October 2010 Groby Spotlight

Explorers enjoy 10 day excursion in Switzerland About 30 people, including Explorer Scouts and leaders, travelled to Adelboden in Switzerland in July/ August, and Sean Williams, one of the leaders, has written the following report: “Want to be back in Switzerland - the sight of County Hall is far less exciting than seeing endless mountains.”

This was one of many similar comments which appeared on Facebook within hours of Chomolungma Explorers returning from their 10 day excursion to Adelboden in Switzerland.

Planning had started 18 months earlier and during this time we did Bag Packing at local supermarkets, Santa & Easter Bunny Collections

with Bradgate Lions, School Fairs, Seed & Christmas Catalogues, Car Boot, Raffles & Quizzes and many more to raise funds for the trip.

Our party of 24 Explorers, 6 Leaders and 2 young children met

Official opening of the Borough’s £6.7m Youth Club

Local group campaigning for school crossing on Laundon Way in Groby

up on Friday 23rd July and left from The Brant Inn in our own 46 seater coach with its two drivers Derek and Martin.

Continued on page 19

A group of local residents are looking to gain support for a school crossing to be put in place on Laundon Way in Groby adjacent to Budgens.

Hinckley & BOSWORTH BOROUGH’S brand new £6.7m youth facility opened its doors for the first time on Saturday 9th October.

In November 2008 Hinckley Club for Young People, was awarded over £4.5 million as part of the myplace programme to build a world-class youth club in Richmond Park, Hinckley.

Turn to page 18 for more information.

Group member Adam Knight says: “This is a main route to school for many children attending Lady Jane Grey, so myself and other parents have taken it upon ourselves to do something about it.

“At present I have spoken to many parents and have started a facebook group (Laundon Crossing) with a good and positive response.

“We will be collecting support door to door around the estate and there is also an email address laundoncrossing@aol.co.uk for questions and words of support.

“We have spoken to Groby Parish Council and County Hall and they have told us that there is possible funding for school safety projects, but they are possibly looking to put traffic calming measures along Laundon Way. We feel this may not be the best move and feel that a school crossing point like the one on Main Street in Ratby would be far more suitable.”

If you’d like to offer your support to the group, you can contact them via email or by phone (07899 687357).

Next issue out on 13th November • Article/Advert Deadline: 30th October

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069

One month partial suspension for Parish Council Chairman

Table Tennis!

A Groby Parish councillor has been partially suspended from acting as Chairman of the authority for four weeks after a standards committee hearing found that he had breached the members’ Code of Conduct.

An investigation by Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council’s Standards Committee decided that Councillor Peter Batty had failed to treat Councillor Martin Cartwright with respect on 6 April 2009, contrary to paragraph 3(1) of the Code of Conduct.

As a result, the committee decided at its meeting on 19 August 2010 to partially suspend Cllr Batty from acting as Chairman of the Parish Council for a period of one month commencing 1st October, or until he has undertaken appropriate training and taken steps to participate in conciliation with Cllr Cartwright.

The committee was told that the complaint arose following a

meeting of Groby Parish Council on 6 April 2009, for which Cllr Cartwright submitted apologies as he was due to attend a meeting at Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Cllr Batty challenged the reasons for his absence, stating that no meeting was taking place at Hinckley as he had checked.

The Standards Committee determined that failure to treat others with respect will occur when unfair, unreasonable or demeaning behaviour is directed by one person against another. They concluded that the actions of Cllr Batty, having received the apologies of Cllr Cartwright, showed a lack of respect.

Contacting the Borough Council

to find out whether there was a meeting was insulting and undermined Cllr Cartwright.

Disclosing the fact that the reasons for his absence had been checked at the Borough Council, to other members of the Parish Council in a public meeting, was an action which was demeaning and had the effect of humiliating Cllr Cartwright in front of members of the public and other councillors.

Furthermore, the committee concluded that Cllr Cartwright was singled out for such treatment and the comments inferred that his apology was a lie. As such, the committee felt that there was a personal attack on Cllr Cartwright.

Sport and recreation attracts big investment SPORT and physical recreation activities in Hinckley & Bosworth benefited from grants totalling almost a quarter of a million pounds last year (2009/10).

This investment of £231,281, which was the second highest figure of all the districts in the county, was secured thanks to the efforts of the Borough Council and the Local Sporting Alliance (LSA).

The LSA are a committed group of volunteers from sports clubs and organisations across the borough, who are helping to provide better sports and recreation activities.

Sue Houghton, Chair of Hinckley and Bosworth LSA, said: “Hinckley and Bosworth LSA is recognised across the county for its effective promotion of sport and health through its good communications, strategic support and emphasis on quality outcomes. This is reflected in

the high take-up and retention rates and we are keen to build on this success in the coming years.”

Councillor Wendy Moore, Executive Member responsible for Sport, said: “I would like to thank the many volunteers involved in the organisation of sport and recreation in borough because, without them, many of the activities would not take place.”

5,399 competitors.

Over the last six years and Bosworth has secured investment totalling £857,976 and physical recreation in the at little cost to the council.

Hinckley financial for sport borough,

Among last year’s highlights were: • Five sports clubs achieved Clubmark – a high quality accreditation process that demonstrates clubs are safe, friendly and has every team run by a qualified coach; • 588 young people attended the Youth Games trials and pre–games coaching. At the Inclusive Games 10 teams participated with 13 teams participating at the Youth Games; • 18 talented athletes have been awarded £9,500 via the Go Gold scheme aimed at helping sportsmen and women achieve more gold medals; • 78 additional school sports competitions were organised, attracting

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If God is watching us, the least we can do is be entertaining.

Looking for a new social evening activity this autumn? Why not try Table Tennis.

Beginners or experienced players of any age are most welcome.

All we ask is that under 16s are accompanied by a responsible adult.

We meet every Wednesday evening at Elizabeth Woodville School on Glebe Road in Groby, from 7pm – 9pm. Cost £3 per session – pay as you go. We have 3 tables.

For more information please contact Ken Ward – Tel. 0116 287 5005

WISE WORDS A good business manager hires optimists for the sales department and pessimists for the accounts department.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069

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Composed and published in the Parish of Groby & Field Head.

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The opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the Spotlight Production Team. The inclusion of any group or organisation in this publication does not necessarily imply a recommendation of its aims, methods or policies.

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Visit by Russian Children to Elizabeth Woodville Primary School On Thursday 16th September, Elizabeth Woodville Primary School played host to ten Russian children, visiting from the state of Belarus.

The children were greeted at the door by members of the School Council who made them welcome and helped to show them around the school. The children do not speak very much English and all the introductions had to be translated for them. Once the tour was over the children participated in a whole school assembly, helping to act out a traditional fairy tale (the story of Babba Yagga the witch). During this their translator Svetlana stood at the front converting everything that Mr Pridmore said into Russian so that our guests would understand the story. Two of the children (Vova and Elyna) were invited up to the front to play characters.

During morning break the guests were overwhelmed by the friendliness of the school pupils who tried to overcome language barriers and involve them in their playground games.

There then followed a session in the schools ICT suite which was a great treat for them (typically most Russian children have little or no access to a PC at school or home).

We were advised by their teacher that at her school they have seven PC’s between 700 pupils!

After an excellent roast school lunch the children were refreshed and refuelled for an afternoon of games and PE. Following a theme

of ball sports they all took turns at dribbling skills, basket ball and throwing and catching activities.

All of them giving the children the opportunity to be active in the fresh Leicestershire air and sunshine.

At the end of the day it was sad farewells all round and a return back to their host families. We look forward to seeing them again next year.

The children are brought over each year by the charity Friends of Chernobyl Children, a group dedicated to helping families in need who are still suffering the devastating effects of the Chernobyl disaster.

The children will spend a month living with a host family, enjoying everything that we can offer in healthy living. It is estimated that just one month of this lifestyle will add years onto their somewhat

shortened life expectancies. This current group all come from the city of Mogalev, and the children are those who will be at risk from tumours and leukaemia as they grow up.

Each child is sent home with a year’s supply of multivitamins and the love of their host families. They start with the charity at age seven and will remain with them until they are twelve. They arrive in the UK bringing little more than the clothes they are wearing and in some cases still wearing the shoes we bought for them last year, even if they were too small!

The children all come from different schools and will not have met each other before starting on the scheme. By the time they are twelve it is hoped that they will be stronger, healthier and speaking just a bit more English!

It is hoped that Elizabeth Woodville will continue to develop this link with the charity and help the children from year to year.

Stephen Round

IT Technician Elizabeth Woodville Primary School

NEXT ISSUE OUT Saturday 13th November

Advert Deadline:

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TO ADVERTISE: Call 01530 244069 Email: info@ grobyspotlight.co.uk Me and my wife are inseparable. Sometimes, it takes three or four people to pull us apart.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069

Is Bloor’s site a Village Green?

Elizabeth Woodville School News

Indian Summer Fair raises £1,100

Norman Griffiths looks at the latest effort to stop the development A planning application in 2009 by Bloor Homes to build 133 houses was refused by Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council following an unprecedented joint Groby and Ratby community campaign. More than 1800 objections against the application were sent to Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council. The land, which is next to Groby cemetery, is considered a valuable and strategic part of the designated Green Wedge between Groby and Ratby.

The site is currently the subject of an Appeal by Bloor Homes against the refusal of the application and an Appeal, which is open to the public, was scheduled to be heard in the Council Chamber at Hinckley commencing on Tuesday 12th October 2010.

Green wedge Both Groby and Ratby Parish Councils are committed to the fight to preserve this valuable and attractive wooded meadow that is considered an important landscape feature in the designated Green Wedge between Groby and Ratby. As a result Groby Parish Council is taking the unusual step of applying for Village Green status to be granted on the land. If the Parish Council’s application is granted the land, which actually lies in Ratby but is situated next to the Groby Parish Council cemetery and the Groby Parish boundary, will be protected from development.

Cllr. Batty, of Groby Parish Council, said the land has been open without challenge for many years to the local communities, young and old, of both Groby and Ratby to enjoy for a wide range of leisure and recreational pastimes. He said that being part of the designated Green Wedge it should be preserved for future generations rather than being developed for more yet more new houses that local people do not want, adding that there is also no evidence of need. To succeed with the application Groby Parish Council will need to provide evidence that the land has been freely used for lawful recreational activities and pastimes for a period of 20 years or more.

Local knowledge important “The Parish Council needs local people who have regularly used or have relevant knowledge of the land to come forward,” explained Groby Parish Clerk, Jack Fargher. “We need as much evidence of use and local information as possible relating to the history of the site, photographs would be particularly helpful.” Anything that can be classed at “leisure” or “Sport” or Pastimes” would be helpful and this could include activities such as kite flying, dog walking, horse riding (after the stables closed), camping, picnicking, just walking about or picking blackberries etc Mr. Fargher goes on to say that information about the ecology of the site would also be helpful and invites local people to contact him on 0116 287 6985 or by email: parishclerk@groby.com.

The Indian Summer Fair at Elizabeth Woodville School on Saturday 18th September was a fantastic success.

We managed to raise over £1,100 for the school with the face painting and coloured hair spray being a big hit with the children. The children could also have their photo taken wearing a sari, plus we had a zumba demonstration.

We sold out of all the curry and hot dogs, and set off over a hundred balloons that have so far been found as far a field as Fringhove in Colchester, 108 miles away.

Our christmas fete will take place on Friday 3rd December.

Helen Humphries

Thank You! Jean & Roy Tams of Sycamore Drive, Groby would like to thank all neighbours concerned who helped retrieve their puppy Tessa, who escaped from their home on October 1st.

WISE WORDS When I was a young man, I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures. I didn’t want to be a failure, so I did ten times more work.

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish dramatist, writer and critic.

Marriages are made in heaven. But, then again, so are thunder, lightning, tornados and hail.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069

Millennium Green News

The Glenfield Village Fete, held on September 11th, gave us the opportunity to use the tables purchased with the generous donation of £100 we mentioned in last month’s Spotlight.

The event was a new one for Glenfield giving local groups the chance to raise awareness of their organisation and also funds. We decided to have a ‘Green’ Tombola and also ran a ‘Treasure Hunt’ based on a map of the Green. In addition we gave out leaflets to advertise where we are and had photographs showing the progress over the last few years. It was a very well attended event and we raised just over £90 for our funds.

A week later groups from Glenfield Girl Guides Association, Rainbows and Brownies, enjoyed an afternoon on the Green. They played games, took part in a quiz about the Green and finally planted a Field Maple Tree and two rose bushes to mark 100 years of the Guiding movement. Daffodils are due to be planted this month by Brownies from Groby.

We are still collecting stamps and can collect them from you if necessary.

Phone 0116 2991868 to arrange this or deliver them to 2 Glen Park Avenue (the road just opposite the Millennium Green).

Chris Tordoff

St Philip and St James Church, Groby

Christmas Tree Festival: 4th-6th Dec We are holding our sixth annual Christmas tree festival this year and have contacted groups and organisations in the village inviting them to participate in this popular event by decorating a tree.

The Theme this year is “Christmas Past, Present and Future. If we have missed you, and you would like to take part please contact Jane Cox on 0116 287 0212 for further details.

Christine Davies St P and J DCC secretary

Early to bed, early to rise ensures a healthy, dull demise.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069

Councils plan to merge council tax and benefits offices Norman Griffiths looks at the plan and asks whether customer service will suffer Groby residents may find that their council tax and benefits services are handled by an enlarged office at Hinckley following a decision to merge the function with two other district councils.

It is forecast that the three councils could make savings of nearly £2 million over six years. The new arrangements could start as early as May 2011. Staff and unions have been receiving weekly updates about the proposal, with more consultation with staff due to take place.

On Thursday 30 September the full meeting of Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council decided to approve sharing its revenues (council tax and business rates billing and collection) and benefits service (payment of council tax and housing benefits) with Harborough District Council and North West Leicestershire District Council.

New service based in Hinckley It is proposed that the combined revenues and benefits team would be centralised at Hinckley’s refurbished Atkins Building as part of the proposed transition.

It is claimed that improvements in technology will give residents more choice over how they access benefits, and applications would be dealt with more quickly, as staff workloads will be shared between

the councils, boosting staff cover during holiday, maternity leave or sickness, and reducing the need to recruit interim staff from agencies.

The proposal would see no initial reduction to staff, with reassurances given to employees that there will be a “job for everyone” in the new structure, however natural turnover in the future, as staff move on or retire, will provide opportunities for further savings.

“We have had to look hard at how we can reduce our costs, while offering an improved service for our residents,” said Cllr Stuart Bray, Leader of Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council. “We already share our IT service with Oadby and Wigston and Legal Services with Blaby, Oadby & Wigston and North Warwickshire councils and sharing these services has proven extremely costeffective.”

Other councils have merged offices Such arrangements are not new, as Gary L Watson, Deputy Chief Executive of the Institute of

Revenues Rating and Valuation, points out. “I can confirm that such arrangements are becoming commonplace in all areas of the public sector. The partnerships are seen as an alternative to outsourcing with the aim of reducing costs by economies of scale and in the main they have been successful in achieving this.”

One of the most notable is The Anglian Partnership - involving Breckland, Forest Heath and East Cambridgeshire councils.

The partnership has saved over £1 million since 2003 and also provides consultancy, training & resilience services to other Local Authorities, private companies & external agencies.

Will customer service suffer?

The Borough Council has recently issued figures showing that it is one of the top performing local authorities in the whole of England, Scotland and Wales when it comes to handling council tax and housing benefit claims. During 2009/10 the council took an average of 15

days to process each new benefit claim, which was bettered by only 10 other councils out of a total of 378. In addition, it took the council an average of four days to process a change of circumstances (only nine out of 378 councils did better) and six days to process new claims and changes (only seven out of 378 councils did better).

However, the proposed reorganisation is a massive project and the challenge that will face the Council is to maintain these standards whilst going through a major restructuring of the service.

“One of the management aims of the new service will be to improve levels of service to the public throughout the area in addition to saving money,” explained a spokesman for the Council.

“Performance will be continuously monitored to ensure that customer standards are maintained to the level already established by Hinckley & Bosworth.”

But the 2009/10 figures show that the one of the other councils in the merger falls short of the performance of Hinckley and Bosworth. For example It handles new claims in 40 days (HBBC just 15 days) and changes in 13 days (HBBC 4 days). Managers will have to plan the transition well to ensure that the residents of the Borough are not adversely affected by the new arrangements at a time when household budgets are under increasing pressure.

Wrong Name!

This young gardener was featured in last month’s Spotlight, but we got his name wrong.

He is MAX WATERFIELD. Well done Max!

Friendly Badminton Club Requires Players Play takes place at Groby Community College on Wednesdays 8pm-10pm

Tel: 0116 267 5800 I wish I was a glow worm; a glow worm’s never glum. ‘Cos how can you be grumpy when the sun shines out your bum?

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Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069

Groby Gardening Society NEWS

Groby Village Cemetery

Welcome back to Andrew Ward It is always good to welcome back speakers for a second or even third time and there was no exception on September 9th when we entertained Dr Andrew Ward. Andrew runs a delightful, small family nursery in the village of Norwell near Newark and it makes a lovely destination for anyone relishing a 40 minutes drive along the A46. Andrew offers an impressive list of subjects for his talks and on this occasion we had chosen “A year of garden colour”.

His talk and attendant slide show were up to his usual high standard.

His delivery, thankfully, was clear and very audible whilst his subject knowledge is awesome. Before the talk, Andrew distributed a list of all the plants he was going to show in his presentation in chronological order. This enabled members to annotate the list rather than making notes, or at least that was the idea.

In order to see the slides properly, we had to put out the lights which then made it difficult to read the list! A great feature of any visit by Andrew is the large collection of quality plant bargains he brings to sell and to see members descend upon these items after the talk resembles a shot from a David Attenborough film of predators feeding on a zebra carcass.

The Society Fish and Chip Supper Forty three members and guests attended our second Society supper. Once again we went to The Forest Hill Golf Club at Botcheston.

Just like last year we could find no fault at all with the quality or quantity of the food served.

Bearing in mind the large number of people, the service was also very pleasing. This eating place is a rather hidden local gem and is well worth a visit by anyone wanting good food at reasonable prices.

LETTER On the afternoon of Tuesday 31st August 2010 a number of horses were found in the grounds of the village cemetery. There has been extensive coverage of the incident in the “Leicester Mercury”, on BBC Radio Leicester and in the “Groby & Field Head Spotlight”.

Society Supper at the Forest Hill Golf Club: Table for FORE! Their lunchtime and evening menus are quite extensive and they are currently gearing up for various seasonal promotions which may be of interest.

congratulations to Doris Lewin.

Doris has been a Society stalwart for many, many years and on August 30th celebrated her 90th Birthday!

Looking ahead

Forthcoming events

At this time of year we are usually taking stock of how far we have got with next year’s programme.

Thankfully, most of the monthly meetings are arranged and the committee will be meeting shortly to decide upon the various trips and outings that we hope can take place. Once again we are looking to arrange a two day/overnight trip around July time. As we wish the outing to appeal to as many members and their guests as possible a number of constraints apply. A top priority is a good standard hotel for the overnight stay, but we also need the contents of the two days to be garden-based, yet having each day’s focus to be somewhat different.

Congratulations!

All members, passed and present, would want to join in our hearty

November 11th: “What Botanic Gardens have done for us” Dr Gornall (Leicester University Botanic Garden) December 9th: “Christmas Buffet Supper with Monologue Recitals” January 13th (2011): “The Annual General Meeting” We always welcome new members and casual guests at our monthly meetings that are held at 7.30pm on the second Thursday of the month, usually in the United Reformed Church rooms on Chapel Hill. Details about membership and the events programme can be obtained from Alvar Johnson.

(Tel. No. 01162877870) or E mail alvar3@talktalk.net

Alvar Johnson

The Parish Council would like to apologise to everyone who has loved ones laid to rest in the cemetery for any distress that they may have been caused as a result of this incident.

The damage and mess caused by the intrusion of these horses has been rectified by the Parish Council’s Sexton. The Council is committed to tracing the owners of the horses so that their details may be passed to the police. The Clerk and the local beat officer are working together to attempt to identify the perpetrators.

The Council is also considering additional security measures at the cemetery to ensure that there is no repeat of this type of incident in the future.

If you would like further information please contact the Clerk of the Council:

Jack Fargher Groby Parish Council Parish Council Office Village Hall Leicester Road Groby Leicester LE6 0DQ Tel. 0116 2876 985 e-mail: parishclerk@groby.com.

Website: www.groby.com

I always take life with a grain of salt, ...plus a slice of lemon, ...and a shot of tequila.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069

The Three Peaks Challenge by the skin of our teeth!

After months of training we left for Ben Nevis, Fort William, Scotland on 11 September in fine spirits after final checks of the kit and the route.

Arrived safely to a warm welcome at the B & B early evening and after a good nights sleep and a check of the weather we began the challenge Saturday lunchtime.

A speedy climb with clear and sunny conditions at the base but the weather soon took a dip as we approached the summit with freezing rain.

With little time to sit around we descended, into the car, off with the wet and on with the dry clothing together with something to eat and drink and we were ready to travel the next 260 miles to Wasdale to attack Sca Fell Pike.

Beginning the climb about 1.30 am this is where the fun and games really started! Sca Fell Pike is the most difficult of the 3 peaks with an uneven surface that consists of rock and loose shale. Mixed with pelting cold rain and high winds we found this the hardest and soon got lost! However, as with all of the peaks we were not alone and we tagged onto another party to reach the summit. The descent was equally as challenging but we made it safely down and onto our final destination. Snowdon 215 miles away..

On reaching Llanberis we were all suffering, strains, twists, fatigue and all sense of humour gone! As with all the climbs we set off in good weather bearing in mind it was September but the fog and gloom soon descended on us as we reached the final summit. Sadly little time to celebrate before descending as we could to finish by the skin of our teeth just inside the 24 hours.

The bad weather together with the sat nav losing us a couple of times and a puncture took the shine off the achievement a bit but we did it. We still haven’t celebrated yet, but perhaps that’s for another day when we think about the next challenge!

The fund raising has gone extremely well with £900 - including match funding from the Royal Mail - collected before we left and all the lads are now collecting in the rest of the pledges for the different charities. I must say a really big thank-you to everyone who has supported me and if anyone still wishes to sponsor me, please get in touch via Groby Post Office, or catch me on my delivery round.

Many thanks.

Simon Moore

MARKFIELD MEDICAL CENTRE

SEASONAL FLU CLINICS If you are in any of the following priority groups you

are eligible for a seasonal influenza vaccination:• •

• • •

All those aged 65 years and over All those aged 6 months or over in a clinical risk group which includes patients with chronic respiratory disease and asthma that requires continuous or repeated use of inhalers or systemic steroids, chronic heart disease, chronic renal disease, chronic liver disease, chronic neurological disease or diabetes Those living in long stay residential care homes Main carers of an older or disabled person or those in receipt of a carer’s allowance Pregnant women who have not previously received the H1N1 swine influenza vaccination

Appointments for the seasonal influenza vaccination will be available from the beginning of October with the main flu clinics available on Saturday mornings.

The first clinic is scheduled for Saturday 9th October – please make sure that you call for an appointment to have this important vaccination early in the season.

p.s. We will let everyone know the final total raised as soon as possible.

Middle age is when work is a lot less fun, and fun is a lot more work.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069

10

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Saturday November 13th

First reel at 7.00pm, at the HQ, Amazing Prizes Tickets £.4.00 each, £25 for a table of eight Loads of fun for all the family – bring your own refreshments Text Steve on 07974 407073 or email: steve@outlook.co.uk

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T: 0116 231 2866 STRIMMER Electric Black & Decker, good working order but needs a line. Price: FREE T: 0116 287 6847

WANTED Those interested in learning Taiko, Japanese style drumming.

For more details T: 0116 299 3282 or 0784 749 9934 or Email: taikojan@gmail.com Advertise your items for sale FREE. Send us the details, cost of item and your contact phone number for the display box, together with your home address for our purposes only (not for publication).

Max FOUR items, please. Max price asked: £300.

See page 3 for Spotlight contact details.

Dog Licence Not Enough – UK Needs To Take A Leaf From France’s Book Dog attack stories are back in the news and combined with general levels of rescue dogs needing a home, it seems the perfect time for the RSPCA to begin their campaign to bring back the dog licence.

The government are listening. But is it enough?

Dog Behaviourist James Conroy trained in France as an official ‘owner trainer’, where the job is a government recognised position. He now thinks it’s about time the UK got with the program.

James, 36, from Groby, Leicester, says: “The laws are different in France, and if you want to own certain breeds, the owner has to undergo some training on dog behaviour. While I don’t agree with classing certain breeds as dangerous, I do agree with owners having to get some training if they own a big or powerful dog that is capable of doing serious damage. And why stop there? It ought to apply to every dog owner. I’m a firm believer that better owners equals better dogs.”

“The dog licence that the RSPCA suggest would cost £20. But would it really do anything to clean up the state of the country’s dangerous dogs? The decent owners would pay their £20, while the less responsible owners of the problem dogs would ignore the licence requirement completely.”

In France, the laws are enforced. The Police will stop anyone with one of the breeds that France has classified as dangerous; Rottweilers, American Staffordshire Terriers, and the Japanese Tosa Inu. Owners must be over 18, no criminal record, take part in a training course covering the basics of

dog psychology and pack structure, and the dog must have a temperament assessment by a vet and recognised owner trainer. These breeds are required to wear a muzzle at all times in public.

James adds: “Some of these measures are very extreme. For the UK, I’d be happy to see the owners undergoing training and passing a basic test. There needs to be a happy balance between the positive reward based approach to dog training, and an understanding of what a dog needs from you in order for you to come across as the ‘pack leader’. Dogs have no concept of equality, and while they are undoubtedly one of the family, if they don’t see enough leadership and a few basic rules, some of the more dominant dogs will take over and assume the role of pack leader. This is when owners run into difficulty. The kind of basic training I’m talking about would make dog owners aware of this pack structure, how to come across as pack leader, and how to deal with other common issues such as pulling on the lead, issues with other dogs, how to introduce a new dog to the house for the first time, dogs and children, and how to tackle fears and anxiety.”

For more info on James Conroy and his services, visit his website www.bethepackleader.co.uk jamesisworking@gmail.com 07554649272

Children are welcomed at all theme parks as long as they are accompanied by Money and Daddy.

GREEN COMMUNITIES’ GRANT FUND

11

Groby Parish Council PUBLIC MEETING. GROBY BMX TRACK on MARINA PARK. Groby Parish Council has been working on a scheme to create a BMX track on Marina Park.

Anyone from Groby or Field Head who is interested in BMX/MTB/4X/downhill etc and wants to see the scheme happen or become involved is invited to a PUBLIC MEETING to be held on:

THURSDAY 28TH OCTOBER 2010 at 6.30pm At GROBY VILLAGE HALL, LEICESTER ROAD, GROBY. For further details contact the Parish Clerk: Email: parishclerk@groby.com Telephone: 0116 287 6985

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12

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069

“We feel overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers” Norman Griffiths reports on a Groby couple’s successful egg donor appeal

After a year of emotional highs and lows Emma and Mark, the Groby couple who appealed for an egg donor earlier this year, have been matched with a donor and started treatment.

“Exciting, amazing, wonderful” were the words Emma used when she heard the news about the match.

At the start of the campaign she said “Even at this stage we feel overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers, thank you so much. For those women who have come forward but are not suitable we want to thank you too, your desire to help lets us hope that there are others out there who would also be willing to give this amazing gift.”

“There really is nothing we want more in the world than to have a child together and to experience all of it, the birth, the sleepless nights, the house cluttered up with high chairs and toys. Having waited for ten years, the thought that we are still years away from our dream fills us with an incredible sadness and with a deep seated fear that it may never happen at all,” Emma said earlier this year. But with this latest development their wait is hopefully at an end.

Hope, anxiety, disappointment and elation “We had practically given up hope at the point when our donor was confirmed and then within days a second donor was announced”, Emma said.

“The result has been a year filled with extremes of hope, anxiety,

disappointment and most recently elation. It’s hard to believe that we will finally start treatment; we keep having to remind ourselves that with a donor the probability of success is excellent. I don’t think either of us will quite believe any of it until we actually meet our little boy or girl for the first time.”

The treatment process takes several weeks so we the couple won’t know until the end of November if it has been successful or not. “We simply can’t imagine a more perfect Christmas present than to be told that treatment has worked and that we are expecting a baby.”

Donor appeal launched Emma and Mark had spent £20,000 on fertility treatment and suffered three miscarriages before they launched a public appeal for a woman between the ages of 19 and 35 to come forward as an egg donor.

They had lost each of their babies within the first nine weeks and were then told that although Emma had no viable eggs they have every chance of a successful pregnancy with the help of a donor.

The couple had 2000 posters printed and posted them to 500 locations, hoping that places such as Libraries, GP surgeries, charity shops and Universities would agree to display them. Their appeal was reported in the Leicester Mercury in January and within days five people had contacted the Leicester Fertility Centre. But as the months passed it became clear that there was no quick fix, “We had no idea the egg-donor process would take so long,” said Emma in May.

“The wait is getting really hard now. Every week or so there is an appointment with Mo at the clinic and a nail biting sense of anticipation. Will the latest news be good or bad?”

Emma’s diary At key points in the appeal Emma has expressed her thoughts and feelings in a diary.

In Autumn 2009 she wrote of her acceptance of the situation and her thoughts on what it means to be a mother. In January 2010 the excitement as responses are received to the Leicester Mercury article. In the summer the pain of the continuing wait for a donor.

And in September the joy when a match was found. You can read extracts from Emma’s diary on www.grobyonline.tk.

The second donor that has come forward has given hope to another Leicestershire couple who will also be treated at the Fertility Clinic.

Fair Trade Sale & Fashion Show

Saturday November 13th at Groby United Reformed Church, Chapel Hill •

•

Take this opportunity to buy your Christmas gifts, cards, wrapping paper and decorations in comfort whilst helping those in need at the same time.

Treat yourself to a new outfit from fairly traded sources.

Sale from 10am – 12 noon.

Fashion show 4pm with sale to follow. Refreshments available with fair trade cakes, biscuits and Christmas Puddings (that you can sample before you buy)

Plea to garden party organisers GARDEN party organisers who hold events that feature loud music which continues late into the night are being asked to show more consideration to their neighbours.

Over the summer, Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council’s Environmental Health Service has received a growing number of complaints from residents about these events.

They may be held to celebrate birthdays or other special occasions, and whilst the council does not want to be seen as killjoys, these events can cause serious disturbance to other residents, particularly those with young children.

So the council is asking garden party organisers to bear in mind the following advice: • Wherever possible hold such events at suitable venues where it will not cause disturbance to others.

• If at home try to place the speakers within the house rather than in the open garden.

• Progressively turn down the volume as the evening progresses and move inside with windows and doors closed.

• Advise neighbours prior to the event and provide a contact number in case they need to speak to the organiser during the evening.

• Monitor the noise by walking around the block and turning it down if loud. It is surprising how noise carries at night.

• Remember it may be someone else having a party soon, so think how you would feel with their noise.

Rob Parkinson, Chief Officer (Environmental Health), said: “People should remember that where excessive noise occurs the council can take formal action through serving a notice prohibiting the recurrence of a noise nuisance.

Contravening such a notice can result in fines up to £5,000 per occurrence and even the seizure of the equipment.”

For further advice on noise please contact the council on 01455 238141 or visit the website at www.hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk

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Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069

Local Storytelling Mums Become Published Authors Two mums from Leicester, Lauren Amy Fielding of Thorpe Astley and Lisa Jane Rimmer of Groby, are winners in the Halos N Horns storytelling competition, and published authors in a limited edition book, The Little Book of Stories.

Lauren and Lisa are lucky enough to have their winning stories - Bath time, splash time!! and Henry the Heron - in print and illustrated by the hugely talented, award-winning children’s illustrator, Margaret Chamberlain.

Lauren, mum to Lois and Jude, and Lisa mum to James, are amongst 11 winners in the national bath time storytelling competition organised by Halos N Horns, the kid’s range of fun shampoos and body washes that helps turn mucky little monsters into sweet smelling angels. Mums, dads and kids were asked to submit the tub time poems, rhymes and tales they had made up.

Commenting on all the entries, Margaret Chamberlain said, “We had so much fun and loads of giggles reading all the rhymes, poems and tales mums, dads and kids had made up at bath time. And it wasn’t just us and Halos N Horns who loved the stories, it was all the people who voted for them too.”

Halos N Horns also asked mums, dads and kids to vote for their favourite children’s stories. The top three are: · No.1 The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle · No.2 The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson · No.3 Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss As part of their prize, Lauren and Lisa receive their very own copy of The Little Book of Stories to treasure - signed by Margaret Chamberlain - and loads of Halos N Horns bath time goodies.

13

LETTER RE: LOST THE WILL TO WORK? YOU MUST HAVE BEEN BORN IN THE 1980s OR 1990s I am writing regarding the above article which was featured in the September edition of the Spotlight.

I was annoyed to read this article. Whilst I understand it may be true of some people who fall into this age bracket it most certainly isn’t true of all of us and I think that this should be pointed out to your readers.

I am 29 years old (born in 1981) and have lived in Groby all my life. I have essentially been working since the age of 14 when I obtained my first job delivering newspapers for the local newsagent. By 16 years old I had 3 jobs; delivering newspapers, working match days/evenings in the kiosks at Leicester City Football Club and waitressing on a Sunday at what was then the Johnscliffe Hotel in Newtown Linford.

I started working full time at 18 years old when I successfully gained employment as a receptionist at Henstocks (then Henstock Shooter). I continued to waitress in the evenings, sometimes having only 45 minutes between leaving one job and starting another.

I have now been with Henstocks for 11 years and during that time I have studied in the evenings to achieve my AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) qualification.

I certainly do not believe that I am automatically entitled to anything and am well aware that if I want something then I have to work to achieve it.

I am sure that upbringing plays a huge part in the way the younger generation think. However, I also think that the society we live in has a lot to answer for. Is it really any wonder that people (not only the twentysomethings) are reluctant to work for a living when it is so easy for them to claim benefits for doing nothing!

There is no incentive to go to work and it infuriates me that those of us who work hard for a living are penalised by having to pay numerous taxes while those who cannot be bothered to work are rewarded.

Catherine Bell

I don’t mind the rat race. But I could do with a little more cheese.

14

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069

Groby Ex-Servicemen’s Club Leicester Road, Groby Tel: 0116 287-1809 www.grobyclub.co.uk NOTICE TO MEMBERS New Members Welcome Fri 15 Oct: DOUBLE TROUBLE Sat 16 Oct: MICHAEL JONES Sun 17 Oct: Super Sunday ‘50’ Fri 22 Oct: KARL HOWARD Sat 23 Oct: KELLIE LEIGH Sun 24 Oct: Super Sunday ‘50’ Fri 29 Oct: CHRIS ROBIN Sat 30 Oct: CARL STEVENS Sun 31 Oct: Super Sunday ‘50’ Fri 5 Nov: KARAOKE Night Sat 6 Nov: LAURA ELSON Sun 7 Nov: Super Sunday ‘50’ Fri 12 Nov: JASON COMFORT Sat 13 Nov: EXPRESSIVE - HARMONY Sun 14 Oct: Super Sunday ‘50’ (See Ad on P.26) The Stamford Arms Leicester Road, Groby Tel: 0116 287 5616 Every SUN 3 ~ 6pm:‘GOOD TIME SUNDAY’* Sat 16 Oct: MISSING LYNX *Sun 24: The Acemen Sat 30 Oct: FRIDAY NIGHT *Sun 31: Lazy Alligator Sat 6 Nov: FIRE & SKILL *Sun 7: Raffles Sat 13 Nov: TEENAGE KICKS KARAOKE ~ Every Wed OPEN MIC ~Every Thurs QUIZ – General Knowledge + Find the Joker ~ EVERY Sun QUIZ – Music ~ EVERY Tues The Nag’s Head Station Road, Glenfield T: 0116 287 2794 Every THURS – QUIZ General Knowledge ~ Free to Enter.

Win Beer.

SKY SPORTS (See AD on P.10) The Field Head Hotel Markfield Lane, Markfield Tel: 01530 245454 TRIBUTE Nights All £2 Entry after 7pm.

Fri 15 Oct: MADONNA Fri 29 Oct: MEATLOAF Fri 12 Nov: BRYAN ADAMS (See Ad on P.24)

Old Thatched Inn Stanton - under - Bardon T:01530 242 460 EVERY WED: -QUIZ Night & ‘PLAY YOUR CARDS RIGHT’ 8.30pm.

Cash prizes 50p per Entry.

Pool Table etc.

Sun 31 Oct: HALLOWEEN Family Party 4pm – 8pm.

Games & Spooky Quiz, Fancy dress optional.

(See Ad on Page 25)

Jottings

News in Brief with Norman Griffiths

No news on ATM repair

The Coach & Horses Leicester Road, Field Head Tel: 01530 242 312 KARAOKE Nights:Sats: 16 & 30 Oct (’King of the Road’) Sundays: QUIZ Night Play Area/Beer Garden The Plough Inn Burroughs Road, RATBY. T: 0116 239 2103 EVERY Tues ~ QUIZ Sat 23 Oct: MOJO Hand Band Sat 30 Oct: COMET 1970’s DISCO/Family Halloween Party~Fancy Dress Optional 7-12pm. (Food avail till 9pm) www.ploughinnratby.co.uk Bagworth WMC Station Road, Bagworth T: 01530 230 205 Sat 23rd Oct: Charity Night:“Stand Together” (For Families of Murder Victims) ~ In Separate Room~Live Group ‘APPLES GO MILES’ £4.50 on the door – Incl: Buffet and Book. 8.30pm Start.

Fri 29 Oct: TIC TOCK ROCK (£3 on the door) Fri 12 Nov: 1940’s NIGHT with Madeline Brown ~ £5 on Door Fancy Dress Optional Forest Hill Golf & Country Club Markfield Lane, Botcheston Tel: 01455 824 800 Fri 22 Oct: CASINO NIGHT James Bond Theme – 7.30pm £15 pp. Incl: Buffet & Gambling Sat 30 Oct: HALLOWEEN & FIREWORKS ~ Fancy Dress Competition - FAMILY Fun&Games. Entry £2 - 6pm Start

As the Spotlight goes to the printers there is still no news about when the hole in the wall cash machine at the Alliance and Leicester will be repaired or replaced.

The machine has been out of action since the attempted robbery at the Ratby Road branch on August 10th. Inside the agency customers will read an apology for delays resulting from the transfer of computer systems to the Santander procedures. Anyone who has visited a Santander branch in Leicester recently will realise that an apology in the Groby agency is not needed as the delays in the main branches of the bank can be much longer and on occasion the queues have reached out into the street.

Hospital may park in Groby and catch the bus to work.

The issue of parking in the streets around the hospital has been reported again in the Leicester Mercury. A 156-space overflow staff car park near Gilroes Cemetery in Groby Road has not removed the problem. One resident told the Mercury “We confront a lot of the staff and they say they’re on a waiting list for car park permits and have nowhere else to go. It’s a nightmare.”

Rob Pinsent, Director of Facilities at Leicester’s Hospitals, said the hospital would work to ensure staff parked considerately, adding that “If our neighbours feel staff are parking inappropriately on nearby streets we will place leaflets on these cars reminding them to park in a considerate manner.”

Stamford Memorial Fund Groby Parish Council members were told at their October meeting that the Stamford Memorial Fund, formed after the tragic road accident involving Groby’s footballers, had made a donation of £3000 to the Council.

Flu Queue

Parking proposals inadequate?

The Parish Council has reviewed the proposals for new parking restrictions in the centre of Groby but details have not yet been released.

The view was expressed at the September meeting that the new restrictions were inadequate and would only move the parking problem from one street to another. Members were told that it would take a long time to achieve anything more comprehensive and in the short term it would be better to negotiate on these proposals in order to achieve some changes.

The issue of on street parking continues to annoy residents of the streets affected, and though most of the problems are alleged to be caused by employees of GE Sensing (Druck) some have suggested in the past that staff from Glenfield

My biggest problem with the younger generation is I’m not in it.

If you walked down Rookery Lane on the morning of Saturday 9th October you may have wondered why there was a long queue outside Groby surgery.

The good news is that these weren’t patients suffering from the winter sickness bug, they were there to get their seasonal flu jab. This year it includes the new variation which caused so much concern last winter. Patients were pleased that it was a walk-in clinic and no appointment was necessary.

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16

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069

“This is great,” thought Tim as he flew through the air on his BMX. But as he landed his front wheel twisted and he was thrown off the bike. His helmet protected his head as he hit the ground but he was unprepared for the searing pain he experienced as his bladder split on the impact.

Accidents happen in all sporting activities and in this case Tim was riding on a BMX track in his village recreational ground. If he had lived in Groby he would probably have been riding on a home made off road track out of sight in a spinney with limited access for the emergency services. Enabling youngsters to experience risk and have fun in as safe an environment as possible is one of the issues that will face those who attend the public meeting on the future of the Groby BMX project on Thursday October 28th.

Nearly 16 months after the Parish Council set up a working party, the fate of the Marina Park project seems to be uncertain. The public meeting at the Village Hall on October 28th for supporters of a BMX track, or anyone who would like to get involved, is likely to be the last opportunity for the community to have their say and save the scheme.

Public meeting could decide future of BMX project

Norman Griffiths wonders whether the project will be reborn or terminated “Without public involvement it is very doubtful whether any grant money will be available and, therefore, there has to be a major doubt about the scheme taking place at all,” said the Parish Clerk.

“It is really the last opportunity for the community to have their say, get involved or lose the scheme.”

So the young people of Groby could be left to find their BMX thrills wherever they can.

£40,000 set aside for BMX The Parish Council will probably not be happy to see the project fail as they have set aside £40,000 in the 2010 budget and over the last twelve months have discussed the plan, the design, the planning implications and consulted with residents near the proposed track.

They want to provide a facility that the village could be proud of, but this aspiration has brought its own problems. The cost of the track itself was estimated at £45,000. Car park and footpath improvements added £25,000, fencing and low

level lighting another £29,000, and a shelter £12,000, with the final figure rising to around £137,000.

This made the project unaffordable without grant funding of nearly £100,000. The chances of a successful grant application are improved if the request is made by the stakeholders in the project – the users. So a Groby BMX Club was proposed with a formal constitution and a bank account. The Parish Council stepped in with the promise of £1,000 to set all this up.

Projects need a champion Ambitious projects usually need a champion to act as the driving force and Groby was lucky to have local BMX enthusiast Jamie West on board. A Facebook page with over 100 followers was created along with a professional looking club website. The website has details of the club and the track design as well as videos. Despite the amount of time Jamie committed it seems that there have been difficulties in getting the riders who would use

I’ve tried a lot of diets. But my body keeps rejecting them.

the track to be involved and take ownership of the project and when Jamie had to bow out because of changes at work affecting his availability the scheme was left without a champion.

Councillor’s opinions divided When the project was discussed at October’s Parish Council opinions were divided. One Councillor thought that it would help to have more information about the less expensive scheme adopted by another council. A lower cost option would enable the Parish Council to fund BMX without external grant aid by limiting expenditure to the £40,000 it has already earmarked. But this would mean a lowering of aspirations, with the dropping of some or all of the car park improvements, lighting and shelter.

A smaller or more basic track with simple fencing designed to stop toddlers running onto the track would leave the Parish Council with a facility which was capable of

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069 future improvement if needed, and money left over. Perhaps a club and fund raising for improvements would follow.

But another Councillor expressed the view that if the young people had not come on board to form the club and take ownership then why should the Council proceed?

This would, however, leave the older children enjoying their sport on isolated home made tracks but would deprive younger children of participation with their parents in a safe environment.

On the other hand there was the view that the users will be primarily children and they could not be expected to have the same forward vision and planning capabilities as adults and when youngsters could see something taking shape they would want to get involved. This is the approach taken by some other councils – provide the facility in the same way as other recreational facilities such as play equipment and climbing frames. It may well be a chicken and egg situation – which comes first the track or the club? Villagers will be aware from experience that even adult organisations in the village can have a hard

time recruiting volunteers and committee members.

The benefits of the sport It seems that BMX clubs often grow from small beginnings. In Huncote, for example, the Huncote Hornets Club started with a few boys and girls. They now have 55 members some of whom are taking part in regional and national races and cater for any age group, male or female. Their youngest rider is just three and a half years old. With what has been described as “a fantastic community spirit” behind the Hornets, and growing support from parents looking to get more actively involved, coaching is now available twice a week.

Their website says that their aim is “to encourage more kids of all ages to learn the art of BMX racing and to help them lead a more active and healthy lifestyle. BMX racing can boost kids self esteem and confidence as well as their health.”

Jan Freakley who has worked with the young people said that the riders get a terrific sense of camaraderie and get on with each other very well. “They also get a great sense of self worth, it’s all down to them, in football it’s the 11 players effort, whereas here it’s

17

down to each individual. Win or lose it doesn’t seem to matter, each challenge is individual to them, some do it purely to win, others do it for fitness or just to be out with their friends.”

One parent whose son had Aspergers Syndrome and had been going to the club for 8 weeks also feels the sport has benefits. She said that “since he’s been coming it has done wonders for his self confidence. He feels good about himself because he feels valid, everyone has treated him equally and been amazing with him. It’s really brought him out loads.”

The Parish Council will no doubt be hoping that they see the same “fantastic community spirit” at the meeting on October 28. But even if volunteers come forward and the project gets back on track there is still the issue of grant funding to overcome. Grants are not so easy to obtain in these days of financial constraint and the only alternative might be a radical rethink about what sort of facility is provided and how much is spent. The public meeting is likely to result in the rebirth of the BMX project or it’s termination, and could decide where all those BMX bikes that get bought this Christmas will get used.

Visit the Groby club website at http://www.grobybmx.co.uk or follow the links on www.grobyonline.tk to the Facebook page, and the Groby and Huncote BMX club pages.

Every once in a brownish-purple moon, I worry that I might be colourblind.

18

New £6.7m Hinckley Youth Club opens its doors A new multi-million pound youth facility threw open its doors to the public for this first time on Saturday 9 October with a special opening event.

In November 2008 Hinckley Club for Young People, was awarded over £4.5 million as part of the myplace programme to build a world-class youth club in Richmond Park, Hinckley .

The application was supported by the Borough Council and Leicestershire Clubs for Young People and the new building features: • a climbing wall • a music/DJ and recording suite • a dance studio • a sprung multi-use sports hall floor • quiet rooms • office ‘drop in’ accommodation for Community Support Officers and Health Visitors • junior size astro turf pitch • outdoor bmx track and a skateboard park designed by young people • conference facilities

you have got to see it to believe it.

“I am personally proud to have given this project endless support over the last seven years and wish total success for the centre to all young people who will use it, to include families, the different organisations and more over the years to come”.

The new facility has been designed to provide young people with an exciting and safe place to go in their leisure time where they can get involved in an attractive range of activities as well as offering more young people a place where they can easily access information, advice and support services.

Geoff Wells, Secretary of Hinckley Club for Young People, said: “This is the winning line we have all been waiting for, for all young people of today, and all future generations to come.

This new facility for Hinckley and beyond has ultimately turned out to be beyond our wildest dreams and

How about transporting Groby’s youngsters to the new facility?

As Geoff Wells points out, the new Youth Club has been provided for use by young people in Hinckley and beyond. Wouldn’t it be great if some enterprising local organisation stepped in to provide a direct bus service from Groby and nearby villages direct to the new Youth Club?

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069

EXPLORERS from page 1 Less than twenty hours later we were walking into our own 4 floor Chalet in Adelboden at 1350m – which was higher than Ben Nevis in Scotland at 1344m. The rest of the day was spent exploring and settling in, along with a couple of games of basketball outside in the garden or table football/tennis indoors.

The next day was spent on the mountains around Adelboden on Trottinets – adult versions of child scooters with brakes. We had lift passes for the day, which allowed us to get to the top and we could then collect a scooter and explore any of the 8 routes covering a distance of 45km and sometimes exceeding speeds of 20mph. Some people chose to visit the local outdoor swimming pool at the end of the day when they finally came down off the mountains.

Monday morning we boarded our coach and travelled to the Lauterbrunnen valley to take several cable cars to the top of the Schilthorn at 2970m – where the James Bond film ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ was filmed. Unfortunately visibility was poor but when the clouds allowed it, there was some stunning views. People enjoyed Chips and a hot drink in the revolving restaurant.

On the way down we stopped off at the village of Murren for drinks and a spot of shopping before returning to our coach for a late picnic lunch and watch the locals parachuting off the mountains and landing next to us.

Next stop was to the Trummelbach Falls to see 20,000 litres of water per second fall through ten glacial waterfalls fed by the Eiger, Monch and Jungraujoch.

Tuesday was back on the coach again, this time to the Kandersteg valley where the International Scout Centre is based. We took a cable car to the top and enjoyed several runs on the mountainside toboggan run before walking to the nearby Lake Oeschinensee at 1578m. Many of the Explorers took the opportunity to swim in the lake – which was rather cold to say the least, being fed from the snow capped peaks and it is normally frozen from December to May. After a late lunch and a hot

drink, we then enjoyed a long walk back down to the valley to meet the coach.

Wednesday was an early start, leaving at 7am by coach to return to the Lauterbrunnen Valley to take a 2 hour train, with our own reserved carriage, to the top of the Jungraujoch at 3453m for the day. When we changed trains at Kleine Scheidegg we could clearly see the Schilthorn across the valley, Eiger (3970m), Monch (4099m) and Jungfrau (4158m) as the sky was blue and the visibility was excellent.

During our train journey up, we had a brief opportunity to stop and look out onto the North Face of the Eiger and the valley below.

On arrival we all made our way out on to the snow at the top of the Aletsch glacier where we had a group photo and then proceeded to invest several members of the Unit – we like to do it somewhere different and unusual. The day was then spent visiting the ice sculptures, skiing, snowboarding, sledging, playing in the snow, walking to a nearby mountain hut, visiting the Sphinx another 118m higher for more spectacular 360 degree views of the Bernese Oberland.

About 30 minutes before we were due to depart the weather started to close in, visibility deteriorated and snow began falling – our timing was impecable. An hour was spent visiting Lauterbrunnen before returning home.

Thursday was unfortunately a rather wet day when it rained. However it did not stop us visiting the local woodcarver Trummer a 1 hour walk outside the village, the Choleron Gorge, Mountain Biking and shopping in Adelboden.

Friday was Martha’s 18th birthday with majority of the group climbing the Challigang under the supervision of local mountain school guides.

It was a very rewarding 3 hour mountain trek / scramble from bottom to top of the waterfall. The rest of the party visited a Cheese Farm and watched the making of cheese in the farmers kitchen. They make ‘Mutschli’ a soft cheese and ‘Hobelkase’ a hard one year old mountain cheese and sell to visitors. This was very interesting experience and we had opportunities to taste the ‘cheese’ at

different stages of the process with explanations from the cheesemaker to the ringing of cowbells from outside. We then retired to a local restaurant for a cheese fondue lunch.

Both groups met up and enjoyed the scenery before taking the cable car back down.

All week the Explorers had been taking it in turns to prepare, cook, wash & dry up the meals. We received regular food deliveries and fresh bread from the bakers each morning. On the Friday we had been able to source a birthday cake for Martha to accompany the evening meal.

For me, knowing how much time I had spent organising this trip, the most rewarding thing was the constant and continuing appreciation from the Explorers to their surroundings and the activities we did. Thank you to the other leaders for their support. We have thousands of pictures and some video footage and memories which will last a lifetime.

Sean Williams Explorer Leader

Marf’s Memory “My favourite memory from Switzerland 2010 was celebrating my 18th birthday on 30th July whilst climbing the Challigang Waterfall.

It was an amazing experience and I love that I can say that part of my 18th birthday was spent on top of the most gorgeous waterfall I have ever seen, in the most beautiful country I have ever been to. The challenge of climbing was so fun and rewarding and the adrenaline rush was immense.

Explorers has given me so many amazing opportunities over the four years I’ve been a member and I am so sad that I have to leave but I hope I can continue with Scouting in the future. Switzerland was the best holiday I’ve ever had and Groby 73rd has become like a family to me and I owe them a lot”

Martha Greally Explorer

Having one child makes you a parent; having two you are a referee.

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Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069

Jottings

News in Brief with Norman Griffiths

Continued from page 14 The influenza vaccination is available to all over 65’s and also vulnerable patients, which this year includes pregnant women.

Most pregnant women will have only mild symptoms of H1N1 flu and recover within a week, but there’s evidence from previous flu pandemics that pregnant women are more likely to develop complications. Pregnant women were four times more likely to be treated in hospital last year if they contracted swine flu.

Borough Council website gets a makeover Groby residents that use the internet at home. at work or at the library on Leicester Road should take a look at the revamped Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council website. (http://www. hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk).

The aim of the makeover is to make it easier for people to access information and services provided by the council. The decision to replace the site was forced on the council when the company responsible for providing and hosting the previous website decided to stop developing and supporting it this summer. The Council felt that this gave an opportunity to make the new site more accessible for all members of the community, thereby improving access to information and services for everyone. And by undertaking as much of the work as possible inhouse, the council says it has made a significant saving on the cost of the re-design.

The new website enables to visitors to bring together local information on one page by entering their postcode. The new page has details of the refuse collection timetable as well as contact details for the Parish Council and local Borough Councillors. Doctors, dentists, libraries, schools and chemists are also included.

Although planning applications are listed the information does not reflect the planning issues that are important to Groby residents, such as planning appeals of decisions already made, as illustrated by the omission of any mention of the Bloors application to build houses near Groby cemetery. Although technically in Ratby Parish the

planning appeal is not mentioned on the Ratby page either.

The Council says there are more pictures on every page with a better layout and thanks to a new Google search and an improved structure it is easier to find things. Residents can subscribe to automatic updates on news and can change text and background colours, though colour choices are very limited.

Good news on War Memorial for Groby It’s three years since John Hagan, secretary of Groby Ex-Servicemen’s Club in conjunction with the Ratby Branch of The Royal British Legion, announced the setting up of a fund to provide a War Memorial in the village.

GE Sensing (formerly Druck) donated £500 and fund raising continued until November 2008 when a concert held at the Club raised £730. After a slow start progress has accelerated this year and the President and Club Secretary have announced that local Architect David Haynes has offered his assistance and expertise as Project Manager including the preparation and submission of a planning application.

Library computer shutdown problems A shutdown of parts of the County Council site for essential maintenance took place from 6pm Friday 8 October to 9am Monday 11 October.

Bodybuilding success Two local men qualified for the UK Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (UKBFF) finals which were held on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th October 2010.

Tyler Smith (27) of Groby and Kevin Gillespie (45) of Coalville triumphed in their respective classes at the Midlands Qualifier round at Birmingham on Sunday 19th September 2010 to get to these finals.

Tyler who was competing for his first ever time won the intermediates over 90kg category and Kevin a competition veteran won the classic category.

At the final up against some very stiff completion Tyler finished 7th in his category but picked up top marks for his condition and front poses out of all other competitors, while Kevin went on to win his category and be invited to the world championships in Turkey this December.

To get to the finals the pair put themselves through an intensive training regime at the Iron WorX gym at Coalville where they have trained seven days a week sometimes doing two hours cardio and an hour and a half of weight lifting in a single day. As well as a gruelling high protein diet plan eating up to eight times a day, their diets mainly consisted of rice, turkey and fish for the past 12 weeks, meaning they have been unable to eat at out with any friends or family. The time, effort, dedication and discipline it takes to compete within this sport at this level is unbelievable.

We wish Kevin all the best for his world championship finals in December and hope that Tyler can come back next year and make a bigger impact.

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The majority of pages that provide information were available but many of the forms, maps, payments and searches were not working. This included online access to the library service. A similar planned computer shutdown of the Leicestershire Libraries system over the August Bank Holiday resulted in problems for borrowers and staff when the system couldn’t be brought back on line when the libraries re-opened.

In addition to the delay it seems that all transactions processed on Friday 27th August were lost, so library users had to be patient as staff worked to update the records.

Users were also unable to access the internet in the county libraries until the following Thursday.

Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069

LETTER

St Philip & St James Church First of all I am not a member of the Church Council and I do not speak on behalf of St Philip and St James Church.

However, in all fairness, I feel compelled to try and deal with some of the misconceptions in the recent letter in the Spotlight’s Mid-August edition written by C.M Purves.

Up until they finished, the two men employed by Groby Parish Council did indeed occasionally mow the grave yard grass. However, for a number of years Church yard maintenance has been carried out by an unpaid volunteer sexton assisted by volunteer members of the the Church who, on the last Saturday of each month, meet to undertake repairs and gardening duties.

The Parish Council did very generously buy the Church a lawnmower and from what I understand it was gratefully received, but let us put this in perspective. The Church’s Parish share this year was about £49,000. This is not what they are given but what they have to pay to the Diocese towards the cost of the Ministry. Then it costs about £25,000 for heating, lighting, church equipment and the other things essential to the running of a large building. The Church does not receive any money from the Parish Council as some Churches do. Nor do they receive money from the County Council or from the Church Commissioners. All this money is raised by members of the Church and other people from our village who care about this wonderful building.

Members of the Church council that I know are fully aware that they are only custodians of the Church building, because, without theirs and others’ bankers standing orders, direct debits and weekly giving, plus their physical efforts, the legacy left by the Grey’s 160 years ago could have long ago gone the way of many other rural Churches and become derelict, a private dwelling or some sort of storage facility.

Owen Lawrence

Three Musketeers at Kirby Muxloe The brilliant young actors of Saltmine Theatre Company invite you to make a date with the Three Musketeers. So, write it in your diary now: Thursday 16th December 2010 at Kirby Muxloe Free Church.

Schools matinee at 10am, all age performance at 7pm; Children under 12 pay £3, everyone else pays £5. Tickets for the evening show can be booked NOW. EITHER: send your money (cheques made payable to Kirby Muxloe Free Church) with a stamped self addressed envelope to KMFC, Main Street, Kirby Muxloe, LEICESTER, LE9 2AN; OR: you can pay by credit card and obtain your tickets directly from Saltmine. The number for the credit card hotline is 01384 454808.

Tickets will be sent to you as soon as they become available.

ANSTEY & DISTRICT FUNERAL SERVICES

BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT

As part of our aftercare service, we now offer a monthly Bereavement Aftercare & Support Group, which has been set up to provide a FREE support service, not just to our clients, but to ANY bereaved person, irrespective of their age, creed, religion and length of bereavement.

The group meets on the 3rd Saturday of every month (except at Bank Holidays) in the catering suite at Anstey & District Funeral Services between 10am and 12noon.

Next dates: Saturday 16th Oct & Saturday 20th Nov 2010 ARRAN BRUDENELL, Tel: 0116 234 0548

My wife and I always compromise. I admit I’m wrong and she agrees with me.

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Elizabeth Woodville News

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Groby in Bloom Success A big thank you to all children, parents and staff who helped us prepare our garden areas for the Groby in Bloom judges.

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   

  

We were thrilled to be awarded with first place in the Groby School Garden competition. A big thank you to Mollie Matson from Groby in Bloom who presented the school with our certificate and trophy.

Andrew Pridmore Headteacher, Elizabeth Woodville Primary School

Meet BBC’s Ady Dayman!

Apple Day

Sunday 24th October 2010 at Little Markfield Farm, Forest Road, Markfield.

11.00am to 4.00pm Come and find out about apples bring your apples and turn them in to juice, don’t forget to bring some bottles to take your juice home in, have a go at the longest apples peel competition, have a go at apple crafts, make fruit pizzas.

Baking competition: £2.00 to enter children £1.00 Adult - Apple Pie Children under 16 years old - Apple crumble Apple competition: 4 Cooking apples, 4 Dessert apples All entries to be in by 12.30 on the day.

Enquiries to Brenda on 01530 242173 Refreshments will be available

Proof that there is life after redundancy Dawn Newey from Groby, has established a successful coaching and consultancy business, ‘Dawn Newey Coaching’.

Originally from Cumbria, Dawn relocated to London in 1988 then to Groby in 2003, where she now lives with her husband Paul.

Dawn enjoyed a long and successful career with Barclays but following an organisational restructure and redundancy in 2005, she decided to pursue her dream of using her talents to help individuals and organisations to be the best they can be.

After qualifying as a professional coach and MBTI practitioner, Dawn now specialises in providing career coaching to individuals who are facing redundancy, and supporting organisations to develop their leadership and talent capability.

To find out how ‘Dawn Newey Coaching’ can support you and your organisation, go to www.dncoaching.co.uk

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069

Whatever happened to the Affordable Housing Project?

Norman Griffiths hears that no suitable land has been offered This month marks the third anniversary of the decision by the Parish Council to approve the findings and recommendations of the Groby Affordable Housing Survey undertaken by Richard Windley, the local Rural Housing Enabler.

Affordable housing can best be described as non-market housing provided to those whose needs are not met by the market. It can include both social rented and shared equity housing. Affordability has been defined with regard to the availability of housing for purchase at no more than 3.5 to 4 times rural earnings. Groby had grown from a village of less than 2,000 in 1951 to a population of around 7,000, but still fell within the definition of a rural area with less than 10,000 residents for the purposes of the survey.

Purpose of the survey The purpose of the survey was to identify the need for affordable housing in Groby and to establish just what type and tenure of housing would be appropriate. Richard’s report concluded that Groby needed to find a site to build a new development of up to 24 affordable homes to help residents who cannot afford accommodation locally to stay in the village, or those with a strong local connection to return. The recommendation was that 21 of the homes on the proposed Groby development would be rented with 3 on a shared ownership basis. At the time of the survey many were having to share homes with their family or friends.

The plan was if suitable land and funding could be put in place the recommended development would be mainly of 2 bedroom units. Such a development would help meet the need for affordable housing at a time when house prices locally are out of reach of many home buyers. The decision to proceed was a significant milestone in the process for Richard who remains an enthusiastic and energetic advocate of affordable housing.

Without it he could not start the search for suitable sites or funding, and he had hoped to put a proposal to Groby Parish Council by the end of 2008.

Search for land fails But three years on Richard’s search for what is known as a ‘rural exception site’, land on the edge of the village which would not normally be given planning permission for development, has been unsuccessful. As a result there is little prospect of a scheme being put together.

“Despite rigorous searches by me, the Parish Council and Val Bunting from Hinckley and Bosworth BC (Housing Strategy & Enabling Officer) we have been unable to locate a suitable site in the parish with a willing vendor for rural affordable homes - a Rural Exception Site,” said Richard. “Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council have a local connection clause in their S106 policies which means that if there was an open market development in the parish local people could be given priority. I think this is the best chance there is in Groby to provide affordable homes.”

He added that his survey is now out of date and would need to be redone if that is the wish of the Parish Council, adding that any new survey would probably be done to demonstrate housing need on an open market development site not for a rural exception site.

Steve Walsh and Julian Joachim support launch of Syston girls football academy

Ex Leicester City F.C. players Steve Walsh, Julian Joachim and Leicester City Women’s F.C. first team players Jade Mclaurin and Holly Morgan turned up to support the launch of Syston Town Juniors F.C. FREE girl’s football Academy. The Academy will take place every Saturday during football season from 10:00am – 1200 at Necton Street, Syston, LE7 8HF. If you are interested in coming along to a training session or the FREE girls football Academy (all ages welcome), contact: Rich Gunn (Syston Town Aces U15’s & Girls Academy Coach) Mobile 07884117116 EMail R.Gunn@lboro.ac.uk or Samantha Chambers (Chairperson) Mobile 07776291355 EMail sam.chambers37@hotmail.com

When I left home, Mom said “Don’t forget to write.” I thought, “That’s unlikely. After all, it’s a fairly basic skill.”

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Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069

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X-FACTOR WORDSEARCH 1st Prize: A Main Course for Two and a Bottle Word Search Puzzle of House Wine at The Fieldhead Hotel!

2nd Prize: A £10 DVD Hire Voucher to Spend at Glenfield Moviezone!

P Z I C H E R L L O Y D K W J E

D D I V A F E V E R M A L A O I

X S E F T C B E C B T L L H J M

N T F L P E E L T I E Y L S O A

T O Z Y D D C W E Z N I A M H E

R R I E D R C W H O R D T I N L

E M T T J C A E A R Y R S R A L

Y L E L C I F C A U B C E G D E

C E Y I S E E C T L Y L F N E B

C E Y S J E R B T T R K O E L O

O B E A Z E G I W T A T L D E W

H L U O N P U B D R M M O I Y S

E H P G A I S H Z E O G C A E M

N D A W Z G O J B F N X I A K W

O W I K Y S N L O X V O N I H K

P A I J E R I C H A R D S O N U

Name: ................................................................................................. 

AIDENGRIMSHAW BELLEAMIE Address: ................................................................................................

CHERLLOYD DIVAFEVER FYD .................................................................Postcode: .............................

JOHNADELEYE If you can spot THE 16 X-FACTOR FINALISTS in the KATIEWAISSEL Wordsearch MARYBYRNEgrid above, you could win a Main Course for Two and a Bottle of House Wine at The Fieldhead Hotel (see ad MATTCARDLE this page) - or a £10 DVD Hire Voucher to spend at Glenfield NICOLOFESTA Moviezone (see ad on page 9).

ONEDIRECTION All you have to do to go into the draw is find - and mark a line through PAIJERICHARDSON - REBECCAFERGUSON the 16 X-FACTOR Finalists. These can run vertically, horizontally or diagonally (and backwards!).

STORMLEE TREYCCOHEN Send your marked entry forms to: IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER, WAGNERCARRILHO Groby & Field Head Spotlight, PO Box 8, Markfield, Leics. LE67 9ZT to arrive by Saturday 30th October 2010. Please remember to fill in your name and address. The sender of the first correct entry drawn out of the  hat will win the Meal for Two at The Fieldhead Hotel and the sender of  the second will win the Moviezone DVD hire voucher. Good luck!

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Groby in Bloom Best Front Garden Competition

Here are the 16 X-FACTOR Created FINALISTSby youPuzzlemaker have to find:

at DiscoveryEducation.com

AIDEN GRIMSHAW • BELLE AMIE • CHER LLOYD • DIVA FEVER • FYD JOHN ADELEYE • KATIE WAISSEL • MARY BYRNE • MATT CARDLE NOCOLO FESTA • ONE DIRECTION • PAIJE RICHARDSON REBECCA FERGUSON • STORM LEE • TREYC COHEN • WAGNER CARRILHO Last issue’s first prize winner was MRS. ANNETTE TOONE of Carmen Grove, Groby. You win a A Main Course for Two and a Bottle of House Wine at The Fieldhead Hotel.

The winner of the second prize - a £10 DVD Hire Voucher to spend at Glenfield MovieZone - was MRS. ANN ROBSON of Woodlands Drive, Groby. Congratulations! Your vouchers will be with you within 21 days.

This year’s winner is Mr.Chris Taylor. His Spring display was a riot of colour, with bulbs, annuals, perennials and shrubs, and his Summer planting has lived up to our expectations with once again providing those who pass by with a wonderful display of colour and texture. Congratulations!

Brenda Burrows & Molly Matson, Groby in Bloom

The wife and I just got divorced. We split the house. I got the outside.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069

Like a creature from ALIEN!

Insect of the Month Rodney & Maureen Cox of Field Head rang the Spotlight with news of a strange insect they’d spotted in their garden.

After a search on the internet, they identified it as a Giant Ichneuman Wasp.

Wikipedia says: Ichneumon wasp species are highly diverse, ranging from 3 millimetres (0.12 in) to 130 mm (5.1 in) long.

Most are slender, with the females of many species having an extremely long ovipositor for laying eggs. The female finds a host and lays an egg on, near, or inside the host’s body.

Upon hatching, the larval ichneumon feeds either externally or internally, killing the host when they themselves are ready to pupate.

(Where’s Ripley when you need her?)

Despite looking formidable, the ovipositor does not deliver a sting like many wasps or bees. It can be used by the wasps to bore into and lay eggs inside rotten wood.

Craft Fair at The Palace, Ibstock The next Craft Fair to be held in Ibstock at The Palace will take place on 6th November from 10am – 3pm.

An early chance to pick up some Xmas presents. This will be a regular event on the first Saturday of each month. Admission is FREE. There will be a large variety of interesting stalls including: Jewellery, Wooden Toys, Hand-Knitted goods, Ceramics, Cookies, Books, Pearls, Bags plus Craft Supplies, Farm Produce, Fair Trade and much more.

The Palace is located at 57 High Street, Ibstock LE67 6LH and has a public car park opposite the main entrance.

Art Exhibition & Craft Fair in Ratby RATBY Village Society Anti-Litter Group will be holding their fourth annual Art Exhibition & Craft Fair in the Church Rooms, Church Lane, Ratby on Sunday 7th November 2010 from 11am to 3pm.

On display and for sale will be a variety of original paintings by talented local artists. This year’s guest art critic is Mark Wilde, a well-known Leicestershire artist who is also a tutor of art in Groby.

Included amongst the crafts will be wood, glass, ceramics, jewellery, textiles, knitting, dyeing, felted work, exclusive hand-crafted scarves and individually handmade cloth dolls, plus handmade cakes, cards, photographs and calendars.

A warm welcome is extended to residents from neighbouring villages to come along and see the excellent work that has been achieved by our local artists and craftworkers.

Jane Rayne, Ratby

Democracy is the process by which people choose the man who’ll get the blame.

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September Groby WI News from Margaret Gamble It’s not quite 100% a September report but our last event in August was a visit to Kilworth House (we consider ourselves “regulars”) which came too late to be included in that month.

Evening Opera Show Enough rattling on, so I will commence. It was a visit to the Evening Opera Show. Luckily the weather was kind to us but later in the evening blankets etc came in very useful. The Show began in what I assume was Mozart’s time.

All were dressed in period costume, lavish wigs and heavily made up white faces. There were two male and two lady singers all of whom had fantastic voices. The dancers somehow intertwined themselves all over the stage and around the singers and were equally brilliant.

The next act was around the First World War, I think - I couldn’t make up my mind. Again singers and dancers joined together each giving their own performances.

The last act was, to my mind, the best, heavy metal, well I think that’s the word for it. It was great, lots of chains and black, punkish dress. Through all the scenes arias from great operas were performed. The small orchestra which mostly consisted of three violins, cello, etc were also on stage and appropriately dressed. A most spectacular performance was given by a classical guitarist who accompanied the wonderful male dancer who tap danced hardly moving except for his feet in what I call a “Michael Flatley Lord of the Dance” fashion. The finale was everyone joining in the great aria from the Pearl Fishers, a great end to a lovely evening. All through the various eras the theme was opera.

Most members said they had never thought they would like such music but they had to eat their words.

Weekend in Portsmouth Then was our annual weekend away. Unfortunately for the first time I couldn’t go. Reports from everyone I spoke to said it was as good as all the others. I must say since the beginning of having weekends away, we have never, and I mean never, had a bad one. Anyway, this time it was to Portsmouth. The tour began at Hampton Court where our group had a personal guide. It was quite a long and detailed one. The weather then was lovely so the ladies were able to enjoy the usual wonderful picnic in the gardens which were described as fantastic. On to

Nelson’s Flagship: HMS Victory Portsmouth for the overnight stop.

After enjoying the evening dinner, our very own stars of the stage, Diane and Julie, came into their own. Being in Portsmouth they decided to do a little theatrical turn.

Friends said it was hilarious, a skit on the dying of Nelson. Poor Nelson and Hardy would turn in their graves to see what the girls made of it. Of course the big finale was the “Kiss me Hardy” bit which had everyone in stitches (except poor old Nelson).

The next day it was off to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. If you have never been there I can personally recommend it, there is so much to see and do. Those that dared went up Spinnaker Tower where a panoramic view of the whole area can be seen. On to the docks with a visit to The Victory. A little bird whispered to me that a member, albeit in a dry dock, was seasick but later went on to have a Chinese meal. That’s what I call the real WI spirit. Afterwards members enjoyed a boat tour of the docks, no reports of any member being ill on that trip. After all this, the big bonus for ladies was a visit to the excellent shopping park adjacent to the docks. What more could WI members ask for?

Talk on Ireland This month’s speaker was Mr. Roger Hailwood who talked on unusual places in Ireland.

The opening shot was of a very familiar sight, the village where Ballykissangel was made. I thought great we are going to see something different but although his talk was very interesting, after the opening shot I felt a little let down. We did see quite a variety of unusual places but also quite a few castles and churches but that’s just my point of view. I think I was a little peeved at missing out on Portsmouth.

October’s Meeting I am looking forward to next month’s meeting. Carol Walkers is talking on “Caroline Chisholme Victorian Lady”. As usual it’s at the Village Hall on 21st October with a 7.30p.m. start.

Margaret Gamble

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069

27

Shed warming party is the new in-thing

By John Thornton We have all heard of house warming, well this a new aspect to the theme, a shed warming party.

Shirley and John Aucott the proud winners of this year’s best-kept allotment competition erected a new shed. Yvonne on the next plot had her new shed two years ago and had suggested a party but jobs intervened until Shirley and John’s shed appeared to reawaken the idea. All near neighbours were invited to the event on Tuesday 31st August. The chosen date proved fortunate as the sun shone all day.

With bunting attached between both sheds the event took on a carnival atmosphere. Food in plenty was provided where possible from ingredients sourced on the plots, blackberry and apple cake, courgette and lavender cake, Fresh raspberries on chocolate cake and to really pile on the calories home made strawberry jam on scones. Now to settle the stomach, gooseberry wine again from the plots, followed by red wine or home made lemonade. All this fine food and drink complemented by a beautiful day. What could be better? Trevor’s tame Alsatian Wolfie wasn’t forgotten either, being provided with specially iced dog biscuits. He was kept off the wine, as he was responsible for escorting his master home safely. Both did appear the next day so survived the ordeal.

Shirley and John were very pleased with the event and added that their main aim was to bring a sense of community to the allotments. All who attended thought it was a great success which other members might like to repeat in the future. Don’t wait until a new shed appears though, they last too long. We need one or two events like this during the year.

Think of something!

We are now at the end of another growing year. Has it been successful? Yes I think so; the soil quality varies alarmingly from plot to plot, sometimes even on the same plot. This will give different results to your neighbour who will get good results when you are disappointed. Let’s look back to see what we had to contend with.

The drought of early July gave us the experience of growing vegetables in a consistently dry climate. The top six inches of soil was just dry dust. Watering did save very small newly planted items but

SHED WARMING in full swing

• The Daily Telegraph reported skulduggery in Suffolk. The

we were lucky however it rained just as it started to look like a disaster. Too late for some shallow rooted crops like spinach which bolted. Strangely, I have spoken to three members, whose onions sets made no more growth than when they were planted, all bought from the same retailer! I think onion plants do better if they were planted early to get their feet down to the water early enough. We are very fortunate, we don’t have to rely on what we plant to exist, people in many continually hot countries do. So it gave us a taster of other people’s problems and we are pretty confident in this country that it will eventually rain. However remembering previous droughts, this was a good one.

Our seed scheme catalogues have been circulated and by now returned to Jamie Craig as the order has been placed.

headline ran: “Rain Thief” After the driest June for more than 80 years, a thief is stealing rainwater from butts and containers on allotments in Long Melford. We at Groby would like to think that our members are a better calibre of person.

Grazing Land to let in Markfield

MATHER JAMIE is offering TO LET a 3.59 acre parcel of grazing land with stable block at Ashby Road, Markfield.

For details, contact Mather Jamie on 01509 233433.

Wolfie enjoying a biscuit

Geeks can name their kids Ctrl, Alt and Delete because if they muck up you will just hit them all at once.

28

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069

National Trust News All National Trust houses close on 31st October so they will still be open Half-Term week and for lots of Halloween events in the last week of the month.

Also remember that most properties will be open at weekends in December for their Christmas events and that the Parkland at many estates stays open throughout the year.

If you visit the parkland at Calke Abbey you will be able to see a new wetland area that has been created to provide a welcoming home for wildlife including protected species such as the native white clawed crayfish. The creation of the wetland was brought about by the sensitive restoration of the three weirs between the four large ponds in the park. Boardwalks have been set up around the wetland area and visitors can get a close-up look at the animals via the webcams.

A number of NT properties, including several in the Midlands, will appear in a new TV series If Walls Could Talk: An Intimate History of the Home to be shown on BBC 4 later this year and to be repeated on BBC2 in 2011. Check your TV magazine for the exact dates.

Whilst the National Trust looks after our heritage it also encompasses the latest technology where it is appropriate. If you are an iPhone or iPod touch user the Trust has launched its own free app which helps you find your nearest Trust site wherever you are in the UK and gives basic information such as opening times, car parking and directions. By the end of September the app was being used more that 7,500 times a day.

The NT Leicester Association has a meeting on Wednesday 27th October at the St John the Baptist Parish Centre, Clarendon Park Road, Leicester at 2.30pm where Graham Fortey will describe An Evening at a Fictitious Hotel.

The Association’s annual Autumn Fair will be held on Saturday 6th November at the Oadby Trinity Methodist Church, Harborough Road, Oadby from 10.00am to 12.30pm.

An evening meeting will be held on Tuesday 9th November when Tony Ball will present an illustrated talk on Woodland Conservation at Shugborough NT Estate. The meeting will be held at the Premier Inn, Braunstone Lane East, Leicester at 7.30pm. Admission to meetings is NTLA members £2 and visitors £4, everyone is most welcome.

For more information on the NT Leicester Association or its Talks Service call, 0116 2229133.

Alan Tyler Chairman

Churches Together in Groby Fair Cuppa: an opportunity to meet with friends at the village hall. All tea/coffee is fairtrade Every Thursday, 10.00—11.30am.

Catch

Play, craft, story & chat for pre-school

children with a parent/carer.

Every Friday in term time, 10.00 – 12noon Remembrance Service (CTG) 10.50am on Sunday 14th Nov at St Philip & St. James

Urban Saints During term time, held at the URC chapel: games, friends, crafts and a Christian basis to discussions.

- for 5’s to 14’s on Mon evenings at 3.45pm, 6.30pm or 7.45pm - for 15-18’s on Wed evenings at 7.30pm - for 15-18’s o Fri at 7.30pm More details on the church websites Sunday services: please see websites and church magazines St. Philip and St. James www.bradgateteam.org.uk Revd. Louise Corke 231 3090 United Reformed Church www.grobyurc.org.uk Mrs Norma Whittaker 287 6606 Children/Youth Worker Deb Goodhead 07730 596309

I like being single. I’m always there when I need me.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069

Harvest Celebration 2010

29

Groby in Bloom win three awards

This year was a more leisurely start for the East Midlands in Bloom category awards, due to them being held at Northampton Guild Hall.

As part of Elizabeth Woodville School’s harvest celebrations this year, children were invited to bring harvest produce to school on Friday 1st October, for distribution by the Red Cross.

The children took part in a special assembly that parents and our local Vicar Louise Corke attended. The Infants told the story of the Little Red Hen, looking at the jobs you have to do to grow food.

The Lower Juniors told stories related to their topic for this term which is The Romans and the Upper Juniors did the same using their topic of The Anglo-Saxons. The Red Cross was overwhelmed with our generous donations most of them were presented in attractive decorated boxes with thoughtful messages placed inside for the homeless and needy of Leicester.

Andrew Pridmore

Headteacher, Elizabeth Woodville Primary School

We arrived at this magnificent building at around 10:15 to sign in and enjoy a coffee and enormous Danish pastry.

By 11:02 we were all seated in a large hall with wonderful round stained glass windows to await the results.

Groby now falls in the small town category, based on the numbers on the electoral roll. We achieved a silver award just a few points short of silver gilt coming 5th. The overall winner with a silver gilt in our section was Long Sutton, Lincolnshire. Champion of Champions section award went to Market Bosworth, who had put out a request for volunteers on the local radio and 100 volunteers turn up at their first meeting, wouldn’t it be great if Groby in Bloom could get that response.

The judges loved Mes Enfants carbon footprints, the rain bottles in the Guide beds and Martinshaw School’s green house. They gave a special award to the Chapel Hill bed. Groby in Bloom are going to have the award inscribed on a plaque for the bed. It’s a lovely walkway flower bed with all the work done by the residents facing it.

For future improvements the judges suggested we take over the beds in the ground of the roundabout at Sacheverell Way/Leicester Rd on entering Groby due to the weeds in them, also to look at possible planting in the park areas and having a fund raising event. Sadly they saw too much litter about.

The 3rd award was a bronze for Elizabeth Woodville School garden. After the results we had a buffet followed by a tour of 78 Derngate once the home of WJ Bassett-Lowke who had it designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh A big thank you to all who have helped us in anyway and encourage us by telling us how nice the beds are. Let us all take pride in our village and keep it litter free.

Sue Scott and Molly Matson

The Great Loughborough

Santa Fun Run 2010

Many of you will have taken part in previous Santa Fun Runs in Loughborough and know what fun it is, but now is the time to put the date in your diary, Sunday 5th December, for this year. For those of you who think this is not for me, just think again.

The emphasis is on FUN. It is a fun run, suitable for all abilities, and every entrant will receive a free Santa suit, children’s suits are also available.

Typically there are some good runners, but the majority are just joggers, walkers, and strollers accompanied by children, push chairs, babies in prams, the family dog, invalid chairs, OAP’s, Mums and Dads, Grandparents, teenagers and toddlers. I think that covers most people.

The Great Loughborough Santa Fun Run organised by the Rotary Club of Loughborough, together with support from Loughborough University, and Charnwood Borough Council, is over a 6km (4 miles) circular route from the University international running track starting at 11.00am and takes you through the centre of Loughborough.

So how can you enter and join in the fun run? You can enter on-line through www.santa-fun-run.co.uk, as from 4th October, you can request an entry form today from Tony Mellor, 01509 880411, or pick up an entry form at the Tourist Information Office at the Town Hall, or collect a form from the Loughborough Building Society in High Street. You can enter as an individual, or a team of 8 and raise funds for your charity or club. Last year 45 teams in suitable festive attire battled for the Bateman’s Brewery Cup. To date the previous five Santa Fun Runs have raised nearly £180,000 for local charities so please support us again this year.

This is the largest Santa Fun Run in the East Midlands so don’t miss your opportunity to join in and RUN FOR FUN.

Dick Howard

Rotary Club of Loughborough

Change is good as long as I don’t have to do anything different.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069

30

LETTER Dog fouling on Stamford Park

To all dog-walkers of Groby - being tarred with the same brush (& be grateful that’s all!)

You know that unmistakable feeling as your foot sinks through a pile left by someone’s pet.

This was the sensation of my very first step onto Stamford DogToilet on Sunday 12th September, as my attention was on the talents of fellow kite-flyers and not - as I’d got accustomed to doing - scrutinising my path. Deposits had also been left on the grass verge on my route back along Laundon Way. Readers may recall my first letter on this subject a few issues ago.

Result: it’s pointless asking for responsibility on the part of all dog-owners, so I shall be giving Stamford Park a miss from now on - presumably there are public areas in the vicinity that are free from fouling ...somewhere.

Yours in hope

Paul Ayrton

Planning Appeal is open to public

Bloors Appeal takes place 12th - 19th October Borough Councillor Martin Cartwright has informed the Spotlight that the Appeal by J.S.Bloor (Measham) Ltd. against the refusal of planning permission for erection of 133 dwellings at land east of Groby Village Cemetery gets underway on 12th October 2010.

The Appeal is scheduled to last five days, and the timetable is set out below: •

Tuesday 12th October 2010

•

Wednesday 13th October 2010

•

Thursday 14th October 2010

•

Friday 15th October 2010

• Tuesday 19th October 2010 The Appeal will be held at Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council Offices in the Council Chamber and starts at 10.00am on Tuesday 12th October 2010 (while this issue of the Spotlight is being printed).

The appeal is open to members of the public if you wish to attend please do so to show your support.

Given the number of representations to be made it is more than possible that the appeal hearing will not be concluded in the five days above with the last half of the last day usually for summing up and a site visit by the inspector to the site.

Should this happen the outcome of the appeal may not be known for some time after the anticipated conclusion date of Tuesday 19th October 2010.

Find out how to apply for Lottery cash Are you a small community group looking for funding of between £300 and £10,000 for your local community-based project?

If so, The Big Lottery Fund is currently encouraging applications from Hinckley and Bosworth and, in response, we are holding two Awards for All information workshops facilitated by Sean Tizzard, Regional Manager Development with the Big Lottery.

To find out how you could benefit, why not come along on either: • Monday 8th November, 6:30pm – 9:00pm at Thornton Community Centre, or • Tuesday 16th November, 10:00am – 12:30pm at Florence House, Hinckley Awards for All is a small lottery grants programme that aims to help improve local communities and the lives of people most in need.

If you are interested in attending, contact Community Action Hinckley and Bosworth on 01455 633002 or enquiries@vahb.org.uk by Monday 25th October 2010.

Siân Mitchell

Stronger Communities Worker

Never wear a hearing aid as you get older. If you do, people will expect you to listen to them.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • Mid-OCTOBER 2010 • Tel: 01530 244069

Inclusive sports event proves popular

31

Anstey & District Funeral Service Independent Family-Run Funeral Directors

We take care of every detail, advise and help you every step of the way.

• •

OVER 65 people with learning disabilities enjoyed taster sessions in a variety of different sports and recreational activities on Tuesday 5th October.

The sessions were held at Sport in Desford and were provided thanks to a partnership between the hosts and the Borough Council, Leicestershire County Council Valuing People Team, Leicestershire and Rutland FA, Hinckley and Bosworth Local Sporting Alliance, Desford Lawn Tennis Club and other voluntary sports clubs in the district.

The 40 minute taster sessions included football, tennis, bowls, dance, karate and gym-based activities and were followed by a further session on healthy eating.

Crime Figures for Sept 2010 The following incidents were reported to the Police in the local area during September 2010.

Description

Groby

Field Head

House Burglaries Actual: Markfield Road Attempted: Pymm Ley Gardens

1 Actual 1 Attempted

0

Garage, Shed, Outbuilding Burglaries Actual: Lawnwood Road, Ratby Road (2), Stephenson Way (2), Old Hall Close, Stephenson Close, Leicester Road Attempted: None.

8 Actual 0 Attempted

0

Theft of Motor Vehicle: Markfield Road (2), Bedford Drive, Ratby Road, Leicester Road

5

0

Theft from Motor Vehicle:

0

0

Damage to Motor Vehicle:

0

0

Non-Domestic Assaults

8

0

Anti Social Behaviour Incidents

10

0

Crimes That Don’t Affect Residents Homes or Cars

12

0

TOTAL (Actual)

44

0

TOTAL (Attempted)

1

0

Theft: 4 / Damage: 1 / Other: 7

• • • •

Traditional hearse & fleet Horse drawn carriages, motorcycle hearse & alternatives available Memorial showroom Extensive car parking Private catering suite Private chapels of rest Funeral arrangements can be made in the comfort of your own home if preferred

0116 234 0548 Talbott House, Leicester Road, Anstey, Leicester LE7 7AT

www.ansteyfunerals.com

IDC Home Maintenance Painter and Decorator Full interior and exterior painting service for your home also wallpaper hanging, tiling and laminate floor fitting.

For a free estimate please call Ian on:

01530 245461 or 07885 541428 NO JOB TOO SMALL

Local crime news in more detail is available at www.groby.org.uk Information supplied by Martin Cartwright - Secretary - Groby Branch Neighbourhood Watch - Tel: 0116 2874500 • Mobile: 07850 707050 Email: neighbourhoodwatch@appliancehome.co.uk

In An Emergency dial 999. Contact the local police on 0116 222-2222.

CRIMESTOPPERS: 0800 555111 • Groby Neighbourhood Watch: 0116 287 4500 Next Meeting: Thursday 2nd December 2010 at 7.30pm at Groby Village Hall, New room to the rear of the main hall. Everyone welcome

Don’t speak to me until I’ve had my morning coffee. Actually, don’t speak to me afterwards either.

Kirby Muxloe

Anstey

Andrew Road

Flexible and spacious accommodation situated on a large mature corner plot with single and double garage. Previously two houses now combined to create a large family home. Four reception rooms, four bedrooms, two entrance vestibules and two sets of staircases make it an ideal for an extended family. An early internal inspection is highly recommended.

The Hawthorns

An extended four bedroom family sized detached house situated in a cul de sac with elevated views across Markfield.

£272,500

Main Street

Barbara Avenue

An impressive period family home occupying a large mature corner plot within a delightful village location. With a wealth of original features the spacious and flexible accommodation briefly comprises; lounge opens out to dining area, kitchen and utility, study, separate sitting room, four bedrooms, bathroom, large corner plot, garage and driveway. £229,950 There is gas fired central heating and majority double glazing.

A spacious three bedroom detached bungalow situated on a mature plot in the ever popular Kirby Muxloe area.

£229,950

£299,950

Markfield

Heather

Botcheston

Markfield

Thornton

Spinney Drive

Birchfield Avenue

Merrylees Road

Situated on an over 55’s development a well maintained two bedroom semi detached bungalow located on the outskirts of the popular village of Botcheston.

£117,500

Blaby

A large four bedroom executive detached house with stunning views over Thornton Reservoir.

Three bedroom semi detached house, situated in a cul-de-sac position within the popular village of Markfield close to the village centre.

£120,950

Leicester

£285,000 Glenfield

Reduced by

£15,000

Maple Avenue

A three bedroom semi detached with gas fired central heating and double glazing, situated within the popular Blaby district. £157,950

Bradgate Heights

For Quick Sale

Hathaway Avenue

Requiring improvement and modernisation a three bedroom semi detached house located in a popular residential area.

£109,950

Swannington

Evington

Oakfield Avenue

Extended four bedroom detached family house situated within a cul de sac.

Conservatory, garage and garden to the rear.

£220,000

Sileby

Newfoundpool

Cygnet Close

Rowan Street

Thorntree Close

A modern three bedroom detached house convenient for Glenfield hospital, the A46/M1 link, Leicester city centre, Beaumont Leys Shopping centre and £192,500 Bradgate Park.

Stoneygate

LET Hough Hill

Shepherd & White are delighted to offer this beautifully presented two bedroom mid terrace in a popular village location. The property is located in the quiet village of Swannington, offering easy access to Coalville, M1 & M42.

£550 PCM Oadby

Victoria Court

Modern studio flat located on the outskirts of Evington. On the second floor of this modern apartment building, rented unfurnished.

£350 PCM

Very impressive two bedroom townhouse property to let within a ‘Mews’ modern style development.

Rented on an unfurnished basis.

£525 PCM

LET

Four bedroom detached family home within is this highly desirable location of Oadby.

£795 PCM

£550 PCM

Stoughton Court

Well presented one bedroom, second floor flat in a popular residential location of Stoneygate. Let furnished or unfurnished.

£550 PCM

Halstead

Hamilton

Pennine Close

Three bedroom mid terrace property let fully furnished. This property is ideal for a couple, small family or single professional.

Birkby Close

Very spacious two bedroom, first floor flat. Offered on an Unfurnished basis, available now. Great access to the City Centre & Ring Road.

£525 PCM

LANDLORDS:

Halstead Keep, Oakham Road

A Superior detached manor house in the Leicestershire village of Halstead. This beautiful property is deceptively spacious throughout, ideal for a large family and will be let on an £2,400 PCM unfurnished basis from now.

Good Quality rental properties required.

Arrange your free valuation today.

Call 0844 844 0436