melbourne village voice february 2010

Village VoiceMelbourne & District

� www.melbournevillagevoice.co.uk � News: 01332 863535 � Advertising: 01332 701300 � Price where sold: 25p

No 207 February 2010

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Kaleigh’saward – Page 6

Ton up forEdna – Page 9

Look what’scooking – 5

Sunday best –Pages 18-19

MORE than 150 people braved thefreezing weather to attend the pub-lic meeting to discuss the futureplans for a takeover of the parishcouncil-run Melbourne Leisure Cen-tre.What they came to hear was all about the company

which would like to take over the day to day manage-ment of the centre.There was a lively discussion, plenty of comment, and

plenty of questions from the people present, in a goodtempered meeting run very efficiently by Nigel Collyer,the chair of the Parish Council’s Leisure Centre commit-tee."We had a divided council, so we thought it would be a

good idea to hold a meeting to ask the people of Mel-bourne what they thought,” was how Councillor Collyer

explained the reasons for calling the meeting. Philip Dobby was the lead spokesman for the four

members of what would become Melbourne CommunityCentre Ltd, a not-for-profit limited company. The other members of the presentation team were

Blase Lambert, John Robinson and Philip Heath. A fifthmember of the new company to be formed, Brian Dol-lamore, was away.

The group explained that the company would seek atransfer of the lease. User fees would remain un-changed, but they said that "asset was not being usedwell or efficiently". The building would be vigorouslymarketed, and it was stated that the object would be tohave a modernised facility, "inviting, welcoming and re-sponsive" to the public.

Many local facilities – village halls and communitycentres throughout the country – are run on a similarbasis to that being proposed.

The group stated that the response to the Parish Plan

had shown a strong view within the community that im-proved facilities and the creation of a performing artscentre was important. There was a possibility that grants could be made

available, but the remainder of the lease could be usedto investigate and plan what could be done, to make thecentre fit for purpose. Not everyone welcomed the proposals being made.

One speaker said that "nothing being proposed could notbe done by an active leisure committee of the parishcouncil".Cliff Crawford, a parish councillor, was unhappy that

a public asset could be passed over to a private body, andhe doubted the validity of the claim made by thetakeover group that what was being suggested was whata sizeable majority of Melbourne residents wanted.

Since the meeting, a petition has been raised, de-manding that the leisure centre be kept in the hands ofthe parish council.

Continued on Page 2

LEISURE CENTRETAKEOVER PLAN

MUM’S the word when itcomes to providing the back-room support for MelbourneRugby Club.These three ladies let the

boys and girls of the club’sjunior and minis section geton with their training ses-sions while they put theirtalents to use in the kitchen.So when the youngsters

were finished with their ex-ertions there was plenty ofhot and filling refreshmentsat the ready.Lesley Butler, Heather Low-son and Sarah Cartwrightare pictured dishing up thegrub.

Scrum-ptious

time at the

rugby club

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THE Athenaeum Internet Café has re-opened

with the introduction of a year seven night,

which takes place every Wednesday 7-9.30pm,

with the slogan “The Athenaeum, where it’s app-

ening!” picking up on i-phone jargon! “It was great to see some familiar faces who have now made the

transition from juniors and settled into secondary school,” said ZoeDean, Café Manager.“The Midweek Club for year six students (Wednesdays 4-6pm)

also re-opened and, despite the cold icy weather, a good numberturned up."Nicky Rennocks is a new volunteer at the Athenaeum, helping out

once a month on Wednesdays from 4pm – 6pm. “Mainly, I serve inthe café – making anything from ice-cream sundaes to burger andchips! The café gets quite busy and so the time passes quickly.

"I must admit that I had no real idea about what happened at theAthenaeum but I was pleasantly surprised; it’s a great place. It’s asafe, relaxed and controlled environment where young people cango, play pool, watch television, use the computers, relax on sofasand chat and even have their tea!”Nikki became involved almost accidentally. “At the bottom of my

son’s membership form was a request for helpers so I just ticked thebox and as they say, ‘the rest is history. At first I had no idea whatI was letting myself in for but now I’m so glad that I ticked thatbox.”

Melbourne is lucky to have somewhere like the Athenaeum, tak-ing an interest in young people but it does cost money to run andthere is always a need for volunteers. If you are interested andwould like to know more about helping during the Wednesday af-ternoon session (4-6pm) or any of the other nights, please contactZoe Dean on 07874 684150.

Youngsters’ cafe opensits door once again

KATE DUMELOW, past Presi-dent of the Rotary Club ofMelbourne, completed a 102-mile sponsored walk from StIves to Falmouth on the Cor-nish coastal path, in supportof the Derbyshire Children’sHoliday Centre at Skegness,raising a total of £1,350.The President of the Holi-

day Centre, Bill Tomlinson,was a guest at the RotaryClub’s Christmas dinner to re-ceive the cheque from Kate,and was doubly rewardedwith a further donation of£650 from the Rotary Club,making £2,000 in all.Mr Tomlinson spoke of the

origins of the Holiday Centre,over 100 years ago, when itcatered for the deprived chil-dren of Derby. It now pro-vides around 450 holidays ayear for children from Der-byshire, many of them victimsof maltreatment or abuse. The centre relies almost en-

tirely on voluntary donations,and Mr Tomlinson expressedhis gratitude for this signifi-cant contribution.

Kate’s trek cash is handed over

� Kate Dumelow, past president of the Rotary Club of Melbourne, is pictured with the President of the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre, Bill Tomlinson, and SimonLeech, current president of the Rotary Club.

DAVID Calvert, the 2009president of the MelbourneProbus Club, will continuein office for another year. Hewas re-elected at the Janu-ary AGM of the club.

Also at the AGM, RichardHeath agreed to take on therole of secretary, succeedingthe long-serving secretaryWalter Iles.

President to

carry onLeisure centre takeover ideaFrom Page 1Certainly some residents, with

a strong emotional attachmentto the old school, now used as aleisure centre, were very un-happy that the centre had been

described as "unloved", in a re-port in a Derby newspaper.The whole future of leisure fa-

cilities, including sports provi-sion in Melbourne, is beinganalysed by a consultancy at the

moment. This consultative proj-ect is wholly financed by theSouth Derbyshire DistrictCouncil, at a cost of £70,000 andit seems unlikely that any deci-sions about the future of theMelbourne leisure facilities –in-door and outdoors – will bemade until the full recommen-dations have been received andmulled over by both the parishand the district councils.Melbourne Community Cen-

tre Ltd will no doubt be involvedin any consultations about thefuture, as, so far, it is the onlygroup to have put forward firmproposals about the manage-ment of the leisure facilities inthe town.

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Village Voice February 2010 3

MELBOURNE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION

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Annual memberships have been reduced by 20% and are £11 per year, with cheap drinks including Marstons Pedigree at £2.30 a pint. Free cabaret, snooker table, darts & dominoes teams, sports on the big screen & a great social atmosphere.WHY NOT JOIN AT LESS THAN A £1 PER MONTH? A REAL NO-BRAINER.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGTuesday 2nd March, 2010 - 7.30pmThe agenda and nominations list for the committee and o!cers is on display at the Club. Any additional agenda items must be forwarded to the Secretary on or before Tuesday February 23rd to the RBLI Branch Club, 87 Derby Road, Melbourne. Only fully paid up members are entitled to attend.

TRIBUTE NIGHTFriday March 5th 7.30pmThe All Stars multi talented tribute to

the Music Stars of Yesterday and Today.“The Stars Are Coming Out”

Get your tickets to avoid disappointment - £6

Easter Saturday 3rd April - 7.30pmFollowing on from the sold out, standing room only Grand Cabaret Night in 2009, the Legion

are proud to host another fund-raising evening in aid of Help for Heroes.

With a great four piece band “Replay” playing the sounds of the 60’s to the present day.

“Bound to be another sell-out” Ticketsavailable now, get them while you can.

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Watch out for details of the World Cup, all England matches will be shown live.

England’s opener is on Saturday 12 June

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“MAKE MEBELIEVE”

MELBOURNE Carnival is back

on the road with the theme for

the 2010 event being Transport.Carnival Secretary Rose Boston said: “It

may not sound the most exciting theme inthe world but there are a whole load of as-sociated topics within the theme. Trains,boats, planes, railways, bicycles, trucks,tractors, roller skates and fire engines . . .the list is almost endless."Then you have films where vehicles play

a big part such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,Summer Holiday and Herbie; televisionshows that include Knight Ryder and Taxi."Some film and television characters have

cars that are almost the star of the show:Scoobie Dooh’s VW transporter, the Batmo-bile, the Ghostbusters Ecto 1 and the Dukesof Hazzard’s General Lee. I think that thetheme will give the carnival a real boost andgive float organisers a great subject to workwith.”

Some good news for the carnival camefrom the East Midlands Airport, who haveagreed to sponsor this year's extravaganza.Anna Thomson, Community Relations Man-ager at the East Midlands Airport, said: "AtEast Midlands Airport we are committed tosupporting the local community. Localevents such as the Melbourne Carnival area great opportunity for the whole commu-nity to come together and it is a pleasure tooffer support to help make this happen." Carnival Chairman Andy Heafield added:

“When we revived the carnival last yearafter a one-year absence, East Midlands Air-port supported us financially and I am verypleased that they have decided to do soagain this year in what are very trying fi-nancial times for their industry."I believe that their support is a testa-

ment to the committee, volunteers, groupsand carnival supporters who all worked tire-lessly to ensure the successful staging of lastyear’s event and, of course, the public of

Melbourne who turned up in their thou-sands.” Terry Statham who did such a fantastic job

in organising the 2009 procession, is stand-ing down and taking over will be SheilaHicklin. Despite only being in the job for ashort time Sheila has already booked one ofthe Midlands' top marching bands to leadthe procession and perform on the carnivalsite. She and her team are looking forwardto some great floats and procession entries.Anyone wanting details of the processioncan contact her on 01332 865726.This year’s Carnival is taking place on Sat-

urday, July 10, at the school playing fieldsin Packhorse Road. The organisers are still planning exact de-

tails of this year’s event but are looking forany local musical groups or acts to performon the main stage. Anyone interested should contact Andy

Heafield on 01332 865422 or mail their de-tails to [email protected]

Transport is theme forthis year’s Carnival

ASTON on Trent residents discuss with Charles Hansonthe value and pedigree of a WW1 trumpet at a valuationevening held in the Memorial Hall. Over 30 items werepresented to the renowned auctioneer and valuer for hisexpert opinion.

DERBYSHIRE County Council’s cabinet has approved a £4.8 millionboost for more than 80 schemes to improve roads and transportacross the county. Projects given the green-light include: Re-surfacing roads and

pavements, improving road safety, measures to encourage people towalk and cycle, and improving bus stops.The decision means that initial work can now go ahead with fund-

ing for more schemes to be announced later in the year.Councillor Chris Jackson, Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet

Member for Highways and Transport, said: “Improving Derbyshire’sroads is at the top of our agenda. The quicker we can lay the foun-dations for these projects, the quicker we can get out there and startimproving our roads – and that includes rural areas.”

£4.8m for the county roads


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COUNTRY

LIVINGwith Robert Parker

JANUARY is traditionally a time that farminglooks in upon itself and holds several confer-ences – the most famous of which is "The Ox-ford Farming Conference", which has beengoing for more than 60 years.The "great" and the "good" (and some not so

great and good) head to Oxford to pontificateabout agricultures past and, more importantly,its future.Quite often the Minister of Agriculture – now

called Defra Secretary – speaks, and this yearthe present incumbent, Hilary Benn, held forth.He announced a new strategy called FOOD

2030, calling for farmers to produce more foodwhile impacting less on the environment. Healso said we needed a new culture of profession-alism in agriculture for those taking the respon-sibility of food production.I was slightly amused to read in one of our

farming newspapers, a couple of weeks later,someone questioning Mr Benn’s qualificationsfor being in the "top" position in food productionand the environment.Having a degree in Russian and East Euro-

pean studies, working for a union and beingdeputy leader for a London borough council donot really set you up to know about agricultureand the countryside.I suppose this only goes to prove that the civil

servants actually run the Government depart-ments and, therefore, the country.

Mr Benn’s other plea, wanting us to producemore, also got me thinking. Every farmer knows what’s happened in the

past when we produce more than is needed –the price per unit drops, so we are worse off. Agood example of the reverse of this at the mo-ment is beef, lamb and pork, which is enjoyingsome fairly good prices simply because it is inshort supply and it’s not that economic to im-port it from abroad.Why should any sensible businessman want

to change this?� The media is a very powerful communicatorand to my mind sometimes a little too power-ful.If like me when you visit the dentist you usu-ally pick up a magazine while you are waiting.And the last time I was left really seething. Thelarge supermarkets put out magazines eachmonth and on reading the letters section of onethere was a letter about foraging for wild food.The author stated that gathering food fromhedgerows was becoming more difficult becausehedges were being destroyed by "intensivefarming".What planet does this person reside on? Hardlyany hedges are now destroyed – only thosewhich are in the way of roads and houses. Milesof new hedges are planted each year funded bytaxes taken from farmers. These are the real facts.

WESTON upon Trent Village Hall’s manage-ment committee held a Winter Warmer cof-fee morning to celebrate the installation andsuccessful commissioning of a new centralheating system in the village hall.The system was funded in part through

local efforts and through a grant £10,000from Awards for England, The Big LotteryFund. The coffee morning was held in beautiful

warm surroundings and visitors donated£92 which has been sent to the Haiti Earth-quake Appeal.Pictured at the coffee morning are mem-

bers of the management committee (l to r)Jayne Williamson, Daryl Dawson, VanessaHurt, Ian Chamberlain, Chris Scott andNikki Goddard.

SOUTH Derbyshire District Council has decidedto raise council tenant rents by an average of justover 2%.Average rents will go up from the current £59.99

per week, to £61.22, from April .

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DAVID BELLISreports from the

February meetingof MelbourneParish Council

THE Friends of the ParishChurch will be holding aGeneral Election Hus-tings at the church onThursday, February 25, at7.30pm.Each candidate will be

invited to deliver a briefpitch on their policies andon their general outlook.The candidates are

Heather Wheeler (Conser-vative), Alexis Diouf (Lib-eral Democrat) andMichael Edwards(Labour).There will be plenty of

time allowed for ques-tions from the floor.

ELECTION

HUSTINGS

TAX always gets councils

going, and at February's

parish meeting, the council-

lors finally fixed the parish

precept for 2010/2011 – but

only after a stern warning

from the locum clerk, Jacqui

Storer.Mrs Storer told the council that, having

consulted at length with the now conva-lescent Parish Clerk, Norman Hill, itwould be prudent to raise the parish rateby £3000. She said that, due to a varietyof circumstances, there were no reservesto fall back on and, therefore, an increasewas necessary.Veteran Councillor Henry Dunnicliff

was not having any of that. He wanted azero increase, and one councillor pro-posed that the precept should go up 1.5per cent, although Mrs Storer's proposaladded up to an apparently huge 17.2%.Mrs Storer further warned the council

of the consequences of setting a ratebelow what was required and emphasised

that the Audit Commission took a verydim view of councils who did not raise arealistic rate. So, in the end, the councilvoted in the increase. Cllr Dunnicliffproved a hardliner and did not appear toagree.To put it into perspective, the rate rise

means the average householder will payabout £1.50 more next year. Melbourneraises an extremely low precept – one ofthe lowest in South Derbyshire.The rise in the local precept, by an ap-

parently whopping 17.2%, contrastedwith the rates for both the district andthe county, where the increase is likely tobe pegged to 1.5%.District Councillor Jim Hewlett was

aglow, announcing the thrift of countyand district, in recognising the mountingconcerns of many residents in these crisistimes, "with the lowest rise in CouncilTax for many years".� PCSO Emma Guest gave a comprehen-sive report on crime in the area. Crime isdown 12% in 2009 compared to 2008,which is heartening. Even in the anti-so-cial behaviour sector there was a drop of

about 10%. She emphasised that "Mel-bourne had had a peaceful Christmas onthe crime front". She did, however, admitthat there had been "very few" convic-tions.� Chairman David Smith expressed thefrustration of the councillors for the fail-ure of the police to get compensation fromthe alleged perpetrators who had dam-aged the pavilion railings.The police were now suggesting a pri-

vate civil action to get compensation butwere unable to help with details of theirown investigations.� The leisure centre public meeting had"gone well", and the parish council wouldmake a final decision at a closed meetingon Monday, February 8. A petition waspresented to the council, signed by 228residents, objecting to the leisure centrebeing passed over to another body.� The district council sponsored inde-pendent review of leisure and sporting fa-cilities in the town was well in hand – butthe final recommendations would not beavailable for council and public consulta-

tion until the end of February.There were two residents – Mike

Starkie and Rose Boston – who put theirnames forward to fill a vacancy on theparish council. After a quick secret ballot,taken after the letters from the candi-dates had been read out, Rose Boston waselected.

She is 30 years of age, has lived 10years in the town, and has just agreed tocontinue as secretary of the MelbourneCarnival for a second year.� There will be a police surgery in Mel-bourne on March 9, from 5 to 7pm, in theleisure centre.� The Local Development Plan, based onthe various offers of land made bylandowners for development, will comefor a formal consultation, through a se-ries of district council public exhibitions,in several venues over the next fewweeks.The Melbourne consultation exercise

will be from 2pm to 7pm on Tuesday, Feb-ruary 23, in the leisure centre.

Taxing time as theprecept is finally

fixed for Melbourne

NEW to Melbourne ParishCouncil is Rose Boston, whowas chosen by councilmembers in a secret ballotat the February meeting.Rose is 30 and has lived inMelbourne for 10 years.

MELBOURNE CharityBrass Band raised £5,300for Cancer Research in thetwo weeks before Christ-mas. The band is made up of

players from differentbands in the area and playsfor charity and enjoyment. To raise the money, the

band played at local restau-rants, hotels, hostelries,parties with their final per-formance taking on themorning of Christmas Evein Melbourne Market Place.

£5,300

from

concerts


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KAYLEIGH-Jane Simmonds of Melbourne has been presented with a special Young Achiev-ers Award by Derbyshire County Council. Kayleigh is very helpful and caring both at school and at home. From starting school,

Kayleigh has received many certificates from her teachers at both Melbourne Infant andJunior schools, which recognise the contribution she has made in class.Kayleigh was one of 70 young people selected to receive the award from 2,000 nomina-

tions. Kayleigh’s mummy nominated her for the award for being a caring, attentive and helpful

girl especially in an emergency, and would like her to know how proud she is and to saythank you for being a brave and caring little girl. Kayleigh-Jane Simmonds is pictured with Robin Baldry, Chairman Derbyshire County

Council, and Gareth Jones, children’s TV presenter, at the awards event at Matlock.

Special award for caring Kayleigh

DO you have an interest in Australian and tribal musical instru-ments? Melbourne resident Matthew Buckley does. He plays theDidgeredoo and he's trying to locate others with similar interests tomeet and discuss, share hints and tips and perhaps play together.Matt can be contacted on 07951608259 or at [email protected]

Does Oz music turn you on?

MELBOURNE Civic Societymembers enjoyed a light-hearted evening when photogra-pher Peter Clough challengedhis audience to identify somemystery views of Melbourne.To their surprise, sharp-eyed

winners were even rewardedwith prizes.Peter also gave an interesting

account of the work involved inproducing the 2010 calendar toraise money for cancer carecalled "clean up for cancer".

The next meeting of Mel-bourne Civic Society will be heldon Monday, February 22, at7.30pm in The Leisure Centrewhen the work of The MagicAttic, based at Sharpe's Potteryin Swadlincote, will be high-lighted.

Peter’smystery

snaps

On trail ofwildlife

FINDERN Footpaths Groupand Derbyshire CountrysideService have organised a trailof fun wildlife activities onFindern village green to be heldover half term.Those attending will also be

invited to join in and make abird box or a feeder to takehome. All materials are pro-vided but there may be a smallcharge for some items. All chil-dren must be accompanied. The event will be held on

Wednesday February 17, be-tween 1-3pm.


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THE Melbourne branch ofJog Derbyshire has got off toa good start with numbersnow standing at 12, an in-crease on the first weekturn-out.

Jog leader MartinStephens said: “I’m very en-couraged with the responseand I look forward to seeingmore join us in the comingweeks."

The group is pictured dur-ing their cooling down ses-sion at the MelbourneLeisure Centre.

AMONGST the cards and well-wish-

ers for Melbourne resident Frank

Heafield’s recent 90th birthday was

a phone call from Melbourne Town

Cricket Club telling him that in

recognition of him being their old-

est surviving cricketer he was

being made a vice-president of the

club. Frank joked that he wouldn’t mind the odd game

this season but he would have to keep wicketwhen fielding and they would have to find him arunner when batting - son Rodney, a comparativeyoungster in his early 60s sensibly declined tooffer his services as the runner.

Brought up within a large family in Ticknall hewas christened Frank. However, in those days forease of recognition, boys in large families tendedto have nicknames that derived from either theiroccupation or disposition. Having been given thenickname of Satan, Frank always tells you todraw your own conclusions when asking why?

Other male family members were Blinker Bates(Fred), Chiddy (Bill) and Skinner (Jim, a butcherby trade).

Although he had played for local rivals Ticknall

as a very raw teenager on the days when the teamwas short of players, it was as a young man thathe played cricket for Melbourne and was a part ofthe team that saw cricket return to the recreationground in the early 1950s after the sports pitcheshad closed during World War II.

During those days, it was common practice forthe club to host a Derbyshire cricketer’s testimo-nial game and for crowds of over 1,000 to flock tothe Melbourne ground to pay tribute to the countycricketing stars of the day.

Former Derbyshire and England medium pacerCliff Gladwin, who took more than 1,600 wicketsfor the county, was one such recipient.

Frank recalls that in those days a score off thebat at Melbourne was either one, a four or six asthe grass was not the finely cut surface it is nowand runs then were hard to come by.

To prove the point, many cricket club pavilionshave a century board to honour batsmen whoreach a score of 100. In Frank’s days Melbournehad a board celebrating batsmen reaching 50 andhe is proud to have been on that honours board.

He is still in good health, dining regularly at theWelcome Cafe in the Market Place and, with hisown personal century only a six and four away, islooking forward to being a spectator at some ofMelbourne’s matches this season and beyond.

Frank celebrates being 90 not out

Frank Heafield(above) and (frontrow, far right) in thecricket team.

FOR the 63rd consecutive year agroup of carol singers braved thesnow showers on Christmas Eveto sing in various locations andat private homes around Mel-bourne and collected £750 forthe National Children’s Home.

Carols boost


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CHILDREN at Melbourne Junior School re-turned to the 1940s during a World War IIday. The event provided the opportunity forthe children to experience some aspects ofeveryday life as part of their history studies.The day began with a costume parade as

the children arrived dressed in costumesfrom the period. These included evacuees,land girls and soldiers. Every child thenmade a national identity card.This was followed by a programme of ac-

tivities, each focusing on a different aspectof life during WWII.The children made large collages depicting

images from The Blitz and sang songs fromthe era, ‘The White Ciffs of Dover’ and‘ We’ll

Meet Again’, to name a few.They took part in a 'make do and mend'

activity, reusing yoghurt pots and scraps offood to make bird feeders. The children alsoplayed the game 'beetle' and participated ina quiz, matching slogans to common propa-ganda posters such as 'Dig for Victory'.One of the most popular activities involved

building a mock Anderson shelter followedby role play based around an air raid."I really enjoyed the day," said Katie from

Cedar Class. "My favourite activity wasbuilding the Anderson shelter. We had towork as a team."The Year 4 teachers were pleased with the

children's response to the day. "It was a

valuable experience and we feel that thechildren benefited greatly from the day,"Mrs Cornfield said. The day was followed by a special visit

from local historian Richard Heath, who wasa child in Melbourne during the war. Heshowed the children a range of artefactsfrom the period. These included a MickeyMouse gas mask and a number of photo-graphs depicting Melbourne duringwartime.This article was written by MJS Year 4

children during their Literacy lessons wherethey have been learning about the languageof Newspapers and is reproduced with per-mission from the MJS Times Issue 4.

Pupils relive World War II days

THE Ashby Art Club annual exhibition will be held at Easter in Tick-nall Village Hall, from Saturday, April 3, through to Monday, April 6,10am-5pm each day. Admission is 50p with refreshments available.A donation will be made to The British Heart Foundation. More in-

formation can be obtained on 01332 812562.

Art club’s annual exhibition

THERE is a full programme of activities lined up for Aston on Trentresidents during the coming weeks, although sadly two activities willclash with each other.On Friday, February 27, there will be a Promise Auction organised

by the Aston Well Dressing Group, taking place at the White Hartat 7.30pm.Not far away at All Saints Church there will be a 'Celebration of

Youth' Concert starting at the same time.On Sunday, March 1, the 'Focus on Scouting' event organised by

the107th Scout Group will take place at the Memorial Hall HQ dur-ing the afternoon.

Busy time ahead in Aston Energy road show in townFREE energy-saving products will be on offer during a special roadshow being held in South Derbyshire.Staff from South Derbyshire District Council and the Marches En-

ergy Agency will be holding an advice day in Budgen’s car park, inDerby Road, Melbourne, on Thursday, February 11.Staff will be on hand to offer energy saving advice, grants infor-

mation and home energy surveys. Free energy saving goods such aslight bulbs, and PC and TV power downs, will also be available. The team will be situated at the car park between 10am and 4pm.

Further information is available by telephoning Anita Hughes on01283 595974.


EDNA Ashfield fromThulston has justcelebrated her 100thbirthday and is pic-tured with familymembers whojoined together tomark the occasion. Front row, l to r:

Hannah Marchant(great granddaugh-ter), Stephen Rob-bins (son-in-law),Edna Ashfield,Evadne Robbins(daughter), PhilippaMarchant (grand-daughter).Back row l to r:

Quentin Robbins(grandson), KarenRobbins (Quentin’swife), ChristopherMarchant (husbandof PhilippaMarchant).

Ton-up for

Edna

THE New Perspectives Theatre Company, sup-ported by Arts Melbourne, will be performing'The Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines'at Ticknall Village Hall on Thursday, February25. The production is part of an initiative to bring

quality theatre to small rural venues. Comedy writing duo Brian Mitchell and

Joseph Nixon have penned this classic tale ofplucky British pioneers – Captain John Alcock,dashing WW1 fighter pilot, and LieutenantArthur Whitten Brown, navigational geniuswith a gammy leg, huddled together against theelements in the tiny timber and canvas cockpitof their converted Vickers Vimy biplane. All the roles are performed by two actors and

rumour has it that the stage set is very innova-

tive.For more information and tickets Contact

Jane Brown 0794 1626452 or [email protected]� THE Secretary of Derby Natural History So-ciety has compiled a quiz sheet to raise funds tohelp Derbyshire Mammal Group publish anAtlas of Derbyshire Mammals.It features general knowledge questions, puz-zles and clues linked by a theme of house andhome, though the questions relate to sport,music, TV, literature etc. There are monetaryprizes to be won. The closing date is April 20. To obtain a copy send s.a.e and cheque for £1payable to Derbyshire Mammal Group Quiz to12 Chertsey Road, Mickleover, Derby, DE3 0RA.

Magnificent men take to the stage

THE failure of the Donington

dream to bring Formula One rac-

ing to the East Midlands is a huge

blow – not only to the venture's

suppliers but to a host of busi-

nesses who hoped to share in a bo-

nanza for the whole area.Hotels, guest houses, garages, pubs and shops

right across the region with hopes of good returnshad prepared for the promised bonanza, as100,000 race fans looked likely to spend freely.The true cost of the doomed venture is now be-

coming clear, as more than 300 suppliers countthe cost running to well over £4 million – with lit-tle hope of any return.The failure of the Donington venture, led by en-

trepreneur Simon Gillett, is blamed mainly on thecredit crunch, and the failure of a Dubai investorto come up with promised funds. Small suppliers - like Heath Pest Control, from

Waterhouses, Melbourne (down £276) and Mel-bourne's SP Photography (£150), had losses butthe Donington Track Racing will have to stand aloss of £293,000, and Carl Johnson Ltd, of Mel-bourne, who provided mowing services for thesite's 500 acres, is left with debts of over £78,000.

Castle Donington Parish Council is owed

£12,690, which may result in either a higherCouncil Tax or a reduction of services.

Leicestershire Constabulary lost just over£139,000; St John Ambulance is left with a debtof £83,000 and a Foremark firm, Fireworks Inter-national, is owed £5,700. Diseworth firm Mar-malade is down £815.

The failed business had paid its business rateup to March 2010. A specialist firm has been en-gaged by the administrators, Begbies TraynorGroup, to try to recoup £245,000.

The business was incorporated on November27, 2006, by Simon Gillett and three other share-holders. Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd (DVLL)was the master company, which owned 100% ofthe shares in Donington Park Leisure Ltd(DPLL).Donington Ventures was set up with four direc-

tors – Simon Gillett, Nicholas Schwartz and PaulWhite – with shareholding respectively of 40%,5% and 45%, and James Gallon, who had noshares.The company, which won a 17-year contract to

host Formula 1, went into administration last No-vember after failing to raise the funds to completerenovation of the track. Administrators had hoped that one of three

other interested parties might have taken overthe business but this was unsuccessful.

Counting thecost of the

Donington crash


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BORN at the end of 1935, I wasrising four when the SecondWorld War started, trudging tothe Infant School in ChurchStreet with my junior gas maskacross my shoulder when the warwas barely a year old.It was a strange introduction to the world,

and within a year or so my only recollection ofpre-war life was of bananas, sliced up in a bowlwith sugar and cream – a memory so deliciousthat the reality, when it came, could never quitelive up to it.Before my father bought it in 1934 Castle

Farm had been for many years the base of theKnowles family's hay and straw business, andfor this purpose had more buildings than wouldnormally pertain to a holding of a mere 20acres. This is the only reason I can think of forthe War Department making us the virtual hub

of their local defence arrangements.Thus our lower yard was filled with several

hundred tons of coal for the boilers of the ‘stock-ing factory' next door, the largest barn wasstacked with timber for Nixon Knowles andCompany, and the top pig sty was full of rolls ofbarbed wire.Later on the hay barn was filled with cross-

ing sleepers for the American troops practisingbridge building down at Kings Newton.Up in the corn loft were stored some pieces of

equipment for the Home Guard, of which my fa-ther was a less than distinguished privateunder the command of Major Carl Ward. Onesuch piece of equipment was a `Blacker Bom-barder' a tube with a spring at the bottom in-tended for hurling grenades at the enemy. Inthe absence of grenades it fired John Hair beerbottles, sometimes, according to dad, "almost asfar as a man could throw them".Such land as we had was also brought into

play – the stackyard ploughed up for potatoes,the two-acre meadow turned over to a localmarket gardener.The larger field, Sweetleys meadow, down by

the railway line stayed as grass but, beingdeemed large enough for an enemy landing, wewere obliged to scatter big tree trunks from theNixon Knowles' woodyard across it. Nor were we youngsters to be passive ob-

servers of all this. In my second year at schoolwe were instructed to bring in all the horsechestnuts and rose hips we could find for me-dicinal use. I did well with horse chestnuts, lug-ging a well filled sandbag to the school gates,but I failed with rose hips and felt vaguelyguilty on this score.At home my job was to fix in place all the

blackout shutters each night and take themdown in the morning. When the siren soundedwe all trooped down to the damp arched cellar,and sat there in bored silence until the `all

clear' sounded. But of course when war didcome to Melbourne none of us were in the shel-ters.At eight o'clock on that bright morning the

adults were in the yard looking up at the unfa-miliar plane, and I was in the kitchen eatingbread and marmalade. The bomb which killedthe soldiers billeted 50 yards away blew in allour windows and brought the ceiling down onmy head. By the time we reached the cellarthat Jerry was long gone. My younger brother,brought down from his cot upstairs, sleptthrough it all.Towards the end of the war, when Charles

was old enough to follow me about, one of ourgames was to see what we could make from thelong rolls of metal foil, on steel spools, whichcame to litter our fields.I have never inquired, but always imagined

they were practice drops for bombers seeking todeflect flak over German cities. And then came

the German soldiers themselves, as prisonerssent in as work parties to clear our brook. Somewere from the Black Forest and made me awooden toy of pecking hens; days were spentwatching them at work with their crowbars andhand winch and from them I learnt my first fewwords of German.Through these long years my father kept a

Daily Mail world map pinned to our kitchencupboard, with pins to mark the progress of ourtroops. One o'clock each day was sacrosanct forlistening to the news from the BBC. The warwas the news, though sometimes there wouldbe a short tailpiece that was not war related. As I grew to think about this I remember ask-

ing dad one day what the news consisted of inpeacetime. His answer was vague.I think he was beginning to forget himself,

but I came away with the impression thatpeacetime, apart from bananas, was a prettytepid sort of affair.

A personal reflection

of early childhood in

Melbourne

by JOHN BLUNT

Peacetime a tepid affair – apart from the bananas

ASTON Players have done it again! Their annualpanto, which takes place in Aston on Trent to raisemoney for local charities, is now in its 30th yearyet goes from strength to strength with the latestproduction of "Cinderella – not quite a panto" sell-ing out over virtually every one of the six perform-ances which took place in January.

After raising £3,500 last year, they are hopingto buck the credit crunch and present a healthy do-nation to this year's chosen charities, which areRainbows Children’s Hospice and Safe and Soundof Derby.

This joyous production offered a mixture of con-temporary and traditional panto ‘fayre’ with the

tale of Cinderella interwoven alongside the storyof a fictional amateur dramatics group which is en-deavouring to produce its annual show; whilstcoming up against various issues ... The Prince andCinders are jealous of each other and health andsafety representatives from the council (known asPC, Alf and Sefty!) put the spanner in the workswith requests ranging from hydration breaks forthe panto horse and lifting equipment for thepumpkin!The Ugly Sisters will surely become the latest

"YouTube" phenomenon with their hilarious rendi-tion of "Doncha wish your girlfriend was hot likeme?" and their Stavros Flatley dancing in o.t.t

dame attire. The quality of acting and singing(from a cast ranging in age from seven to "mature"age pensioners) was of a calibre rarely seen in am-ateur productions and the audience response wasterrific.

This was a production that undoubtedly took alot of hard work, as could be seen not only in theacting but costumes, scenery, music, sound andlighting etc. Although the inclement weather con-ditions earlier in the year took their toll during re-hearsals, with cast member being snowed in andbroken limbs (the baddy did a wonderful job oncrutches) this turned out to be a show which every-one should be extremely proud of.


PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THEVILLAGE VOICE ARE ON SALE

AT MELBOURNE NEWS

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BORN at the end of 1935, I wasrising four when the SecondWorld War started, trudging tothe Infant School in ChurchStreet with my junior gas maskacross my shoulder when the warwas barely a year old.It was a strange introduction to the world,

and within a year or so my only recollection ofpre-war life was of bananas, sliced up in a bowlwith sugar and cream – a memory so deliciousthat the reality, when it came, could never quitelive up to it.Before my father bought it in 1934 Castle

Farm had been for many years the base of theKnowles family's hay and straw business, andfor this purpose had more buildings than wouldnormally pertain to a holding of a mere 20acres. This is the only reason I can think of forthe War Department making us the virtual hub

of their local defence arrangements.Thus our lower yard was filled with several

hundred tons of coal for the boilers of the ‘stock-ing factory' next door, the largest barn wasstacked with timber for Nixon Knowles andCompany, and the top pig sty was full of rolls ofbarbed wire.Later on the hay barn was filled with cross-

ing sleepers for the American troops practisingbridge building down at Kings Newton.Up in the corn loft were stored some pieces of

equipment for the Home Guard, of which my fa-ther was a less than distinguished privateunder the command of Major Carl Ward. Onesuch piece of equipment was a `Blacker Bom-barder' a tube with a spring at the bottom in-tended for hurling grenades at the enemy. Inthe absence of grenades it fired John Hair beerbottles, sometimes, according to dad, "almost asfar as a man could throw them".Such land as we had was also brought into

play – the stackyard ploughed up for potatoes,the two-acre meadow turned over to a localmarket gardener.The larger field, Sweetleys meadow, down by

the railway line stayed as grass but, beingdeemed large enough for an enemy landing, wewere obliged to scatter big tree trunks from theNixon Knowles' woodyard across it. Nor were we youngsters to be passive ob-

servers of all this. In my second year at schoolwe were instructed to bring in all the horsechestnuts and rose hips we could find for me-dicinal use. I did well with horse chestnuts, lug-ging a well filled sandbag to the school gates,but I failed with rose hips and felt vaguelyguilty on this score.At home my job was to fix in place all the

blackout shutters each night and take themdown in the morning. When the siren soundedwe all trooped down to the damp arched cellar,and sat there in bored silence until the `all

clear' sounded. But of course when war didcome to Melbourne none of us were in the shel-ters.At eight o'clock on that bright morning the

adults were in the yard looking up at the unfa-miliar plane, and I was in the kitchen eatingbread and marmalade. The bomb which killedthe soldiers billeted 50 yards away blew in allour windows and brought the ceiling down onmy head. By the time we reached the cellarthat Jerry was long gone. My younger brother,brought down from his cot upstairs, sleptthrough it all.Towards the end of the war, when Charles

was old enough to follow me about, one of ourgames was to see what we could make from thelong rolls of metal foil, on steel spools, whichcame to litter our fields.I have never inquired, but always imagined

they were practice drops for bombers seeking todeflect flak over German cities. And then came

the German soldiers themselves, as prisonerssent in as work parties to clear our brook. Somewere from the Black Forest and made me awooden toy of pecking hens; days were spentwatching them at work with their crowbars andhand winch and from them I learnt my first fewwords of German.Through these long years my father kept a

Daily Mail world map pinned to our kitchencupboard, with pins to mark the progress of ourtroops. One o'clock each day was sacrosanct forlistening to the news from the BBC. The warwas the news, though sometimes there wouldbe a short tailpiece that was not war related. As I grew to think about this I remember ask-

ing dad one day what the news consisted of inpeacetime. His answer was vague.I think he was beginning to forget himself,

but I came away with the impression thatpeacetime, apart from bananas, was a prettytepid sort of affair.

Peacetime a tepid affair – apart from the bananas

ASTON Players have done it again! Their annualpanto, which takes place in Aston on Trent to raisemoney for local charities, is now in its 30th yearyet goes from strength to strength with the latestproduction of "Cinderella – not quite a panto" sell-ing out over virtually every one of the six perform-ances which took place in January.

After raising £3,500 last year, they are hopingto buck the credit crunch and present a healthy do-nation to this year's chosen charities, which areRainbows Children’s Hospice and Safe and Soundof Derby.

This joyous production offered a mixture of con-temporary and traditional panto ‘fayre’ with the

tale of Cinderella interwoven alongside the storyof a fictional amateur dramatics group which is en-deavouring to produce its annual show; whilstcoming up against various issues ... The Prince andCinders are jealous of each other and health andsafety representatives from the council (known asPC, Alf and Sefty!) put the spanner in the workswith requests ranging from hydration breaks forthe panto horse and lifting equipment for thepumpkin!The Ugly Sisters will surely become the latest

"YouTube" phenomenon with their hilarious rendi-tion of "Doncha wish your girlfriend was hot likeme?" and their Stavros Flatley dancing in o.t.t

dame attire. The quality of acting and singing(from a cast ranging in age from seven to "mature"age pensioners) was of a calibre rarely seen in am-ateur productions and the audience response wasterrific.

This was a production that undoubtedly took alot of hard work, as could be seen not only in theacting but costumes, scenery, music, sound andlighting etc. Although the inclement weather con-ditions earlier in the year took their toll during re-hearsals, with cast member being snowed in andbroken limbs (the baddy did a wonderful job oncrutches) this turned out to be a show which every-one should be extremely proud of.

AT the recent Parish Church Archive event one of thephotographs obtained from a church member was StMichael’s football team for 1921-1922. It surprised somepeople who did not realise that the church supported afootball team.There are 15 men shown in the photograph and 10 have

been named. Archivist Roy Dunniclliffe has invited read-

ers to assist in providing names for the five unidentifiedmen. So far those identified are:Back row left to right. Ernie Lakin, Fred Jackson, ? ,

Sterling Brookes, Alf Bott, Harry Coats, Rev Harcombe.Middle row ?, Tommy Dexter, Jack Dexter.Front row. Billy Walker, Harry Thompson , ? , ?, ?Roy can be contacted on 701521.

Can you name the mystery

church footballers?


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IN the mid-1950s I kept a boat at Mr and MrsRowley’s cottage on Cuttle Bridge Wharf. Theytold me about a group of elderly gents who eachyear rowed up the River Trent and canal fromNewark to Swarkestone in order to visitrelatives/friends at Melbourne, in time for theWhitsuntide holiday.Their boat was a long skiff – varnished with pol-

ished brass fittings. They stayed overnight inriverside pubs but carried camping gear in casenothing else was available.They sometimes left the boat at Rowley’s or

sometimes with Reg and Fanny Spare at Swarke-

stone lock house. I only saw them once but wastold about the annual trips by Mrs Rowley andMrs Spare and also by two friends who kept a boaton the Derby Canal.The boat journeys only ended when one of the

group died.If anyone can supply more information about

these intrepid four men in a boat and their voy-ages from Newark to Swarkestone I will be verygrateful!John Wain23 Woodminton Drive, ChellastonDerby DE73 6RZ (tel 702423).

Village Voice Postbag

THE boarded-up HSBC bank, in High Street, Melbourne, finallyclosed on Friday, January 22.

The "world's friendly bank", which used to advertise itself as the"listening bank", proved deaf to local pleas to keep open this im-portant local business centre.

A petition, which attracted hundreds of signatures, was sent tosenior bank officials in London, by County Councillor John Harri-son. The bank's response came after the closure had taken place,offering a meeting with Councillor Harrison, a meeting which hedeclined.

FUNHOUSE Comedy came to Melbourne once more as part of theregular diet being served as a fringe element of the Melbourne ArtFestival. The headline act was Addy van der Borgh and by the timehe appeared on stage the crowd at the RBL Club was in high spirits.

Irishman Andy Ryan compered the night delivering his own senseof humour to warm up the expectant crowd and introducing the actswith first up Rhodri Rhys. Wales and the Welsh came in for a bit ofknocking as Rhodri delivered his set which he combined with a widerange of other subjects to entertain. Unusually on this circuit, and a first for Melbourne, was female

comedienne Aussie, Pam Ford, who brought a woman's touch to thestage with her outrageous humour and no-holds-barred take on life.Addy van der Borgh proved to be a comedian par excellence whose

humour both surprised and delighted with its content and deliveryand exceeded expectations.

Fun all the way . . .

A GROUND-BREAkING cere-

mony held to mark the start of

work on a £20million golf

course and hotel scheme in

Swadlincote took place on

Monday, February 8.Specialist firm Stoneheads is constructing

the ‘pay as you play’ course on land ownedby UK COAL at Tetron Point, off WilliamNadin Way, Swadlincote.

Representatives from both companiesjoined Frank McArdle and Cllr HeatherWheeler, the Chief Executive and Leader ofSouth Derbyshire District Council, respec-tively, along with community leaders to her-ald the beginning of the project which willcomprise an 82-bedroom hotel, a clubhouse,an administration building, golf academyand 18-hole golf course.

The academy will focus on developing andeducating young local talent to excel in longdistance hazards and water-traps throughworking with schools as well as local peoplewho wish to use the facility.The development of a golf course in

Swadlincote has been an ambition of thecouncil through its Chief Executive for anumber of years. Mr McArdle said: “It has been a long time

coming to get to this stage – but it has beenworth the wait. This project is another partof the exciting future of Swadlincote and willleave a lasting legacy in the town.“Tourism spend in and around South Der-

byshire already brings in many millions ofpounds and will increase further with thisdevelopment. It is a win-win situation. Itwill bring so many benefits to local residentsand people coming into the National Forest.”Eddie Peat, a director of UK COAL's prop-

erty arm Harworth Estates, which own thesite, described the plans as ‘exciting’. "UK COAL has had a lengthy association

with the area and we look upon this devel-opment as providing a long term legacy forthe community," he said.

Stonehead's Chief Executive, DavidHeads, said: “Stoneheads are extremelyproud to be building such a prestigious de-velopment in the heart of Swadlincote. Wehave been working to ensure that a highquality 18-hole golf course, designed to caterfor all ages and abilities, is provided andalso an innovative golf academy, leisure andclubhouse facilities."The course has a three-year construction

phase and, when completed, will provide achallenging course not only for the low hand-icapped players but also an enjoyable one forthose thinking about taking up golf for thefirst time.”

£20m golf complexwork gets under way

MELBOURNE NeighbourhoodWatch will be holding its nextmeeting on Tuesday, February16, at the Blue Bell Inn, Mel-bourne, starting at 7.30pm. In addition to making Mel-

bourne a safer place to live,there are other benefits in be-coming a member.For more details contact Gail

How, area co-ordinator, on865279.

Neighbourhood

Watch


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A SURVEY of housing commis-

sioned by South Derbyshire Dis-

trict Council has come up with

some startling insights into the

state of local housing.Although South Derbyshire is one of the most

prosperous areas in the Midlands, with an increas-ing population and good growth rates, there areareas with poor, substandard housing, even in themore affluent towns and villages of the district.The Government has set a Decent Homes Stan-

dard, which lays down criteria that homes shouldbe in a reasonable state of repair, have reasonablemodern facilities, (bathrooms and kitchens), andhave effective insulation and heating.By far the greatest problem is cold homes, be-

cause of poor inefficient heating systems and in-adequate insulation.It is estimated that 4,300 households – 12.5 per

cent of the total housing stock suffer from 'fuelpoverty',the majority privately rented, and themajority with incomes below £10,000 per year.By these criteria, over 45 per cent of privately

rented homes are 'non-decent'.Within South Derbyshire as a whole, the highest

number of non-decent homes is in Linton, with 43per cent non-decent homes followed by Melbournewith over 35 per cent. For the survey, the Melbourne area is defined as

Melbourne itself together with the villages in theTrent Valley, as well as Smisby, Ticknall andCalke.

Poor state of thearea’s housing

MEGAN Jade Lowdon, aged three, of Mel-bourne is pictured at home with mum Julieand dad Keith displaying her winning entryin a colouring competition for one to six yearolds.The competition was organised by the

Westfield Centre in Derby and Megan’sentry, complete with added glitter was sub-

mitted in December. Mum Julie was notifiedof Megan’s success a week ago and was ad-vised that the first prize was £50 worth ofBoots Mini Mode vouchers. Although Megan was excited at having

won, Julie thinks that they will put offspending the vouchers until the summer col-lection is available.

DO the children need something to do at half-term?A series of drop-in sessions will be held at Rosliston Forestry Centre for youngsters with a

range of activities organised throughout the week beginning February 15 as part of the GetActive in the Forest initiative. They will include:Archery sessions on Monday, February 15 and Friday19;A Wildlife Watch on Tuesday, February 16; and Laser Combat sessions Wednesday, February 17 and Thursday18. All activities are dependant on the weather and children must be accompanied by an adult.

The sessions, costing £2.50 each, are being held between 2pm and 4pm and are run on a 'Queueand Do' basis.For further information call 01283 563483.

Fun in the Forest for kids

THE Promise Auction organised by the MelbourneMethodist church at the end of 2009 was well sup-ported with more than 100 people attending. Theauction was very successful with all 100 lots soldand the organisers would like to thank everyonewho helped in any way in achieving a staggeringprofit of £3,200.The money will help to pay the salary of

Magugu Mbanjina, a ‘Caregiver Monitor’ whotrains with the Phakamisa project in SouthAfrica and then transfers her newly acquiredknowledge into the townships to the equivalentof the UK Pre School Playgroups.As a support group, the Melbourne Friends of

Phakamisa have been paying the salary forthree years and are pledged to continue for atleast the next two years.

The Melbourne group has now started organ-ising a competition, to design the 2010Phakamisa Christmas card. More details willfollow at a later date.� STEVE Aynsley and his band Crawfish fromAston on Trent joined East Midlands TV weatherreporter Sarah Blizzard at a fund raising day heldin Leicester Market fin aid of the Derbyshire,Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance. Barbara Parish fund-raising organiser for the

Air Ambulance, received donations amounting to£900 during the event and Crawfish entertainedmarket visitors with some good old fashioned rockand roll.Sarah was there to open the ceremony and to re-

ceive a cheque for £4,000 from the Freemasons onbehalf of Air Ambulance.

£3,200 for Africa project


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DOMINIC Hudson and Teresa Davies, both from Melbourne,were married on a very bright but cold December day at Mel-bourne Roman Catholic Church. They later enjoyed theirhoneymoon in Sri Lanka and then the Maldives. Dominicand Teresa continue to live in Melbourne.

TEENAGERS in South Derbyshire are beinggiven the ultimate opportunity to hit the slopesthis spring.South Derbyshire District Council and the

South Derbyshire School Sport Partnership areoffering free skiing and snowboarding activitydays for 13 to 18-year-olds at Swadlincote Ski

Centre.Ski days will be held on Sunday, March 7, and

Sunday, March 21, at the Hill Street venue be-tween 10am and 4pm with snowboarding campstaking place at the same times on Saturday,March 6, and Sunday, March 14.Qualified instructors will show participants the

ropes. Lunch will be served during the days andcertificates given to those who take part.Steve Smith, Partnership Development Man-

ager at the South Derbyshire School Sports Part-nership, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity foryoungsters to get to the slopes absolutely free.The courses will cater for beginners, intermedi-

ates and expert.”Funding for the project has been obtained from

Derbyshire County Council’s Youth OpportunitiesFund.Application forms can be downloaded

from.www.southderbyshiressp.co.uk.

FREE CHANCE FOR TEENAGERS TO HIT THE SKI SLOPES

WORK has begun on a major project to build five eco-friendly busi-ness units at Rosliston Forestry Centre in South Derbyshire.The state-of-the-art units are designed to make the most of the vis-

itor and woodland economy in The National Forest and are expectedto be occupied by mid May this year.The units are ideally suited for wood businesses, crafts, work-

shops, or environmental technology firms and have been positionedto make the most of the Forestry Centre’s 190,000-day visitors peryear.

Business stirs in the Forest


BUILDERS

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A CHARITY turkey din-ner held at the Bay TreeRestaurant in Melbourneraised £1,065.50 for theDerbyshire, Leicester-shire and Rutland Air Am-bulance.

Bay Tree proprietorRex Howell donated halfof the ticket sales to thisworthy charity.

Guests were extremelygenerous with raffle do-nations and, combinedwith auction items, theyall contributed to raisingthis excellent sum. JennyStarkie, organiser of theevent said: “It was fund-raising for a worthy causein a truly social way.”

Pictured at the BayTree after the event areCatherine Foster, re-gional organiser forDLRAA, Maitland Briggs,volunteer with DLRAA,Rex Howell and JennyStarkie.

FLYING TONIGHT . . .

LET’S COOK LESSONS

A FREE new cooking course for youngparents has been taking place in Mel-bourne over the last six weeks.The Staunton Harold branch of the

WI has been holding the classes in thekitchen at Scallywags Nursery in Mel-bourne with WI member BarbaraRobey, a professional cook, taking therole of lead tutor. The course is part of a project being

rolled out across England and Wales,sponsored by the Food StandardsAgency in conjunction with the Na-

tional Federation of Women’s Insti-tutes.‘Let’s Cook’ is a practical course all

about basic cooking, food hygiene andhealthy eating for busy parents whowant to provide healthy meals for theirchildren.Each week the parents have learnt a

range of cooking skills and have madesomething to take home which has in-cluded shepherd’s pie, lasagne, pastabake, banana loaf, apple crumble andmore.

They have also gained skills for lifeand grown in confidence with theirnewly acquired skills.“The course has been very successful

and an enjoyable experience for us all,”said Barbara, “and I think we’veproved that cooking is fun.”Pictured displaying their latest cook-

ing creations at the most recent ‘Let’sCook’ session at the Scallywags Nurs-ery kitchen are (l-r), Georgina Ban-croft, Emma Salt, Barbara Robey, RuthAskam, Rebecca Moore and Sue Hall.

COURTESY of Rex How-ell and Vicky Talbot of theBay Tree Restaurant,Melbourne CommunityCare was asked to invite agroup of 30 local 'elder'residents to a "Christmaslunch with all the trim-mings". This superb lunch took

place at the Bay Tree inDecember with Trusteesand Committee Membersof Community Care "wait-ing on".The picture shows 'din-

ers' being waited on bythe Revd Dr John Davies.


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An independent community paper designed and publishedby Village Voice Newspapers.

Typeset by Greenborough Ltd., t/a Voice Productions.Printed by Harmsworth Printing Ltd., Derby.

The publishers of Village Voice are not responsible for any content or claims inadvertisements in this newspaper.

Advertisements may not be reproduced without the writtenpermission of the publishers.

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THINk of Sunday mornings

and you imagine a lie in, maybe

a leisurely breakfast and a read

of the newspaper. Think again!

We’ve heard that Melbourne

minis and juniors have made

Sunday a hotbed of rugby ac-

tion. You’d be surprised at the scale and pro-

fessionalism of Melbourne minis and jun-iors. The club has more than 300 playerssigned up, across age ranges from under sixto under 18. Melbourne also has two suc-cessful girls’ teams.

The minis and juniors club is massive!Melbourne regularly beats city sides such asDerby, Nottingham and Loughborough. Thelads and dads go on an annual tour, last yearwinning a tournament comprising teamsfrom the likes of Newport and Warrington.The under 10s and 11s are unbeaten so farthis season and the under 11s are the cur-rent South Derbyshire Team of the Year. So,how does a sleepy South Derbyshire villagemanage to be a David among Goliaths?

Club Chairman Andrew Allman puts it

down to the standard of the coaching andsupport. "We make sure the coaches areRFU qualified," he said. "If we can coupleprofessionalism with enthusiasm, then wehave a winning formula. Melbourne hassuch an excellent reputation that we attractplayers from well outside the area."

The club does seem to be alive! A visit toChellaston School on Sunday saw a hive ofactivity. Some of the younger age groupswere playing away at Loughborough but theunder 11s were playing a competitive match.The older age groups were training. Theunder 15s were in the gym, having a go atkick boxing and judo, in an effort to toughenthem up for the second half of the season.It was buzzing behind the scenes too with

mums and dads helping serve hot dogs andbacon butties while the small club shop wasdoing a roaring trade in merchandise. Agroup of Chellaston sixth formers were help-ing in the shop – raising money for theirUganda Appeal. "We’re totally reliant on the goodwill of our

volunteers and our excellent link with Chel-laston School," said Andrew Allman."Thankfully they appreciate what we do forthe players and, in turn, we appreciate their

help behind the scenes. This is very much acommunity club."

Melbourne boys and girls regularly turnout for the county. One or two have made the breakthrough to

England youth squads and some are train-ing with professional rugby academies (in-cluding the mighty Leicester Tigers).Many of the players have become qualified

as coaches and themselves help out teachingrugby in the local primary schools. In aworld where young people often get a badpress, it was wonderful to see so many chil-dren engaged in such a positive way.

The U17s are currently top of the countyleague whilst Spring sees the regional Notts,Lincs & Derbys tournament and anotherchance for Melbourne boys to pit their witsagainst the finest teams in the country.They may be facing big city teams but you

can be sure that they are putting Melbourneand Sport in South Derbyshire firmly on therugby map!If you are 6-46 and would like to have

a go at playing Rugby at Melbourne,please ring 07753 416164 and find outhow you can do so. – A Cope

Sundays will never


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be the same again ...

MELBOURNE Town Cricket Club has begun the count-down to the 2010 season with the winter nets already un-derway. They are held every Sunday, 1pm-2pm, at the new Gate-

way practice facilities at Derbyshire CCC. New playersare always welcome.The club is starting a Junior section for the first time

in 15 years under qualified coaches Jim Jenkinson andKen Grant for the under 11s age group and the club isholding practice sessions at Melbourne leisure centreevery Saturday morning 10am to 11.30am, which startedon February 6. All are welcome to go along.Alex Slater is once more the First Team skipper and the

Second Team has James Smith in charge again followinglast season’s promotion.Along with this, the Development XI, which was the for-

mer Friendly side, has over 13 fixtures organised and is

under the non-playing captaincy of Andy Heafield. The club will also be playing midweek cricket on Thurs-

days in the Loughborough League and consequently willhave a lot more cricket to offer existing and new mem-bers. If you would like to be involved with the club in any ca-

pacity – playing, behind the scenes, sponsoring matchballs – please get in touch with Alex Slater on07966933583.� ON Sunday July 4, Melbourne Town Cricket Club is or-ganising a “Legends” game featuring former playersagainst the Development XI with plans to hold a post-match celebration at club sponsor The Alma Inn. Anyone wishing to attend as either a player or specta-

tor should contact former fast bowler and club kit sup-plier Steve Price at Cricket Box on 01283 212750 forfurther details.

Swinging into cricket season

TICKNALL Rangers had all their scheduled football games post-poned in January with STREAMLINE and THE BLUE BELLmanaging just one game each. Streamline travelled to top of the league West Park FC and held

their own for 70 minutes with the score at 1-1 thanks to a LukeChamberlain goal but two late strikes from West Park sawStreamline fall to defeat.It was the same outcome for The Blue Bell who went out of the

cup 4-3 away to West Hallam with a Scott Williams brace and aKyle McBride goal being the consolation scorers.

Blank month for Rangers

THE Aston and Weston Bowls Club members are looking forwardto the coming season. The seeding carried out on the green in theautumn is growing well and the top dressing is on hold waiting foran efficient spreader to become available. In addition to the established list of opponents, 2010 will include

several new names in the 2010 fixture list

Bowlers looking ahead


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MELBOURNE Rugby Club has completed a fan-

tastic new sponsorship deal with local estate

agents, Ashley Adams, in collaboration with

WAMSport Ltd, a Melbourne-based company

owned and run by Wendy Robinson. “We are delighted that Ashley Adams have come on board with us

at Melbourne Rugby Club and have generously sponsored a qualitynew playing kit," said Melbourne RFC’s chairman Ian Lucas. The exclusively designed First Team playing kit comprises a sub-

limated slim-fit playing jersey with matching shorts and socks inclub colours green and gold with the Ashley Adams logo and theMRFC crest prominently positioned on the front of the jersey.“WAMSport Limited were delighted to be invited by Ashley Adams

and the Melbourne Rugby Club to design and manufacture the play-ing kit for the First Team,” says Wendy.

“This specialist sublimated product came from our Kent operationbut we design, print and embroider locally.”Simon Kelsey, manager of Ashley Adams Melbourne branch, is

pleased with the sponsorship arrangements saying: "As estateagents in the community we have been seeking opportunities forsponsorship of local events or institutions and having become awareof the ongoing development of the rugby club we felt that there wasan ideal chance to support this vibrant organisation. We are de-lighted with the outcome of our collaboration with WAMSport andthe rugby club in providing a brand new strip for the first team. Mr Lucas said: “We have big plans for our Cockshut Lane ground

over the next few years and have recently added four changingrooms, a fully floodlit pitch and car-park on the site.

"Working with local companies such as Ashley Adams andWAMSport helps us to strive towards better facilities for all of ourplayers and members.”

NEW SPONSOR DEALFOR RUGBY CLUB

NEW KIT . . . (back row, l-r) . Simon Kelsey, Ian Lucas and Wendy Robinson with first team players Shane Lehane, Sean Parkinson, Ash Corden, PeterWelsh, Dean Sylvester, Ken Biggins, Bob Stowel, Morris Hall, Ashley Stringer; front row: Rob Foster, Matt Brown, Alex Nightingale, Gary Lakin, Tom Howery,Stephen Bell, Chris Fulton and Dane Middleton.

MELBOURNE Dynamoes ex-tended their run to 13 wins on thetrot in a weather affected month ofJanuary winning both their games. At home to Matlock Town Re-

serves, Dynamoes ran out comfort-able 4-1 winners with strikes fromskipper Lee Scott, Tom Donnachie,Dave Brough and a Carl Allsopheader securing the points.The only other game in January

saw Melbourne beat local rivalsCastle Donington 3-0 thanks to a

Ryan Grey volley, a Lee Scott curlerand a Danny Guild tap-in.

This puts the first team sevenpoints clear at the top of the tablegoing into the last three months ofthe season.Melbourne Dynamoes Re-

servesmanaged just one game lastmonth.A Jack Tivey goal after just 29

seconds gave them a superb startbut that's as good as it got as theReserves lost 5-1.

Dynamoes stretch their unbeaten run to 13

melbourne village voice february 2010

Documents

parish councillor

goodtempered meeting

melbourne leisure centre

foredna page

melbourne communitycentre

parish planhad

active leisure committee

public meeting