OCTOBER 2020 HERALD MAGAZINE

Markfield, Field Head, Stanton-under-Bardon, Thornton & Bagworth

Harvest Assembly at Dove Bank Primary THE CHILDREN in Birch class recorded a short harvest assembly to share with the rest of the school to tell us all about harvest and why we have a Harvest Festival.

The children also looked at where all of our food comes from and made a short drama to show where the ingredients for a pizza comes from!

Andrea Fletcher Deputy Headteacher

Walking with purpose ... at 83!

JUST WHAT have you been doing during the Pandemic?

I am 83 years old and throughout my life I have loved walking.

I think I can honestly say I have walked each and every footpath in Leicestershire and Derbyshire over the years, as well as many treks around the world.

With the start of the lockdown I decided I would try to keep going but confine my walks to local areas. So off I went doing circular walks in the local vicinity, head down and striding out as best as I could.

There came a day when, for some unknown reason, I stopped and asked myself just why was I doing this. It was time to slow down and to make a start on looking around me. So with camera in hand I started a slightly different style of walking, I confined myself to going no further than 2 miles from Field Head and to start taking photographs of anything and everything that caught my eye.

What a wonderful experience it turned out to be. It was not long before I had literally hundreds of snap shots of nature at its very best.

The question then arose what to do with them. A question soon answered, I would make up small booklets of the Seasons.

Therefore, to date we have Springtime (70 photos) printed, followed by Summertime (36 photos) printed, and currently working on Autumntime.

I have photos of a wide variety of flowers, butterflies, insects etc, many I could not put a name to. Very pleased with the results and I seem to learn something new each time I venture out.

It has been and continues to be a thoroughly enjoyable activity. I recommend to all, especially to all octogenarians amongst you if you can manage it. Certainly beats sitting in an armchair. I will keep an eye open for you all, social distancing of course!

Mick Stidever, Field Head

Stay and Play in Bagworth

WE HAVE, undoubtedly, experienced some very challenging times this year.

Not least, for the young children across the community who have had limited opportunity for interaction and socialisation over the last few months. The Trustees of the Community Centre have been working very hard towards reopening the centre for a limited variety of activities. It is recognised that the provision of child play and social time for young people is very important for their own development. The situation has, undoubtedly, been exacerbated by the sad closure of the Bagworth Pre-School.

With this in mind, it has now been agreed that Stay & Play will return from Monday 26th October between 10:30am and 12:00 noon, and will operate every Monday in term time after that. The sessions will continue to be run by Nat, who ran these extremely popular groups previously.

As a reminder, these sessions are specifically tailored for all pre-school age children. Steps have been taken in order to ensure the ongoing safety of all involved. In doing so, it is vitally important that we ensure that the various Government Guidelines are followed. To enable Stay & Play to operate safely and ensure these regulations can be applied, Stay & Play will be operating on a prebooked basis for the time being. In order to book a place please contact Dave email: dave@bagworthcommunitycentre.org Attendee numbers will be limited and places granted on a ‘first come, first served basis’. However, in the event that sessions are over subscribed, a waiting list will be maintained. Once established, and if there is sufficient demand, consideration will be given in the future to running a second session during the week.

The trustees are delighted that Stay & Play is now able to return and hope that it will continue to be as popular as is was pre COVID. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Dave by email of via Facebook Messenger.

Bob Austin

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THE HERALD • MID-OCTOBER 2020 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@markfieldherald.co.uk

The Herald Message from Dr Luke Evans MP PO Box 8, Markfield, Leics. LE67 9ZT Tel: 01530 244069 info@markfieldherald.co.uk www.markfieldherald.co.uk

The Herald is a monthly local magazine delivered free to approximately 4,000 homes and businesses in Markfield, Field Head, Stanton under Bardon, Thornton and Bagworth.

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AS YOU would expect the return to Westminster for the autumn term has been an exceptionally busy one.

The legislative agenda is packed as Government prepares for the end of the transition agreement; and of course everyone is constantly vigilant for the long anticipated prospect of a second Covid spike, and the steps that will be necessary to protect lives in Bosworth and across the country.

With the pandemic, Brexit and the economy all taking up my team and my time both locally and nationally, as a back bencher you have to take the opportunities given to you, and in this case, I was afforded the chance to table a 10 minute rule bill – a type of private members bill – about an issue very close to my heart.

As a GP I saw many patients who would come to me struggling with their mental health. One common cause was those who suffered from poor body image.

Many people – around 8 in 10 women and 7 in 10 men - especially those from younger generations, will see images online and in magazines and aspire to look like the models in them.

They begin to suffer when their efforts fail to materialise the desired result. The difficulty is that all too often those desired results are impossible to achieve because the images have been digitally enhanced – legs are made longer, waists slimmer and shoulders bigger.

My bill calls for honesty in our advertising industry by requiring a logo to be displayed when the proportions of a human body in an image have been digitally altered.

It’s an issue which has clearly touched home with many people. I’ve been contacted by charities like Girl Guiding and the Mental Health Foundation; social media influencers and Love Island contestants have spoke out in favour of the bill; and in parliament prominent select committee chairs such as Jeremy Hunt, Caroline Nokes and Julian Knight – as well as MPs from Labour, Liberal Democrats, SNP and DUP have all become signatories.

A 10 minute rule bill is the start of a long process and there are many hurdles along the way, I very much hope that the Government will pick the idea up as part of their legislative agenda. But there is a real prospect that the idea behind my bill will become law and the mental health of vulnerable people will be helped.

It sounds trite but the primary reason that every MP enters politics, and all of those candidates who stand unsuccessfully too, is because they want to make their world a better place to live.

Kind regards Dr Luke Evans MP | Member of Parliament for Bosworth | House of Commons | London | SW1A 0AA web: drlukeevans.org.uk | tel: constituency: 01455 635741 parliament: 0207 219 4250 mob: 07920 619812 twitter: @drlukeevans Instagram: drlukeevans

Help our wildlife before it is too late A QUARTER of mammals in the UK are at risk of extinction, and this decline will continue unless their habitats are restored and some species are reintroduced.

So warns the chair of Natural England, Tony Juniper, referring to a recent list of endangered animals issued by the Mammal Society, and approved by the United Nations.

UK mammals most in danger are the greater mouse-eared bat, the water vole, the hedgehog, hazel dormouse and Scottish wildcat.

The European wolf is already extinct.

Tony Juniper advises that reintroducing some mammals would help others at greater risk. For example, introducing more pine martens would help control the grey squirrels, which in turn would give our native red squirrels a better chance.

As one professor of environmental biology said: “Here in Britain we are managing to send even rodents towards extinction. Things have to change rapidly if we want our children and grandchildren to enjoy the wildlife that we take for granted.”

I haven’t exaggerated in 300 years.

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Welcome Reverend Andrew ON A GLORIOUS evening on 21st September 2020 at 7.30 pm at St Peter’s Church, Thornton, we welcomed The Reverend Andrew Smith as our new rector.

Bishop Martyn led the service of welcome, institution and induction for Andrew as Rector of Markfield, Thornton, Bagworth and Stanton under Bardon, and Copt Oak. Despite limited numbers attending because of covid-19, the service was a celebration of new beginnings for Andrew, his family and the community that make up our 5 villages.

Bells were rung, music played, and St Peter’s looked beautiful filled with flowers. Pat from Copt Oak Church described the service as ‘very intimate (in spite of social distancing), poignant and personal to both Andrew and his family and to the churches of the benefice’. It was a wonderful evening of welcome to Andrew, his wife Louisa and children, Ruben and Amelie, from us all across the benefice.

We wish you, Andrew, and your family all joy and success in your new home and in your new life among us.

A video of Monday’s service is available on the Benefice Website: www. j22churches.org.uk

Shirley Garlick

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THE HERALD • MID-OCTOBER 2020 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@markfieldherald.co.uk

MARKFIELD COMMUNITY LIBRARY Opening Times

Kay’s Anatomy

By Adam Kay THE HILARIOUS first children’s book from the UK’s bestselling non-fiction author.

WE ARE now open: •

Tuesday 1pm-3pm

•

Thursday 12.30pm-3pm

•

Saturday 10am-12.30pm

Do you ever think about your body and how it all works? Like really properly think about it?

The human body is extraordinary and Thank you fascinating PLEASE COME TO OUR FRIENDLY COFFEE MORNING well . . . pretty weird. Yours is A BIG THANK you to all our borrowers who have back to us since we reopened. at come MARKFIELD LIBRARY at 11am and, weird, mine is weird, your maths We are delighted to be in the Top 3 of the county’s 35 Community libraries for August measured th by borrowing teacher’s is even weirder.

Wednesday 18 January. levels as compared to August 2019. We are also delighted to beon in the Top 3 for the number of new members who This book is going to tell you have joined since April, again compared with the same period last year. Thanks must also go to our volunteers who what’s actually going on in there, have or are about to come back and it is lovely to be catching up with each other. and answer the really important Children’s Book of the Month questions, like: How much of your life will you Although we have not been fortunate spend on the toilet? About a year to secure a copy yet, after 40 years Jill so bring a good book.

Murphy has written a further picture (I recommend this one.) book called Just One of Those Days So sit back, relax, put on some about the domestic chaos of a typical rubber gloves, and let a doctor family, except that they are bears. take you on a tour of your insides.

In 1980 she to Kay’s Anatomy*.

Our free, valuable and interesting DementiaWelcome Friends wrote the hugely *a fancy word for your body. See, popular Peace Information Session is just about asking everyone to already. you’re learning at Last which understand a bit more about dementia and how we might was about the domestic chaos make life that bit easier and more pleasant for those of an elephant people who live with it. family. This was the first book in a series about the endearing domestic chaos of Mr Mrs Large and their elephant family.

It seems that families juggling jobs, nurseries and schools and the ups and downs of family life have not changed and neither has lack of sleep.

However, when everyone pulls together it can all work out ok. Besides being a lovely story, it is great to see a working mum and dad who share the parental load which is something so often missing from previous classic children’s stories.

We hope to increase our hours further from November.

We still continue to receive new stock and have recently been fortunate to add a large number of children’s picture story books. Look out for them on display around the library.

We are now required to provide the NHS QR code to scan using the NHS Test and Trace App. This is to help break the chains of transmission of Coronavirus. Please be assured that if you are unable to use the App, or do not wish to, we maintain a written record destroyed after 21 days. It is pleasing how everyone has been complying with the ongoing guidance so far whilst visiting the library helping to make everyone as safe as we possibly can.

So many people are touched by dementia.

Would you please spend just one hour to understand a little more about dementia?

It could help you, family, friends, neighbours - our whole community.

Please do be a Dementia Friend.

Margaret Bowler

Chair – Markfield Community Library

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Tony Moulding TONY “PANDY” MOULDING sadly passed away on 8th Sept after a short illness.

He would have been well known to Markfield and other nearby residents of the 50`s and 60`s as he was a member of the highly successful village football and cricket teams of that era, winning both the Junior Cup at football and the Louis Knight cup at cricket.

Unfortunately his employment required him to move to Royston in Hertfordshire where he quickly became involved with Royston Town FC, playing first for the A team then later for the veterans.

Tony then became very active in the running of the club, including a number of years as chairman.

As a mark of appreciation of his commitment to the club, they held a minute’s silence prior to the following home game against Banbury.

He will be sadly missed by both family and friends.

Jeff Moulding

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THE HERALD • MID-OCTOBER 2020 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@markfieldherald.co.uk

COUNTY COUNCIL SIGNS UP FOR LATEST WILDFLOWER INITIATIVE LEICESTERSHIRE County Council has become the first local authority in the midlands to join the BLUE campaign, which aims to promote biodiversity by re-introducing wildflowers and plants to roadside verges.

The BLUE campaign was started in 2014 by wildlife film maker, Fergus Beeley, in response to a report on the State of Nature published by the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology that year, which highlighted the dramatic decline in biodiversity and biomass across the UK. A blue heart symbol, made out of recycled materials, is placed in the ground where rewilding is taking place. Currently, there are 12 wildflower verges across Leicestershire, with the county council hoping that the BLUE campaign will inspire more communities to get involved.

This year marked the largest reduction in the areas of rural verges the county council have cut, all to allow wildflowers to thrive and encourage pollinators.

Councillor Trevor Pendleton, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “Our roadsides around the county are perfect places to reintroduce and encourage more of our native plants and wildflowers. We are proud to be working with our parish councils to roll out our wildflower verge scheme, improving the biodiversity of our communities and providing vital habitats for our native species.”

The county council’s first two cuts of rural verges in a year are for safety purposes, with only visibility splays being cut.

Earlier this month, the county council undertook their first full cut in five years after following guidance published by wildlife charity, Plantlife, which states that cutting verges improves their quality and helps promote species.

New book by local author MARKFIELD-BASED author Lorna Talbott’s latest book is “Secret Cromer and Sheringham” which contains interesting information and history about the seaside resorts, which are a popular destination for Leicester holidaymakers.

The north Norfolk coastal towns of Cromer and Sheringham, roughly 4 miles apart, were both small fishing villages until their development in the nineteenth century. Cromer became a fashionable resort and the arrival of the railways spurred growth in neighbouring Sheringham. Both towns are still popular with visitors to this stretch of north Norfolk, romantically nicknamed ‘Poppyland’ by the Victorians. In this book author Lorna Talbott delves into the history of Cromer and Sheringham.

Part of medieval Cromer now lies under the sea and the remains of its church became a shipping hazard in later centuries.

The history of both towns is intertwined with the fishing industry, particularly for crabs, but industries such as lime burning and brick making left their mark on the local landscape and other less legal trades such as smuggling were also practised. Throughout their history sea rescue was vital to Cromer and Sheringham and many in the towns served in the often perilous work of the lifeboats. The leisure industry also grew as the towns became popular with visitors and at one time were promoted as spa towns.

The Victorians built grand hotels as well as starting the caravan trade.

The first pier in Cromer’s history was built in the fourteenth century and today’s pier has seen a fascinating roll call of entertainers over the years.

Secret Cromer & Sheringham explores all this and more, revealing the secrets of these Norfolk towns.

~ How to cut the cost of parking at Bradgate ~ BRADGATE PARK is a popular destination for visitors from far and near. Some visitors, however, feel that the parking charges are not flexible enough and do not reflect either the time of day that visits take place or the length of time that some want to stay.

Avoiding the charges has contributed to parking at the side of the roads approaching the car parks. In Newtown Linford additional restrictions and time limits were introduced on some roads, but near Old John parked cars may slow the flow of traffic if there is insufficient space to pass.

The Leicester Mercury has reported that Bradgate Park Trust is planning to revise parking charges later this year, increasing all day rates whilst reducing the amount visitors pay for off peak parking. At the Newtown Linford car park from Mondays to Friday • a new ‘early bird’ rate of £1 before 9am is to be introduced, • a ‘late bird’ rate of £2 after 4pm.

• a three hour stay will cost £3 • all day parking will be increased to £4.50.

They’ll cost a £1 more at the weekends, apart from the after 4pm charge which will remain at £2. The £5.50 charge may not be popular with those who stay for just over 3 hours, so they’ll be better off going to the less expensive Hunts Hill car park, near Old John, where a full day will be £3 during the week and £4 at the weekend.

“The Trust has recently carried out a thorough review of parking arrangements and is delighted to announce improvements which look to resolve recent concerns expressed by visitors and local residents,” a spokesperson for the Bradgate Park Trust told the Mercury. “We have also identified that a number of people only wish to visit for up to three hours so we are also introducing a rate for this length of stay.”

In these days of people using cash less frequently many would welcome the introduction of contactless payments. “We are working hard to find contactless solutions,” added the spokesperson, “and the intention is to use a pay by phone app which will be contactless, and subject to mobile signal, useable at all of our car parks.”

Norman Griffiths

The man who invented predictive text died today. His funfair is next monkey.

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Let’s Do It

By Jasper Rees IN HER passport Victoria Wood listed her occupation as ‘entertainer’ - and in stand-up and sketches, songs and sitcom, musicals and dramas, she became the greatest entertainer of the age.

Those things that might have held her back - her lonely childhood, her crippling shyness and above all the disadvantage of being a woman in a male-run industry she turned to her advantage to make extraordinary comedy about ordinary people living ordinary lives in ordinary bodies. She wasn’t fond of the term, but Victoria Wood truly was a national treasure - and her loss is still keenly felt.

Victoria had plenty of stories still to tell when she died in 2016, and one of those was her own autobiography.

‘I will do it one day,’ she told the author and journalist Jasper Rees. ‘It would be about my childhood, about my first few years in showbusiness, which were really interesting and would make a really nice story.’

That sadly never came to pass, so Victoria’s estate has asked Jasper Rees, who interviewed her more than anyone else, to tell her extraordinary story in full. He has been granted complete and exclusive access to Victoria’s rich archive of personal and professional material, and has conducted over 200 interviews with her family, friends and colleagues - among them Victoria’s children, her sisters, her ex-husband Geoffrey Durham, Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Dawn French, Anne Reid, Imelda Staunton and many more.

What emerges is a portrait of a true pioneer who spoke to her audience like no one before or since.

South Charnwood High School Markfield Leicestershire LE67 9TB

SPORTS FACILITIES OFFICER We require additional members of the Facilities Team to co-ordinate events, bookings and activities on the 3G artificial grass pitch and other areas, ensuring a quality of service for all users.

Facility is open Monday – Friday 5.00pm – 10.00pm and Saturday/Sunday 9.00am – 6.00pm Part time available/job share available/hours to suit.

Hourly rate £8.70 (pay award pending).

Please see the school website at www.southcharnwood.leics.sch.uk for an information pack and application form.

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‘South Charnwood High School - Committed to Safeguarding Children and Young People.’

Why am I always the last to know that I’m in an open relationship?

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THE HERALD • MID-OCTOBER 2020 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@markfieldherald.co.uk

Tactical approach needed to prevent us being swamped by new housing Borough Councillor Matthew Lay writes in The Herald YOU WILL NEED to excuse me if I talk about housing and planning again but I do so because it is such a massive issue for our community and yet so much of it is moving out of our control and into the hands of politicians far removed from Markfield and Stanton.

This is not some run of the norm development but a concerted policy of taking away the rights of local people to determine the future of your communities and what is the best way forward.

Despite the best endeavours of a good number of people to prepare our defences and inform the community about what is happening through the Herald or via direct public engagement, the resulting public consultation that was launched by Jelsons appeared to catch some people by surprise.

The resulting reaction was in part expected but attempts to apportion blame locally is wrong and without any evidence whatsoever.

Important work On the contrary those local residents tasked with representing this village through the work of the neighbourhood plan have done an important piece of work which represents the best chance the village has of preventing development on a scale few appreciate and we are not just talking about a few hundred new houses. Those involved do have an idea and understand the pressure we are under. They are also people who like me would not ordinarily want to see housing development in our open countryside and in

addition they are people who like me have been involved in numerous skirmishes with developers to prevent it happening and have campaigned arduously to protect the open spaces around us.

The most important thing that can be said is do not underestimate the challenge ahead. Markfield and Stanton are attractive places to live. People want to come and live here and developers want to build on every field that surrounds us.

A couple of months ago Markfield even featured in the Daily Mail as a property hotspot attracting buyers from the City in increasing numbers.

Biggest threat That however is not the only threat to our communities. It is housing numbers that are driven by central Government which one could argue presents the biggest threat. These numbers just keep going up and the recent news about the abandonment of the East Leicester relief road or A46 Eastern Spur only fills me with more concern as that infrastructure project alone was going to support the development of 40,000 homes east of Leicester. That figure is likely to be redistributed with an even larger share coming our way of the ruinous 140,000 homes that we will be told to find land for across the City and County.

Sometime people fail to link what is said by a senior Government minister or even the Prime Minister and developments that occur in the local community. Well on house building I can tell you they are intrinsically linked. The narrative and slogan – ‘build, build and build’ is exactly that and nothing and nobody will be allowed to get in its

way. One of the most controversial aspects of the Government’s proposed planning reforms is the use of a computer algorithm that would change the way housing numbers are allocated to local areas. The algorithm in part links housing numbers to house price growth and so in areas which are popular more housing is allocated regardless of the local area’s ability to accommodate the actual scale of development. In fact the ability of a community to accommodate new housing growth is virtually dismissed as any ground for objection and further the need to apply for planning permission disappears with it. This could see the communities west of Leicester targeted with housing growth on a scale we haven’t seen before.

The new proposals are controversial with all political persuasions and one would hope they will be modified, but even without these proposals the system is now so rigged in favour of developers we need to take more robust action now to build the best defence we can.

Timing is crucial One of the reasons the neighbourhood plan is so important is because of timing. Once the Borough Council completes its new local plan it is widely expected that more houses will need to be given permission and they will need to allocate land for this purpose. The neighbourhood plan completed in time will afford us some protection at the very moment these allocations are being made, but only by being pro-active on allocating land suitable for a housing need identified using a methodology available today and

Based on my calculations, I can retire five years after I die.

not the more damaging ones that could be used in the future.

I have said before nothing is watertight but it’s hard to see what better course of action can be taken. We may still lose this way but simply objecting to every application is no longer going to be good enough and in fact will be counterproductive, leading to developers having a field day.

Those who suggest otherwise are mistaken. Instead we must play a tactical game if we are to make it through the next decade without being swamped. That means accepting some development, getting the most from that development for the community, putting in place mitigations for the worst elements based on feedback received and try and secure the best future we can together. Most of all though we need to hope for a change of approach from the Government and a different emphasis to the one in play today which is; ‘build, build, build’.

If we fail on this, we really will have nothing left.

Matthew

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In praise of peanut butter ONE QUIRKY change of life under Coivd-19 is that for some reason, we are eating more peanut butter.

According to a recent report in The Grocer, sales of the stuff rose by 35.5 per cent in the Spring.

Peanut butter producer Kirstie Hawkins (Whole Earth brand) is delighted. “Peanut butter offers an easy way to add more nutrition to breakfast and snack choices.”

Whatever the reason, sales of peanut butter, at £98.9million in the past year, are now £2million more than those for jam.

Diamonds are for lockdown…

HERE’S AN unexpected outcome of Covid-19: it has inspired more of us to get engaged.

Engagement rings sales have risen this year, in some firms by up to 73 per cent, a survey of various jewellery firms has discovered.

When, at the beginning of lockdown, Dr Jenny Harries, the deputy chief medical officer, suggested that couples could get round the coming isolation by moving in together, it seems that many listened to her. They decided to give it a go and ‘test the strength of their relationship.’

“A lot of people have now resolved to go ahead and tie the knot,” said one jeweller. “Perhaps they are thinking: ‘life’s too short, let’s go for it’.” Another jeweller said: “Maybe if you can make it through lockdown together, you can make it through anything.”

Lower your hostility KEEP CALM, and keep kind, if you want to live longer. It seems that being sarcastic and irritable only makes heart attack victims more likely to die from a second coronary.

A recent study in the US on the personality traits of patients who had had heart attacks found that hostile personality traits (sarcasm, cynicism, resentment, impatience, irritability) was a common factor.

A doctor at the University of Tennessee said: “We know that taking control of lifestyle habits improved the outlook for heart attack patients, and our study suggests that improving hostile behaviour could also be a positive move.”

Cancellation

Another one bites the dust in Bagworth THE BAGWORTH Forward Group (BFG) have sadly taken the inevitable decision and cancelled the Christmas Fayre at the Community Centre.

This is another event that has, in previous years, helped us to raise money for the village. Our biggest bills are the ones which pay for the various planters to be filled with colourful flowers. This happens twice a year which gives us a good display in the summer and a flash of colour in the winter. We are very pleased with the many positive comments that we have received this year commenting on the very pleasing condition of the plants in the planters. We buy these from the nursery at Thornton. We would also like to thank all of the people who have played a part in keeping the flowers looking immaculate.

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I respect giraffes, but I always get the impression they’re looking down on me.

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THE HERALD • MID-OCTOBER 2020 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@markfieldherald.co.uk

County Councillor’s Report from Peter Bedford Email: peter.bedford@leics.gov.uk • Tel: 01455 824733 Web: www.facebook.com/peterbedfordmdt Hello everyone, Well here we are, my favourite season, the Autumn: with the nights drawing in, crisp leaves fall from the trees, and we look forward to ‘Bonfire Night (although I suspect things will be a little different this year!).

As usual I thought I would outline a few bits and pieces that I have been working on since my last update:

Council Matters AT THE end of September, I attended a Full Council Meeting of Leicestershire County Council where I was pleased to support a motion prohibiting the release of “Chinese lanterns” from public buildings in the County.

Whilst on the face of it this may appear a somewhat trivial issue, the more I read into it the more it made sense that we should do all we can to encourage a cleaner, greener County and to try to minimise our damage to the wildlife and our shared environment.

At the meeting we also touched on the tough financial situation we face as a result of the rising costs for children with special educational needs (SEN), and the additional

costs and lost revenues arising from the impact of Covid-19. With this is mind it is clear that the Council will need to make some tough decisions in the run up to our budget in February, and I would really encourage all residents to engage in the consultation process to ensure that the Councils priorities truly reflect what local residents want.

Markfield I FIRSTLY want to thank all those volunteers that have given up their free time to help develop Markfield’s Neighbourhood Plan.

It is all too easy in life to stand back and shout “something needs to be done about this!” and then leave it to someone else to solve; so, in my opinion all those local residents that have been working on this for many years should be applauded for stepping forward.

As many of us will have seen there have been a flurry of planning applications of late, with developers seemingly swooping on villages such as Markfield. As I have previously written, most of us accept that new housing to a degree is needed, but this must be balanced with sustainability and supporting infrastructure. In my view, whilst it might be politically expedient, it is a very dangerous line to oppose every development.

By doing so there is a risk of being branded NIMBYs, and in turn our villages being forced to accept more houses than we might have otherwise had to through calm and considered discussions between the Developers, Parish, Borough and County Councils. As such I continue to engage and facilitate such dialogue; and have been actively working with residents of Markfield Court on the “Owl” proposals for Ratby Lane.

Bagworth IN SEPTEMBER Borough Councillor Ozzy O’Shea and I met with a small group of residents to listen to their concerns about (yes you guessed it!) plans by Developers in the village.

beginning to return to more ‘normal’ levels.

It was constructive to get Ozzy’s knowledge, as an experienced Borough Councillor, geological expertise from local residents, and my link with Highways together to work through this issue. We will continue to monitor this matter as it develops and engage with local residents to ensure that their views are articulated to the Planning Committee when the time comes!

There are at least 15 stretches of road across the area that I have received complaints about and continue to work with LCC Highways on prioritising and where possible implementing measures to increase road safety. I continue to make the case for the need to link any future developments with specific financial contributions from developers so as to provide the funding for these measures.

Thornton

Parking

FOLLOWING representations from local residents I have formally written to Severn Trent asking them to explore commercial opportunities at the site of the Reservoir Inn public house.

THIS IS the issue that frustrates me the most; since the key to solving it rests not merely with the County Council; but also, with Enforcement Teams (administered by HBBC) and Leicestershire Police (Highways Obstructions).

It has been suggested that ST could explore utilising this site as a visitor experience centre (café and gift shop?); whilst providing additional parking in the village (which has been an ongoing issue for many years).

I will be meeting ST to discuss this matter in more detail; but as the saying goes “if you don’t ask… you don’t get”.

ENFORCEMENT ISSUES Speeding This remains a ‘hot topic’ across the four parishes that I represent and even more so now that car usage is

However, during the month I have met with the various stakeholders to try to bring together more coordination in the enforcement of parking issues.

• ONCE AGAIN, if I can be of assistance in any way please do not hesitate to get in touch, Best wishes,

Peter

(County Councillor for Markfield, Desford, Bagworth, Thornton, Botcheston, and Stanton under Bardon) E: peter.bedford@leics.gov.uk or T: 01455 824733 www.facebook.com/ peterbedfordmdt

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Charnwood Forest ... in 1858

11

Elizabethans

By Andrew Marr David Attenborough. Marcus Rashford.

Diana Dors. Winston Churchill. Elizabeth David. Bob Geldof. Frank Crichlow. Quentin Crisp. Dusty Springfield. Captain Tom.

Di and Tony Lockley found the above map in a companion to Charnwood Forest 1858. It looks a bit different these days ...

Who made modern Britain the country it is today?

What does it mean to be the new Elizabethans?

In this wonderfully told history, spanning back to when Queen Elizabeth became queen in 1953, Andrew Marr traces the people who have made Britain the country it is today. From the activists to the artists, the sports heroes to the innovators, these people pushed us forward, changed the conversation, encouraged us to eat better, to sing, think and to protest. They got things done. How will our generation be remembered in a hundred years’ time? And when you look back at Britain’s toughest moments in the past seventy years, what do you learn about its people and its values?

In brilliantly entertaining style and with unexpected insights into some of our sung and unsung heroes, Andrew Marr offers up a first draft of the history we are all living. This is our story as the new Elizabethans – the story of how 1950s Britain evolved into the diverse country we live in today. In short, it is the history of modern Britain.

Does marriage make you happy?

IT MAY. But then again, it may not.

Research spanning 40 years has found that being married does not necessarily make people significantly happier than if they were divorced or single. Psychologists at Michigan State University found that, while married people showed a slight increase in happiness, the difference was still less than one percentage point.

The findings are in contrast to a previous study by the Office for National Statistics, which found that being married or in a civil partnership was the third most important factor in happiness, behind only health and employment.

One researcher observed that, if someone longed for a lifelong partner to build a happy life together, but that individual was not completely happy to begin with, then getting married would be unlikely to cause a dramatic change in the long term.

Last week I sold the house for £150,000. I was very pleased with that because I was renting.

12

THE HERALD • MID-OCTOBER 2020 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@markfieldherald.co.uk

National Trust Leicester Association SINCE LATE September the National Trust has reopened forty of its historic houses to the public. However not all of the usual rooms are open. In all of the properties a one way system is in operation which basically means that only rooms with separate entrance and exit doors are included on the route.

Whilst this tends to mean that only the large rooms are open there are exceptions. One example is where a personal maid had a small room next to her mistress’s bedroom, entered from a corridor and with a personal door to the bedroom.

All visitors still have to pre book, via the NT web site, to visit the overall property. However entry to the house is on a first come first served basis with a queuing system. The gardens, general estate and tea room are also open at all of the properties.

There are seven houses within a 45 mile radius of Leicester that are open. The first is Calke Abbey, which is infamous because the Trust left it just as they found it. Not far from Towcester is Canons Ashby which was built for the Dryden family who lived there for over 400 years.

Just off of the M1 south of Chesterfield is Hardwick Hall, built for Bess of Hardwick, the second richest woman in England after Elizabeth 1. Also built in the late sixteenth century is Packwood House, south of Solihull, where the family managed to stay neutral during the Civil War.

IT SEEMS that many of us started as early as September this year, aiming to spread our costs during the financial stress of the pandemic.

At Shugborough (above), near Rugeley, in addition to the house built in the late 1600’s the “model” farm complete with animals, the formal gardens and the estate are also open.

The Workhouse in Southwell is the most complete example of a Workhouse in the UK. Finally, Wightwick Manor near Wolverhampton, built around 1890, is the best surviving example of a large Arts & Crafts house in the UK. The National Trust Leicester Association has currently suspended all of its activities. Please check the Association web site at – www.leicesternt.btck.co.uk for updates, including details regarding Stoneywell Cottage. The Association also runs an extensive second hand book stall with good quality paper backs at 50p and hardbacks at £1.00. All books are now available for sale, in safe conditions, in Groby. Please call 0116 2229133 to arrange to view the books.

Alan Tyler

Publicity Officer NT Leicester Association

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How is your Christmas shopping going?

• Online tribute and donation profile • Catering suite • Chapels of rest • Funeral plans available • 24 hour service

THANK YOU TO THE HERALD ADVERTISERS Your support has made publication of this issue possible.

As for amounts we intend to spend? According to research carried out by American Express, more than 25 per cent of us will spend less than we did last year, 60 per cent of us will spend the same as last year, 12 per cent of us will spend more than last year, and three per cent of us have not thought about it.

Meanwhile, other research from MoneySuperMarket predicts that our overall average Yuletide spending will be down from £582 last year to £512 this year.

Cost of plastic bags to increase HANG ON to your plastic bags - the single-use ones are going to double in cost from 5p to 10p in all the shops from April 2021.

The Government has said the measure is to further reduce the UK’s plastic consumption.

George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, said: “We have all seen the devastating impact plastic bags have on the oceans and on precious marine life, which is why we are taking bold and ambitious actions to tackle this issue head on.”

Dr Laura Foster, head of clean seas at the Marine Conservation Society, said: “It’s encouraging to see the Government take further steps in reducing our reliance on single-use plastic bags.” The increased charge, she said, would remind people “of everyday, simple changes they can make to help the marine environment.”

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If I had to describe myself in one word, it would be ‘bad at following instructions’.

13

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~ News from Cross Hills Baptist Church ~ Serving the villages of Thornton & Bagworth plus the surrounding area

Harvest ‘Drive In’ service, Sunday 20th September THIS WAS a new experience for us all, but certainly encouraging and very uplifting!

We’ve successfully been having our ‘Sunday services’ on the Zoom platform but unfortunately a few don’t have the technology to be able to join us. Whilst the Orders of Service and the words of the hymns and songs are either emailed or posted out to everyone, and DVD’s of the Zoom services are sent to those who aren’t able to join us, we’ve all been missing the fellowship of collective worship in our building.

However, under current guidance there are many restrictions to using the building, these being regularly reviewed by our trustees.

When the idea of a ‘Drive In’ service was put forward, it was initially a strange concept for many of us, but with lots of background thought, planning and enthusiasm, together with Covid19 risk assessments, it was decided we could go ahead whilst complying with the pandemic guidelines.

The car park was marked out with a numbered socially distanced parking position for each car and its occupants with their own picnic chairs, bookings were taken with details for Track and Trace and time slots for arrivals were given so that local roads didn’t become congested.

Almost all of our congregation were able to join us and it was especially good to see most of those who hadn’t been able to join us on Zoom. We enjoyed a wonderful uplifting service in the beautiful Autumn sunshine accompanied by our worship group singers and guitar players, something that was much needed in our present circumstances.

Our building was also open for private prayer providing that those who wished to use the opportunity signed the register, wore their mask and used the sanitiser before entering.

A bucket collection was held (with suitable PPE being used by the person with the bucket!) so that we could support Hinckley Homeless financially rather than with our usual produce and store-cupboard items.

We were delighted that our total collection, with other donations, was £460 and a cheque for this amount has been taken to them together with some lovely, very practical hats and scarves kindly knitted by one of our congregation.

All was greatly welcomed and appreciated by them.

If you would like to join us for our Sunday Zoom services or be added to our mailing/email listing then feel free to use our contact details below.

2020 Shoebox appeal WE ARE SORRY to say that with the difficulties of the Covid19 restrictions and our co-ordinator being in the over 70’s age group, Cross Hills will not be a collection point for the Samaritan’s Purse shoebox appeal this year.

For those who might still like to do a shoebox, if you check on the website www.samaritans-purse. org.uk and choose the Operation Christmas Child link you should find a list of other collection points that may be available and ways of doing a shoebox online.

Contact Numbers Pastor - Garry Kelly: 01455 457802/07816 616189 Secretary - Lynda Kelly: 01455 457802/07910 440243 Treasurer - Glynis Straw: 01530 230272

Glynis Straw

on behalf of the Cross Hills Church family

Women like hugs WOMEN are more genetically predisposed to giving you a hug than a man is.

According to a recent study at Arizona University, about 45 per cent of a woman’s desire for affection is hereditary, while the remaining 55 per cent is due to environmental factors. In comparison, men’s ‘skin hunger’ is due to entirely environmental factors.

The scientists found that, ‘almost without exception’, women tend to be more affectionate than men. “There is some speculation that affectionate behaviour is more health supportive for women than it is for men, and that it helps women to manage the effects of stress more than it does for men.”

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14

THE HERALD • MID-OCTOBER 2020 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@markfieldherald.co.uk

Markfield Medical Centre and PPG October Update COVID-19 continues to affect our daily lives and of course the provision of services at Markfield Medical Centre has not been immune.

Test and Trace Isolation Support Payment Scheme Launched FINANCIAL help is now available through the Borough Council to help qualifying people on low incomes who have been told to self-isolate through NHS Test and Trace.

Never the less the surgery has remained open throughout the pandemic and at Bank Holiday weekends. Capacity has been maintained by the adoption of new digital consulting solutions and these are likely to continue for the foreseeable future. During this time over three quarters of GP consultations have been made by phone which has enabled face to face consultations to continue where clinically appropriate. However, this has meant increasing the gaps between GP and nurse appointments to ensure social distancing and to allow sufficient time for staff to clean down between each patient. Inevitably, this has resulted in fewer face to face appointments being available and longer waiting times but this new way of working has been essential to ensure the continued safety of patients and staff.

• PATIENTS WITH HEALTH CONCERNS are advised not to put things off and encouraged instead to contact the surgery especially if they have the sudden appearance of a lump, blood in their urine or changes to their usual bowel habits. Early diagnosis and medical intervention can be a life saver where Cancer is suspected.

The Patient Participation Group has been unable to meet during this period due to social distancing restrictions. The PPG held its first video conference meeting for members on 12 October and this new ‘virtual’ way of meeting may well become the ‘new normal’ while such restrictions remain in force.

• FLU VACCINATION CLINICS are well under way with priority booking being given to children aged between 2 and 3 years as at 31 August 2020, patients over the age of 65 and those with chronic medical conditions such as COPD, Diabetes, Asthma, Heart Disease etc. Certain other groups of patients are included in this initial phase but if you are unsure about eligibility please check with the surgery. Depending on vaccine availability the next phase will focus on the under 65s who are eligible. If you are unable to attend a booked appointment please let the surgery know so the slot can be offered to another patient.

• REPEAT PRESCRIPTION REQUESTS by phone which were temporarily introduced during lockdown have now been withdrawn.

Patients should revert to their preferred repeat prescription method of ticking the boxes on the paper request slip or completing the request online.

Physiotherapist Simon Crossley has started working at the surgery on Friday afternoons. Simon can deal with injuries, sprains, sports injuries, managing arthritis and back pain. He is also able to arrange investigations such as X-rays and blood tests if needed or refer you for physiotherapy or exercise rehabilitation.

Pharmacist Laura Harding has started working at the surgery on Wednesdays and is currently helping with medication reviews and safety prescribing management.

Social Prescriber Briony Mellor is helping with patients who are over 18 years and have poor mental wellbeing; are frequent healthcare attenders; have mild to moderate depression or anxiety; have one or more long term medical conditions; are lonely or isolated; or have complex social needs.

Social prescribing differs from signposting, as it particularly supports people who lack the confidence or knowledge to get involved in community groups or approach agencies on their own.

A £450 million proposal to improve Leicester hospitals is out for consultation and more details are available on the website www. betterhospitalsleicester.nhs.uk

Since Monday 28 September, people in England have been required by law to self-isolate if they test positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) or if they are contacted by NHS Test and Trace service and advised to self isolate.

Now the Test and Trace isolation support scheme is available to people on low incomes who are unable to work from home and whose finances are reduced by isolation. The one-off payment of £500 can be claimed by qualifying people told to isolate from Monday 28 September to Sunday 31 January 2021 to support them during each period of isolation.

For all the details including eligibility criteria visit: www.hinckley-bosworth. gov.uk/testandtrace. If a person does not meet the eligibility criteria for the main scheme, they may be able to claim as part of the Borough Council’s discretionary scheme instead. Again all details are available on the council website.

Anybody wanting to make a claim has 14 days from the date their isolation ended to complete their application.

Leader of the Council, Cllr Stuart Bray said: “It’s important that we can support people whose income is significantly affected by isolation. This scheme will help relieve them of some of that worry while they’re doing the right thing by protecting our communities from spreading the virus further.

“I would encourage people in Hinckley and Bosworth to share this information with family and friends, so people are aware that there is financial support in place if they’re told to isolate and are unable to pay essential bills. It is important that any person asked to isolate follows the guidance to help reduce the spread of infection to people around them and their communities.”

The Gambler

By Tom Bower AS DIVISIVE as he is beguiling, as misunderstood as he is scrutinised, Boris Johnson is a singular figure.

Many of us think we know his story well. His ruthless ambition was evident from his insistence, as a three-year-old, that he would one day be ‘world king’. Eton and Oxford prepared him well for a frantic career straddling the dog-eat-dog worlds of journalism and politics. His transformation from bumbling stooge on Have I Got New for You to a triumphant Mayor of London was overshadowed only by his colourful personal life, brimming with affairs, scandals and transgressions. His ascent to Number 10 in the wake of the acrimonious, era-defining Brexit referendum would prove to be only the first act in an epic drama that saw him play both hero and villain from proroguing parliament to his controversial leadership of the Covid-19 Crisis, all against the backdrop of divorce, marriage, the birth of his sixth child, revolts among Tory MPs and the countdown to Brexit.

Yet despite his celebrity, decades of media scrutiny, the endless vitriol of his critics and the enduring adoration of his supporters, there is so much we’ve never understood about Boris - until now. Previous biographies have either dismissed him as a lazy, deceitful opportunist or been transfixed by his charm, wit and drive. Both approaches fall short, and so many questions about Boris remain unanswered.

What seismic events of his childhood have evaded scrutiny? How has he so consistently defied the odds, proved his critics wrong, and got away with increasingly reckless gambles? What were his real achievements and failures as Mayor of London, what was really going on during his time as Foreign Secretary, and why did he write two articles for the Telegraph, one in favour of Leave and the other for Remain? How have the women in his life exerted more influence than any of us realise, and why is his story ultimately one overshadowed by family secrets?

Based on a wealth of new interviews and research, this is the deepest, most rounded and most comprehensive portrait to date of the man, the mind, the politics, the affairs, the family - of a loner, a lover, a leader.

Revelatory, unsettling and compulsively readable, it is the most timely and indispensable book yet from Britain’s leading investigative biographer.

Never trust a man wearing more than 0 necklaces.

For Advertising Rates & Publication Dates , visit: www.markfieldherald.co.uk

ZOOM

Mask wearing and social distancing for COVID-19 may have cut influenza cases south of the equator

THE PANDEMIC is leaving a “lasting digital legacy”, and changing the UK’s internet habits and behaviour “indelibly”.

So says a recent Ofcom study.

Flu Season Never Happened in the Southern Hemisphere

Since March we have broken the four-hour barrier, which means that, on average, we spend more than a quarter of our waking hours each day online. That is up from an average of three hours and 29 minutes this time last year.

Zoom has soared in popularity.

Last December it reached 498,00 people in the UK; by April this had soared to 13million in the UK. TikTok, which lets users share short videos set to pop music, had 5.4 million UK users in January; by April it had 12.9million users.

In February, 35 per cent of UK adults made a video call once a week. By April that had soared to 71 per cent. The largest increase has been among the over-65s, with now 61 per cent of them making weekly video calls.

Older people favour Zoom, in order to ‘visit’ their relatives and friends; while many teenagers have become addicted to TikTok and endless videos.

Katie writes: “In March, as coronavirus widened its global sweep, one health statistic quickly flattened: influenza cases.

“In the Southern Hemisphere, flu season would have been just taking off, but cases were virtually nonexistent. ‘Never in my 40-year career have we ever seen rates ... so low,’ says Greg Poland, an influenza expert at the Mayo Clinic.

“Although researchers need to study the reasons further, several told Scientific American that coronavirus prevention measures—handwashing, mask wearing and social distancing—are working against flu transmission.

“If those measures continue, Poland says, countries could see the most dramatic drop in influenza cases in modern human history. U.S. health experts still recommend flu shots, however, because not everyone in the country is observing measures to contain the virus and because COVID-19 could perhaps be more threatening in people who contract flu.”

ACCORDING to an article by Katie Peek in Scientific American last month, the flu season never took place in the southern hemisphere.

Spare a thought for your furry friend MANY DOGS have struggled to adjust to the changes that Covid-19 has brought to their owners this year, according to the Dogs Trust.

For one thing, coronavirus has meant greatly reduced walkies for many dogs, more people around the house all day, less quiet for rest, and little or no contact with other dogs.

No wonder that the Dogs Trust has reported that 82 per cent of owners have reported an increase in barking or whining.

15

Cancellation

Christmas Craft Fayre THE FRIENDS of St Peter’s Church have very reluctantly decided that the Christmas Craft Fayre must be cancelled this year because of Covid-19.

This is the first time in 24 years that we have had to cancel the fayre. We hope you understand our reasons. The decision was not made lightly.

We have spent considerable time trying find a workable plan that will encompass all the government Covid-19 guidelines. Sadly, it has proven to be impossible to find a sensible solution in view of the latest restrictions. And, given that the weather in November is often inclement, we could not expect folk to queue outside.

We are planning to continue the fayre in future years and look forward to seeing you in 2021.

Maybe we could have a Spring fayre!

Shirley Garlick

South Charnwood High School Markfield Leicestershire LE67 9TB

Lunchtime Supervisors Required We require as soon as possible Lunchtime Supervisors to join our caring team.

This is a term time position (39 weeks). (£8.70 – £8.81 per hour).

If you are interested or require any further information, please contact Angie Preston, Business Manager on 01530 242351 or email: office@southcharnwood.org As this job is designated as a ‘regulated activity’ an enhanced DBS check with Barred list will be carried out by the school ‘South Charnwood High School - Committed to Safeguarding Children and Young People’ www.southcharnwood.leics.sch.uk

I asked my mother if I was adopted. She said ‘Not yet, but we’ve placed an ad.’

16

THE HERALD • MID-OCTOBER 2020 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@markfieldherald.co.uk

Markfield WI

High tech quizzing via Zoom

Planning Apps

FOR OUR September zoom meeting we had a quiz night.

There were four categories with multiple choice answers for each question. As usual there was a joker to be played and there was also an extra point for wearing a hat!

My team were the flat caps for obvious reasons (I was the third member taking the photo).

There was a little confusion at first but it was a lot of fun and the final scores were very close.

Sadly the new restrictions have meant that we have had to postpone our plans for members meeting up later this year but we hope to be able to organise an event as soon as rules allow.

In the meantime we still have entries for our rainbow challenge.

LISTED below are some recent planning applications local to our area: First floor extension at front and side of house - at 20 Slate Brook Close, Groby, Leicester LE6 0EE. Pitched roof to existing detached garage - at 17 Preston Close, Stanton under Bardon, Leics. LE67 9TX. Rear extension - at 1 Warrington Drive, Groby, Leicester LE6 0YS. Residential development of 48 dwellings - at land east of Ratby Lane, Markfield, Leicestershire.

Extension to front of existing garage - at 15 Glebe Road, Groby, Leicester LE6 0GT.

• OUR ZOOM MEETING on 21 October will be our AGM with members having received details of our annual report and voting in advance of the meeting.

The business of the meeting will be followed with a talk by Lynn Mellor.

Erection of porch - at 14 Spinney Close, Groby, Leicester LE6 0BY. Rear extension - at 17 Percival Way, Groby, Leicester LE6 0AU. First floor extension and alterations to bungalow to include front and rear dormers - at 27 Glenville Avenue, Glenfield, Leicester LE3 8BE

Lynda Owen

Cat charity is on the prowl in Leicestershire

I Follow You

By Peter James TO THE outside world, suave, charming and confident doctor Marcus Valentine has it all. A loving wife, three kids, great job. But there’s something missing, there always has been. . . . or rather, someone . . .

a

Driving to work one morning, his mind elsewhere and not on the road, he almost mows down a female jogger on a crossing. As she runs on, Marcus is transfixed. Infatuated.

She is the spitting image of a girl he was crazy about in his teens. A girl he has never been able to get out of his mind.

Lynette had dumped him harshly. For years he has fantasized about seeing her again and rekindling their flame. Might that jogger possibly be her all these years later? Could this be the most incredible coincidence?

Despite all his attempts to resist, he is consumed by cravings for this woman. And when events take a tragically unexpected turn, his obsession threatens to destroy both their worlds. But still he won’t stop. Can’t stop.

​CATS PROTECTION has launched a volunteer appeal in Leicestershire to find kind-hearted people to play a vital role in helping cats get back on their paws.

Shaki McFarland, New Branch The branch is currently looking for Development Manager, said: “Volunteering a fundraising events team leader, for Cats Protection is a fun and rewarding a treasurer, a publicity team leader experience. We work hard to match people’s and a number of Trap-Neuter-Return skills, interests and time availability to the (TNR) volunteers. roles on offer, so if you have something to The branch relies on public donations, so the fundraising events team leader is an essential role to enable the branch to be #HereForTheCats during the current pandemic. The team leader will be involved in organising virtual fundraising events and supporting a team of volunteer fundraisers.

The volunteer treasurer will oversee funds in the kitty to enable the charity to help even more cats.

The publicity team leader will help promote the work of the branch as well as advertising lost and found cats, helping to reunite them with their owners.

TNR volunteers humanely capture feral cats, transport them to a vet to be neutered and then release them back to their colony.

contribute please get in touch.”

The branch is currently running a HandsFree Homing scheme so cats can still be adopted within Covid-19 restrictions.

Since launching Hands-Free Homing, Cats Protection has rehomed 5,000 cats across the UK. As well as finding new homes for unwanted and abandoned cats, the charity also offers cat care advice to the public and can help towards the cost of neutering.

More information about the work of Cats Protection’s Leicester & County Branch can be found at https://www.cats.org.uk/leicester

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer please email bsunorth@ cats.org.uk or call 01825 741 001.

My father hated radio and couldn’t wait for television to be invented so he could hate that too.

For Advertising Rates & Publication Dates , visit: www.markfieldherald.co.uk

Great Start for Oak Class at Dove Bank Primary

OAK CLASS have settled into life at Dove Bank Primary School with a fantastic optimism.

They have enjoyed exploring our environment, and have made some strong friendships already. The children have become chefs in the mud kitchen, tree climbers, train drivers, obstacle course builders and secret message writers to the fairies in our classroom!

All in 3 full weeks of school life - wow!

LOOK OUT for the Poppy Appeal again this year, but not so much via street collections. Instead, the Royal British Legion will focus on contactless donations, as a safer way forward during the pandemic.

One such method will be ‘point of sale donations’.

This means that when you shop at your supermarket and reach the till or online, you may be invited to round up your total to the nearest pound to help the Poppy Appeal.

A spokesman for the Royal British Legion said: “The Poppy Appeal 2020 is very much still going ahead”, but that “the safety and wellbeing of our volunteers, staff and members is paramount.

This means that collectors who fall into the vulnerable category have been advised “not to take part in activity on behalf of the Poppy Appeal that would expose them to any additional risks while coronavirus is still present.”

And yet the need is still huge: “Members of the Armed Forces Community are suffering significant hardship as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak and we at the Royal British Legion will do everything we possibly can to support them.”

Ping pong is the perfect sport because it combines everything I love about both tennis and not moving.

17

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THE HERALD • MID-OCTOBER 2020 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@markfieldherald.co.uk

More Bagworth Conversations - recorded in 1991 IDA GREGORY: We used to watch the blacksmith shoe the horses when we came out of school. Years ago the Miners’ Welfare Institute (now renamed Bagworth Community Centre) was used for dancing every Saturday night. It was a beautiful floor for dancing. They used to wax it. A band was engaged and they played their instruments on the stage, old time waltzes and other old dance tunes. We didn’t have discos then, we had proper live bands. The people of the village used to do acts on the stage.

Concerts and variety shows took place. There’s nothing like that nowadays.

MRS HARBUTT: We used to do the Charleston in our early dancing days. I can remember the blacksmith’s forge, down in The Square near the Plough Inn. There was a stable there and they shoed all the horses. There was plenty of work for a blacksmith in those days. Horses were so common to see. The Plough is now a private house. Occasionally we’d go to the Plough. I’d sooner go to the Plough than the Barrel, in my younger days. I never did take to the Barrel Inn. We used to hold Whist Drives in the Second World War to buy proceeds for the soldiers.

KATE BAINES: The ice cream man used to come round with a pony and trap, that was before Masserella’s days. At some stage they started bringing ice cream on a bike. It was very watery and only vanilla flavour.

CELIA MILES: One man came on a bike selling ice cream, we used to call him ‘Cave Man’. His ice cream was solid and lasted an awful long time, which went down well with children. Cave Man came from Barlestone way, I don’t know how he came to get his name, and he came in the evenings, which was a good job because we were allowed only one ice cream a day.

MRS HARBUTT: Mrs Reed used to be in the concerts up at the Institute.

I seem to remember two Mrs Reed’s, and there was Oliver Fowler, Josie Ferry, George Lowe, Jack Holmes and Marion Plumb in the concerts.

They’d sing, “Why am I always the bridesmaid, never the blushing bride”.

There wasn’t a lot of money about in those days. But we could catch a bus then every quarter of an hour. We’d pay a penny a ride and could go to Hinckley for that. My dad was caretaker of the Institute at one time.

He worked at Ellistown Colliery, and because he wasn’t well enough to go down the pit one day, he was sacked without any compensation. Then he got the job as caretaker. After getting another job for a time he left there and got a job at Kenniwell’s Petrol Pumps. He stayed there till he was 80 and left on his birthday.

IDA GREGORY: I remember Luther Watson in the Jolly’s. Mrs Reed did the ‘Laughing Policeman’ act. There was Mrs Dinsdale, who used to organise the Juniors’ concert party, I was in it, tap dancing. Stan Bennett used to sing. The concert used to be crowded. The whole idea of the concert was to keep the kids occupied and off the streets.

Just after the war Harold Talbott used to bring the fish and chip shop van round the village. He came from Ibstock and collected the wet fish from Bagworth station twice a week. They used to cook the chips in lard. Mr Webster also collected his fish from the station, and he sold it just as a wet fish merchant at that time, because he didn’t own a shop at that point. He sold his wet fish from a horse and cart.

Another business in Bagworth was run by Mrs Cart. She lived in a big field at the back of the railway line, and she sold milk from a horse and cart. I can remember her running her business from there back in 1937. When she eventually retired, after many years of serving the people of Bagworth, she had a bungalow built at Chapel End. She was a great friend of our family, and my dad used to help her. We recently visited Mrs Cart at Chapel End shortly before her death.

MRS HARBUTT: Horace Kenniwell worked at Ellistown pit while my dad kept the petrol pumps for him. Kenniwell’s business was where the Markfield Plastics factory is now. Years ago, before Kenniwell’s, the site was used as a big garage, and then it was owned by a bus company, so it has seen a few changes over the years.

Another thing I noticed years ago in Bagworth, when it was getting dusk there were scores of bats flying down the entries between the blocks of houses.

IDA GREGORY: Before his success making ice cream, Masserella came from Hinckley with 6d. This other ice cream man would pedal a threewheeler and ring his bell for trade.

We played whip and top in the middle of the road. There were few motor vehicles to look out for. We played games to amuse us that are unknown today. For instance, in the coldest of the winter months we’d punch holes in a cocoa tin with a hammer and nail, fill the tin with a smouldering paraffin-soaked rag and ram the lid on. A long wire was attached to the tin, by which we occasionally swung it round and round. This had the effect of keeping the smouldering rag alight as the air rushed into the tin through the

nail holes. This crude contrivance was all we needed to keep us warm in the winter.

Other games we played were skipping, marbles and cigarette cards. We used to skim the cards through our fingers and try to make them land on top of your pals cards. Whichever cards you managed to cover, you picked up and kept.

Beastings, or beastlings, as they were sometimes pronounced, was the first lot of milk produced after a calf was born. It was thick and yellow. Our parents made custard out of it for our pudding. It looked something like egg custard when baked.

KATE BAINES: We played whip and top right from our farmhouse at the top of Bagworth, all the way to the bottom of the hill, and right in the middle of the road, without meeting a single item of traffic. You couldn’t do that nowadays.

Another game we played was tin-a-lurky.

Mrs Harbutt: When we played whip and top, we started from the Battram end of the village and kept the top spinning all the way to the bottom of the hill.

My brother used to modify the ‘top’ to improve the spin-power. He’d hammer

a bright steel shoe stud into the base of the spinning-top to lower the friction on the road. He used to say, “This’ll fly, it’s a window-breaker”. And it often was!

When we whipped the spinning-top it would take off and fly through the air for yards, still spinning, ready for its next whipping. If it happened to land on a smooth patch of road, it spun for ages.

We also played snobs and marbles, like most kids.

CELIA MILES: We called beastings, colostrum. It is very important that the new-born calf gets this, because it contains all the antibodies to protect the offspring when first exposed to the outside world.

KATE BAINES: When the farmers were getting the hay in, they loaded the hay-carts up and the horses would pull them from the fields to the farm.

We used to have rides on the back of the carts. To hold more hay, the farmers would fit ‘gates’ to the sides of the carts. The gates were ideal for us kids to hold on to, and we’d stand on the back axle and have a ride.

My parents kept a farm and they grew turnips and swedes for the animals’ winter feeds. I remember we had a big machine with a great wheel you turned by hand to slice the roots up.

We set fields of grass, which was mown when mature and dried into hay for

I’ve just painted a giant blue square in my back yard so Google Earth thinks I have a pool.

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From Bob Austin animal feed. Neither animals nor people were allowed to roam in those fields while the grass was growing. There was some sugar beet grown, although it was mostly grown in Lincolnshire.

When our cows were calving, we milked them for the beastings.

People came with their own bottles to collect some, because it was considered a delicacy when cooked.

CELIA MILES: We got colostrum (beastings) from another farm, because we only kept sheep.

Ours came from Freeman’s farm, where they kept cattle. We stored colostrum in the freezer, in case one of the ewes produced no milk for her new-born lamb.

IDA GREGORY: We had gallons of beastings when we were children. My dad, who worked for Mrs Cart, brought a lot of beastings home.

KATE BAINES: Like most people, we kept pigs. Most houses had them. We used to feed pigs at our farm for other people.

IDA GREGORY: We always had a pig hanging in the house. If you wanted pork for breakfast, all you had to do was to go behind this curtain and slice off a piece of bacon.

Keeping the pig in food wasn’t a problem. If any neighbours had scraps, stale bread, potatoes and so on, they would bring them round to my dad. We had a large tub for all the scraps of pig food. Neighbours got their reward when the pig was killed, because they got a cut of something, or ‘scratchings’ (lumps of pork fat) for which they were well satisfied.

MRS HARBUTT: We had a pig all through the war years. A favourite was the ‘chitlings’, they were very tasty.

I can remember we used to have a kind of rice pudding called ‘thromety’, or something like that.

After the corn was cut it was made into sheaves, and we would go round the field and pick up all the ears of wheat that had dropped out. This was gleaned corn, and we used to make a pudding which we called ‘thromety’.

When we went on holiday we always made a point of visiting any Salvation Army coffee shops that were around. It so happened that when we went on holiday to Weymouth in 1989 we were rummaging among the ‘Sally’s’ second-hand cookery books there when we came across this book with a recipe in it for ‘thromety’. It instructed you to cook it like rice pudding.

That’s the last time I’ve seen this recipe.

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Next dates when EkoJoe will be at Groby Club EKOJOE– a mobile refill business – visits Groby on alternate Fridays.

Dear Friends,

EkoJoe are a zero waste company.

They have a wide range of products: herbs and spices; dried fruit and nuts; pasta and rice; flour and yeast; cleaning and laundry liquids; face soaps and shampoo bars.

Most products can be bought by refilling jars. We are encouraged to take our own containers with us, but when you don’t have any there are always some available or products can be put in paper bags.

In addition EkoJoe stock a range of gifts and other plastic free products including: toothbrushes; cotton buds; bags; reusable cups.

It really is impossible to list all the products available so why not check them out one Friday morning?

You will find them in the car park of Groby Club from 9am until 1:30 every other Friday morning.

The dates for the month ahead are: 16th October, 30th October, 13th November.

Ruth Mwenya

Nurture your friendships LOCKDOWN has damaged our social life, so badly that many of our friendships may not be the same for up to a year after lockdown.

And although Zoom is ‘extremely good’ at slowing down the rate of a friendship’s decay, ‘nothing on earth is going to stop a relationship quietly sliding away, if you don’t once in a while meet up physically.”

So warns an Oxford University academic, Robin Dunbar, who is an evolutionary psychology professor.

He was talking to BBC Radio 4’s Today.

October…

It’s looking a lot like autumn, isn’t it?

The trees are changing colour, acorns and conkers are falling, there’s a nip in the air, and the evenings are drawing in. When the clocks go back, we really feel the winter darkness closing in. We can feel down, maybe depressed. Perhaps we don’t feel safe going out as much. In the dark, familiar things can look scary: I remember once being spooked by a pair of tights on the bedroom radiator! 2020 has also, for many of us, been a dark year.

And yet…if we like stargazing, we know that the best places to go are the dark places with no “light pollution”. Candlelit carol services usually happen after dark, so the candles shine more brightly. While I would not wish this year’s darkness on anybody, I also wonder if we’ve nevertheless sometimes seen the light of kindness and generosity burn more brightly, through the love and care shown by so many to family, friends, neighbours and others. I hope that, as the days draw in, and through any dark times ahead, we may continue to be, as a hymn by Bernadette Farrell puts it, “light for the world to see”.

Judith Lincoln Minister, Trinity Methodist Church, Markfield www.markfieldmethodistchurch.org FB Markfield Methodist Church

Supporting you in your home We are leaders in the community helping people to live at home indepenently. Our friendly and supportive staff have been providing assistance to our clients for over 25 years our staff have full references, an enhanced DBS and have completed extensive training.

At Bosworth Homecare we build and tailor packages of support to meet our client’s individual needs. Our support plans can be any combination of the many services we offer including, medication, personal care, assistance with domestic tasks and shopping. We also support our clients to hospital appointments, social activities and offer a befriending service.

Domestic Duties • Shopping • Meal Preparation Medication Assistance • Personal Care Support with Social Activities, Hospital Appointments and a Befriending Service

Tel · 01455 292648

We have been rated GOOD by the Care Quality Commission and became the first homecare provider to achieve the local authorities Dignity and Respect Award. If you would like to discuss any support needs for yourself or your loved one please contact our dedicated team.

Friendly and Compassionate Carer’s also required to support our clients in your area

Email · managementteam@givecare.co.uk | www.bosworthhomecare.co.uk Bosworth Homecare 7a Main Street Market Bosworth CV13 0JN

I’ve learned so much from my mistakes, I’m thinking of making a few more.

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THE HERALD • MID-OCTOBER 2020 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@markfieldherald.co.uk

Where do you store your various food items?

WHERE DO you put your parsnips and eggs, and what about the potatoes and onions?

The correct answers, according to new government guidelines, are that the first two below in your fridge and the second two belong in your cupboard.

More guidance on storing food safely can now be found on Wrap, the Government’s food waste watchdog. The aim is to stop households throwing so much food away.

And so Wrap.org.uk offers advice on storing everything from aubergines to onions, bananas to cheese, fizzy drinks to wine. It could be a good refresher course for many of us, and a lifeline for younger people trying to get the most out of their weekly shop.

Herald Small Ads • Jay-Be SINGLE FOLDING BED with mattress. Little used and in perfect condition. Price: £70.00 ono. Tel 0777 217 2165 (Groby) • Yamaha PSR-GS76 ELECTRONIC KEYBOARD with stand and instruction manual. Price: £60.00 ovno.

Tel 07891 171994 (Groby) • Assorted 1000 piece quality JIGSAW PUZZLES for sale complete.GIBSONS, CORNER PIECE, HOUSE OF PUZZLES (ALL £6 EACH) AND WASGIJ’S (ALL £7 EACH. Titles and pictures available via mobile upon request.

Tel: 07599 270585 (Groby) • VISTA 8 WHEELCHAIR (red and black). Excellent condition, only used for 6 months. Lightweight & easily dismantled for car boot. Folds when not in use. Large rear wheels for easier manoeuvres. 2 hand brakes plus wheel brake. Accessory bag and fitted seatbelt.

Price: £60.00 and will deliver within 3 mile radius of Groby.

Tel: 0116 2312866 / 07780 342253 (Groby) • EMBROIDERY SILKS, various colours, 50 in total. Price: £10.00.

• LADIES DENIM JACKET, medium.

Price: £5.00.

• 5 pairs BRASS DOOR HANDLES. Price: £10.00 • Royal Worcester LARGE WINE GLASSES, (2) boxed. Price: £4.00.

• Needle work boxes, excellent condition. Prices: Large £5.00 or Small £3.00.

Tel: 07547 901657 (Groby) • Just bought - McGregor 1600w ELECTRIC ROTARY MOWER, model MER1737. I’m part disabled and struggled to use it. Still as new. Cutting width: 37cm and includes mulch plug.

Price: £80.00 or near offer. Tel: 0116 287 1364 (Groby) • TUNTURI EXERCISE BIKE, fully serviced and ready to ride. No electronics to go wrong. As new condition.

Price: £50.00.

• Medium sized DOG TRANSPORT CAGE, foldable, as new condition.

Price: £15.00.

Tel 0116 287 6715 (Groby) • TOY BOX - wooden, white. £10.00 • PLANTERS, wooden, brown, grey. £5.00 • FISHING BAG - Shakespeare, black, new. £7.50.

• Combo FISHING STATION, Sensas.

Many extras, new. £250.000 o.n.o.

Tel: 01530 245754 (Markfield) • Pride Colt De-Lux MOBILITY SCOOTER. Price: £500.00 o.n.o Tel. 0116 2876 013 (Groby) • WROUGHT IRON GATES to fit width 84cm. Height 37/38. Colour Black Price: £60.00 o.n.o.

• RUSTIC WOODEN TABLE and 4 chairs. Length 48 cm. Width 35cm. Ideal for upcycyling. Price: £45.00 • White metal outdoor bistro circular GLASS TOPPED TABLE and 2 chairs.

Price: £40.00.

Tel: 07376 209722 (Markfield)

• Two pairs of large fully-lined CURTAINS, blue and cream. Length: 84” by width 132”. Good condition.

FREE to collect.

Tel: 01530 245328 (Stantonunder-Bardon) • Dimplex 10L DEHUMIDIFIER as new. Price: £45.00 • Nobex type MITRE SAW. Price: £10.00 • Delongi 500 watt OIL HEATER Price: £15.00 • Gnome SLIDE PROJECTOR with 8 reel slide holders & 5 straight.

Price: £20.00 • DTX ELLIPTICAL TRAINER. Price: £50.00 • Parkside air SAND BLASTING GUN with 20 kg GROUND GLASS. Price: £15.00 • Elmo 8mm FILM PROJECTOR. Price: £20.00 Tel 07561 816369 (Groby) • Ladies MULTI-GEAR CYCLE. Price: £40.00 • McCulloch Trim Mac 250 LS PETROL STRIMMER. Price: £40.00 • Stainless steel GARDEN SPADE and GARDEN FORK. Price: £15.00 the pair.

• Shakespeare Electric T34 OUTBOARD MOTOR, complete with heavy duty 12 volt BATTERY. Price: £60.00.

Tel: 01530 245337 (Markfield) • GARDEN SHREDDER - Black & Decker 1500W, max branch size 30mm diameter. Price £25.00.

Tel: 0116 232 1359 (Groby) • Sholley (Shol-eco) SHOPPING TROLLEY. Price: £25.00.

• Rectangular glass TV STAND. Price: £10.00.

Tel 07974 968454 (Markfield) • LONG EVENING DRESSES - £5.00 each for charity. Size 12-14. In pink, green, black, peach and cream.

Tel: 0116 287 5654.

• CHESS MAGAZINES - dating back to the 1990s. FREE to anyone interested.

Tel: 0116 287 3087 (Glenfield) • Terracotta patio or conservatory METAL TABLE and two matching CHAIRS. Price: £35.00.

• Dimplex OIL FILLED RADIATOR with thermostat and timer. Good condition and working order.

Price: £45.00.

Tel: 0116 287 8987 or 07999 768521 (Groby) IF YOU HAVE any household items which you’d like to advertise FREE in the Herald, please SEND DETAILS by post or email - sorry, we can’t take them over the phone.

Maximum EIGHT items please.

Our postal address is: Herald Small Ads, PO Box 8, Markfield, Leics.

LE67 9ZT or you can email details to: info@markfieldherald.co.uk PLEASE ENSURE that you put ‘SMALL ADS’ in the subject line, and INCLUDE YOUR FULL POSTAL ADDRESS (not for publication, just to know where you are).

I can’t figure out if life is passing me by or trying to run me over.

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21

Borough Councillor Andy Furlong’s Tel: 01530 231377 Email: andy.furlong@hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk A COUNCILLOR’S postbag can be varied.

Residents contact me about many different matters, not all of which fall under the control of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council.

Nonetheless, I respond and do my best to direct the inquiry to the proper authority. This isn’t always easy. Road safety is a good example. A few road safety concerns in and around Markfield and Stanton were brought to my attention in September, with speeding being the most common complaint.

The nut behind the wheel I am reminded of my late father’s pun: “What’s the most dangerous piece of equipment in a car – the nut behind the wheel!”. Bad jokes aside, he had a point. When driven and maintained correctly, the modern car is probably safer than at any time in history. It’s not cars that kill and seriously injure other road users – it’s drivers. So, I’m a fan of speed cameras. The best speed cameras are the ones that don’t generate any revenue because they never catch anyone speeding, and in the interest of full disclosure, I’ll openly admit that I’ve picked up a few speeding tickets in the past. It was my own fault every time. I wasn’t paying enough attention. The solution is simple, if you don’t exceed the speed limit, you don’t get a fine. Thus, I have no complaints and no time whatsoever for the claim that speed cameras are nothing more than cash machines for the government; that’s a silly argument.

The cost of road accidents The good news is that our roads are getting safer and they are amongst the safest in the world.

Nevertheless, 1,748 people died on Britain’s roads last year. Another 25,000 were seriously injured.

That’s a lot of death and misery for ordinary families like yours and mine. It’s also a stark fact that, after many years of falling road death numbers, the graph flatlined in 2010, probably as a direct result of austerity, police cuts and crippling reductions in local authority budgets. Now, when one considers that the average road fatality can cost you, the taxpayer, £2 million, with serious injuries racking up a bill more than £200 thousand, I think it’s fair to challenge the wisdom of cutting road safety measures. What can be done?

- More than eight out of ten people want to see stronger enforcement of road traffic law with seven out of ten calling for sharp increases in fines. The overwhelming majority believe that cash from fines collected in Leicestershire should be retained in the county to improve road safety and local enforcement.

The strength of local feeling is unmistakable. People want stiffer penalties for those who put lives at risk and tougher action by the police, and Leicestershire County Council, which is the lead authority for highways and road safety.

Residents are unhappy that cash from fines and penalty notices vanishes into the black hole of general government expenditure.

They would prefer to see it ring-fenced for local road safety initiatives.

Time for a rethink 350 people were killed or seriously injured on Leicestershire roads in 2019 with an estimated cost to the taxpayer exceeding £100 million.

It’s time for a rethink on road safety.

I will use my role as your borough

councillor to keep this issue in the spotlight, but more importantly, as you read this, ask yourself, “Am I the nut behind the wheel?”

And finally…

On a lighter note, big thanks go to Brenda Featherstone and the team at Little Markfield Farm for their hard work at the recent McMillan Cancer Support coffee morning. Neither the weather nor social distancing could keep the crowds away from baby ‘Merlin’ and the three other new additions to the herd that regularly bring a smile to our faces on Forrest Road.

It was great to contribute to a good cause and find out more about alpaca farming in Markfield.

Stay safe out there.

Andy Furlong Contact me on 01530 231377 or via andy.furlong@hinckleybosworth.gov.uk

Road safety survey I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I really care about what local people think. So, I have been encouraging residents to take part in a road safety survey organized by the Association of Police & Crime Commissioners.

Nationally, more than 66,000 people responded, and the findings for Leicestershire were as follows: - Six out of ten people reported seeing traffic offences committed, including mobile phone use at the wheel, every day. Alarmingly, less than half of Leicestershire residents ‘feel safe’ on the roads where they live.

Meeting up with Merlin the Alpaca at Little Markfield Farm

What’s the point of making people like Paul McCartney and Elton John knights if they’re not going to joust?

22

THE HERALD • MID-OCTOBER 2020 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@markfieldherald.co.uk

What’s Been Happening at Markfield Community and Sports Centre Annual General Meeting DUE TO CURRENT circumstances the Annual General Meeting of Markfield Community Association has, once again, been postponed until further notice.

A new date will be published as and when known.

ADDER the COVID19 Painted Rock Snake

a small grant that will pay for the materials required to build the feature and to Markfield Parish Council who arranged the selection of the rock and its transportation.

I must mention villager little Joseph who was excitedly watching the delivery of the granite rock with his Grandma. He was even more excited when we invited him to be the very first person to climb up onto the rock. He didn’t want to get down. He loved it so much that perhaps the rock should always be known as “Joseph’s Rock”.

Halloween Event

DURING THE MORNING of Tuesday 29th September a huge granite rock weighing a massive 6.2 tons was delivered on a specialist low loader to the Community Park by David Stanley Transport.

The driver carefully manoeuvered the load through the entrance gate, negotiated the car park and across the playing field. Fortunately, the ground was dry and hard and no damage was caused to the field. With some trepidation we watched as the driver carefully positioned the massive rock exactly where we wanted it amongst the memorial arc of trees. This granite rock was kindly donated by Bardon Quarry and will become the focal point for a new memorial dedicated to the men of Markfield who lost their lives during World Wars. It will also be the focal point of a new Corona Virus commemoration feature that will incorporate ALL of the stones that villagers have painted and laid down as part of our 1,000 plus painted rock snake “Adder”. We will also be planting daffodil bulbs and rose bushes. A time capsule marking the pandemic will also be built into the new feature and contain items relating to this moment in time.

Villagers Greg and Tom have already kindly offered their time to do the groundwork but we could do with a few more volunteers to help us sort out the rock snake stones and do a bit of planting. Your help will be much appreciated as we want to get this project finished before the winter sets in.

Please give the Centre a call if you can help out.

We are very grateful to the Hinckley and Bosworth VCS for giving us

MANY PARENTS and indeed grand parents have been agonising on how their children can enjoy the fun of Halloween this year.

Obviously, due to the Corona Virus pandemic, there is a risk of spreading the virus to children and residents by going door to door trick or treating.

So, in these difficult times we have come up with a village Halloween event that will help reduce the risks and keep people safe.

It is called the Markfield “Witchy Wandering and Monstrous March” and it follows the Leicestershire Celebrate Safety Campaign Guidelines.

This year Halloween falls on a Saturday and, in line with the guidelines we want children and young people to have fun BUT to be safe and indeed not cause distress to others.

Over Halloween, Leicestershire residents will be able to get their hands on double sided posters, found on Leicestershire Police’s website, which display the following messages: • Trick or Treaters Welcome Here; or • No Thanks Trick or Treaters.

PLEASE ONLY TRICK OR TREAT AT HOUSES WHERE YOU ARE WELCOME AND RESPECT THOSE HOMES WITH “NO THANKS” POSTERS DISPLAYED. Anyone who wants to report antisocial behaviour in Leicester, Leicestershire or Rutland can call Leicestershire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

So, what is our Markfield Witchy Wandering and Monstrous March all about? It involves a trail map around the village that will lead you to

I have been on Twitter a little over two years now. I think it’s time I tried to stand up and see if my legs still work.

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23

Words and pictures from Ron & Dawn Grantham Tel: 01530 242240 • www.markfieldcommunitycentre.com locations where you will find spooky Halloween related objects and characters. Families can dress up in Halloween fancy dress and join the trail at any point finally arriving at the Community Centre where children will be given a bag of sweets and you can enjoy a hot refreshment. Those successfully completing the trail will get a special certificate and there is even a prize for the best fancy dressed family. Due to current restrictions places on the event are strictly limited and to join in the fun you need to book online by searching “Markfield Community Centre” on Fatsoma.com or visit the Markfield Community Centre facebook page.

Re-Opening Of The Community Centre GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES on what activities are now allowed both inside and outside the premises have yet again changed.

We can now allow more activities and sessions provided that they conform to social distancing and other COVID 19 secure mandatory guidelines.

Unfortunately, we still cannot allow activities such as close contact sports, children’s and family parties and celebrations or any events that involve large gatherings.

All our current activities can be seen on our webpage or you can ring the Centre to enquire as to what is available for you. Things that have come back include Exercise Classes, New Age Kurling, sports, Mayflower Club and much more. We also now have new groups/classes including Rugby Tots on Sunday mornings, Yoga and Pilates on Saturday mornings, Keep fit on Monday and Friday evenings, ZUMBA on Wednesday evenings, YOGA on Thursday evenings, Futsal (Football) coaching on Saturday mornings plus a variety of children’s and adult dance classes. For further information please visit our web site or contact the Community Centre.

We have taken a lot of time and effort and indeed cost to ensure that the Centre is COVID 19 secure and help reduce the risk of infection. To maintain this please note that: • The centre is still not open to the general public so, please do not enter unless you are attending a pre-booked activity.

• Also, please do not enter the building if you are ill or have corona virus symptoms or have been in contact with anyone else who is ill. We may check your temperature before entering.

• Please do not enter if you have been notified by the nhs test and trace that you have been in contact with a covid 19 positive person and should isolate yourself

Track and trace MARKFIELD COMMUNITY CENTRE is supporting the NHS Track and Trace programme. This is a mandatory Government requirement and therefore the Centre MUST record personal contact details of EVERY person who enters the premises to attend an activity, deliver goods etc. or even as an authorised visitor. This personal information is kept in accordance with the Information Commissioners Office data protection guidelines. The guidelines include the safe storage, use, retention and disposal of personal information. Please be assured that the Centre is complying with these guidelines

11th November “Woes of a Probationer” 18th November Life of Elvis Presley All being well we hope to hold a Christmas Tea Party on 16th December.

Obviously things will be rather different than usual however, Father Christmas has promised to come along provided that social distancing is observed i.e. no one sits on his knee and presents are quarantined.

If you fancy coming along or know someone who would benefit from the social activities provided by the Mayflower Club just come along or give us a call you will be most welcome.

Friendship Club Monday afternoons 2pm to 4pm (please call the Centre to book a place) Mayflower Club Wednesday afternoons 2pm to 4pm Sessions only cost £1.50p and includes a cuppa and biscuits

Markfield Good Neighbours Scheme WITH THE EASING of restrictions the amount of help our volunteers have been giving in our community has slowed down and given us a chance to take a breather. However, despite this, our volunteers are still providing support to those who need it. Despite going back to work or having children returning to school our volunteers have remained available and ready to help if called upon. Indeed we have even had a couple of new volunteers come forward to offer their help. This may be needed if the current spike continues rise and the spread of infection forces another lock down or other restrictions come into force. SO, WE ARE READY AND PREPARED. One area of concern is the rise in the numbers of people who are being referred to our scheme because of loneliness or anxiety. It has been a long haul now and over seven months of isolation some of our most vulnerable residents are suffering. Our volunteers now spend a lot of their time making telephone calls to lonely or anxious people offering help, support or just a friendly chat. In some cases we have arranged to get them to activities at the Community Centre especially the Mayflower Club where they can get out of the house and socialise safely.

Please remember that if you would like to join our band of volunteers or need some help please contact us at markfieldcommunitycentre@ hotmail.co.uk or ring us on 07885 243033.

Another opportunity to give blood THE NATIONAL BLOOD Service will be holding sessions on the Wednesday 25th October and Wednesday 2nd December. Please keep donating your muchneeded blood and register your details with the National Blood Service online if you can help, thank you!

Ron and Dawn Grantham

Mayflower Club FIRSTLY, IT IS GREAT to see “old faces” and even new ones coming back to the Mayflower Club sessions. It is very odd times and is proving to be quite a challenge to come up with ideas that meet social distancing rules and keep people safe. Let me give you an example.

At this time of the year we hold our annual “Mayflower World Conkers Championship” but how do you do that whilst social distancing? You cannot exactly use a two metre length of string it would be impossible and highly risky. So, we have come up with a substitute conkers competition that is challenging fun and social distancing safe. I will let you know what happens!

This month we “re-enacted” the Battle of Waterloo. Using the Battle Ships game format members in pairs pitched the Duke of Wellington’s forces against Napoleon’s Grand Army. The overall winner was Iron Duke Carole who routed Emperor Marylyn’s troops.

Yours truly gave members a sometimes grisly “Copper’s Tales” talk on murders and deaths and other sessions included Prize Bingo and the everpopular Carol’s Play Your Cards Right”.

We are also planning the following sessions: 14th October “Who am I” Quiz 21st October Play Your Cards Right 26th October MONDAY Halloween “Party” 4th November Autumn “Day at the Races”

The last person to question my masculinity got a face full of piping hot Lavender Tea.

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17 The Nook | Anstey | Leicester | LE7 7AZ