Tel: 01623 707017
April 2015
Our big birthday
THIS month’s edition of the Mansfield, Ashfield and Warsop NewsJournal marks our first birthday. We have spent the past 12 months celebrating the many achievements of people, groups and firms across the area. To celebrate, we are giving away tickets to go racing at Southwell Racecourse in a competition. ❐ See page 5
Sporting dream
Paintings gift
WORK has started on a £1.3m project to create a new home for Ashfield Rugby Club. The sporting and community hub for all the community, to be named after Kirkby cricket legend Harold Larwood, is being built on land off Sutton Road, Kirkby. ❐ See page 24.
PUPILS at Mansfield’s Crescent Primary School have been presented with 15 paintings by local artist Mrs Ann Wood. Mrs Wood, a volunteer at the school, first painted a giraffe as a gift for the class she was working in. The idea grew and, with the support of another local artist, Wendy Radford, Mrs Wood and members of the Wendy Radford Art Class went on to paint 15 images depicting the animals used as class names at the school. The art class is held at Willett’s Court, Sutton. The paintings, which were framed thanks to Picturesque, of Mansfield Woodhouse, were presented to the school at a special assembly.
Courageous youngsters
TEN inspirational youngsters in the Mansfield area were honoured at the annual Mansfield Rotary Club Courage Awards, which highlighted their efforts to overcome adversity. ❐ See pages 12 and 13.
The big sleep
FUNDRAISERS as young as four slept rough for the night to highlight the plight of Mansfield’s homeless and Framework, the charity that works for them. The volunteers raised more than £20,000 at the annual Big Snore’s new home, Mansfield Town Football Club’s One Call Stadium. The money will be
used to help people move on from Framework’s Sherwood Street accommodation centre into lodgings of their own and make space for those on the waiting list for help. Framework thanked the football club and event sponsors Western Power Distribution. Among those sleeping rough were John Coxhead, who raised more than £3,000; Coun Martin Lee; Mansfield MP Alan Meale; Miss Mansfield and Sherwood Forest Jessica Boot; and a team from the Coal Authority. The boxfactor competition was won by Kevin D’Mello and Mandy Moth for illuminated kennel-style designs.
Tribute to Anniversary for talent contest Go-ahead for new church choir founder A BRONZE bust has been unveiled at the Palace Theatre, Mansfield, in tribute to the late founder of the world-famous Cantamus Girls’ Choir, Pamela Cook. The bust has been created by Langwith sculptor Phil Neal, who is based at The Harley Gallery studios at Welbeck. ❐ See page 3.
MANSFIELD District Council has backed a £25m plan to build a church at the former Metal Box site in the town. The International Church, based in Mansfield Woodhouse, wants to open a 3,000-seater auditorium at the site in 2017. ❐ See page 8.
SQUARE Peg, a Mansfield charity, has received £500 from The Mansfield Building Society’s Community Support Scheme towards leisure activities for young disabled people, aged 13 to 24. ❐ For more community news see page 20.
THE annual Hall-Fast Charity Ball is taking place next month, aiming to raise money towards the Mansfield company’s £30,000 target for Fountaindale School and brain injury charity Headway UK. ❐ See page 4.
Square Peg in the money Skiing in bikinis
SKIIERS in Mansfield donned shorts and bikinis to take part in a two-day festival at Snow Trails, the 54th ski carnival at the resort in Ohio, USA. ❐ See page 21.
Charity ball funds target
TEENAGER James Morgan scooped the 40th Junior Showtime title at Mansfield Rotary Club’s anniversary event. James (18), sang Why, God, Why? from hit musical Miss Saigon in front of judges at the Palace Theatre, Mansfield. The Directions Theatre Arts youngster triumphed out of 29 acts, including other vocalists, dancers and performers. Runner-up was dancer Shelby White (17), of De Burnays School Of Dance, and Thomas Cooper (17), of Expressions Performing Arts, was third. Winners of the Youngsters’ Night during the heats at Mansfield Library were Stagecoach’s Holly Jewitt
Thursday – Student night Friday – Retro night playing 70’s to noughties & mowtown
Saturday – Disco night
playing everything & anything
Sunday – Quiz night & sticky 13’s *prizes to be won*
Maurice (11), Jessica Driver (11), Leila Hall (11), and Evie Midgley (9). The event was hosted by BBC Radio Nottingham and Notts TV presenter Frances Finn and Rotarian Paul Bacon, whose son, TV and radio presenter Richard Bacon, sent a recorded message. Previous winners also featured in a video montage. ● Pictured are Mansfield Rotary Club president Rotn Andy Hill, Rotn Paul Bacon, Frances Finn, James Morgan, Miss Mansfield and Sherwood Forest Jessica Boot and Mansfield mayor Tony Egginton.
...a bit of the West End in Mansfield
Opening times: Monday – Wednesday open until 10pm Thursday open until 11pm • Friday & Saturday open until 1am Sunday open until 11pm
Business celebrations
BUSINESSWOMEN in Mansfield are celebrating after scooping top accolades at the East Midlands Chamber’s Inspirational Woman of the Year awards. ❐ See page 23.
Restaurant open… American themed steak house Open 12pm to 9pm daily