NOV/DEC 2013 No. 103www.birstallpost.co.uk

THE ROTHLEY POSTY O U R F R E E C O M M U N I T Y N E W S P A P E R

THIS YEAR Thurcaston andCropston Gardening Club’sannual show attracted arecord number of exhibi-tors.

Having moved from the village hall toa new and larger venue at Richard Hillprimary school the extra space helpedmake this show, the club’s thirtieth, asuccess.

A spokesman said: “Exhibits were upto their usual high standard and it was

most pleasing to see so many people entering forthe first time and this was reflected in the winnerslist.”

Mr Phil Dews retained the Sedgwick Cup formost points overall and the Challenge Trophy forthe best points total by a Garden Club member.

Pic: Peter Smith (left) collecting his trophy fromCllr David Snartt

Continued on page 2

PROPOSALS FOR 1500homes on the edge of Roth-ley featured in a plan thatwas given approval byCharnwood Borough Councilon October 28.

Charnwood’s Local Plan Core Strategywas voted upon at a special full councilmeeting that was webcast live for thefirst time in Charnwood.

The Local Plan has taken eight yearsto produce and contains plans forgrowth in the Borough, including 9500new homes.

Charnwood’s plan for ‘North Birstall’include 1500 new homes, 15 hectares ofemployment land, health facilities, a newprimary school, a supermarket, fourpitches for travelling showpeople and aWanlip link road.

Plansfor newhomes

Continued on page 2

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NOV 2013THE ROTHLEY POST2

A total of 28 councillors votedin favour of submitting the plan,17 voted against and two council-lors abstained.

Rothley Parish Council urgedresidents to object to the plansand organised a letter writingcampaign objecting to the pro-posals.

Early next year the Local Planwill be examined by an independ-ent planning inspector. If it isconsidered sound, Charnwoodwill vote whether or not to offi-cially adopt the plan in the au-tumn of 2014.

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New names were Mrs Alison Briggs who won trophiesfor Best Exhibit in Show (3 roses in 3 stages) and theOrton Bowl for vase of 3 roses.

Mr John Holyoake , entering for the first time, tookthe Novice Shield for the most overall points scored byan exhibitor who has never won a Club trophy before.The Delia Brook trophy for photography of the yearaward went this year to Peter Smith, after years of domi-nation in this class by Roy Emmett.

“It was great to see a new name on the Junior Cup,Oliver Keran was joint winner with James Lacey, welldone to them both. This cup is awarded to the juniorwho scores the most points in the adult classes” said thespokesman.

“The children gave us another colourful and imagina-tive array of entries in the junior classes and a very specialthanks to the Girl Guides and the Brownies for their excel-lent contributions.

“Cllr David Snartt was again on hand to present thetrophies, many thanks to him for finding the time to ‘dothe honours’. Thanks also go to everyone; exhibitors, visi-tors and officials alike for their contributions in making itsuch a resounding success.”

For more information about the Gardening Club contactDave Haddon on 0116 2359758

Show continued from page 1

Plan continued from page 1

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NOV 2013THE ROTHLEY POST 3

A ROTHLEY woman haspleaded guilty to causingunnecessary suffering toanimals and has beenbanned from caring forhorses.

Sarah Blackwell (24) of ArmitageDrive was responsible for 13 horsesin a field at South Croxton. TheRSPCA visited her in December 2012and January this year to warn herabout the condition of the animalsbut she ignored their advice.

The RSPCA, with support fromthe Police, then entered her proper-ty and took away seven horses suf-fering from dehydration and liceinfestations. Two were described as“emaciated”.

At Leicester Magistrates Court onMonday September 30, Blackwellwas given a 12 month communityorder after having pleased guilty atan earlier hearing. She will have todo 60 hours of unpaid work andhave no involvement in caring forhoses. She was ordered to pay £140court costs and a £60 victim sur-charge.

A HARDWARE store thatprides itself on providingfriendly service, expert ad-vice and low prices is cele-brating its 20th anniversary.

Corts in Rothley is owned and run byJim and Sharon Cort with help from man-ager Mark Johnson and sales assistantsAlan Paget and Tim Neath.

The shop, on Cross Green, is openseven days a week and has grown consid-erably over the last 20 years.

Jim said: “When we started in 1993we had less than 2000 products, whichhas now increased to well over 10,000.We have grown the business mainly bylistening to what customers want. If forany reason we have not got an item, wecan normally always order it. We prideourselves on customers coming into theshop and saying “I knew you would haveit” and people see it as a challenge to tryand ask for something they don’t thinkwe will stock, but they are normally al-ways beaten!”

As well as a traditional hardware shopthat stocks most things for the home andgarden, Corts also offer a service for drycleaning, laundry, clothing alterations,shoe repairs and sharpening.

Jim said: “We pride ourselves on ourlarge loyal customer base. We have manyof the same customers today that shoppedwith us 20 years ago and the childrenthat came in with their parents then, nowshop with us for their own homes, whichmakes us feel very old!

“We are always moving with the timesand are having our website redesigned.Where we win over a the large DIY super-stores is that as well as being cheaper onover 90% of products, with our excellentproduct knowledge we make sure that thecustomer gets the right product for theright job.”

Sharon said: “We both feel very luckyto enjoy all aspects of running the busi-

ness. It is such a pleasure to run a villageshop and to feel like a part of the com-munity. I can honestly say that I have thebest job in the world serving the commu-nity that I grew up in having worked in

my parents’ newsagents in the villagesince I was 14, and still continuing to seemany people from that time. We plan tocarry on improving the shop and hope tostill be trading in another 20 years!”

A MAN who threw adrinks can out of thewindow of a moving bushas been fined.

The 20 year old man has re-ceived a £90 fixed penalty notice fordisorderly behaviour. It follows anincident on an Arriva bus in Hall-fields Lane, Rothley on February 27.

Leicestershire Police issued pho-tos of three people it wanted totrace in connection to the incident,and received a number of calls afterthe photos were published in localnewspapers including the RothleyPost.

The police investigation revealedonly one of the three had committeda criminal offence. The offenderadmitted throwing an open drinkscan out of the bus’s window, whichnearly hit a following vehicle.

A spokesman for LeicestershirePolice said: “We would like to thankmembers of the public who cameforward to identify the three men”.

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Pic: Jim & Sharon Cort (front centre) with staff Alan Paget, Mark Johnson & Tim Neath

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NOV 2013THE ROTHLEY POST4

Kai and Anna Casswell who runPlumb Solar Ltd took a break from in-stalling solar panels and travelled fromRothley to Hayling Island on the Hamp-shire coast on Sunday September 15.

They joined anarmy of other kitesurf-ers to form the largestparade of kitesurfersto complete a one-milecourse. 250 peoplewere required for theworld record but that was smashedwhen 318 kite surfers took to the waterto complete the mile.

Anna said: “It was really exciting tobe part of this event, I was very nervousto start with, I didn’t want to crash mykite or let anyone down, but as soon asI got on the water, my nerves vanished

and I just enjoyed theride!”

Kai and Anna raised£450 in sponsorshipmoney which will goto three charities –Virgin Unite, Snow-

Camp and the RNLI. A total of over£66,000 was raised by all the partici-pants. The Virgin Kitesurfing Armadamarked the beginning of a five yearpartnership with Virgin and the youthcharity Snow Camp - an innovativecharity that uses a unique combinationof skiing, snowboarding and life-skillsprogrammes to support inner-city youngpeople.

Sir Richard Branson wrote on hisblog: “318 of us took to the water fromHayling Island in the first event of itskind for this fantastic sport. It was a realspectacle.

“Having broken the world record forthe oldest person to kite surf across thechannel last year, and been no strangerto world record attempts over the years,it was wonderful to break anotherrecord as part of such a brilliant team.”

A FULL meeting of Rothley ParishCouncil was held on August 19.

It was reported that the DiamondJubilee Oak planted in 2012 is dead. Itwas agreed to replace and replant, andthat the village heritage and tree war-dens supervise planting and aftercare.

The Fowke Street playing field picnicbench has been destroyed by vandals. Asthis is the third time this has happened,it was agreed not to replace it.

The cemetery entry gates will berepainted.

The organiser of the Rothley Christ-mas lights switch-on event has retiredand it was agreed to ask for local com-mercial and charity involvement in or-ganising the event for this year.

Councillors have met with officersfrom Charnwood to discuss how£60,000 of Section 106 money allocatedfor Rothley could be spent. Some of themoney has been spent on a new heatingsystem for the Village Hall.

A full meeting of Rothley ParishCouncil was held on September 16.

It was agreed to spend £100 on redtulips for Cross Green garden.

The Council has received no respons-es from any local shop or organisationthat it contacted asking for assistanceorganising the Christmas lights switch onevent. It was agreed that without anysupport, the event will not be held thisyear. An electrician will install theChristmas lights and switch them on onNovember 28.

A full meeting of Rothley ParishCouncil was held on October 21.

The birds’ nest swing on the playingfield has been vandalised. It was agreedto repair it. It was agreed to meet withthe organiser of a fitness class that istaking place on Bunney’s Field, to dis-cuss issues arising from the use.

Severn Trent has agreed to install 18solar panels on the roof of the RothleyCentre free of charge.

The next meeting is on November 18at 7.30pm at the Rothley Centre.

A COUPLE from Rothley helped to break a world record inSeptember alongside Sir Richard Branson at the ‘VirginKitesurfing Armada’.

A FULL meeting of Thurcaston & Crop-ston Parish Council was held on June20.

170 members of the public attendedthe meeting, concerned about proposalsto build up to 150 new homes in theparish. Surveyors Mather Jamie will beinvited to present a second public exhibi-tion of the plans, as the first exhibitionwas poorly advertised.

The Police representatives reported thatvehicle theft particularly in Leicester Roadwas a problem. They urged parishionersnot to leave car keys in obvious places.

Three more volunteer litter pickers

have come forward.A full meeting of Thursday & Cropston

Parish Council was held on August 15(there was no meeting in July).

A member of Thurcaston Action Grouprequested that the Parish council not meetwith Mather Jamie outside of a parishcouncil meeting and that the solar parkbe added to the agenda of the Septembermeeting.

The clerk will contact the County High-ways department regarding a “slow” or20mph sign on Rectory Lane following acomplaint from a resident about speedingvehicles.

Borough Councillor Diane Wise report-ed that she had been unable to ascertainwho the landowners were with regard tothe plans for new homes in Thurcaston.Borough Councillor David Snartt reportedthat the County Council subsidised 55 busservice was under threat of withdrawal.

The council discussed the proposeddevelopment in Thurcaston. The ParishCouncil should not adopt a position be-fore a planning application is submitted asit would be seen as pre-determination.The Council can object on planninggrounds. A Neighbourhood Plan does notstop development but is taken into consid-eration by the planning authority. TheParish Council can willingly share knowl-edge of previous objections to planningapplications if it is available in the parishoffice.

A full meeting of Thurcaston & Crop-ston Parish Council was held on Septem-ber 19.

It was reported that Mather Jamiewould not arrange a meeting or exhibitionuntil their revised plans were completed.Mather Jamie had also stated that pastexperience had shown than an open meet-ing with the public when most wereagainst a development proposal achievednothing but they are happy to meet with alead member of Thurcaston Action Group.

It was reported that County Highwayswill not take any action in respect of“slow” signs on Rectory Lane.

PCSO Quinn reported that if a car isparked partly on the pavement leavingenough room for a double buggy to pass,then the vehicle is not given a warningnotice.

The Chairman reported that producinga Neighbourhood Plan would involve con-siderable cost.

It was reported that a speed indicatorsign has been approved for installation onStation Road, Cropston, next to lamp post33.

It was reported that names of residentsvolunteering to take part in a Speedwatchscheme are being collected.

The Parish Council has sent a formalobjection to the City Council’s plans for asix pitch travellers’ site on GreengateLane.

Parish Council notes

Kite surfing duoare record breakers

Pic: Kitesurfers Kai &Anna Casswell

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NOV 2013THE ROTHLEY POST 5

AN 80 metre wind turbinewill be erected within thegrounds of Wanlip WaterTreatment Works this De-cember.

Jon Beeson, renewable energy projectmanager at Severn Trent Water, said:“Work is underway to allow the newwind turbine at Wanlip to be in place byDecember. When constructed, it willgenerate around 5,000 mega watt hoursof electricity per year, equivalent tosupplying around 1,500 homes with

power each year.“It takes a huge amount of electricity

to provide water and waste water servic-es to our customers, so this is a greatway to help limit the amount of electrici-ty we need to take from the nationalgrid and reduce our carbon footprint.We are already generating almost aquarter of our energy needs from re-newables including sewage, hydro andenergy from crops grown on our ownfarmland. Together with the energy fromthe new wind turbines, we hope to in-crease that to more than 30% by 2015.”

Charnwood Borough Council refused

Severn Trent’s planning application in2010 but a Planning Inspector consid-ered the appeal and ruled in favour ofSevern Trent.

The turbine will have an 80 metremast and a blade tip height of 132 me-tres, the same height as the London Eye.It will be one of the largest onshorewind turbines in the country.

Objectors were concerned at theturbine’s visual impact, noise, shadowflicker and its impact on birds and otherwildlife.

A BLITZ on dog fouling isbeing targeted on Rothley’sFowke Street playing fields.

It is one of nine hotspot areas identi-fied by Charnwood Borough Councilafter it consulted with parish councils inthe borough.

Officers from Charnwood will in-crease patrols, post awareness leafletsand seek to prosecute offenders wherepossible. The council has also produceda tongue-in-cheek ‘public information’film to help people deal with dog foulingas well as a campaign Facebook page.

Alan Twells, Charnwood BoroughCouncil’s Head of Regulatory Services,said: “Dog fouling is one of the biggestsources of environmental complaint wereceive and the Don’t Muck Aroundcampaign is our commitment to resi-dents that we will take action by educat-ing, raising awareness and taking actionagainst offenders.

“It is frustrating for our communitiesthat there are still people who do notrealise that wrapped dog waste can beplaced in any public highway litter bin –not just designated dog waste bins.There is no excuse for it and our analy-sis shows that the people most likely tocommit offences are aged between 21and 40 – they’re old enough to knowbetter.”

Charnwood Borough Council receivesnearly 200 reports of dog fouling eachyear and earlier this year prosecuted twopeople in court for dog fouling-relatedoffences.

The areas being monitored are:Ashby Road Estate: Gracedieu Way,Sharpley Road, Hermitage Way,Shortcliffe ParkRothley: Fowke Street Playing FieldsBarkby: BrooksideQueniborough: Rearsby Road Play-ing FieldsEast Goscote: Weavers Wynd andJubilee Playing FieldsWoodhouse: Brook Road, Beauman-or Road and School LaneMountsorrel: Memorial ParkSileby: Greedon Rise Playing areaBirstall: School Lane Playing FieldsTo report offences in Charnwood call

in confidence on 01509 634564 oremailcleaner.greener@charnwood.gov.uk

LEICESTERSHIRE COUNTY Council’sStepping Stones project is lookingto recruit more Tree Wardens toparishes across the county.

Tree Wardens are appointed by local parishcouncils to coordinate local tree based environmen-tal projects.

Tree Wardens are particularly needed in parish-es in North West Leicestershire, Charnwood, Meltonand Harborough.

“Volunteering as a Tree Warden is a great op-portunity for people to make their community aleafier place by looking after local trees” said aspokesman.

“The scheme is open to all adults and there isno minimum skill level or time commitment re-quired. Tree Wardens carry out a range of activi-ties, from setting up tree nurseries and growingtrees, to surveying and recording trees of localinterest and organising awareness events forschools and communities. The role is ideal forpeople who are passionate about trees and wantto learn more and develop new skills.”

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NOV 2013THE ROTHLEY POST6

Paige Brad-shaw (15),Ravina Battu,HeatherYeo-mans, GeorgieRoe and MegHolland cycleda seven mileroute aroundWatermeadCountry Park,raising £100.

Alex Hallamis seven years old and suffers with Duch-enne Muscular Dystrophy, a rare severemuscle wasting disease that shortens hislife. Sufferers either become paralysedor have to use a wheelchair in their lateteens.

Paige, of Johnson Road, said: “I wasreally happy with the ride, all of us hada great morning, getting fit and raisingsome much needed money for researchinto such a terrible disease. I first dis-covered Alex’s Wish in early 2013 andfelt that such a lovely boy like Alexdoesn’t deserve to have such an awfuldisease. The Hallams are absolutelyamazing people and are definitely people

to look up to. Alex has got to be themost inspirational person I have evermet, his courage and bravery was one ofthe first thing I noticed about him. I’mprepared to do whatever I can to helpand support the Hallams, so DuchenneMuscular Dystrophy can be eradicatedfor good. A massive thank you to mybikers, all of you were fantastic!”

The Kingfisher’s Pool vineyard is inthe back garden of a Westfield Lanecouple – Liz and Matthew Robson.

The pair, who have been producingwine for the last five years, won a silvermedal and the East Midlands Fine Foodtrophy for the best wine in the EastMidlands region.

The medium dry white wine is madefrom Siegerrebe and Solaris grapes andis called ‘Academic Feet 2012’, becausetheir colleagues from Leicester Universityhelp them trample the grapes in thetraditional way.

Liz said: “Last year this wine won abronze medal in the dry wine category,but the judging comments suggested itwas in the wrong class, so we entered

A ROTHLEY vineyard has won an award for its wine.the 2012 vintage for the medium classand were overjoyed at the improvedresult.”

Their first attempt at making roséresulted in a highly commended certifi-cate, which Liz and Matthew are reallypleased about and has made them deter-mined to try this again.

The Orion grapes were sent to Half-penny Green vineyard in Shropshire tobe made into sparkling wine which willbe ready in August 2014.

Liz also won the Mercian Vineyard‘Small Producer of the Year’ jointly withRichard Rallings from Morville Vineyardin Shropshire. She said: “The 2012 sum-mer had literally been a washout withincessant rain resulting in a meagreharvest, so we have very few bottles fromour own wine making and are thereforedelighted with the successes.

“The warm summer weather of 2013is ripening the grapes for this year’sOctober harvest nicely and a good cropis anticipated. Unfortunately weed killerdrift from a neighbour has affected threerows of vines and there is an agonisingwait for toxicology tests to see if thegrapes can be used.

“Starting a vineyard is not as easy asmost people think. It is constantly a caseof three steps forward two steps back-wards, but at least we will have somenice wine to sustain us!”

Pic: Liz and Matthew in their vineyardwith ‘The Academic Feet’ and the EastMidlands Fine Foods Trophy

Cycle ride for AlexA BIRSTALL teenager and her friends organised a charitycycle ride to raise money for Rothley based charity Alex’swish .

QUORN & WOODHOUSE sta-tion on the award winningGreat Central Railway isset for a facelift.

The railway’s supporting charityhas secured a grant of almost fiftythousand pounds from Biffa Award.

Repairs will be made to the gradetwo listed station staircase, an original1890s Great Central Railway storageshed will be completely rebuilt andfor the first time proper paths forpeople who use wheel chairs will beprovided in the station yard.

Managing director of the GreatCentral Railway, Bill Ford said: “We'reare delighted with the grant which willenable us to not only make vital re-pairs but also significantly improve theexperience of our visitors. Workingwith Biffa Award will really help toprotect our Victorian heritage. I wouldlike to thank our funding team whohave worked so hard to secure theaward. The work will complement ourrecently developed family café andnewly installed turntable.”

Gillian French, Biffa Award Pro-gramme Manager, said: “We areproud to support this project, whichwill bring to life the story of this ruralrailway goods yard from the steamera, so that it can be enjoyed by moreof the local community as well asvisitors from further afield”.

Other works at Quorn station willinclude new signs which will helpinterpret how a goods yard at a coun-try station worked. Work will begin onthe improvements before Christmas.

LOCAL GOOD causes havereceived a portion of£15,000 from Leicester-shire County Council’s AreaForum.

The Bradgate, Rothley, Mountsorreland Birstall Area Forum met in June andthose attending voted for their favouriteprojects from a shortlist. The fundingwas allocated as follows:

• Minibus Disabled Adventure Club£700

• The Bungalow, Longslade LearningHub £3884

• Renovation of Rothley Scout HQ£4320

• Birstall Methodist Lunch Club£1280

• Reach for the Sky – Gunns Commu-nity Gym £1500

• Station platform at Mountsorrel£3316

The next Area Forum meeting is onSep 23, 6.30pm at the Palmer Tomkin-son Centre, Longslade College. All wel-come www.leicestershireforums.org

Rothley vineyard isan award winner

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Pic: Paige Bradshaw (2nd from right) & her friends

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The next issue ofTHE ROTHLEY POST

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NOV 2013THE ROTHLEY POST 7

IN SEPTEMBER the Member-ship met to support ourcustomary “Bring and BuyHarvest” event in aid of“The Salvation Army” ourCharity for the year 2013.

There was a very generous display offruit and vegetables, various cakes, pas-tries, tins of biscuits, chocolates andbooks; everything was speedily soldraising the princely sum of £77.15.

Sue Wakerley, our resident artist ofmany years, explained how she re-searched and produced stage by stageher work. Sue showed paintings atvarious stages ranging from photographythrough to creating outlines and gradu-ally the production of various paintingsin the “nearly” finished state to the ulti-mate finished article.

We then went on to poetry readingsand a miscellany of jokes received fromold school friends from all over theworld, which produced a great deal oflaughter on which to end the afternoon.

At our October meeting it was thefirst time we have had to stop ourspeaker from completing his subject, aswe had run out of time! Mr Brian Kib-ble’s talk about Anstey and area fromthe 1800s onwards, was so fascinatingwe were totally absorbed and just aboutpartook of quick refreshments beforereturning to our homes.

A very professional presentation byway of photographic slides, greatly en-hanced the talk and gave members anopportunity to search back in their per-sonal recollections about the buildings,their business and shops and memorieswhich had been handed down throughtheir parents and families.

We have therefore requested Mr Kib-ble to return on the 10th March 2014 tocomplete his tour through Anstey’s histo-ry up to modern times. Everyone will bemost welcome to come and join us. Forany enquires please ring me on 01162363467.

The Monday Club meets at the Crop-ston Evangelical Chapel, on StationRoad, Cropston, at 2.15pm on the sec-ond Monday of each month. Car parkingis available by request.

Our next meeting will take place onNovember 11 when we shall enjoy agroup of handbell ringers from All SaintsChurch for our entertainment and weshall be greeting the Christmas celebra-tions with homemade mince pies for ourrefreshment.

From Ann Farndon, The Monday Club,Anstey, Cropston, Thurcaston & Rothley.

TWO NEW gypsy and travel-ler sites in Leicester, in-cluding one on GreengateLane, have been given thego-ahead.

Ten permanent pitches for caravansat Red Hill Way and six at GreengateLane were agreed unanimously by thecity council's planning committee onOctober 30.

During a public consultation most ofthe 1,500 people who responded wereagainst the plans. The LE4 Action Group

campaigned against the plans, collectingmore than 2000 signatures on a petition.Thurcaston & Cropston Parish Councilalso submitted a formal objection to theplans.

Permanent sites provide residentswith a permanent home and operate in

a similar way to council housing. Resi-dents are responsible for paying rent,water, electricity and council tax bills.

The City Council say constructionwork on the sites will begin in May andtake about eight months to complete.

KEY:PITCH

Pic: the Greengate Lane site

LOUGHBOROUGH IS cele-brating for the third yearin a row after once againstriking gold at the EastMidlands in Bloom awards.

The town put on a horticulturalspectacle that wowed judges of theBest Small City category of the EastMidlands accolade.

Last year the town also scoopedgold at the Royal Horticultural Socie-ty’s Britain in Bloom, following suc-cess at regional level.

This year the theme for the cam-paign was ‘Edible Britain’ and sawLoughborough University introducebee hives and share the success of thefruit routes, while residents pressedhome-grown apples and plantedplums.

ROTHLEY’S NEW primaryschool will open next year.

A County Council spokesman told theRothley Post: “The developer is due tostart work shortly and the school willopen either next autumn or winter.”

The school will be located on the siteof the old Brookfield Farm, off HallfieldsLane. The existing school will be demol-ished and 16 homes built on the site.

Mondayclub

Greengate Lane traveller site

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New school

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Birstall Methodist ChurchWanlip Lane, BirstallSaturday November 30From 10am to 1pm

Table Top SaleTables @ £10 eachContact Margaret 0116 2671181(this is part of the MethodistChurch Christmas Festival Nov29/30)

Yes Folks It’s Panto Time AgainHighcliffe Amateur Theatrical So-cietypresents

Bah! Humbug thePantoby Elaine Hunt and Phillip WaltonAt Highcliffe School, GreengateLane, BirstallThursday Nov 28 and Friday Nov29 at 7.15pm and Saturday Nov30 at 2.30pm & 7.15pmTickets Adult £6, concessions £5,discount group bookingsBox Office: 0116 2209594 or0116 2676049Don’t delay book today!hatsbirstall1@hotmail.co.uk

Barrow Youth Theatre presents

‘The Lion, theWitch and theWardrobe’a musicalFriday & Saturday, November 22and 23starting at 7pm at Humphrey Per-kins Community Centre, CotesRoad, Barrow, LE12 8JU

There is also a matinee on Satur-day starting at 2pmThis show will amaze you with thetalent and enthusiasm of ouryoung cast. After their triumphantproduction of Alice in Wonderlandlast year, their ambition knows nobounds. With wonderful costumesand spectacular scenery you canbe confident of a terrific enter-tainmentYou will enter the magical land ofNarnia, the land behind the ward-robe door where animals talk,trees can walk, a white witch cov-ers the landscape with snow andbewitches someone with TurkishDelight and where a mighty lionrescues whoever is in trouble. C SLewis’ first tale of Narnia is lovedby children and adults all over theworld and this story now comes tovibrant life on stage in Irita Kutch-my’s musical adaptation,. Justcome and see the wardrobe dooropen: you will never believe whatyou see!Tickets are priced at £7 and £5(concessions) and can be boughtfrom The Paper Shop, High Street,Barrow; or from the Box Office on07718153117 orjudithrogers155@gmail.com

Messy ChurchMethodist Hall, Howe Lane, Roth-ley3-5pmSaturday November 23 and De-cember 21Contact No: 07585557548 SueWainwright

Birstall & District Local HistorySocietyThursday November 14Birstall Village Hall, Birstall Road,Birstall

‘Murder Most Foul’a talk by Virginia WrightVisitors are very welcomeParking is available on the BirstallPlaying Fields via the School Laneentrance

Birstall and Wanlip WI host a

Family CarolConcertSunday December 1 at 4.30pmAt Harrison Road MethodistChurch, BelgraveEveryone welcomeRefreshments

Birstall Methodist Monday andThursday groups are jointly host-ing a

Christmas Concerton December 12 in the church at7.30pmwith ‘Singing for Fun’ (directorAnne Hughes)Admission free but donations arewelcomed for Glenfield PaediatricUnit and local Birstall youthgroupsRefreshments will be served

Quorn Festive Art& Craft TrailSunday December 1, 11am – 5pmOver 50 stalls at four venues invillagePassport to all venues £2Children under 16 freeMany fine art and craft stalls:paintings, prints, sculpture, pho-tography, jewellery, ceramics,glassware, woodturning, naturalsoaps, candles handbags, greet-ings cards, linens, plants & gardengifts, food stalls: preserves,home-made cakes, Christmas pud-dings and mincemeat and muchmoreProceeds to Rainbows Children’sHospice and The BridgeVillage Christmas Lights switchedon at 4pm

Film PresentationsFrom Thurcaston & Cropston Par-ish Council

‘Hyde Park on Hudson’ Friday No-vember 8 (94 mins)This British comedy is set in theHudson Valley and features KingGeorge VI and our Queen Mary onthe first trip across the Atlanticfor a reigning British monarch.World War II is looming and ourking is on a diplomatic mission tosecure allied support, led by Pres-

ident Franklin Roosevelt. Howev-er, behind the scenes, Franklin’ssixth cousin Daisy, develops avery close bond with the presi-dent, played brilliantly by BillMurray.

‘Great Expectations’ Friday De-cember 13 (128 mins)This recent best-ever version ofthe Charles Dickens classic hasdistinguished actors: Ralph Fi-ennes, Robbie Coltrane, DavidWalliams, Helena Bonham Carter.It promises to be an entertainingfilm, before Christmas.Thurcaston and Cropston ParishCouncil will be showing thesefilms at Thurcaston Memorial Hall.Starting at 7.30pm, tickets cost£4.50 and concessions are £4.The price includes refreshmentsand a lucky prize draw.Advance tickets can be purchasedvia the parish office, 01162367626 or at the door.

Ladies CircleHowe Lane Methodist Hall,RothleyFor info please contact Pam Floyd0116 2374111November 19 Open meeting asspeaker cancelledDecember 3 Lunch at Birstall GolfClub (members only)December 17 Carol Service

Birstall Flower ClubCome and join us at our

Open EveningBirstall Village HallWednesday November 27This is a fantastic evening with acomplimentary drink and mincepie on arrivalWe have a duo of national NAFASdemonstrators – Kate Russell andPatti DawsonThe title for their demonstrationis‘Christmas is coming – here we goagain’The evening begins at 6.45pm(demonstration 7.15pm)Admission by ticket only, availa-ble from Sylvia 0116 2674206,cost £8If you love flower arranging thenthis is definitely an evening not tobe missed. A raffle is run on theevening and the prizes are the

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NOV 2013THE ROTHLEY POST 9flower arrangements as arrangedby our expert demonstrators

Christmas Festival(theme – Stable Story)Birstall Methodist Church, WanlipLane, BirstallFriday Nov 29 10am-7pm & Satur-day Nov 30, 10am-1pmChurch decorated with themedChristmas trees, models, displaysetcAdmission £1(accompanied children free))Home made cakes, pies, pastriesChristmas gifts & decorationsJams, chutneys & pickles, crafts &novelties, raffle & tombola, San-ta’s Grotto, pick-a-bag, lucky dip,hot dogs & burgers, pancakes &punchRefreshments served throughout(Light lunches Friday & Saturday)Table Top Sale on SaturdayProceeds for Asthma UK & BirstallMethodist Church

Rothley BowlingClubAutumnFayreSaturday Novem-ber 1610am to 12noonat Rothley Cen-tre, MountsorrelLane, RothleyAdmission 50pinc tea/coffeeCraft items,homemade goods,jams, pickles, cakesetc books, bric-a-brac,bottle tombola, raffle, refresh-mentsEveryone welcomePlease come and give us your sup-port

Life Education Centres Leicester-shire

Ladies FashionShowThursday November 21 at 7pmFashion show clothing comes froma selection of popular high streetfashion outlets with an opportuni-ty to purchaseTickets £5 to include tea/coffeeat Birstall Village HallFor further details please contactHarriet Greenhill 07976809127,Nim Mistry 07973730038, or Fio-na Brown 07968862481

Charnwood Orchestra40th anniversary

Gala ConcertSat Nov 30, 7.30pmEmmanuel Church, Forest Road,LoughboroughGreeting Prelude : StravinskyIntroduction & Rondo Capriccioso :Saint SaensPremier Rhapsody : DebussyRoman Carnival Overture : BerliozLes Biches : Poulenc

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice : DukasTickets £15 (con £14), childrenu16 £3077181 53117judithrodgers@gmail.com

Coffee ShopRothley Methodist, Howe LaneEvery Tuesday morning, 10-11.30amCome rain or shineNow open : Book exchangeEveryone welcomeTea, coffee, biscuits, toasted teacakeProceeds for the Methodist Church

The next in the series of

Charity WhistDrivesorganised by Derek Farrwill be held at 7.30pm on Thurs-days Nov 7, Dec 5 and Jan 2at The Rothley Centre, Mountsor-rel Lane, Rothley

Admission £2All players welcomeLarge free car park

CoffeeMorning

Methodist Church,Howe Lane, RothleySaturday, November3010am-12noonChristmas Gifts,Cakes and Tombola

and many morestalls

Carol ServiceMethodist Church, Howe Lane,Rothleyon Sunday Dec 15at 4pmthe Mayor of Charnwood will be inattendanceservice taken by Rev Dave Warnockeveryone welcome, mince piesafter the service

Charnwood ConservativeAssociationChristmas FairSaturday December 7Rothley Centre, Mountsorrel Lane,Rothleyfrom 10am to 12noonAdmission 50pRaffle, tombola, games, producestalls, bric-a-brac etcRt Hon Stephen Dorrell MP will beattending

Richard Hill Primary School PTFAThurcaston

Christmas FairSaturday December 7from 1.30-4pmStalls, games, refreshments, car-ols, Father Christmas in his grot-to, live ukulele musicRaising funds for an all weathershelter

A series of

Talksby historian Dr Michael Lynch fromLeicester UniversityOctober 15:North Korea – A Hangover from aCommunist PastNovember 19:Brazil – A Market not to be Ig-noredJanuary 21:The Eunuchs and Concubines ofAncient ChinaAll talks are to be held at theRothley Centre, Mountsorrel Lane,Rothley where there is plenty offree parking. Doors open at 7pmfor a 7.30pm startThere will be a coffee/tea intervaland a Q&A session to finish at ap-proximately 9.30pm. tickets are£5 per person per talk and may bepurchased on the night at thedoor but to book your placeplease call 0116 237 5254 so thatseating can be arranged.Dr Lynch is extremely well trav-elled and has proved himself amost entertaining and knowledge-able speaker and is not to bemissed.

CYCLING FROM Birstallthrough Leicester to thesouthern boundary of thecity has been made easierfollowing improvements tothe Great Central Way.

A programme of resurfacing workand repairs is being carried out to tack-le wear and tear along parts of the GreatCentral Way – a popular cycling, walkingand horse riding route following theroute of the old great Central Railwayand linking the north and south of thecity.

The latest works have focused on asection of the route through AylestoneMeadows, between Evesham Road andthe bridge over the River Biam. Theyincluded repairs to the uneven and pot-holed surface to make the route safer touse. The next phase of the work willinvolve repairs and resurfacing to thelink running to Braunstone Lane East,which is due to take place on Monday,November 18 for one week.

Improvements to the Great CentralWay are part of a wider £250,000 pro-gramme of Riverside Way works, whichare funded by the Department for Trans-port and NHS Leicester.

The Riverside Way will tie in to newworks being undertaken around theInnovation Centre and a developer-fund-ed bridge linking to Wolsey Island offAbbey Park Road in the north of thecity.

The route north from Birstall throughWatermead Country Park to Cossingtonwas completed last year.

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NOV 2013THE ROTHLEY POST10

THE POLICE have releasedan image of a man theywould like to speak to inconnection with a burglaryin Rothley.

The incident took place at around2.25pm on Thursday May 30 at a housein the Westfield Lane area of Rothley.Access to the house was gained via agate to the rear garden. A window at theback of the house was forced open. It isthought that nothing was taken duringthe burglary.

Detective Constable Clare Birch, theinvestigating officer, said: “We havereleased an image of a man we wouldlike to speak to in connection with thisincident as he may have information thatcould assist us with our enquiries. Wewould ask you to contact us if you rec-ognise this man or you were in the vi-cinity of Westfield Lane and remember

seeing anything suspicious.”Anyone with any information is asked

to contact DC 4174 Clare Birch on 101,follow the instructions to leave a mes-

sage for a police officer and whenprompted key in the officer’s identifica-tion number 4174. Alternatively, contactCrimestoppers, which is free and anony-mous on 0800 555 111.

LEICESTERSHIRE POLICE issupporting a new websitethat aims to quickly answernon-emergency questionsand free up staff to concen-trate on urgent and morecomplicated calls.

The ‘Ask The Police’ website, whichis also available as an app for smartphones, holds answers to around 750questions, on the subject of things suchas stray dogs and noisy neighbours, thatthe police are most frequently asked bythe public through 101 or 999. Thewebsite is part of a national initiativethat will assist the public to find solu-tions to everyday problems that canaffect the quality of their lives.

The service is an easy-to-navigatewesite www.askthe.police.uk which isbespoke to Leicester, Leicestershire andRutland and offers a range of answersand useful contacts..

Leicestershire’s contact managementdepartment currently handles on average1,957 calls a day, of which 1,644 arenon-emergency. It is believed that thisnumber will be substantially reduced,which will free up valuable resources tobe re-allocated to frontline policing.

Assistant Chief Constable Phil Kaysaid: “This is the latest in a range ofadditional services we are introducinginto our area. We anticipate that, as thepublic become aware of it, this newwebsite will prove to be a much appre-ciated and well used resource.

“The range of questions is very com-prehensive, covering a wide range ofsubjects that include pets, noisy neigh-bours, road traffic, harassment andpublic order. New questions are contin-ually added and we are encouraging thepublic to submit any questions they mayhave to the editors of the website whowill consider them for inclusion nation-ally.”

Visitors to the website will be able togive their rating of the information andfind rankings of the popularity of thequestions asked. The new service willhave a direct link to the LeicestershirePolice website.

Gardening club newsTHE OCTOBER meeting of the Thurcaston and Cropston Gar-dening Club was a talk called ‘Plants that Excite’ by Dr An-drew Ward.

Andrew runs a nursery in Norwellnear Newark and he drew hisinspiration for the talkfrom the many plantsthat he grows andsells. Indeed,Andrew made thepoint that thetalk should becalled ‘Plantsthat Excite Me’as this talk was apersonal selectionof plants for thetime of year, andwould have been dif-ferent in another season.

The talk was enhanced by

excellent photographs of each plant.Andrew had a gentle humour and

told many anecdotes aboutthe plants featured. But

most of all he hadextensive knowledge,and was clearly avery experiencedand well trainedhorticulturist.

The list of plantsfeatured was veryextensive, including

Lobelia, Achillea, Cro-cosmia, Hemerocallis,

Geranium, Aster, Chryan-themum, Heuchera, Orchid,

and many more. Andrew also fre-quently showed various varieties of acertain plant and talked about the meritsof each as well as the most suitablegrowing conditions.

This talk was well received, as werethe many plants that Andrew bought forsale from his nursery. The nursery hasa very good website that is well worthvisiting www.norwellnurseries.co.uk

Gardening Club activities and meet-ings for the rest of the year

Wed November 13, 7.45 pm – An OldFashioned Christmas – Felicity Austin

Wed December 11, 7.45 pm – Social

Evening and Quiz NightAre you interested in gardening?

Would you like to know more about allthe fascinating and wonderful things thatgrow and live in your garden? Wouldyou like to visit gardens of interest inthe local area and see how others do it?

If these things appeal to you thencome and join a group of enthusiasticamateur gardeners. Whether you areexperienced or just a beginner we havea wonderful programme of events for2014.

Visitors and new members are mademost welcome. Meetings are informal,informative and good social events.

What’s more, attending meeting isexcellent value! The membership fee isstill £12 for the year or £3 per meeting.And, if you would like to come as avisitor (to give it a try) and then youdecide to join, your visitor fee will berefunded. So, if you are interested ingardening - come and give the Club atry.

8 Jan: Medieval and Tudor Gardens -Matt Haddon, preceded by AGM (15to 20 mins)12 Feb: Wall Shrubs and ClimbingPlants - Hazel Kaye12 March: The Garden at Coton Man-or – past, present and future - Caro-line Tait9 April: Behind the Scenes At Chel-sea Flower Show - Geoff Smith14 May: Ferns, Bamboo and Grasses- Colin Ward11 Jun: Evening garden visit to“Barraca” - Earl Shilton9 July: Garden Trail and BBQ26 July: Trip to Tatton Park FlowerShow13 Aug: Evening garden visit to HillPark Farm - Belton, Near Shepshed6 Sept: 31st Annual Garden, Craftand Produce Show (Open to All) Tobe held at The Richard Hill PrimarySchool, Thurcaston8 Oct: Bugs and Insects - Sally Cun-ningham12 Nov: Growing Prize Winning Chry-santhemums - Peter White10 Dec: Christmas Social EventFor more information, please call

Dave Haddon on (0116) 235 9758

Rothley burglary: suspect on CCTV

Pic: Police are looking for this man

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NOV 2013THE ROTHLEY POST 11

BRADGATE SEWING Circleheld an open morning inOctober.

This year the group’s chosen charityis Cancer Research UK which benefitedfrom the sale of a generous selection ofhandicraft items, a number of piecesfrom the sales table and tea, coffee andbiscuits.

The raffle offered a first prize of apatchwork quilt made by members ofthe Sewing Circle, along with a Meal forTwo donated by Mandy and Jim at Roth-ley’s Time and Plaice Restaurant.

Spokeswoman Maureen Bulmer said:“All the members were gratified to seeso many people admiring their handi-crafts and watching them whilst theyworked on ‘work in progress’ pieces.There were items on display from patch-work quilts, cushions, miniature knitteditems, miniature pieces, cross stitch,embroideries, tapestries and even handmade lace.

“Many of the members were on handto demonstrate and explain about theirpieces while others dedicated time sell-ing from table tops, helping with theraffle and working in the kitchen provid-ing refreshments.”

Member Pam Martin said: “The nicething about this group is you can comeand do some amazing things or if you’relike me and not very good, bring yourknitting and have a coffee and a chat.”

Maureen Bulmer added: “Membersand Committee of Bradgate Sewing Cir-cle are very grateful to those who tooktime out to call and see us at the Roth-ley Centre and for all donations towardsthis deserving fund. Thank you and welook forward to seeing you all againsome time.”Pics (top left): Pam Martin (left) and Lin Luce &inset, Chloe Dalby (2)

Sewing Circle’s colourful open morning

COUNTY YARNS, Birstall’s new wool shop, has everythingfor new and seasoned knitters.

A family business, run by Sue, Vic,Wendy and Sheila, County Yarns hasrelocated from Leicester’s indoor mar-ket.

Sue said: “Our objective is to providea variety of knitting/crochet yarns andaccessories at sensible prices along withgood old fashion service too”.

She added: “We have brought with us

some of our best selling yarns and alsohave some new ones coming in for theautumn, from a new lace weight to su-per chunky.

“Anyone who wishes to start knittingor crocheting we will do our best tohelp you find what you are looking for,we all knit, even Vic, well - in a fash-ion!”

The shop has a selection of knittingyarns from a number of suppliers in-cluding Sirdar, Robin, Woolcraft, Style-craft and James Brett.

“If you cannot find what you arelooking for please ask, we may be ableto get it for you” said Sue.

“To all our customers who havesupported us in the indoor market wewill be pleased to see you in our newshop on Wanlip Avenue, and to thosewho have yet to try us, give us a look,we will be pleased to see you” she add-ed.

County Yarns, 2a Wanlip Ave (oppo-site Co-op Travel) Open Tuesday toSaturday, 9.30am to 4pm Tel: 07926630 973

New wool shop opens County Yarns

Having a good range of yarns from major suppliersbeing stockist of selected yarns bySIRDAR, JAMES C. BRETT, ROBIN,

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NOV 2013THE ROTHLEY POST12

OUR PICTURES show some of the art-work on display at the Soar ValleyArtists’ annual exhibition, held in theRothley Centre in October.

LEICESTER’S WINTER FoodFestival will be back againthis year, celebrating its 5th

anniversary of Sunday Novem-ber 17 between 11am and5pm.

Each year, Leicester Market hoststhe Winter Food Festival to highlightthe diversity of local and regional foodand drink producers, featuring thebest stallholders, exhibitors, restau-rants and bars. This event will againcoincide with the Christmas lightsswitch-on ceremony, which this yearhas been relocated to the Clock Tow-er.

Adam Piotrowski, Food EnterpriseSupport Manager at Leicester Market,who is organising the event said: “Anyfood lover will be keen to browsethrough the stalls selling everythingfrom homemade samosas and curries,to jams and chutneys, cakes andbaked goods.

“We have scoured the region tofind everyone’s favourite traders, aswell as introduce some new business-

es on to the thriving food scene. Aswell as a plethora of food stalls, thefestival will also feature Christmas craftsagain , back by popular demand.”

There will also be a full programmeof entertainment, including live music,choirs, cooking demonstrations andtaster sessions.

Mr Piotrowski added: “We are ex-tremely excited about this year’s eventand we want to encourage everyone tosome down for a look around the festi-val to see the exciting offering of food,drink and crafts of the region.

Crime Report : Rothley, Aug & SepTheft 8, theft from motor vehicle 1,

burglary 5, damage 2Outbuildings and sheds are being tar-

geted by thieves for garden equipment andtools. Make sure your shed is secured.

Also make sure you do not leave any-thing unattended on the front of yourproperty as thefts of metal and bicycles ison the increase.

From PC 2139 Richard Carruthers

Art onshow

Pic: John Kennedy and Mary Macrae welcome visitorsto the exhibition

Leicester food festival

Crime report

NOV 2013THE ROTHLEY POST 13

IN OCTOBER society memberand archivist, Brenda Hoop-er, entertained us with adelightful account of thelife and times of Leicesterwriter and botanist, MaryKirby (1817 – 1893).

Mary’s father, John, came from afarming family in the Ibstock area, buthe eventually became one of Leicester’sleading hosierymanufacturers.John’s first wifedied aged 29years, soon aftergiving birth to ason who alsodied, but fromhis second mar-riage, Mary wasthe second eld-est of their sixchildren (five ofwhom – one sonand four daugh-ters – survivedto adulthood).John was anindulgent fatherand his childrenlacked for noth-ing, especiallybooks.

John was determined to ensure hischildren received a good education andMary and her elder sister, Sarah, weremainly educated together – it was appar-ent from an early age that of the twosisters, Mary was the more intellectuallyable. They attended various schools bothin Leicester and Leicestershire.

By 1839, Leicester PhilosophicalSociety allowed women to attend theirmeetings and Mary was an eager partici-pant, as well as going to lectures at theMechanics Institute. This was also thetime that she began to develop her inter-est in botany which had begun when, inher early childhood on holiday in Ram-sgate, she collected seaweed.

Around this time, Mary suffered aninjury to her foot, so in order for her torecuperate, her father rented part of ahouse in Thurcaston where she and oneof her younger sisters, Catherine, couldstay and benefit from the “forest air”.

Mary later recorded memories of thistime in “Leaflets of my Life”, publishedin 1887, referring to the Rector, Revd.Waterfield as “a kind and agreeableman, and a clear-headed preacher” and“he restored the church at his own cost;and also placed a tablet within it, to thememory of Bishop Latimer”. Among themany things of interest she observed,she noted that “A country life has manypleasures. It was a great delight for meto sit and watch the changing light uponthe hills, and to see the storm cloudsrise over the summit of Old John, andthen discharge themselves into the valleybelow.”

Above all, during the twelve monthsshe stayed in Thurcaston, Mary gathereda variety of wild plants to add to hercollection, eventually totalling 400 speci-mens, which, after her death, was givento the Literary and Philosophical Societyand now forms the basis of the County

Collection.Mary’s book, “The Flora of Leicester-

shire”, which included details of 14plants gathered in the vicinity of Thur-caston, was published in 1850 and sheacknowledged the assistance of a Leices-ter public schoolmaster, Mr Hollins, inthe collection of the plants and the col-laboration of Revd. Andrew Bloxam,Rector of Twycross, who contributedmaterial and did editorial work for herbook. Mary was delighted when Sir Wil-liam Hooker, first Director of Kew Bo-

tanic Gardens,praised herbook and contri-bution towardspromoting localinterest in bota-ny.

Between1850 and 1870Mary and heryounger sisterElizabeth wrotemany booksfeaturing naturalhistory, moraltales and adap-tations of theclassics. Marywrote “We wereglad to find aready sale for

our manuscripts, and also to put theprofits in our pockets”.

As published authors and being froma prominent merchant family, the sistersmoved in well-placed social circles. Theyfrequently travelled around England,visiting places of particular interest – onone occasion, Mary had a private guidedtour of the British Museum where shesaw the Rosetta Stone and collections ofplants and mosses. Sadly later, Elizabethsuffered a mental breakdown due to afailed relationship with the man she hadhoped to marry, and this situation led tothe decision for the sisters to move awayfrom Leicester to Norfolk. It was whilethey were living in Norfolk that Mary metthe man who would become her hus-band Henry Gregg, a curate. Initially thecouple lived at Syston, but later movedto a new house in Melton Mowbray.Elizabeth never married and lived withMary and Henry until her death in 1875.Henry died in 1882 and Mary in 1893.All three were buried near the church-yard wall at Brooksby. Mary shares agrave with her husband and specificallyrequested that there should be “no textor verse whatsoever” on the gravestone.

Despite the acclaim for “The Flora ofLeicestershire”, Mary is best remem-bered today for “Leaflets from my Life”because it is an important legacy inportraying an accurate record of thedomestic and social life of a 19th centu-ry Leicester lady.

Our final meeting in 2013 will com-prise of the A.G.M. and an “Oral HistoryArchive” presented by Colin Hyde. Date:Tuesday 19th November; Time: 7.30pm;Venue: Harrison Room, All Saints’Church, Thurcaston. Visitors are mostwelcome and the meeting will concludewith festive refreshments.

From Jennifer Kennington, Thurcas-ton & Cropston Local History Society

THE SPEAKER for our Sep-tember meeting was WendyMartin, who gave a talk en-titled “Life in a Masai Vil-lage”.

Wendy and her husband had enjoyedtwo holidays in Africa staying with theMasai. She recounted her experiencesof meeting these gentle, dignified peopleand of learning about their history, life-style and customs.

One of her concerns was the ritual offemale circumcision. When she ques-tioned the Masai about it, she was told itwas no longer practised. Wendy felthowever, that she was not given a truth-ful answer, and that this barbaric prac-tice still takes place.

This was a well presented and highlyenjoyable talk that created a lively ques-tion and answer time with our members.

At our October meeting our speakerwas Penny Hodgson, who gave a talkcalled “How to Survive Christmas”.

Most of our members are veterans ofhosting and surviving a family Christmas,but Penny gave an interesting insight intothe history of the actual festivities. Wewere told that over 400 million peopleworldwide celebrate Christmas and thatit’s the world’s biggest religious festival.

A lot of the traditions are Pagan inorigin and the darkest time of the yearwas used to cheer everyone up.

Penny left us with these final words:“The Christmas spirit is about sharing,giving and forgiving. Most of all, weshould relax and enjoy it”.

Our next meeting will be held onThursday November 7, when our AGMis held.

From Thurcaston & Cropston W.I.

A NEW website for tenantsand landlords has beenlaunched by local councils.

www.homefinder.uk.com has been setup by the Leicestershire district councilsand Leicester City Council for landlordsand letting agents in the county, offeringsupport and advice and providing arange of services all under one roof.

Landlords and letting agents canadvertise their properties for free and atthe same time keep up-to-date withcurrent legislation, have access to docu-ments, videos and toolkits to help man-age properties, information on availablegrants and loans and free training op-portunities.

There are already over 70 lettingagents signed up and 500 properties onthe website, from shared houses to exec-utive homes. It can be viewed in multi-ple languages and features include ahousing benefit calculator and an onlinereferral form for customers seekingsupport to remain in their current homeor move to an alternative one.

David Harris, Charnwood’s Head ofStrategic and Private Sector Housingsaid: “This website will help tenants haveconfidence that the property they rent isof a good standard, is being responsiblymanaged and more importantly that thelandlord belongs to a recognised land-lord accreditation scheme.”

Landlords or letting agents looking toadvertise their properties on the websitecan register atwww.homefinder.uk.com/acccommodation

History society WInews

Newhousingwebsite

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NOV 2013THE ROTHLEY POST14

Martin Luke Brown received a warmwelcome at Stonehill and LongsladeCollege where he performed with hisband for students.

Martin said: “The combination of theperformance and the drugs talk works atreat. The students are all so enthusiasticand appreciative and the whole process

is so rewarding. They’ve alsobeen really receptive and a lotmore respectful than I was inschool!”

Since moving to LondonMartin has headlined his ownshow at the Roof Gardens andthe Emerging Icons stage atWestfield and recently won anaward at the London Mayor’s BigBusk competition.

In Leicester he has playedmany festivals and supported Mc-Fly and The Maccabees when theywere in town.

Martin has been working withDARE (Drug Abuse ResistanceEducation) and giving talks onsubstance abuse.

“Drug abuse is a massive prob-lem all over the UK amongst young

people” said Martin. “Leicester especial-ly seems particularly drug fuelled, espe-cially on nights out in town. I think it’ssad that people rely on drugs to have agood time. I’m pro-life, and pro state ofmind – always be in control of yourselfand be happy with it.”

Remembering his time at Longslade,he said: “I had a great time here Alevels especially. I always hear of otherschools being very cliquey but it feltlike a massive family here. Everyonegot on with everyone and a lot of myyear are doing some incredible thingsonly two years after leaving!”

A TWENTY year old musician who is building acareer in the music business returned to his oldschools in Birstall as part of a drug abuse aware-ness campaign.

Martin returnsfor school visit

Pics: Martin (inset) & (above) performingwith his band at Longslade

JOIN IN with the carolsinging while you enjoy afree mince pie and mulledwine at Birstall’s Christ-mas lights switch on eventon Friday December 6.

Organised by Birstall Parish Coun-

cil the free event will take place on theSibson Road car park at 6pm.

Fairground rides on the car parks atSibson Road and School Lane will beopen from 5pm and there will be aChristmas Market in the Village Hallfrom 3.30pm until 8.30pm.

Santa will be in his grotto in theentrance to the Village Hall from 6.30pmuntil 8.30pm.

Refreshments available at the eventinclude roasted chestnuts, hot pota-toes, burgers, hot dogs, tea and cof-fee.

Rothley Parish Council is not or-ganising a Christmas lights switch onevent this year, after an appeal forhelp to organise it produced no re-sponse.

Birstall’s Christmas lightsIF YOU need a lift eachmorning from Rothley toLeicester there is currentlyone person offering totake you on a lift sharingwebsite launched by theCounty and City Councils.

www.LeicesterSHARE.com allowsusers to search for other potential carshare partners across the city, countyand beyond.

The free-to-use website was re-launched in April and since that timehas seen more than 350 people signup. The public database enables mem-bers to search through thousands oflift share partners locally and acrossthe county. You enter your startingpoint and destination and the websitefinds lift share partners.

Alongside that Leicester SHARE alsosupports more than 880 employers ofbusinesses and organisations throughproviding private car sharing groups.

The revamped site also has acalculator which enables users towork out how much money and fuelthey could save by car sharing.

Peter Osborne Leicestershire Coun-ty Council Cabinet Member of High-ways and Transport, said: “We aredelighted that people are signing up tothe scheme. Car sharing, dependingon your commute or journey, couldsave you hundreds of pounds a year,not to mention the cost of vehiclewear-and-tear.

CHARNWOOD BOROUGH Council hasbeen recognised for its high lev-els of customer service.

The council has retained its CSE(Customer Service Excellence) statusfollowing a two day inspection. Theauthority was particularly commend-ed for its partnership working withLeicestershire Police.

Liftsharewebsite

Service

Classes in Ballet, Tap, Modern &National for children from age 3

Held at Rothley Village Hall, on Monday &Tuesday evening, & at Rothley BaptistChurch, Woodgate, from 4.30pm on

Wednesday.Some spaces available in the beginnersclass at 4.30pm. All classes can lead to

stagework, medals andexaminations.

Tel: 07584 166838

Ladies Tap classes for experienced orbeginners held on Mondays at 7pm.

New Bums & Tums classTuesdays, 7.45pm, Rothley Village Hall

Ring for details & to book spaces

Pupils 3yrs + welcome

PILBEAMACADEMYof DANCE

Principal: Antonia Pilbeam F.D.D.A.

JOIN US FOR FUN, EXERCISEOR EXAMINATIONS

NOV 2013THE ROTHLEY POST 15

A NEW local business net-working group has beenlaunched that meets atStarbucks, Thurmaston re-tail park.

Around 40 delegates attended thefirst meeting of Network Watermead,which ran from 7.30-9.30am.

“Attendees had been invited to comealong and open network, with no joiningfees, no presentations and no pressure”said Ian Morris from solicitors EHL, whohave started the group with Leicesteraccountants Clear & Lane.

“It has been designed to make net-working less pressurised and easier forthose who are less experienced. Theevent provides a relaxed environment forboth experienced networkers and thosewho are new to business events” headded.

“We’ve had a fantastic turn-out heretoday, a lot of people have come along,met new contacts and created potentialbusiness leads.”

The group will run every secondThursday at Starbucks from 7.30-9.30am, although people are advisedthey can come and go as they please.

Vanessa Fisher, Marketing Manager atClear and Lane Accountants, said:“We’ve had a lot of positive feedbackfrom everyone who has attended and wethink Network Watermead is gong to gofrom strength to strength. Commentssuch as “It’s great to see new faceshere”, “It’s right on the doorstep” and“We don’t usually attend these but want-ed to give it a try” were all really goodfeedback for us to hear. Our aim now isto build on the momentum that we havestarted and help connect more localbusinesses through networking but alsoby problem solving, sharing knowledgeand experience with each other.”

THE BIRSTALL Area Music Centre waslaunched last month to give youngschool musicians a chance to play in awind band or string ensemble under theguidance of professional musicians.

The Centre is run by the Leicester-Shire SchoolsMusic Service in partnership with Stonehill andLongslade schools. It meets during term time atStonehill on Thursdays from 4-5pm.

Musicaleducation inlocal schools

ROADWORKS AT the site ofa new supermarket devel-opment are being speededup to help bring to an endtraffic disruption in thearea.

Sainsburys is building a new super-market at the former GE Lighting siteat the corner of Troon Way and Melt-on Road, and the development in-cludes extensive roadworks toimprove two main junctions close tothe store. Changes include creatingnew access roads, lanes and pedestri-an crossing facilities to improve trafficflow and road safety for motorists,pedestrians and cyclists.

Leicester City Council has now metwith developers to agree ways inwhich the work can be completedahead of schedule to enable the Melt-on Road/Troon Way junction to befully operational by early November.Final resurfacing work for the Nick-laus Close/Troon Way/Gleneagles Ave-nue junction is now also planned forearly November, meaning all majorhighway works linked to the super-market should be completed by midNovember.

From this week contractors will beemploying an additional team of staffto work during the late evenings,nights and weekends. The moves fol-low a series of ongoing meetings withthe contractors, at which concernsabout the extent of the roadworks andthe disruption caused to motoristswere discussed.

THE OPENING hours of therecycling and householdwaste site at Mountsorrelare changing.

The County Council introduced re-duced winter opening hours from No-vember 2. The site will now be closedon Tuesdays and Wednesdays. FromApril 1, 2014 to September 30 it will beopen seven days a week.

The winter opening hours are now9am – 4pm and in summer, 9am –7pm.

The hours of the county waste siteshave been reduced as a cost cuttingmeasure by the County Council. It has toreduce spending by £110million in fiveyears.For more details: www.leics.gov.uk/waste

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NOV 2013THE ROTHLEY POST16

HATS ARE busy rehearsingtheir 2013 panto which thisyear has been written by twomembers of the society.

One of the founder members, ElaineHunt, wrote the first pantomime HATSperformed way back in 1992. She hasnow teamed up with another memberPhil Walton, to write this year’s panto-

mime “Bah! Humbug the Panto”. Philhas also written all the songs and put

together the music.“There are still several members in

the group who performed in that firstpanto in 1992 but we have quite a lot ofnew talented members who have joinedour group in the last couple of years”said spokesman Rod Atkins.

“Our pantomime this year is not oneof the traditional stories but it doescontain all the traditional panto ingredi-ents. Oh, yes it does!” he added.

Nasty old Scrooge is tightening hispurse strings on his townsfolk. Hedoesn’t even want to finance this year’spantomime. How will be get rid of Gold-ilocks, Aladdin, Snow White and manyother pantomime characters? Will hisplan succeed or will Robin Hood andMarion save the day!

How would you like it if the localcouncil banned all pantomimes? What adreadful thought. So better not miss thisone just in case they do!

Thurs Nov 28 & Fri Nov 29, 7.15pm.Sat Nov 30, 2.30pm & 7.15pm

Highcliffe School, Greengate Lane.Tickets £6 (Con £5) 0116 2209584

hatsbirstall@hotmail.co.uk

AMLI DESIGN Architectural Consul-tancy. Plans drawn and submitted.Extensions, conversions, newbuild. David Ives B.Sc.(Hons)FBEng MCIOB 0116 2674395 /07974807111www.amlidesign.co.uk

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 25pa word. You are liable for the trade/businessrate if you are offering a service for which youare asking for payment, or if you are advertis-ing new goods for sale. All text will be printedbold. Box outline £1 extra. Max 50 words.Phone numbers count as one word.

Small Ads

P/132031/2: 139 Station Road, Cropston –erection of dormer extension to side ofdwellingP/13/1963/2: 133 Station Road, Cropston –erection of 1st floor and two storey exten-sions to rear of dwellingP/13/1900/2: 18 Leicester Road, Thurcas-ton – erection of single storey extension toside and rear of dwellingP/13/2076/2: 36 North Street, Rothley –erection of extension to dwellingP/13/2110/2: 38 Mountsorrel Lane, Rothley– proposed outbuilding (self assessmentform B submitted)P/13/2077/2: 10 Woodgate Rothley – erec-tion of a two storey extension to side andrear and alterations to existing dwelling(listed building consent)P/13/2027/2: Annexe 34 Mountsorrel Lane,Rothley – erection of one bungalowP/13/1877/2: 1 Westfield Lane, Rothley –erection of two and single storey extensionsto rear, single storey extension to side anderection of detached garage to rear ofdwellingP/13/1986/2:150 Swithland Lane, Rothley –demolition of dwelling (conservation areaconsent)P/13/1824/2: 150 Swithland Lane, Rothley– erection of 2.5 storey dwelling with asso-ciated works following demolition of exist-ing building

SAINSBURY’S LEICESTERNorth supermarket onMelton Road has started arecruitment drive.

Applicants looking for both full andpart-time work in a wide range ofpositions at the new Sainsbury’s store,currently under construction, canapply for a selection of jobs online atsainsbury.jobs

Initially the new store will createaround 200 new job opportunities,with more to follow in the New Yearwhen the ‘goods online’ service andpharmacy opens. 140 staff are trans-ferring from the store on BelgraveRoad, which will remain open andtrade until the replacement store onMelton Road is completed towards theend of the year.

Positions will be uploaded to therecruitment website in batches overthe next few weeks and applicants willbe prompted to register and submit anonline application form.

LOUGHBOROUGH LEISURE Centre isnow fully open after work was com-pleted on refurbishing new poolchanging rooms and a health suite.

It is the first time the new improvedcentre has been fully open after a majorfire closed the pools last December, justas a huge £2million refurbishment wasdue to be unveiled. The centre, operatedby Charnwood Borough Council’s leisurecentre’s partner Fusion Lifestyle, has:

• a refurbished gym with state-of-the-artequipment• refurbished exercise studios• refurbished pools and health suite• completely updated changing rooms• soft play area• double size sports-hall• squash courts• a refurbished café with free Wi-Fi andmeeting roomVisit www.charnwoodleisure.com for

more information

HATS preparing for panto

Sainsbury’srecruitmentstarting

Leisure Centreopens

Pic: some of the cast rehearsing (l-r) Micheal Smith, Alex Collins, Dannie Wells, Louise Steel, Tracy Fuller Planning

THE ROTHLEY 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:Rothley Library, Rothley Post Officeor to our office in the Youth Centre,

Longslade College, Birstalleditor@birstallpost.co.uk

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HANNAH CLARKE FOR ALMSHOUSESThe Charity has a vacancy of a one bedroom flat, wellsituated with an open outlook over the golf course,and is maintained to a high standard by the Trustees.The property is of a sheltered nature and is suitablefor a lady of 60 years plus. It is situated in Park Road,Birstall.

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