen-cy on painkillers

More than a third (37 per cent) ofpeople in the East Midlands using medica-tion to treat pain are worried about theirdependency painkillers to manage theirdaily lives. One in three (33 per cent) saythey need painkillers in order to continueworking. These are the results of a newstudy by Nuffield Health, the UK’s largesthealthcare charity.

Clinicians at Nuffield Health say painkill-ers are often seen as an easy or cost effec-tive treatment option instead of treating theunderlying medical problems.

Of more than 3100 people surveyednationally, more than half (1659) man-aged pain or injury with painkillers in thepast 12 months. The figures for the EastMidlands show:

• A quarter (24 per cent) have beentaking painkillers for more than five years.

• Almost one in five (18 per cent) ad-mit to taking more than the recommendedsafe dose.

• Nearly a third (29 per cent) said theytake between five and ten pills a day.

In the East Midlands, a small group areusing opiates (6 per cent) including mor-phine and pethidine to manage their painor injury. Two fifths of people are report-ing sleeping problems due to pain and (6per cent) are using sleeping pills.

Experts say patients need to be awareof the side effects of taking painkillers,which can cause sickness, stomach prob-lems, including bleeding or ulcers, consti-pation, drowsiness or serious medicalproblems like liver disease, kidney prob-lems and heart disease.

Consultant Spinal Surgeon at NuffieldHeath, Mr Manoj Krishna, said “A lack ofknowledge, or fear of treatment, can leadpatients into long term use of painkillers,often without a clear diagnosis by a spe-cialist. This can be a very bleak existencewith patients becoming depressed, losingtheir jobs, and often becoming dependenton the drugs. I regularly see patients whostruggle to deal with drug addiction aftertheir medical condition has been success-fully treated. With advances in medicine itis important that patients explore theiroptions fully. Surgery, physiotherapy oreven an effective exercise programme maybe more appropriate. In the 21st centuryin a country with a world class healthservice, our patients in pain deserve abetter deal.”

The figures show that one in seven (15per cent) of people who sought treatment

from a GP expressed unhappiness with theoutcome of the appointment. Over half(57 per cent) cited being prescribed onlypainkillers as the source of their frustra-tion, while three in ten (30 per cent)thought that their doctor lacked enoughknowledge about their condition.

In the East Midlands, over one in ten(12 per cent) said they had stoppedsearching for a suitable treatment as theyhad been told the risks outweigh the bene-fits. Of those who had managed to find asolution, 17 per cent used physiotherapy,while 6 per cent had surgery. A fifth (19per cent) of people said their pain orinjury recovered over time, suggesting longterm use of painkillers is not a suitabletreatment option.

Cabella Lowe, Head of PhysiotherapyServices at Nuffield Health said: “Only afifth of people in pain in the East Midlandsare being successfully treated by physio-therapy. We believe more people couldalleviate their pain by seeing a physiothera-pist”

For many in the East Midlands, therepercussions of failing to find a curativetreatment can be revealed: of those stillreporting pain or injury; over a third (35per cent) are unable to exercise and al-most a fifth (19 per cent) report sufferingfrom depression.

Lack of awareness putting East Mid-lands residents at risk of losing theirsight

Over half of adults in the East Midlandshave never heard of Age-related maculardegeneration (AMD) and 63 per cent ofadults in the East Midlands wouldn't visittheir GP or optician straightaway if theyexperienced blurry vision or wavy lines.

Lack of awareness of the symptoms and

urgency needed to treat the biggest causeof sight loss in the UK is leaving people inthe East Midlands at risk of losing theirsight, warns the Royal National Institute ofBlind People (RNIB).

Over half of adults in the region ques-tioned as part of a YouGov survey hadnever heard of Age-related Macular De-generation (AMD)before, while 21 percent incorrectlythought it was a con-dition that affectedthe brain.

AMD is the biggestcause of sight loss inthe over 50s andthere are over500,000 people with the condition nation-ally. There are two main forms of AMD,wet and dry. There is no current treatmentfor dry AMD but sight saving treatment isavailable for the wet form if diagnosed intime.

A worrying 63 per cent of people saidthey wouldn’t visit their GP or opticianstraightaway if they started experiencingblurry vision or wavy lines, which arecommon symptoms of the condition. WetAMD can take your eyesight in as little asthree months if left untreated. The recom-mended time it should take to be diag-nosed is seven days; however this relies onpeople being able to spot the signs imme-diately.

The exact causes of AMD are notknown but genetics, diet, alcohol intakeand sensitivity to sunlight are all believedto have an impact. Smoking is a clear riskfactor, with smokers two times more likelyto develop the condition than non-smokers.It's as strong as the link between smokingand lung cancer. However, the surveyshowed that over half of adults in the EastMidlands didn’t think that stopping smok-ing could reduce the risk of sight loss and71 per cent didn’t think that wearing sun-glasses may play a role in protecting theireyes.

Helen May, RNIB's Optometrist, said:"Losing your central vision can have a sig-nificant effect on individuals and makeseveryday tasks such as reading, telling thetime and preparing food more difficult,

and can prevent people from driving. How-ever, it doesn't have to be this way andpeople should not be losing their sightunnecessarily when there's treatment avail-able.

"RNIB is encouraging people over 50 tofind out how to spot the signs of wet AMD

and understand whyit's important to actquickly. About 40,000people develop wetAMD each year butthe deterioration ofyour sight can bemanaged with treat-ment, if caught intime."

Sheila Hewitt, wholives in Leicestershire,

hadn't heard of AMD before she was diag-nosed with the condition. She said: "Thechanges came about very quickly. I no-ticed things like telegraph poles weren'tstraight lines anymore. Losing my sight hashad a big impact on my life; I can't driveor go far on my own anymore.

"Before I was diagnosed with AMD, Ithought the condition was just genetic anddidn’t realise that the risk could be re-duced through healthy eating or wearingsunglasses."

If straight lines start to appear wavy,curved or distorted it may mean you haveAMD. Small print becomes difficult to readeven when wearing glasses and people'sfaces start to appear blurry. Make sureyou are able to spot the signs and if younotice these changes in your vision makean appointment to visit your optometristimmediately.

Find out more about AMD and othereye diseases atwww.rnibspotthesigns.org.uk. Alternatively,call the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999or google 'RNIB spot the signs'.

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The BAG’s thought it might be a goodtime to remind readers what BAG’s isall about, why we exist and what weseek to do.

Clare Wells, founder of BAGS wasdiagnosed with Breast Cancer in 1998.Her determination to encourage allwomen to be vigilant, to self examineand access medical care as soon aspossible inspired the formation ofBAGS, a local fundraisingsocial group. Although thegroup originally focusedon raising money tosupport local BreastCancer services, to re-flect the interest andsupport of the localBirstall community forseveral years now BirstallBAG's has sought to be inclusiveof all cancers and the group wel-come villagers to support the manyevents they organise each year within thelocal community.

Clare’s cancer recurred and sadly shedied in 2003 but her close friends havecarried on with her vision and to dateover £20000 pounds has been donatedto local cancer services. Since Septem-

ber 2010 the Birstall BAG’s have funded(£4k+ per annum)the running of ‘TimeOut’ a Coping With Cancer drop in com-plementary therapy group held the sec-ond and fourth Wednesday of eachmonth 1.30-4.30pm at the Birstall Vil-lage Hall on School Lane. Time out is agroup for anyone affected by cancer -patients, carers, families and friends.

Enjoy a complementary therapy in acalm, relaxing atmosphere, and

chat to other patients andcarers over a cup of tea.

No need to book - justturn up! You will be madevery welcome. For moreinformation contact Copingwith Cancer on 0116 2230055.

Currently the BAG’s holda variety of annual events to bring

the community together to have a bitof fun and raise funds. Our next event,on June 1 will see 15 local chaps cyclefrom Birstall to Skegness, if you wouldlike to support them please email theBAGS [email protected] or visitthe Just Giving page set up to enableonline donationswww.justgiving.com/local/project/bikerid

eforbags. We alsohave a Family RaceNight Scheduledfor Friday Septem-ber 13th at BirstallSocial Club andwill look to haveour usual LadiesChristmas Mealnight in early De-cember – watchthis space!

We are verygrateful to every-one that has andcontinues to sup-port us, we arekeen to make as

many people as possible feel engagedwith our activities and donations soplease if you have any comments orthoughts on how we can best representand meet the needs of the Birstall com-munity, get in touch.

Macmillan Cancer Support freephone help line 0808 808 000 Monday –Friday 9am-8pm. University Hospitals ofLeicester Cancer Information Centre on0116 258 6189.

For more information on the fundswe have raised, projects we support andforthcoming events seewww.birstallbags.co.uk

TELEPHONE EXTENSION Sockets fittedby ex-BT engineer. Cable, BT and dig-ital TV. Over 25 yrs experience. John2675132

AMLI DESIGN Architectural Consultan-cy. Plans drawn and submitted. Exten-sions, conversions, new build. DavidIves B.Sc.(Hons) FBEng MCIOB 01162674395 / 07974807111www.amlidesign.co.uk

2000 STERLING Europa 460/2, 2berth, end washroom, fully equipped,service history, £2500 ono Tel: 01162200741

FOR SALE Boys’ bikes – good condi-tion: Trek MT 220, 24” wheel, 21gears, Giant MTX 250, 24” wheel, 18gears, both black & grey. £40 eachono. Man’s Diamond Back, pro racingmountain bike, 26” wheel, 21 gears,colour – blue. £30 ono 07759223162(Birstall)

Small ads are 25p for the first 16 words. 17-32words: 50p. Enclosing payment, post your ad to us orhand it in (inside an envelope) at Birstall library.

Trade/business rates for small ads are 25p aword. You are liable for the trade/business rateif you are offering a service for which you areasking for payment, or if you are advertisingnew goods for sale. All text will be printed bold.Box outline £1 extra. Max 50 words. Phonenumbers count as one word.

Small Ads

THE BIRSTALL POSTYOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

Longslade College, Wanlip Lane,Birstall, Leicester LE4 4GHEditor: Mr Jerry Jackson

Editorial/Advertising (Tel & Fax)

0116 2674213Correspondence, news etc

can be handed in at:Birstall Library or to our office in the

Youth Centre,Longslade College, Birstall

[email protected]

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