Birstall Post (395) June 2016

the Birstall post Y O U R

C O M M U N I T Y

JUNE 2016

N E W S P A P E R

www.birstallpost.co.uk

No. 395

Rugby club hosts festival BIRSTALL RUGBY Club held its inaugural Bfest over the May Bank Holiday, despite the mixed weather.

To mark their 40th anniversary the club wanted to celebrate with the community so came up with the idea of a beer, music and rugby two day festival.

The event was officially opened by Chair of Birstall Parish Council Ann Marshall. Two games of rugby were played on the Sunday, with 15 live bands providing the entertainment, 20 locally brewed real ales to be sampled in the beer tent, an inflatable cocktail bar, an Asian grille, a mobile pizzeria, a crepe and pancake stall and the ever popular Rugby Club BBQ providing the refreshments. Several local arts and crafts stalls Pic: (l-r) Luke Hill (7) Sam Hill (4), Logan Thomas (7) & Izzy Pulford (7)

and charity stalls , an inflatable castle and a surf board ride all added to the carnival atmosphere.

Club spokesman Graham Cree said: “The event

Blackmailer jailed A BLACKMAILER who extorted money from a Birstall man and threatened him with violence has been jailed for two years and three months.

Joshua Scott (24) began an affair with the married man after meeting in February via a dating website.

After two encounters Scott began making demands for money, followed by threatening phone calls and texts. These included threats to burn down the victim’s home, to break his legs, damage his house and car and tie up his wife and children in their home.

The victim handed over a total of £5500 before contacting the police in March.

Scott, of The Crescent, Blaby, admitted blackmail between February 1 and March 28 this year.

The offence put Scott in breach of a three month suspended jail sentence for battery and harassment of a former girlfriend, who was also forced to give him money when they split up.

Scott was also given a restraining order banning him from contacting the blackmail victim or going to his home.

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Pic: Birstall RFC 2nd XV in action

Pic: Birstall RFC Chairman receives the “losing team” trophy from 1st XV Captain Karl Harby, while Leicestershire Rugby Union representative Eddie Gregory looks on

Continued from page 1 was made possible by the large team of club officials and volunteers, with the help of the Parish Council, Cedars Academy, and numerous local sponsors. It is planned that this will become an annual event.”

Pic: BFest cocktail bar proved to be a big success.

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The CPA, which helps the public to identify safe reliable contractors to carry out home improvements, awarded its 5 year Membership Achievement Award to CWC. Membership of the CPA means that customers have their deposits and guarantee underwritten by the organisation.

Mandy Manning from CWC said: “We put the interests of the customer first and we won’t compromise on our attention to detail or the quality of the materials we use.

“Everything is carefully project managed by us personally and we do everything we can to ensure the work we do enhances your home.”

Parish Council notes A FULL meeting of Birstall Parish Council was held on Monday May 9.

Cllr Ann Marshall was elected as chairman for the ensuing year, and Cllr Robert Dickinson was elected vice chairman.

Mr Umar Javaid was co-opted to fill a vacancy on the council. Mr Javaid is a medical engineer, has three children and has lived in the village for 12 years..

PCSO Mo Musa reported that there had been a rise in theft from motor vehicles, some of which had been left unsecured. PCSO Musa said reports of young people throwing stones at motor vehicles and kicking off wing mirrors continued, and that the issue was a police priority.

County Councillor Iain Bentley reported that vehicle activated speed signs will be installed on Birstall Road in June and that the speed cushion near the junction of Church Hill will be re-installed “shortly”.

County Councillor Iain Bentley and Borough Councillor David Gaskell reported that they had met with the committee of Birstall Social Club to discuss how the club might find grant aid to finance a programme of improvements to the club.

It was agreed to award grant aid to Girl Guiding Birstall of £400 to replace worn out equipment, and £280 to Birstall Shraddha Group for yoga sessions and seated exercise sessions.

The Council agreed its new website provider, www.2commune.com, at a cost of £650 to set up then £400 annually.

The existing service, provided by the County Council, is being withdrawn in September.

The opening hours of the Parish Council office from May 18 are 9am2pm, Monday to Friday.

THE BIRSTALL POST JUN 2016

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Bright future for Birstall dancer A TALENTED dancer from Birstall has secured a place at the prestigious Royal Ballet School in London.

Easter bonnets THE ACORN under 5s preschool at Highcliffe school held an Easter bonnet parade.

Felix Liggins (10), of Woodgate Drive, started dancing at the age of two, until he was four years old.

“But then he didn’t want to do it any more” said mum, Tracy Liggins who runs the Starlight Dance school. “Then at age seven after watching one of our shows he wanted to come back and from this point on he has gone from strength to strength and never looked back.”

Felix said: “I am so excited and thrilled to be going full time to the Royal Ballet School, the audition process was very stressful and emotional and it was a huge relief when the acceptance email came.”

Aged eight, Felix successfully auditioned for the Royal Ballet School’s associate programme and has done two years of travelling to London every Saturday morning on the train to take ballet classes at Covent Garden.

He has also continued his training at

Pics: dancer Felix Liggins

Starlight where as well as ballet he enjoys acrobatics, modern and lyrical dance.

Felix will be a boarder at the school and hopes to stay from years 7 to 11 – students are assessed every year before

This year there were around 50 entries from the preschool children and their younger siblings making it a real family affair. Many grandparents attended with parents to see the colourful array of hats.

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After the usual selection of Easter songs to families and friends. Mr McFarland, the reception teacher from Highcliffe Primary judged the entries. All the children won a chocolate bar and three children received Easter eggs. In first place was Ava Toon, second place was Poppy Bartlett and third place went to Bobby Dutton. Everybody enjoyed refreshments afterwards and the proceeds of the event are going towards some new toys for water play outside.

THE BIRSTALL POST JUN 2016

being invited back the following September.

Felix’s ambition in dance is to become a professional ballet dancer for the Royal Ballet company, like his idol principal dancer Steven McRae. Last year Felix performed in the Royal Ballet Company’s production of Swan Lake and this summer will be performing with the Australian Ballet and in the Bolshoi Ballet’s production of La Corsaire at The Royal Opera House.

Mum Tracy said: “Felix is a very determined boy and works very hard. Both my husband and I are extremely proud of him and what he has achieved. Not only will I miss him at home, but he has been a big part of the Starlight family and we will all miss him at dancing too, but wish him all the best for his future.

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THE BIRSTALL POST JUN 2016

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Tennis open day

THE BIRSTALL POST JUN 2016

A TENNIS coach will be taking on a 24 hour tennis challenge as part of Birstall Watermead Tennis club’s open day.

Laura Morley (pictured) will be starting her challenge at 4pm on Friday July 1 at the club’s Birstall Road ground, raising money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

Club spokesman Mark Deaden said: “Not only are the club supporting a good cause, they’re also offering the public a chance to get involved and benefit from 50% off membership fees when signing up on the day.”

He added: “It promises to be 24 hours crammed full of activities for kids, including face-painting, a tuck shop and tennis games, high energy cardio tennis, a battle of the sexes tennis match and an all white fancy dress game played with wooden racquets. So why not come down, get involved and support your local tennis club.”

The event starts at 4pm on Friday July 1 and finishes at 4pm on Saturday July 2.

With the sporting successes seen by the city of Leicester in the past few months, BWTC have not let the side down as five out of six senior teams have already clinched victory in their first league matches of the summer.

Birstall’s youngsters have also been doing their club proud with teams in the mini red U8, mini orange U9and mini green U10 age groups doing battle against local clubs.

For more information on the 24 hour challenge, holiday activities for kids, the open day or just how to get involved, please contact Laura Morley on 0774 2249 807

Stones thrown at passing buses POLICE HAVE been conducting plain clothes patrols at night to try and catch vandals in Birstall who have been throwing stones at buses and other vehicles.

Police say the incidents have been happening between 10pm and 4am on Loughborough Road or roads nearby.

In the last few months 10 Skylink buses, operated by Kinchbus, have been targeted resulting in over £10,000 worth of damage.

Alex Kerr, Skylink General Manager said: “The cost is one thing but the safety of customers and drivers is paramount. If these incidents were to continue a review of the Skylink service at night through Birstall would have to be considered. We are working closely with the police and providing them with the necessary CCTV footage to identify those responsible and urge anyone with information to contact the police.”

Cars, a lorry and taxis have also had stones thrown at them say Police.

Birstall’s PC Dave Jaeckels said: “We have also had a number of house windows smashed and some cars parked on driveways have also had their windows smashed, again during the night.

mation from anyone would be greatly appreicated.

“We would also like to ask anyone who may be out in the early hours to be vigilant and report any groups of youths they may see in the area, so that we can speak to them and find out what they are up to and whether they are the ones involved.”

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“A number of young people in the village have been spoken to but have denied being the ones responsible and without any evidence against them we have been unable to take any further action at this time.

“Obviously we are very concerned about these incidents as it is only a matter of time before a serious accident is caused or a driver or passenger is seriously injured. We have been conducting plain clothed patrols up and down the A6 as and when we can, and will cotinue to do this in an attempt to catch the people responsible, however any infor-

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Highcliffe school’s summer fair New bus shelter THIS YEAR’S summer fair at Highcliffe Primary School is shaping up to be one of the best ever.

Under the theme of a Rio Carnival, to tie in with the Olympic host city this summer, the school’s PTA is planning some new and different entertainment and activity. Some of the highlights include a performance by Leicester’s leading samba band, Sambando, playing Brazilian street rhythms in addition to dance performances and singing by local groups and artists.

Exciting new activities this year include pony rides, go karts, Quidditch by the Loughborough Longshots team and a lasertag cowboy shootout! The PTA have wracked their brains to create some fabulous new games for this year as well, including ‘guess the number of balloons in the head’s car’, ‘play your cards right’, ‘test-your-strength’ and lots more. Of course, it wouldn’t be a summer fair without some of our favourite games like ‘beat-the-goalie’ and ‘splatthe-rat’. It’s also the perfect opportunity to soak a teacher!

There will also be everything you’ve come to expect from Highcliffe’s summer fair like the bouncy castles and

A BUS shelter is set to be installed on Wanlip Lane, near the junction of Windmill Avenue.

disco dome.

You certainly won’t go hungry with food stalls, BBQ, ice creams, candy floss and enough cakes to sink Paul Hollywood’s luxury yacht!

The summer fair is Highcliffe PTA’s biggest fundraising event in the year, helped by the raffle – prizes for which have been generously donated by many local businesses including a top prize of £100. So buy lots of tickets and come along to the grand prize draw, which will be at the summer fair.

The Highcliffe PTA summer fair is on Saturday June 18 from

1pm to 4pm with entrances on both the Greengate and Elmfield sides of the school. Entry is 50p, with all primary age and younger school children free.

From Highcliffe PTA

Pic: Cllr Iain Bentley, County Council officer Claire Bass & Parish Clerk Sue Coulson at the site of the bus shelter

Birstall County Councillor Iain Bentley, proprietor of Bentley’s Garden Buildings, has offered to provide a wooden shelter free of charge.

He said: “There is no funding for bus shelters, the County Council says it doesn’t have funds and I thought if I don’t do it, it won’t happen. I think it would be a positive step.”

Following a site meeting, Leicestershire County Council have agreed to lay a concrete base for the shelter.

At the Estates and Recreation Committee meeting of Birstall Parish Council on Monday May 23, concerns were expressed about the design of the wooden bus shelter and it was agreed to look at other commercially available designs with glass or plastic sides before making a final decision.

THE BIRSTALL POST JUN 2016

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Race makes a splash!

THE BIRSTALL POST JUN 2016

THE EIGHTH White Horse Birstall annual charity duck race attracted a large crowd despite the less than perfect weather.

“I am really happy with this year’s event, as it really was a community effort, with lots of people helping to make it a special day and also the funds raised will benefit more than one community group” said Charlotte Foy, from the White Horse.

The top winning duck was number 634 receiving a £100 and there were nearly 50 other prizes. £3,154 was raised for Birstall Bags and over £730 was raised for other local causes too Girl guiding in Birstall made £147 and the Money will be split between the Guides that helped out as part of an International camp they are attending called Charnwood 2016. “ The camp is hosted by Guides and Scouts of Leicestershire but has representatives from over 20 different countries attending and around 4,000 people attending the camp in total. It’s going to be an awesome experience for the girls!” said Gemma Lawrenson.

Phil Hughes from Birstall United Juniors Football club said: “It was a great day, we raised £136 which will go towards buying new footballs for next season.”

Acorn under 5’s playgroup provided a much needed indoor activity and made duck race and Leicester city hats with the children. “We raised £50 which has been spent on a slide which the children are already enjoying at Acorn” said Jackie Bateman.

Highcliffe PTA donated £50 of their takings to BAGS but will put the other £200 towards new reading books for the younger children at Highcliffe, maths equipment for the whole school and some towards the year 6 leavers trip.

Riverside PTA helped the cause by selling more than 440 ducks at their school, they also made £219 on the day which is being added to a fund to help paint the school playground.

Emma Shaw from Birstall BAGS said: “We are overwhelmed at the support shown throughout the whole duck race extravaganza. From those who donated prizes, the BAG's supporters that sold ducks and people who bought them. Thank you to the helpers who made cakes, fellow clubs and societies that donated takings and once again our gratitude to those who manned the stalls on the day. Finally thank you to Charlotte, James, Ady, Jenny and all the White Horse team for putting together such a wonderful community event. A whopping £3154 was raised for Birstall BAG's on the day and we promise it will all go toward supporting a cause of potential benefit to the Birstall community.”

The new duck decorating competition was an outstanding success with 177 children taking part. Charlotte Foy said: “The ducks made a dazzling display for the Duck Race day, it was so difficult to choose the winners as we could see how much time and effort had gone into each one and they were all so creative” The winners were: Abbey Doughty age 4 from Acorns, Brayden Astley, Maisie Staples, Ethan Burton, Thomas Macmanard and Owen Bates from Riverside and Lily Carpenter, Joel Moore and Libby Doyle from Highcliffe.

The White Horse would particularly like to thank the PTA’s of each of the primary

Pics: (top left) Harriet Pole & Katie Bateman as sisters Elsa & Anna from Frozen (below) Charlotte Foy from the White Horse

Pic: finding the winner

schools and all those who kindly donated prizes, and Rosie Houldsworth for arranging and collecting the majority of the prizes. "Nearly all the business's in the village donated something which is fantastic!" said Rosie of Birstall BAGS. Those who contributed were: Aroma Spice, Unique Hair, Birstall Golf Club, Mark Patrick butcher, Carpets of Choice, Ruby Tuesday Café, Glenwood Interiors, Anne El Marie Pics: (above) Brayden Astley & Lily Carpenter, (left) Catherine Vivers with Sebastien (4) & Poppy (7)

Hairdressers, Silly prices, Little Red Devil deli, Bodycraft Tattoo Parlour, Tesco, Birstall Aquatics, Barbies Hair, The Plough, Leicester Outdoor Pursuits centre, Birstall Fisheries, Be Beau, Faces Arts, TJ Cycles, Dance Academy, Stonehurst Farm, Chic Revive Hair Salon, Acorn preschool, Riverside & Highcliffe PTA’s, MDW Fireplaces, Fusion Leisure, Leicester Tigers, Birstall Parish Council, Rachel Ince Photography, GD Beauty, Dan’s Barbers, Lambourne Café, Leicester county Cricket. Special Thanks also to Katie Bateman, Paddle Plus, Knitting Guerrillas of Blighty (KGB), Think sign and Print and Kaine’s Castles.

YOUR SAY...

It was a truly successful production with great humour and delivery (especially Rene). It brought much laughter to the audience and reminded us of the good old days of humour such as this and Dad’s Army with just enough double meanings without causing any embarrassment.

Also well done for reaching 25 years of entertaining Birstall with two shows yearly and I hope the group will continue for many more to come.

Margaret Briggs

Thanks The Birstall Post welcomes your views and opinions on any subject. Letters, which must include your name and address, (though not necessarily for publication) can be posted to: The Birstall Post, Unit 109, Greenacres, The Sidings, Leicester LE4 3BR, or handed in at Birstall library or email: editor@birstallpost.co.uk

Bowls Winter is now over and outdoor bowling has started. There has been a lot of work done on our two bowling greens over the winter to keep them in great playing condition. Both men and ladies have a full fixture list – matches, county competitions, men's county game and an open gala as well as our own social events.

If anyone would like to start a new sport, they would be very welcome at Belgrave BC For more information contact Janet – 0116 2394970 or Steve – 0116 2870787.

There is always an experienced bowler at the club to help when you first start. Why not give it a try – it’s good exercise together with good company and friendship.

Belgrave Bowling Club

Well done I would like to take this opportunity of congratulating all those who took part in HATS latest production of “Allo, Allo.”

Save the Children thank the White Horse for the generosity of Charlotte and Jim Foy and their staff in helping to raise £297 from a lunch, the seventh we have held.

From enjoying our tasty meal we have helped others so perhaps it will go towards feeding a family nutritious food for a month to help them cope in an emergency which would be £20, £36 will buy a family two goats so they have milk and meat as well as an income.

Josephine Burgess.

Book search I have been trying, without success, to obtain a copy of "A History and Guide to Rothley - a Great Central Country Station"

by D J U Knighton, published in 1989. It occurs to me that one of your readers might have a copy that they would be prepared to sell, or possibly lend, to me.

I used the station daily in the late 1950s/early 1960s and came to know Mr Brown, the stationmaster, and the porters George and John, well.

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I can be contacted by e-mail at rclark@iee.org Roger Clark

Day of talents Dear readers, on Saturday, August 20, a Day of Talents is to be held at Birstall Methodist Church from 10am till 4pm.

Proceeds will go to the Bark Foundation & Christian Aid. We are looking for musicians of all ages, dancers, actors & exhibitions of paintings, photography & craftwork etc. to make the day as varied as possible. Participants can either be sponsored or make a personal donation. Refreshments will be available throughout the day. Please contact David Bark on 2677576 or Cynthia Coltman on 2673558 if you would like to take part in this event.

Cynthia Coltman.

Parking At our recent surgery, yet another complaint was received about motor vehicles being parked on the pavements in Birstall and obstructing people in wheelchairs and people with prams. Particular mention was made of pavements in ‘the Avenues’, Stonehill Avenue, Sibson Road and The Crossways.

I have brought this to the attention of the police and they will deal with it as appropriate when they witness such events.

However, as they quite properly point out, vehicles do not just appear in these locations; they are driven there by people and to leave them as described is anti-social behaviour.

Although we all love our cars, in using them we should not forget those less fortunate than ourselves. We know that the police generally are overstretched. We surely, can police this ourselves by parking properly.

Cllr. David Gaskell

Open day We have all been hearing a lot about Shakespeare recently and this started me

wondering whether he ever mentions bowls in his writings. My good lady twiddled a bit on the computer and it seems he mentioned bowls a lot and his audiences clearly understood all the references. 'Well', I said, 'the man has gone up in my estimation'.

'Shakespeare is the best, darling.' said my good lady. 'and even after 400 years he is still the best. You can't get better than that.'

'Well dear, that is true' I said, 'but in fairness, I must point out that bowls has been played for at least 800 years – twice as long. You can't get better than that either!'

The game has fascinated people for hundreds of years and anyone who wants to give it a try can come to our Open Day at our clubhouse on Birstall Road. Experience is not necessary as help will be on hand – as will free refreshments. We hope to give a flavour of the game and the great social life that goes with it. There will be no charge and visitors will not be under any obligation.

The Open Day will be held 2 pm Saturday 4th June but if you are not free then, other times can be arranged to suit.

Please ring my good friends John or Carolyn on 2675947 for further details.

Roly Green St Margaret's Co-operative Bowls Club www.smcbc.com

Distasteful I find myself having to write to yourselves having read last month’s letters in the magazine.

I find Sue Coulson and Iain Bentleys comments regarding Mr Simon Sansome very distasteful indeed.

The fact he does not live in Birstall does not preclude him from having opinions and expressing them.

Indeed the fact people seem to go to him with complaints/concerns about the council then it tells me a lot regarding the parish council. From the comments no one wants to complain to them else they get the same name calling and disparaging remarks printed in the Birstall Post.

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THE BIRSTALL POST JUN 2016

8

Regarding the proposed traffic lights on Greengate Lane. I myself only found out when my husband came home from a visit to Kingsgate Newsagent where a petition was, about three days before the last day you could give the city council your thoughts. Cannot remember reading anything about it in the Post prior to that.

The very lame reply from the parish council is that they have had a meeting with an officer from the city council and felt they had been listened to.

How very naive of them. Everyone knows if Soulsby wants traffic lights on Greengate Lane he will put them there whether it affects Birstall or not. As I said in my letter to the Mercury (which was printed) the mayor has no regard to anyone else’s opinion but his own and the stupidity of standing traffic outside Greengate Primary school, spewing out fumes and the harm to the children does not bare thinking about. The standing traffic can be borne out by anyone who was in the jam from the bridge on Greengate lane down to Loughborough Road on the day the city council put traffic lights up a few months ago. The parish council should be doing more to protect the children of their parish.

Turning now to Harrowgate Park. Who owns the park? If it is the parish council then surely they purchased it on behalf of all the residents of Birstall? Of which Hallam Fields are a part of. Ms Coulson’s comments seem to me be very, very petty indeed. There is very little fencing on the park as it is, why do they think they should put a metal fence around now? Do they really need to restrict the access to the Hallam Fields children and parents? If so why? As for the comments about the access route at present, quite clearly she and the parish council have very little sympathy for mothers who will have to push prams, pushchairs up a very steep hill to get to a park and then back home again. As for the cost of all the legal bits she mentions, I would suggest that the £41,000 the council has squirreled away would have been better spent on putting in another access on Hallam Fields side, than sitting in a bank somewhere earning no interest at all.

Mind you the comments I have read do not surprise me coming from a council that deemed it OK to spend over £6,500 on that monstrosity what they laughingly called a Christmas Tree. They only managed to find a loop hole to get out of the three year contract they had signed, after the national press got hold of the story and made fun of it (quite rightly in my opinion).

Sue Hitchcock

THE BIRSTALL POST JUN 2016

Fine example A few days ago I lost my desk keys when parking my car in the city. Fortunately, I had printed my phone number and address on the tab, but did not really expect to see them again. Imagine my delight and astonishment when a charming Birstall family who found the keys did not just phone me but drove out to Thurcaston to return them to me in person, and then adamantly refused to accept any reward or recompense for this extremely kind action.

It is heart-warming to realize what a fine example some set for others to follow.

Peter Mans

Thanks The MWiB (Methodist Women in Britain) Easter Offering Service – held at Birstall Methodist Church on Monday 9 May went really well! We had a good representation from the various churches in the Circuit. Readers and Leaders willingly took

part and it was a very meaningful service.

David Bark played the organ and Pete Molesdale operated the sound system.

Thanks to the women from the Monday Group who welcomed people as they arrived and also served the refreshments afterwards. The service was prepared by MWiB on behalf of the World Mission Fund.

In this year’s service, we heard three different stories about empowering Dalit Women and girls living in Indian society. Dalits suffer from discrimination because they are below the bottom of the caste system. This act of worship enabled the Methodist Church in Britain and Ireland to give to the work of the 65 Partner Churches overseas.

I am very pleased to report that this year we raised £742.08 through the Easter Offering envelopes and offerings on the collecting plates (£100 more than last year). Thanks again to everyone.

Eileen Molesdale, Monday Women’s Group

Day centre Birstall Dementia Day Centre needs to stay open and should not be allowed to close due to lack of funding. As the sole carer of my late mother who had this dreadful condition, I would have been grateful for somewhere to go. To meet other people in the same position as myself and for my mother to be in a safe environment where her needs were met. A few hours a week could have been better than a big lottery win.

From my own experience, dementia destroyed the mother I knew, our mother child relationship and my own self esteem.

My mother's capabilities shrank into an existence of constant bewilderment and detachment. My life became that of a human life support machine. I ended up having to do everything for her. We lived in Leicester City at the time, and yes I did contact our GP and Social Services but was offered no support, I met only disinterest.

The availability of a respite care centre even for half a day would have helped enormously.

Each day was an uphill struggle, no two days were the same but each one became

harder. I did work full time but reduced my hours to cope with it all. This was after I myself has been off sick due to a medical diagnosis, ' Carers stress' and my employer has given me a formal warning. They had never heard of 'Carers stress' and rubbished this condition!

My mother floated around her home oblivious to the outside world be it day or night. People who had known us for thirty years of more ignored me once they found out she had dementia. I longed for her to die and this nightmare of eight years to end. Nightly phone calls from her were not uncommon. The final straw came when the second call from the emergency button call centre was received. Less that two hours after the last one, she had fallen out of bed again and needed attention. My husband went to her home and called an ambulance, as she was immobile.

Once safely in hospital I distanced myself from my mother. Eight years of caring had left me physically and mentally exhausted. Had there been a Dementia Day Care Centre I would probably have had and opportunity to discuss my thoughts about this with others and been able to carry on a bit longer. My story does not end there, By my refusal to co-operate with the hospital who wanted to discharge my mother back home into the same circumstances.

Someone had to take notice. My mother became a statistic and was bed blocking.

My husband intervened and dealt with the authorities concerned. My mother needed 24 hour care by this time. I feel that had a Dementia Centre been available things would not have reached crisis point.

Eventually after much discussion with the medical profession, social services and my husband, it was agreed my mother did require specialist care. It took two months for the medics to reach this conclusion and my mother was given the highest care category. She went to live at a fantastic care home, Whetstone Grange, Whetstone, Leicestershire, where her needs were met and the staff were skilled in managing dementia. She appeared happy living there and was treated with the utmost dignity and respect and sadly passed away after two years. I lived with a loved one who

had dementia for ten years, and ten years 9 have now passed since my mother died.

My mother may no longer be here but the scars of dealing with this condition remain.

It is vital in my opinion that carers of those with dementia are given support. A little is better than nothing. Dementia is on the increase and I may need this service on day. I would not like anyone else to have to care for a loved one in isolation as I had to. Please support the campaign to keep these dementia care services available locally.

Mrs K E A Urbaniak-Reynolds, Birstall

Vital service An average full time job is around 40 hours a week with a massive 128 hours off! Can you imagine having a job which required you to work 168 hours a week with very little time off? Do you think there would be many people apply? This is how it is for me and many carers every week of the year, year after year.

So can you further imagine having a full 8 hours respite (Monday and Wednesday 11.00am – 3.00pm) during those 168 hours and how much that means to us?

How do you think we would feel if they were taken away from us? Those precious 8 hours where we do not have to carry out constant dynamic risk assessments; tend to care needs such as bathing / washing / toileting / feeding / protecting / supporting; sorting out finances or appointments; chaperoning; chauffeuring etc. etc. when staff at the day centre take over from us. For that short time we are free to be ourselves, to do whatever we want with peace of mind knowing that our loved ones are safe and sound. Knowing also that during those 8 hours they are being stimulated, enjoying other company - people who are in the same situation as they are, having fun, enjoying lunch together – how lovely it is for them – those who already have so much to cope with. It really does have a positive effect on everyone concerned. It truly is a God-send, believe me.

On a personal note – I am a carer for

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83 year old mum, who has lived with us for just over 4 years, since my dad sadly passed away. That day in December 2011 changed our lives completely. We previously had the freedom to do just about anything we wanted when we wanted to becoming totally responsible for a very vulnerable adult and having to plan well in advance everything we want to do. It has affected every aspect of our lives from looking after sick grandchildren, meeting friends for last minute get-togethers to attending special occasions etc. etc. the list goes on and on. If we cannot sort out a sitter for mum then we cannot attend or help out.

Day rolls into night and nothing changes, mum often has really restless nights, which has found me getting up as much as 8 times a night to attend to her needs.

There is no let up to the amount of time that is needed to support mum in her day to day and night to night routines.

To try and put down in words “how it is” living with someone with severe dementia and how to express the importance of respite for both parties, this only really portrays “the tip of the iceberg”.

My mum’s quality of life is dwindling away as time goes on and if it wasn’t for the mental health project and the staff at St James Day Centre - Birstall, I am sure it would deteriorate a lot quicker.

Finally, I find it very sad and upsetting that someone like my mum, who has been there for everyone all her life, worked hard all her life, lost her beloved husband and now plagued with this cruel disease of vascular dementia, is further being attacked by having this service taken away from her. If she had a choice, like anyone, she would definitely not choose this for the latter part of her life. This disease is not fussy who it attacks – rich, poor, black, white, male or female, it just does and “that is how it is”.

I sincerely hope that the NHS can try to understand the situation that I find myself in along with many other carers and service users alike and that they may find a way to continue providing this very important service for us.

D Wright

Noticeboard all details printed free Riverside PTA

Rummage Sale and Family Rounders Day at Riverside School Saturday June 11, 12-4pm They will be selling secondhand items and also offering refreshment If anyone would like a stall (stalls are £10) you can either email us pta4@riverside.leics.sch.uk, contact us on our Facebook page or post a message in our red post box located in school reception

Birstall Gala Sat June 25/Sun 26 Sat: from noon, fairground rides, live bands Sun: from 11am, stalls, music, fairground rides Proms in the Park Concert 7pm Firework display 9.45pm Adm £1 on Sunday

Councillor Surgery Last Sat of every month 10am to 12noon 10 Sibson Road, Old Council Office Talk to your District & County Councillors to discuss any issue of local concern

Birstall Running Club Meet Monday & Friday nights, 6.20 for 6.30 run Birstall School Lane playing fields – showers & toilets available Wednesday night beginners group at Birstall Legion 7pm Speed work sessions also available on Wednesdays for those wanting to improve Contact Deryk on dwoods1@sky.com or Bob 07927 346640 Web site – www.birstallrc.org.uk Mountsorrel Methodist Church Celebrating fifteen years of Sunday Night @ Eight

African party THE CHILDREN at Half Pints on Loughborough Road enjoyed learning about the Zimbabwean way of life, dancing, playing musical instrument, living in the traditional huts and trying the homemade national food, at an event inspired by Zimbabwe’s independence day.

ours to create a picture of flowers.

You will be amazed and enthralled by this exciting demonstration.

Come along and see if you will be inspired to try your hand at this wonderful and fulfilling hobby.

Demonstration to end at 9pm.

Members £1, Guests £3. Free raffle. Ample parking and wheelchair access.

Open Church St Leonard’s Swithland June 19, 2-4pm Come and join us for tea, coffee & cake A wander round to explore some of this beautiful church’s history Open on the 3rd Sunday of the month May – September Thursday Group

Coffee Morning in the Methodist Church centre, 10-12 am. in aid of Medical Detection Dogs. Home made cakes, tombola, raffle, books & puzzles

Birstall Golf Club Junior Lessons Saturday Mornings starting 14th May 2016 10am - 11am 6 Weeks £35.00 Ask Jon Williamson our PGA Professional for details Telephone 0116 267 5245 Email: jonwilliamsonpga@hotmail.co.uk Age Concern Birstall and Wanlip

200 club April winners 1st Val Clements

Woodcock Farm Shop Manure,

Home Grown NEW Potatoes Wilja Red Mozart Marfona Maris-Bard

Woodchip Mulch, Topsoil & Compost:

Organ Recitals

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on Sunday June 19 at 8pm

by Simon Lumby St Aidans Church, New Parks Admission is free Donations for Church’s Development Fund Buffet from 7.30pm

Local Honey & Preserves incl Marmalade & Chutney

Birstall & District Art Society Tuesday, June 14 at 6.30pm for a 7pm start You are invited to join us at the Palmer Tomkinson Centre at The Cedars Academy, Wanlip Road, Birstall LE4 4GH to watch professional artist, Christine Adams, demonstrate the use of watercol-

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THE BIRSTALL POST JUN 2016

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2nd Thomas Darlison 3rd Esme Hewson 4th Jill Bailey

Birstall Flower Club June 22nd 2016, 7.15pm Birstall Village Hall Demonstration by Lynne Sharpe, entitled "Garden Magic".

Visitors welcome - £5 Queries to Sylvia: 0116 2674206 or Mary Linnett: 07704398017

Birstall & District Local History Society

Ramble & Walk of Life 2016

The next monthly meeting of the Society is to take place on Thursday 9th June 2016 in the Birstall Village Hall, Birstall Road, Birstall, Leics commencing at 7.30pm.

The talk is entitled "The Legends and Folklore of the Apple" and the speaker will be Gareth King.

Visitors are very welcome to join us for this talk and parking will be available on the night on the Birstall Playing Fields through the School Lane entrance.

Sunday 26th June, 10.30am Beacon Hill Country Park This year's Walk of Life is one for the ramblers and families who like a challenge!

The 10 mile adventure walk starts at Leicestershire's famous Beacon Hill, leading down to Rainbows Hospice and finishing back at the top of the hill.

At the finish line you'll receive a Rainbows wrist band, medal and be treated to a free hog roast or spicy bean burger!

A fun-filled adventure walk for the whole family!

Alongside our Walk of Life we also have a two mile Tiny Trek around Beacon Hill which is wheelchair and pushchair suitable. But don't be fooled, Beacon Hill is steep and the two mile route will still be challenging - it's no walk in the park!

Book today Let's get ready to ramble! rainbows.co.uk/ramble 0800 952 1133 Registered Charity Number: 1014051

Birstall Royal British Legion 4th Carlita (F/V) 11th Neil Alexander (M/V) 18th Expressive Harmony (Duo) 25th Noel Gee (M/V) Dancing every Saturday night with live entertainment Bingo, Free beer raffle and not forgetting Open the Box Every Tuesday night Bingo starting at 9.15pm Sunday Quiz nights Sunday 11th and 25th June starting at 9pm Acoustic night Sunday 18th June at 8pm Wednesday quiz every week from 8.30pm Food available every Saturday 122pm (only cobs available on 4th & 11th) Wakes catered for Free Wi-Fi available New outside seating area • Birstall Methodist Monday Women’s Group Programme for June 2016 – 7.30pm every Monday evening 4 June 10-12noon Saturday Coffee Shop

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Please come and support our Project MacMillan Cancer Care 6 June Open Meeting – Diane to tell stories (Thrift Stall) 13 June Magic and Magicians – Speaker John Constantine 20 June Open Meeting – talk about Suffragettes 27 June Final Fling at Rothley Court Hotel – 7.00 for 7.30pm (Menu choice and payment in advance please)

Ramble to Rainbows

Cheeky Cherubs Parent/Grand parent Toddler Group Methodist Church Wanlip Lane Birstall Open every Monday 9.30-11.30 for 0-4 year olds New Parents Welcome, No waiting list £2 for 1 Adult 1 Child Additional 50p for every child after that & £1 Additional Adult This includes a Snack & Unlimited drinks for children & unlimited Tea & Coffee for Adults...

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50/50 Lottery Tickets are Now on sale This years Charity is Ward 27 at the LRI this ward is for children from 0-19yrs battling with Cancer, this is a Fantastic Charity helping Children's stay more homely.

Tickets are £1 each. Unlimited buy.

The Draw is 26th June & all money raised between now & then will be split between our Charity & 1 Lucky Winner!

Last years Winner won £1575.00!!

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Others with Technology!

Age UK Leicester Shire & Rutland are now recruiting Digital Champion Volunteers - small amounts of time make a huge difference.

With more and more services now digital by default we are holding events across Leicester Shire and Rutland to support people over the age of 50 using a variety of devices such as laptops, smart phones and tablets.

You don't have to be a computer genius to be a Digital Champion we don't teach, we guide!

For more information please contact Hollie Ind - 0116 223 7371 or email hollie.ind@ageukleics.org.uk Saturday 11th June

Birstall Scout and Guide Gala Birstall Methodist Church, Wanlip Lane.

Stalls, games, BBQ, afternoon teas, raffle.

There will be a procession of Scouts and Guides through the village from 1.45pm led by Thur-

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Followed by the gala at Birstall Methodist Church from 2.15pm 4.15pm.

All welcome, please come along and support us.

There will be temporary road closures in place for the procession.

Roads affected are Stonehill Ave, Rose Tree Ave, The Wayne Way, Sibson Road and Wanlip Lane (from the triangle to the Church).

Queen’s official birthday celebration On Sunday June 12th at 10am St James the Great Church, Church Hill, Birstall Everyone is warmly invited to a Civic Service of Holy Communion.

We will be singing well known hymns to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s official birthday. Tea, coffee and birthday cake after the service.

We might even sing Happy Birthday!

Film Presentations Thurcaston and Cropston Parish Council "The Dressmaker" June 10 (118 mins) June's comedy drama, starring Kate Winslett, is a 1950's Australian tale of revenge, family and the transformative power of clothes.

While still a child, Tilly was sent away from her township for supposedly doing something unforgivable. Having trained as a seamstress in Paris, Tilly returns, fashionably dressed, to her mother who needs her nursing care.

Gradually, the townsfolk are won round, perhaps bewitched, by

Tilly, who discovers eventually what had really happened during her childhood.

Thurcaston and Cropston Parish Council will be showing these films at Thurcaston Memorial Hall, starting at 7.30pm. Tickets will cost no more than £5 and concessions will still be £4.50. There will be refreshments and a lucky prize draw during the interval.

Advanced tickets may be purchased via the parish office –0116 236 7626 or at the door.

We hope you enjoy the summer.

Our next film will show on September 9th.

Big Birstall Yard Sale Saturday 9th July 10-4 For the 4th year running Birstall residents will be taking part in a massive collection of yard sales from their own driveway...

If you would like your household to take part-then all you need to do is get in touch (details below) & start hunting for clutter or unwanted items or even home-made items, then set up your table on the morning of the 9th July.

This will be fully advertised in the Leicester Mercury, Gumtree & publicised on Facebook/Twitter-we are expecting a brilliant turnout yet again.

We will be making a list of participating addresses so if you would like yours to be included please get in touch: fiona.barnes20@ntlworld.com Facebook.com/BigBirstallYardSale Or call or text 0754 7293545 to register for the event This will ensure that we can direct potential buyers to your stall.

Registering Your Address & Taking

Part Is Completely Free!

Please like our Facebook page for updates

Have you tried Bowls?

Come along to our Bowls Open Day Saturday 4 June 2016, 2.00pm All welcome bring flat shoes experienced players on hand to help St Margaret's Co-operative Bowls Club Co-op Sports Ground Birstall Road, Birstall, Leicester LE4 4DE www.smcbc.com A FUN GAME FOR ONE AND ALL Contact: Carolyn or John on 0116 267 5947 Other times by arrangement No Charge made

Cantamici Choir 'Much Ado About Captain Noah' Choral music with lyrics by William Shakespeare followed by songs about animals including 'Captain Noah and his Floating Zoo.' Saturday July 2nd Frazer Noble Hall, Leicester University, London Road Tickets £8 available on the door

CLASH 2012 Dock - Arthritis information Drop in: Monday 6th, 13th, 20th & 27th June 10.00am - 12.00pm i-Pad Training Drop-in Thursday 9th, 16th & 30th June 1.00 3.00pm iPad Barclays Digital Eagles training (members only) Wednesday 15th June 9.30-11.30am Peepul Enterprise Monday: YOGA 6th, 13th & 20 & 27th June, 11.30am-12.30am Wednesday: Seated/General Exercise session, 8th 15th & 22nd & 29th June 1.00-2.00pm Tesco Express Shelthorpe Community Room Wednesday General Exercises, 15th & 29th June 2.30-3.30pm Alternate Wed Drop-in Arthritis Information session, 8th & 22nd June 2.30-3.30pm Sunday Club Children & Young People’s club Animation Workshops and Fun Activities 12th, 19th & 26th June 10.00am 12.00pm Monthly Meeting There will not be a meeting on 8th June. Dr Moorthy is unable to attend and he will rearrange for July or August.

Hydrotherapy at Leicester General Hospital 2nd, 9th, 16th & 23rd & 30th June 10.000am - 12.00pm For further information: Call 03333 444 611

Pupils discover Brazil

CHILDREN AT Highcliffe School tried salsa dancing and made bunting as part of an afternoon spent learning about Brazil.

The children learnt lots of interesting things about Brazil, the host of this summer’s Olympic games, comparing its culture with that of the UK Every child from Reception to Year 6 decorated bunting linked to the theme of Brazil and the Olympics. The bunting will be used by the PTA to decorate the school for the Summer Fair on Saturday June 18.

Pics: trying Salsa dancing at (l-r) Layla Gillespie, Maulik Patel, Kenny Smith, Sienna Mistry; Olivia Pipes with a design she made

THE BIRSTALL POST JUN 2016

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Day care centre - NHS bosses extend funding A DEMENTIA day care service in Birstall that was threatened with closure has been given a reprieve – but only for 6 months.

The centre, based in the village hall, is run by Age UK Leicester Shire & Rutland and looks after 19 people with dementia across two days, with nine on a waiting list.

In April the NHS West Leicestershire Clinical Commissioning Group said it was withdrawing £70,000 of funding and the centre looked to set to close this September.

Campaigners, carers and Age UK

urged NHS bosses to reconsider, and they now say they will extend funding to March 2017 after listening to the feedback from patients and carers. They say that in the meantime they will conduct a review of service provision.

“It is important that we do not take our eye off the ball” said Tony Donovan, Director of Age UK Leicestershire & Rutland. “We are making every effort to ensure that the review takes place as soon as possible in order that we can allay the concerns of those carers involved who are still worried about the future of the service” he added.

Birstall’s MP Edward Argar said: “This local service is a hugely important lifeline to those with dementia who use it, and for those who care for them, and we have been clear that to close it would be the wrong decision.

I welcome the news that the CCG has listened to the concerns I expressed to them, in Parliament, and in the local media, and to the voices of local people. But while this is good news, there is still more work to do and I hope that this reprieve will give the opportunity for the CCG to work constructively with me and local campaigners to find a way to secure the Centre’s long-term future beyond next year.”

Lots of opportunities to perform throughout the year Dance for fun or train to a pre- professional standard in a friendly, welcoming environment Graded Examination classes in Ballet, Tap, Modern, Lyrical, Acrobatics from aged 2 upwards.

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Students raise cash for good causes A DANCE show performed and organised by three students at the Cedars Academy has raised £644 for local cancer charity Birstall BAGS and £644 for Help for Heroes.

Dancers Emma Garner, Daniela Fabbricatore and Serena Seymour said: “We felt privileged to raise money for Birstall BAGS as it is a local charity which has helped members of our families through tough times.

“We just wanted to say a little thank you for all that you do.”

Rosie Houldsworth for Birstall BAGS said: “We are very proud of the achievements of the Cedars Academy students in producing and performing such a professional dance show. We are delighted with the amount raised and the generosity of our supporters is once again overwhelming.”

Pic: (l-r) Emma Garner, Jo Preston, Daniela Fabricatore, Emma Shaw, Serena Seymour, Rosie Houldsworth & Liz Darlison

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Cedars’ new building THE CEDARS Academy in Birstall opened its new entrance and reception area in April.

Club wins promotion BIRSTALL UNITED are celebrating their first Leicestershire senior league title and promotion to the East Midlands counties league.

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now paid off with the County FA passing our ground as suitable for promotion.

While this was taking place, Manager Steve White along with assistant Phil Boyall assembled a side that has challenged at the top for the last three seasons and has finally achieved promotion.”

He added: “We are immensely proud of what we have achieved and are looking forward to competing at the next level of the FA ladder and we hope that we can attract more members of the Birstall public to come and cheer us on.”

The club is aware that promotion will mean more matches, more spectators and more work on match days and are actively seeking local people to come and help out on a match day in particular.

Jobs including greeting supporters and opposition, marking the pitch out, monitoring parking, clearing up and general support are all needed, and Gary is urging interested parties to get in touch.

He said: “As we grow, we need more support both on and off the pitch and anyone who is interested or would like to know more, please feel free to contact me on 07730676719 or email gary.fox@sypp.co.uk

Invited guests looked on as year seven student Rachel Godfrey (12) cut the ribbon to open the first phase of the school’s re-development.

The academy’s new entrance contains student support, a staff

Pic: (l-r) Executive Principal Hugh Howe, Principal Jason Smith & student Rachel Godfrey

Birstall’s MP Edward Argar was a guest. He said: “I know the school has been on a journey in recent years and I was impressed to see the improvements it continues to make, to hear about the successes of the students and to meet some of them, and to see first hand the commitment of the principal and all his staff to delivering a first class education to their students.

I congratulate them all on the progress the school continues to make.”

Bowls open morning BIRSTALL BOWLING Club is giving another chance to anyone who would like to try out the sport, by holding a second open morning.

This is planned for Saturday July 2 between 10am and 12 noon at the club on School Lane Playing Fields in Birstall, with the hope of better weather than the first open morning, held last month. All you need are a pair of flat shoes or trainers as all the equipment is provided. Everyone is welcome and experienced club members will be on hand to offer advice and assistance.

For more information about the club, ladies can call Jan on 0116 2122578 and men can contact Andy on 0116 2677969.

THE BIRSTALL POST JUN 2016

They finished two points ahead of last year’s champions Sileby town.

Chairman Gary Fox said: “I am delighted that years of hard work both on and off the field have culminated in the success that this season has provided.

“Four years ago we started to make strides to develop our facilities in order to make our club a place to be proud of and enjoy being in. That hard work has

room, meeting rooms and teaching areas.

Principal Jason Smith said: “We are aspiring to build a fantastic school for our students, who deserve it.”

Birstall gala in June

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BIRSTALL’S ANNUAL two day gala returns to the School Lane playing field on Saturday June 25 and Sunday June 26.

Salon’s fifth birthday A BIRSTALL hair and beauty salon is celebrating its fifth anniversary by offering a 15 per cent discount for competition winners in June and July.

Run by Bina Hinsupport from the Leicester glajia, Lotus Hair and Afro-Caribbean Centre, Beauty on Sibson Bina took her first step by Road is offering 15 opening a salon in St vouchers for 15 per Matthews in 2000. cent off a hair cut, Starting her styling with the winners career in a residential picked at random home, many of Bina’s from all entries after first clientele were resithe closing date of dents who continued to July 31. To enter, visit her salons – some email your name and taking two buses just to number to ensure their hair gets lotus_hairandbeauty@ the Lotus treatment! hotmail.co.uk with the “Continuous training, subject header BIRPic: Bina Hinglajia reliability and customer care STALL 15 “I started my own business when there have always been top priorities for me and my staff” said Bina. “I have trained was clearly a gap in the market” exmore then 120 staff over the years, some plains Bina, 42-year-old mother of two of whom have now become hair entreboys, both of whom have grown up and preneurs in their own right – it’s a treattended schools in Birstall. “From our mendous feeling to have had some part humble beginnings in a salon in St Matin that”. thews, we moved our premises and our Lotus will be having a stall at Birstall customer base to Birstall and have built Gala this year, offering hair feathers, and grown our loyal custom since then”. eyebrow threading, henna tattoos and Boosted by a Princes Trust low interest file-and-paint. loan, a grant from Business Link and

City success funds gym

THE BIRSTALL POST JUN 2016

SUCCESS AT the bookmakers has helped secure the financial future of the Gunns’ boxing gym for the next few years.

Leicester City supporter Carl Gunns had more than one reason to celebrate City’s success this season – he had put on a £2 bet at 2000/1.

“It was a shot in the

dark when I put the money on” said Carl. “I am a bit of a gambler.”

Carl put on several other bets on City throughout the season and came out a winner with £45,000.

He said: “Half of that money will go to the gym, to pay for day to day running costs and general repairs, as well as the weights room we are putting in.”

The fairground will start the ball rolling on Saturday from 12noon and from 3pm until around 9pm there will be local bands performing on stage.

There won’t be any stalls on Saturday but additional attractions will be on offer for everyone to enjoy.

There is no admission charge on Saturday.

On Sunday from 11am there will be a host of stalls from various groups, charities and traders to browse around as well as a performance by Steps School of Dance at noon, followed by a jazz band, Elton John tribute act and big bands.

Sunday concludes with a Proms in the Park concert at 7pm with the Hathern Band and soprano Jenny Saunders.

At 9.45pm there will be a firework display.

Concertgoers can bring their own picnics but BBQs are not permitted for safety reasons.

There will be £1 admission charge to the gala on Sunday, which will go towards the running costs of the event, which is organised by Birstall Parish Council.

Anyone who would like a stall at the gala, or who would like to volunteer their time to help out over the weekend, should contact Parish Clerk Sue Coulson on 0116 2676191 or admin@birstallpc.org.uk

If you have an NVQ Level 3 qualification in Child Care or the equivalent and a real interest in the serious business of childplay, we have a vacancy for a Play Worker and we would very much like to hear from you.

During Term Time Birstall Playgroup for Children with Special Needs provides play sessions on Monday and Friday mornings in Birstall Methodist Church Centre.

We believe that every child • needs to grow in confidence and gain a sense of their achievements • needs to learn tools to help them communicate their choices and ideas • should enjoy being who they are and have fun!

We are proud to be a BBC Children in Need project and also proud of our 40 year history!

Our team of Volunteer Helpers are the linchpin of our success and we have high expectations of our paid staff who support them.

Playgroup Worker: 8.30 am to 12 noon Monday and Friday during Term Time only.

Rate of pay: £7.20 per hour.

A limited number of hours are available in school holidays for maintenance and administrative tasks For more information please ring:

Deborah Hoggar 0116 2606309 email: d.hoggar@btconnect.com We look forward to hearing from you. Closing date 4th July, 2016

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Club needs players BIRSTALL UNITED Juniors football club is looking for new players for its under 8s team.

A BIRSTALL man has received scouting’s highest honour.

At an awards evening at Leicestershire Scout HQ in April, David Mason (66) from Birstall, received the Silver Wolf Award.

The award was introduced by Lord tional nature. “I was surprised and honBaden Powell and remains the Scout oured to receive this award” said David.

Association’s highest award for service “What I’ve most enjoyed about my assoto scouting. The Silver Wolf is the unreciation with scouting is seeing young stricted gift of the Chief Scout and is people blossom and grow into adultonly awarded for service of an excephood.”

David has had a long association with the 53rd Leicester (Birstall St James) Scout Group, joining as a boy in 1960.

DE MONTFORT After achieving his Queen’s Scout Award MEMORIALS he went on to become Assistant Scout Leader and then Venture Scout Leader.

• MONUMENTAL SCULPTORS He eventually became Group Scout Lead• NEW MEMORIALS er for a period of 10 years and was then • CLEANING & RESTORATION appointed District Commissioner for the • QUALITY CRAFTSMANSHIP Leicester North district for a further 10 • BROCHURE ON REQUEST years. www.demontfortmemorials.co.uk Subsequently he has been very inShowroom: volved with all of the Leicester City Dis3 BROOKBRIDGE tricts, particularly their campsite Johns COURT, SYSTON Lee Wood. During this time he also LEICESTER LE7 2JT managed the Leicestershire Scout shop Tel: 0116 2601851 for 13 years. He still maintains his links with Birstall Scouts as a member of their Group Executive.

Pic: David Mason(left) is presented with his award by Mr Noel Freer, a previous County Commissioner of Leicestershire Scouts.

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Keith Vet Tim Tomlinson is first A FORMER parish priest in Birstall has died.

Father Keith Tomlinson (pictured) was the parish priest at St Theresa’s in Birstall for 15 years.

He semi-retired in September 2015, moving to the Parish of the Mother of God in Greencoat Road.

Keith was a boy at Ratcliffe College. After school he joined the Rosminian Order and became a Catholic priest. He was then teaching at Ratcliffe and later became headmaster.

Most of his ministry was in parishes. He was in Bexhill, Wisbech and Sudbury in Suffolk before moving to Birstall.

Father John Bland said: “He had a great relationship with the people especially the young people.

He was involved in the youth club but his ministry often went outside the parish to youth in need. He had a great sense of humour and had little time for pomp and ceremony. He was often seen walking around Birstall and used to enjoy walking and cycling in Watermead Park.”

On April 24 he had a stroke from which he never regained consciousness. His funeral was held at St Theresa’s on Tuesday May 17.

TIM TICKNER of Birstall Running Club ran the Bosworth half marathon on Sunday May 8 and came 6th in a time of 1 hr and 23 mins.

Tim (41) of Went Road, was the first male vet and won the gold medal in the Leicestershire and Rutland Athletics Association county championship over 40s.

“This is an amazing achievement and he is going from strength to strength” said a spokesperson for Birstall Running Club.

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THE BIRSTALL POST JUN 2016

Services to Scouting

A club spokesperson said: “If your child is currently in Year 3 at school and expresses an interest in playing football, why not bring them along to a training session? We train on Saturday mornings, 9-10.30am at our Meadow Lane ground. The first session is free!”

If you are interested please contact

17

Bus caught Faces Arts’ production of Bugsy speeding COMMUNITY SPEEDWATCH checks carried out by volunteers on Birstall Road recorded a bus travelling at 39-41 mph, when the limit is 30mph.

The Centrebus vehicle was travelling north on Saturday May 7. On its return journey the bus stopped and the driver explained to the volunteers he had a defective speedometer.

Volunteer Mark Lawrence said: “Even though the vehicle activated speed sign would have been operating as the bus approached from 100 metres away, the bus made no attempt to slow down regardless of the alleged speedometer fault.

“I pointed this out to the driver at the time who could only say he would report the defective speedometer.”

Centrebus have asked for the details so they can investigate the matter and in response to a complaint sent to them by Mr Lawrence, said: “Speeding is not something we condone and I have passed your comments on to the operations manager at our Leicester depot to make him aware of the situation, so he can speak to the drivers about this and reiterate the importance of sticking to the speed limits of the roads they operate on.”

Birstall’s PC Dave Jaeckels has contacted Centrebus urging their drivers to comply with the speed limits, warning that Police speed checks are conducted on Birstall Road and speeding bus drivers could face prosecution.

WI news

THE BIRSTALL POST JUN 2016

BIRSTALL AND Wanlip WI met on May 9.

It was a warm evening and 28 ladies were grateful that the door and windows were open to give a welcome breeze.

Maxilyn told us about our successful coffee morning on April 30 and Jane gave amusing feedback on the speaker’s audition meeting which is always an excellent way to choose suitable speakers for the following year. We start a new season of the skittles cup with a match against Astill Lodge on May 19.

On a more serious note we voted on our resolution choices. The first concerned appropriate dementia care when a patient is admitted to hospital and requested better access for carers. The second resolution called for all supermarkets to address food poverty and redistribute to charitable food banks.

Our speaker was Sandy Leong who provided insight into her life as a western woman married to a Malaysian Chinese man. We were surprised to learn that her husband’s grandfather had 5 wives and that this practice only ended in 1960. We heard of the many differences between our cultures in a family life structured by respect for elders and ancestors.

Our next meeting will be the Birthday meal at the White Horse in Birstall on June 6.

From Birstall & Wanlip WI

FACES ARTS Saturday Theatre School, based in Birstall, held their annual stage production at Groby College in May. Nearly 60 children, aged between four and 16, staged three performances of ‘Bugsy’ to packed audiences, displaying their singing, dancing and acting talent.

course the famous splurge guns, provided excellent entertainment to the audience. It's really encouraging to see how the children's confidence grows through performing.”

Faces Arts host their Theatre School classes on Saturday mornings in Birstall and Rothley. Children are aged from 4 -16 years and can enjoy a fun morning of dance, drama and singing. Each category is taught by experienced and talented professionals in a disciplined environ-

The July issue of

THE BIRSTALL POST will be published on July 1.

The copy deadline is June 17.

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Faces Arts owner, Jody Chesterton said: “The children worked really hard during rehearsals and once again, produced some outstanding performances.

We introduced a live band this year to complement the production and that, coupled with some real talent and of

ment.

Faces Arts also host Summer Schools, Street Dance sessions, Drama and 'Shake Up' Parent and Toddler session. For more information on Faces Arts, contact Jody@facesarts.co.uk / 07971423201 / www.facesarts.co.uk

18

Above all, stay safe and enjoy the sunshine.

Our next advice shop is on Saturday June 18, from 10 until 12 at the old council office, opposite the garden centre on Sibson Road.

From Birstall & Wanlip NHW

& crime report THE WARMER weather is with us (most of the time!) and many of you are looking forward to holidays or spending time in your garden.

It is now an ideal time to make sure that your property is safe and secure, including sheds and garages. Make sure that locks are secure on your outbuildings and any gates where access can be gained. Padlock alarms are great for putting your mind at rest, but a good secure lock is ideal. Fence spikes are also good for putting on top of gates, or anywhere where access can be gained.If you are going to spend time in your garden, make sure that windows are shut and doors are locked. Garden tools and equipment need to be put away after use, ideally somewhere secure. If you have ladders that are kept outside, these need to be secured - either with a chain and padlock or locked to a wall bracket.

Anything that you can do to make it difficult for someone to steal your possessions or break into your property will help- don't make it easy for an opportunist thief or burglar!

If you are going to be away from your property for a while, try and get someone to keep an eye on it for you. Piles of post that are visible are a give away that you are away, as are bins left out early or left out after the collection day. If you are going away, it is a good idea to think of your safety and the safety of your possessions as you would at home.

Please be careful if you are using taxis whilst abroad, if you are unsure, ask for advice from your rep. We have free purse/wallet chains and bells at our monthly advice shop these are perfect for keeping your money safe.

If your hotel has a safe for rent, please use it - if you leave money in your room, your insurance won't cover you should it be stolen.

An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is still required if you are selling or renting out your house.

Call David Jackson on 0781 5519490 to arrange your EPC

Assaults 3, burglary dwelling 4, burglary non dwelling 1, damage 3, damage to motor vehicle 3, drugs 1, public order 4, theft 3, theft cycle 2, theft from store 6

THE NUMBER of crimes reported in April has remained at a similar level to last month, with 30 crimes being reported compared to 31 in March.

The number of shop thefts has started to creep up again with the Co-op unfortunately being targeted several times this month. We are intending to conduct some extra patrols in the store to try and deter these thefts and would also ask that if you see anyone acting suspiciously that you inform a member of staff so that we can try and prevent these thefts from occurring.

I am pleased to report that the number of damage incidents has continued to fall, although we are still having a few vehicles damaged overnight. Quite recently, three local males were arrested in the early hours for causing a substantial amount of damage to a car and they are currently on Police bail whilst enquiries into the incident continue.

Please continue to report any such incidents that occur as it helps us to ensure that we are targeting our patrols on the right places, meaning that we have a better chance of catching the people responsible.

We have not been able to complete any further speed checks this month however it is our intention to continue with these soon, so please ensure that you are keeping a check on your speed at all times to avoid being caught. In the last year we have conducted around 20 speeding operations in the village with about 90 drivers being warned and a further 12 being reported for prosecution, so you have been warned!

The number of house burglaries has increased slightly this month, up to four from just two in March. Now that the weather is starting to improve please remember that if you open doors and windows when you are at home, that you close and secure these whenever you go out. Even the smallest window can provide a way in for a burglar - if they can get their head through they can usually get the rest of their body through as well, so even small windows need to be locked and secured whenever you go out.

Thanks for reading and as always please remain vigilant and report any crimes or suspicious activity to the Police on 101. You can also contact your local NHW co-ordinator for advice on non-crime matters.

PC 1759 Dave Jaeckels, PCSO’s 6611 Mark Butler and 6552 Mo Musa.

NL60 – Birstall Police Office. http://www.leics.police.uk Tel: 0116 2677355 (Please note this is an advice line only – Please use 101 or 999 to report crime).

Cubs’ space garden BIRSTALL CUBS have been spaced out since the beginning of the year. In the 100th year of Cub Scouting, Birstall Cubs have been working towards their scientific and astronomy badges.

They started out creating an edible solar system, no Mars bars involved but plenty of flying saucers. A visit to Birstall park saw the Cubs gazing skyward, spotting constellations and finding the North star. Using telescopes and binoculars Cubs were able to observe the features of the moon and even spot Jupiter and its moons.

They made rockets using compressed air, which were then launched with spectacular effect across the scout hut room. Mini rockets, propelled by bicarbonate of soda, were blasted into the rafters and meteorite craters smashed into the ground, covering the Cubs in clouds of flour.

As part of a national scientific challenge the cubs have been involved with an experiment, assisting Tim Peake on the international space station. Tim took a package of seeds to the space station and kept them aboard for three months before sending them back to earth.

Some of the seeds, which Birstall Cubs were lucky enough to obtain, have now been sown by the Cubs along with schools all over the country. The idea behind this investigation is to explore the effects that space and zero gravity

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may have on the seeds, for the future colonisation of planets within the solar system.

Scout leader Ged Sessions said: “So harnessing the only skills we had, we created a ‘gravity free’ environment for one of our cubs, Sam Oates, to do some of the planting whilst suspended above the earth, mission impossible style. With climbing ropes, harness and helmet in place, it remains to be seen as to whether these gravity defying seeds grow any quicker than the Earth bound seeds. We look forward to observing the outcome.”

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THE BIRSTALL POST JUN 2016

NHW news

Crime Report, Birstall & Wanlip, April 2016

News from the churches Much to celebrate There have been a great many causes for celebration (particularly in Leicester!) in the last few months with the exploits of Leicester City foremost in most people's minds Almost coinciding with the sporting triumph was the enthronement in Leicester of the Right Reverend Martyn Snow, the youngest bishop in the country. Once again the cathedral was the site of jubilation, even greater perhaps than for the laying to rest of King Richard in the previous year. After his enthronement in the cathedral, the Bishop chose to speak to the great gathering of his well-wishers. in St. Martin's Square. His words were of his delight at the diversity of people and faiths present at the occasion, and of his hopes that Leicester would continue to work for unity.

Also in May, we had the Queen's 90th birthday, with the fascinating home movie reminders on TV of her early life, as well as coverage of the celebratory events and many local parties to mark the day. However, as the reigning sovereign, the Queen has a second, official birthday this month on June 12, which has been designated by the Archbishop of Canterbury as a special day of celebration in the Anglican church (the Queen is the head of the Church of England). In Birstall we shall celebrate at St. James with a civic service of Holy Communion on Sunday June 12 at 10am. Everyone is welcome to this occasion, which is supported by the Parish Council.

Well-known hymns will be sung; there will be birthday cake after the service and we shall sing a joyful "Happy Birthday" to the Queen!

Come along and celebrate!

From Birstall Parish Church

New Minister For The Methodist Church Ministers within the life of the Methodist Church are ‘Itinerant’ in the sense that a minister cannot stay at one church indefinitely.

The Church nationally, as part of the Methodist Conference ‘stations’ ministers in consultation with those ministers who are moving and those churches who are look-

ing for a replacement.

So it is with Birstall Methodist Church as Rev Rachel Parkinson moves on to become Chairman of the Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury District. At one stage it looked as if Birstall would be unable to find a replacement for Rachel; however almost on our doorstep, Revd Paula Hunt, who is only a few miles away living in Anstey is to be welcomed to Birstall, at a special service on Tuesday August 30 at 7pm.

Paula will have pastoral oversight of both Birstall and Rothley Methodist Churches, and will only work ‘part time’ which will include Sundays.

It means that Revd Dave Warnock will become Superintendent of the Leicester North Circuit. Dave will lose responsibility for Rothley but take on the three Methodist Churches in Belgrave and retain Syston Methodist Church.

As Paula will be part time, the Methodist Circuit is looking for a childrens worker to support Messy Churches and school assemblies in both Birstall and Rothley.

The final opportunity to hear Rachel preach at Birstall is on 10th July when she will lead both morning & evening worship.

At a Circuit Service at Harrison Road a week later on July 17 we say ‘goodbye to Rachel and will wish her well in her new role.

http://www.lodgecountrypark.org.uk/page3. html London conference The Metropolitan Tabernacle’s School of Theology this year is from July 5 - 7 and the theme is “Calvary and Covenant”. The aim of these conferences has always been to give warnings, to encourage and to inspire Christians as they seek to worship God and to serve Him and their fellow men and women. The leading speaker for these 17 sessions is to be Professor Tom Nettles from the USA, supported by six other Pastors and a consultant in public health. Full details can be found by following the link on the home page at: http://www.metropolitantabernacle.org Sunday Services in June Our services are held in the Community Room, Highcliffe Primary School, Greengate Lane (LE4 3DL) and start at 10.45am, while the evening service on 12th starts at 6pm. Owing to the half-term holiday, we are not in the school on 5th,, so please ring for venue. Our visiting speaker on 12th is Simon Harrison (Leicester). You are warmly invited to join with us for these services. There is a children’s Sunday School available during the morning services.

Further information , please ring 0116 2214883.

From Anne Taylor, Birstall Independent Baptist Church

From Birstall Methodist Church

Where to go?

With the warmer summer days just around the corner, if you are thinking of a day or afternoon out locally, can we recommend the Country Café at The Lodge, Market Overton? As you may have read in previous ‘Post’ articles, this Christian charity supports adults with learning difficulties.

The Lodge serves excellent food, Monday to Saturday between 8.30am and 4.30pm; it is well-placed for visiting nearby places of interest in Rutland and you can also buy some of their quality craft items in the shop. See their website for full details:

Stoves Gas Fires Fireplaces Installation Service Service & Maintenance Visit our showroom at 2a Wanlip Avenue LE4 4JP 0116 2676601 www.mdwfireplaces.co.uk

The Cedars Academy is an 11 to 18 Academy in Birstall that is committed to exacting high standards, raising attainment and demanding creative excellence from its staff and pupils. At the Cedars Academy we are driven to ensure pupil success is at the core of all our work. We provide a vibrant and engaging curriculum which promotes the love of learning, and prepares young people for the next steps in their lives.

We believe that through careful planning and delivering the very best teaching at every stage of their educational journey that pupils at The Cedars Academy will make outstanding progress. We will rigorously check all pupils are making progress in their learning and intervene decisively to remove any barriers to pupil achievement.

We know that by working hard and aspiring to excellence in all we do, pupils at The Cedars Academy will achieve the best possible outcomes and success. We are ambitious and aspirational for our staff and pupils; we believe passionately that every pupil will succeed and are committed to equality of opportunity.

We are currently looking to recruit a:

Midday Supervisor

THE BIRSTALL POST JUN 2016

Hours 1 per day - term time only, Grade 4 £13,903 - £14,514 (£7.20 - £7.52 per hour) A midday supervisor is required as soon as possible to assist in ensuring the effective management and support of pupils during the lunchtime periods. You will provide effective supervision of pupils during the lunchtime period and during the periods before and after and ensure that the dining areas are kept tidy and are not a safety hazard. You will also be required to supervise all areas, both inside and outside the Academy building and ensure that pupils return to classes on a timely basis at the end of the lunchtime period.

Application form, job description and person specification are available from our website www.thecedarsacademy.org.uk , completed forms should be returned to Jane Hill, The Cedars Academy Wanlip Lane Birstall Leicester LE4 4GH or via email to jih@thecedarsacademy.org.uk by noon Friday June 10th 2016 If you require any further information please contact Jane Hill on 0116 267 0803 These posts are designated as regulated activities and require enhanced criminal records check for a regulated activity (including a barred list check)

19

Vacant homes A CHARITY that provides homes for single women in Birstall has several vacant properties.

The Burley Houses, Tempest Road were opened in 1932 and were designed by architect Stockdale Harrison.

The trustees of the Burley Almshouses charity are holding an open day on August 6 between 10am and 4pm, where visitors will be given a tour of the properties.

Residents are required to have lived in the county of Leicestershire for a period of 10 years, or have a husband or parent who has.

All the properties are supplied with a monitoring device linked to Charnwood Lifeline providing a 24 hours call out service.

For more details contact James Williams at 16 Tempest Road, Birstall LE4 3BE, tel: 0116 2676398, email jamesjwilliams@ntlworld.com

BAGS’ golf event BIRSTALL GOLF Club is hosting Birstall BAGS’ annual golf fundraising event in June.

The competition is scheduled for Sunday June 26 from 1pm onward. The cost is £60 for a team of 4 which includes entry fee, nearest the pin and 2’s. Homemade cakes will be available for sale with tea and coffee on the 10th and a light snack will be provided for each golfer in the 19th. A raffle will also be held on the day.

Local golfer and event organiser John Clayton urges those interested to register early as the places ran out quickly last year.

For further information or to register a team please call into the club or contact the club secretary on 0116 2674322.

20

Birstall BAG’s cancer corner Cancer Statistics for our Area NHS England divides by regions into 211 Clinical Commissioning Groups. The West Leicestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (WL CCG) which was established in 2011 covers three district council areas, North West Leicestershire, Charnwood, and Hinckley & Bosworth, and 50 GP practices. WL CCG is fully authorised to plan and purchase NHS services for a population of 366,000 with a commissioning budget of £362 million. The GPs and practice teams through locality meetings play a key role in making clinically-led commissioning a reality.

Cancer statistics are available for each Clinical Commissioning Group although it is not possible to break it down further into each district council Birstall BAG’s thought readers might like to know a little more about our local cancer incidence rates.

The cancer incidence rate in WL CCG is lower than the English average with 581.9 cases per 100,000 population, England’s average is 606.7 per 100,000.

More than 4 out of 10 could be prevented by lifestyle changes such as not smoking, keeping a healthy body weight, cutting down on alcohol, keeping active and staying safe in the sun.

Death rates The cancer death rate in our CCG is lower than the English average at 271.5 per 100,000 compared with 285.4 across England.

One year survival in WL CCG is 69.5% which is similar to the national average of 70.2%. One year survival rates are an indicator of whether cancer is being diagnosed early and generally speaking England’s rates lag behind other European countries suggesting there is still room for improvement in this area.

For individual cancers compared to the English national average our lung cancer rates are lower at 70.4 cases per 100,000 opposed to 79.3 in England. Breast cancer is higher at 173 compared to 165.9 average per 100,000 in England. Bowel cancer is lower at 68.3 V’s 74.1 and Prostate Cancer is also lower at 149.7 compared to 177.7. Other cancers have similar rates to the English national averages. Cervical 10 per 100,000 (9.6), Oesophageal 17.6 V’s 15.7, ovarian 21.8 V’s 23.9 and Stomach 11.3 V’s 12.7.

In terms of cancer experience 87.6% of people with cancer treated at the University Hospitals of Leicester rated their experience as excellent or good which is in keeping with the national

average of 89%.

Screening rates Screening rates are crucial to diagnosing cancer early and we are pleased to report the number of people attending all available screening across our area is higher than the English national average but their is room for improvement! In terms of lifestyle our smoking rate of 18.4% is slightly higher than the national average which is a definite cause for concern. Approximately 20% of our population binge drink at least once a week and 58% are considered overweight or obese. Whilst these latter two statistics are in keeping with English national averages if improved they provide a clear opportunity to reduce our local cancer rates.

Clearly WL CCG compared favourably in many areas to the rest of England but there is still much we can do to help ourselves. Healthy lifestyle choices and early diagnosis really does save lives.

For further information: www.cancerresearchuk.org and as always University Hospitals of Leicester Cancer Information Centre on 0116 258 6189 For more information on the funds we have raised, projects we support and forthcoming events see www.birstallbags.co.uk Contact the BAG’s by email birstallbags@hotmail.com Birstall BAG’s Registered Charity Number 1160190 Home Visiting Birstall BAG’s are establishing a Home Visiting Service in collaboration with LOROS and initially we are looking to recruit LOROS volunteers from the Birstall and surrounding area willing to support families in their own home in our community – for more information please contact Andrew Lowden andrewlowden@loros.co.uk tel 0116 2318470

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

Trade/business rates for small ads are 25p a word. You are liable for the trade/business rate if you are offering a service for which you are asking for payment, or if you are advertising new goods for sale. All text will be printed bold.

Box outline £1 extra. Max 50 words. Phone numbers count as one word.

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I’m looking to rent someone’s garage for storage of my classic car in the Birstall area. Please telephone Mark on 0771 1778332

The July issue of

THE BIRSTALL POST will be published on July 1.

The copy deadline is June 17.

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