?Lm

%houtPUBLISHED BY THE RATBY SCOUT GROUP

BROOKVALB GETS TOP

MARKS AGAIN!

APRIL 1999

There's a lot to smileabout at Brookvale High School, Groby, these days. Last week saw

the publication of the school's latest OFSTED inspection report, and it couldn't have

been better.

After their last inspection in 1994 Brookvale appeared in the Governments top 100 of

Good and Improving schools. With this report looking even better, Richard Mapp, Acting

Headteacher, has good cause to be delighted - "This excellent report reflects our

commitment to continuous improvement" - Richard said today.

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BROOKVALE GETS TOP MARKS AGAIN!

Ofsted concluded that the overall quality ofteaching was good, with at least a quarter of theteaching being very good. The Inspection Teampraised many features of life at Brookvale,particularly mentioning high levels of studentattainment, a wide range of clubs and societiesincluding sport, the promotion of strong social andmoral values, high levels of attendance, very goodsupport and guidance for students and strong linkswith the local community.

Students at the school are, in Ofsted's words, "busyworking hard, enjoying life and (most importantly)striving to succeed".

But Brookvale is not a complacent institution, asRichard says, "As a community we will reflect onthe praise we've received for our lively andeffective teaching, and our commitment tosupporting students with special educational needs.I toow that all staff will continue to strive for the

highest standards from all out students".

^ tPabarl's ^Satbu .yjS 5Station Road, Ratby. ^ ,^WTel. 0116-2393257

11For lha Largest Selection in Hatby of

Beers. Wines and Spirits.

A vast choice of Confectionery and Soft Drinks.

A t-arge variety of Greeting Cards. Wrapping Paperand Stationary.

Newspapers A Magazines.Delivered to your door daily.

We are the agents forSKETGHLEV DRY CLEANING.

Video Rental & Pliotocopying also available.

Op«nfnff Mwjts;Mon - Fri 6.15 am to 1 pm A 2.30 pm to 10 r»»"-Saltirday O.tS am to 10 pm.Sunday 7.30 amto^pmATpmtoO pm.

^ COME IN AND SEE FOR YOURSELF

MILLENIUM

Don't forget we want to produce aspecialMillenium issue of Wot! About Ratby, Ideaswelcome....pkotographs of tbe village'snotable events, stories about the past!

f:i)e $lougf) 3nnIrish Night every Thursday with

NED O'GRADY

Free Supper

£1 * Quid a curry or Chilli onWEDNESDAYS

GAP Specials £2.75including ice cream.

Quid a Bottle * This monthCarlsberg

COACHES WELCOME *

Hideaway for Parties up to 60.

Lunchtimes 12-2 pm Two mealsfor the price of one ( up to

11^

IN a HURRY? DIAL and DINE

0116 239 2103

Eat in or Takeaway

FATHER'S DAY 20th JUNE

Special Present for Dad IBook now to ovoid

V. disoppointment

RATBY COMMUNITY

ORCHARD NEWS

POND PUDDLED AND

TREES MULCHED!

POND PLANTING DAY

SUNDAY 16TH MAY,10.30PM

On 20th. February 1999 the CommunityOrchard Group held a Pond Puddling andMulching Day at the Community Orchard onTavemer Drive.This means that the pond is

now ready for planting with native water

plants. The Group are now in the process oflocating and ordering native plants that are

not too invasive. Great care needs to taken

when deciding which plants are suitable. Theaim ofthe pond is to promote native wildlife.It is therefore very important that only nativeplants are introduced. Care must be taken inchoosing the plants as some species growvery rapidly and would clog the pond andprevent wildlife flourishing.

It is very important that no one shouldintroduce either plants or wildlife to the pondwithout careful consideration. Some

Canadian Pond weed has mysteriouslyappeared in the pond on two occasions now.This has had to be removed. If left, it wouldtake over the pond very rapidly. Some frogspawn was attached to this weed. Somebodyprobably thought they were being helpful byintroducing this. However it is now

ALPINECLEANINGSERVICES

OFFICES : CAELFETSpiece suites

•VEJSTET IAJNF EUIJS1X>SB'U"IUr)EF.S CLEAJST ETC

Geoff Wood9 Femdale Drive, Ratby. Leicester LE6 OLM

TpI* m Ml. inaaton IVInhilp'0860 267141

recognised that frog spawn should not betransferred from one pond to another as thiscan lead to the spread of red leg diseasewhich is lethal to frogs. If you have somenative pond plants that you would like todonate to the pond , please contact NeilPilcher on 238 7481 who will advise on its

suitability.

If you would like to get involved in plantingthe pond, come along to the pond plantingday and see what is going on. As alwaysRatby Community Orchard needs you!!

E M A ISH^J^OW 5S

VILLAGE MILLENIUM UPDATE

Following the last WOT report there havebeen a few other ideas floated for our villagecelebrations. The Ratby Cooperative Bandare planning a full band turn out at aprocession and family service on SundayJanuary 2nd 2000. All organisations andindividuals could be encouraged to join in.They are also considrmg inviting acontinental band to come to Ratby as part oftheir celebrations. Further details later.

The scouts will be holding their traditionalNew Years Eve function in the ChurchRooms, with an emphasis ontheoccasion.The Village Society have a special sate onTuesday 16th November 1999 with acombined End of Century/ 25th Anniversarymeal and Social.

Another consideration could be to encourage

a 'Village Turnout' to see in the newcentury, our own mini 'Trafalgar Square' atmidnight.

Allof the other projects mentioned in the lastWOT are still ongoing;-

The photography project is the one schemeinvolving the Parish Council, and inparticular Councillor Alan Withers, togetherwith a group of volunteers.The Church floodlighting is still progressing.Installation methods and costings are beingconsidered.

The Welfare Hall Committee are all workingvery hard and the refurbishment scheme isgathering pace. Both the W.l. and RatbyVillage Society have promised their help.Crow Pie 2000 is set to take place on 12thAugust. This is a date to keep free for thechildren's party and other activitiesorganised by the Band and other groups.

The next Millenium meeting is on Thursday27th May 1999 at 8.15 pm in the Churchrooms. How about some other ideas? Pleasecome along andtell usabout them!.

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RATBY YOUTH ACTION GROUP

Ratby Youth Action Group (R.Y.A.) was setup to help investigate the needs of youngpeople in Ratby and act as a link between thecommunity and those with an interest inyoung people, and young people themselves.An initial survey established the need for ayouth club, which the group set up with thehelp of the Ratby Detached Youth Workers.This ran for over a year, meeting first in theWorking Men's Club, then in the Churchrooms. For various reasons the club wasdiscontinued and interest in the R.Y A hasdwindled.

At the Annual General Meeting in March1999 I outlined the current situation and saidthat due to other commitments I would notbe in a position to do more tham keep R.Y.R.

ticking over.So the challenge is there. If you have thetime and enthusiasm to give the group a newlease of life, I would be delighted to hearfrom you.

Andrew SimmondsChairman.

I can be contacted on 239 2845

QUALIFIED VISITING CKiROPOWST

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MAIN STREET RATBY

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Burroughs Road Recreation Ground (The Recy)Plans for replacement of the existing playequipment and installation of new toddler playequipment have been finalised in consultation withthe Planning and Environmental HealthDepartments at the Borough Council. Beforearriving at the above stage we spoke to residents onStamford Street whose property backs up to therecreation ground and based on the feedback wereceived it was decided to move the toddler playarea further down the field.

Proposed Millennium PhotographicProjectThe Parish Council have been granted funding fromthe Borough Council. We will be contactingeveryone who expressed an interest in helping withthe project in order arrange a workshop to get thisproject under way.

Parish Council Election

You will be seeing notices regarding the Election ofCouncillors for Ratby Parish and Parish Ward.Nine (9) Councillors are to be elected for Ratby.Nomination papers are available from the BoroughCouncil and must be returned not later than Noonon Thursday 8th April 1999. If the election iscontested, the poll will take place on Thursday, 6thMay 1999.

Leylandii or Similar Conifer Trees/HedgingA lot of the trees and hedges in the village arematuring and looking aroimd the village it isobvious that some of them must be blocking thelight and sun from the neighbouring garden. Itwould be nice if those people whose hedges areabove 6'would goto their neighbour ona sunny dayand see how shaded their garden is.

Ifyou are thinking ofplanting a hedge this Spring itis worth talking to an expert at the garden centreabout more suitable alternatives. It will give youless work in the long run as the Leylandii can growto 75' if left unpruned and can grow to considerablewidth thustaking up valuable space in the garden..

H&BBC Local Plan - Development atFerndale Drive / Markfield Road

The two sites which affect Ratby are an extension tothe existing land designated for building offFemdale Drive and land bordering Kirby GrangeFarm (95 houses) and Markfield Road opposite thesunshine houses (75 houses).

At the Borough Council Planning Committeemeeting the officers recommended one of thesesites be allocated for development - Femdale Drive.The Chairman of the Committee then moved bothsites be included in the plan for development andourrepresentative. Councillor Betmett, with supportreduced this to just one site - Markfield Road -which was subsequently endorsed at the fullBorough Council meeting. This is in spite of apetition signed by 650 people ofRatby opposing thedevelopment on Markfield Road. If thisdevelopment takes place it will open the door to afurther2,500houses to the Westof Ratby.

The Borough Council's recommendations are in linewith the those of the Local Plan Inquiry Inspectorwho recommended the inclusion of Markfield Roadfor development and the deletion of the FemdaleDrive site from the Local Plan. The Parish Councilis opposed to both developments but it recognisesthat it is very likely that at least one of them will goahead.

The Markfield Road site was not included in theoriginal Draft Plan and the decision ofthe BoroughCouncil will now be the subjectof a six weekpublic consultation. This will allow Ratby residentsto put forward representations both for and againstboth of these proposals. The consultation periodwillcommence in April andyoushould make yourviews known, in writing, to eitherthe BoroughCouncil or the Parish Council

4^INSPECTORS RECOMMENDATIONPROPOSED INCLUSION

MARKFIELD ROAD

rr,f,iiirr

Mart mstraw Hood

landvvestofmiHri Maje-.ly R Sl.^liono^Crown Copyiiglil insnrvnd. •

— '

Based upon the Ordnance Survey mapv/ith the permission of Hie Conlroticr ofHer Majesty's Stationery OfficeCrov/n Copyrigiit reserved

INSPECTORS RECOMMENDATIONPROPOSED DELETION

iRatbp Mlage ^ocietp

CHARMING WORMS

TRIBAL CUSTOMS AND A

LOCAL RITUAL

Fred Harding's versatility is remarkable. Hehas a repertoire of over fifty illustrated talks,covering most of these islands and placesabroad, and while shunning the use of notesdelivers them in a forthright yet humorousstyle.His January offering, 'English TribalCustoms' ranged far and wide across thecountry and through a whole gamut ofactivities, some of which border on thebizarre!

Morris Dancing, Hare Pie scrambling.Beating the Bounds and Bottle Kicking paleinto insignificance when compared withStilton Cheese Rolling, Worm Charming,carrying burning barrels of tar on theshoulders into the pub on bonfire night andother hazardous pursuits.The object of the majority of rituals is tocelebrate a season or festival, many of thembeing performed at special times such asChristmas, Easter, Whit, mid-summer,harvest and the solstices.

Drink, be it beer or wine seems to play aprominent role in many of these customs,either before or after the event. There also

happened to be kissing involved in several ofthe rites! Two very sound excuses to mostmales one would think!.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGFebruary sees the traditional ritual of theAnnual General Meeting, which for thosewho attend is nothing of an ordeal as mightbe supposed.Another very successful year had passed andfinances still not teetering on the brink ofruin. The predictable election of Officersresulted in Jack Haywood being re-elected asChairman, Hoz Gamble as Hon. Secretary,and Bett}' Hulme as Hon. Treasurer. It was

heartening to receive some new nominationsfor the Committee vacancies, with Mrs AnnDay and Mr David Willis being elected. MrsJoyce Haywood, who had been co-opted bythe Committee last spring for one term, waseligible to stand for nomination and was dulyelected.

At the conclusion of the formal business the

Chairman was presented with a mini birthdaycake to mark another anniversary of hisarrival in this world. Thereafter followed the

usual splendid buffet supper enjoyed by athrong of over forty members to theaccompaniment of much animated chatterand good humour. The Society is now set tosail towards the Millenium with confidence.

The next two items on the programme willbe on Tuesday 20th April, when Mr DerekSeaton is to show slides of 'The Splendoursof Victorian London', and on Tuesday 18thMay when 'local yokel' Dennis Green is dueto continue his fascinating 'Tales of RatbyVillage in the Thirties'.

On these two dates the Welfare Hall is the

place to be seen.

JULIE'SHAIRDRESSING

MAIN STREET, RATBY

Traditional & Modern

Styling

Telephone: 2392406

VILLAGE VICARAGE

The vicarage stands cold and lonely now,so lately full of warmthand love.

A splendid tum-of-century housebuilt in a far more elegant age,set in tree-decked groundswith grassy tennis court-so long disused-made for a verdant lawn

on which the garden fete was held-or theatre in the open airwhen jazz was played on a summer eve.But yet inside-in latter years-

j tasteful furnishings and framed print wallssat easy with such fine decor.A welcome, homely feelas soon as one stepped in the hall,for it was 'open house' to allthough more than that for those happy fewclose to the incumbent and his charming

I wife.I But now they're gone-their term of dutyI spent-I to leisure days in pastures newI while left behindI ahollow shellI awaitingII Hoz February 1999

lioT

1

Ratby

Post Office

On-line Lottery

Scratchcards

Newspapers

Magazines

Greeting Cards

Post Cards

Wrapping Paper

CD's, Records

& Cassettes

Gift Bags & Tags

Stationery

Photocopying

Toys

Tights

Sweets

Chocolates

Crisps

Soft Drinks

Cigarettes

Tobacco

Batteries

Dry Cleaning

Shoe Repairs

Pools Collection

And we also

sell Stamps!

YOUR

ONE-STOP-SHOP

Main Street Ratby

1st Ratby St Philips & St JamesGuides needs you!

Do you enjoy working with girlsaged 10-14 years?

Are you free on Thursday evenings6.30 -8.00 pm? (term time only)

The current Guider and her assistant are

leaving the unit at the end of June 1999,leaving 24 Guides without any leadership. Inorder to keep the unit running we need twoadults to come forward as replacements assoon as possible.

Enthusiasm!

No previous experience is necessary,(training is provided) just heaps ofenthusiasm and an awareness of what girlsreally want out of Guiding today!If you are interested please contact JuliaKowal on 0116 239 4663.

RATBY LIBRARY CLUB

Come and join us from Tuesday 13th April,2.00pm - 3.30 pm.Share stories and rhymes, make lots ofcreative goodies and have fun too!If you're 3.5 years - 4 years old Caroline andAnn wish to welcome you to our weeklysessions. Call into the library for more.information or telephone;Caroline on 239 5472

Ann on 239 5123.

h. coleyPlumbing & Heating Repairs,

New Installations, Bathrooms, Showers,

For a full range ofservices contact:

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POLICE CONSULTATIVE

GROUP

The Annual General Meeting of theBraunstone Area Police/CommunityConsultative Group will take place at 7.00pm on Monday 19th April at The CivicCentre, Kingsway, Braunstone.

Members of the public are invited to comealong and discuss issues concerning thepolicing of their area with senior officers.These include matters relating to traffic,local crime. Neighbourhood Watch andcrime prevention.Individual cases cannot be discussed at the

meeting, but can be addressed to InspectorSteve Hastings at Braunstone Poliee Station.Anyone wishing to have an item put on theagenda can contact;-

Mrs Kath Wallace, Chairperson, 0116 2916692

Inspector Steve Hastings 0116 2483414 ^ ^

CASTLE

OPTICIANSHaving to travel to Leicester

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Having to drag the children intotown after school?

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Budget to designer framesto suit all price ranges

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0116 2394288

GYPSY CREAMS

Ingredients

125g (4oz) self raising flour55g (2oz) rolled oats55g (2oz) lard55g (2oz) margarine55g (2oz) caster sugar1 tablespoon cocoa2 teaspoons golden syrup dissolved in onetablespoon of hot water

Filling

55g (2oz) icing sugar25g (loz) butter1 tablespoon of cocoa mixed in a smallamount of hot water

Few drops of vanilla.

Method

1 Cream fats and sugar, then mix inremaining ingredients2 Roll into balls about size of a large eherry3 Place on a greased baking tray and flattenwith a damp fork4 Bake for about 20 minutes at Gas 4, 180Cor 350F

5 Mix the filling, cream butter until soft.6 Gradually beat in sieved icing sugar, cocoaand vanilla.

7 Sandwich two cold biscuits with cold

filling.8 Dust lightly with icing sugar and enjoy!

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Telephone: 23861493 Barton Close, Ratby