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By David Schonveld
Those wheat fields have gone now Lost to them when we were weak The wheat no longer bends in one direction the tillers flutter to a free wind now The fools think that they have won but we have now regained our strength though these fields are now full of new wheat that does not heed to our control but our command is what they must bend to The more we try to route this scourge the ears of the new wheat get thicker and thicker the more we clear, the more they grow the winds that blow from other directions get stronger and stronger by the day If we cannot tame these new stems or make them bow to our will then they will bend to no ones winds the power is ours so hear our warning our way or no way you can be sure A 'free verse' poem contributed to 'The Village Writers' Who meet via Zoom on the first and third Wednesday of the month. Anyone interested in joining this group (Or just watching a meeting to get the flavour) should contact David on 01162393380 or email aschons98@gmail.com
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Article by Susan Flint
Ratby Telephone Befriending Service Would You Be Interested In Becoming A Volunteer Befriender Article by Joan Hawkins
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The views and opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the original advertisers & contributors and do not necessarily represent OpenBox Promotions Ltd. OpenBox Promotions Ltd reserves the right to amend or refuse to publish articles or adverts submitted for publication. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information in this magazine, but no liability can be accepted for loss or inconvenience caused as a result of error or omission. To see full terms & conditions visit www.openboxpromotions.co.uk/terms Magazine printed by Norwood Press, Moore Road, South Leicester Industrial Estate, Ellistown, Leicestershire, LE67 1EU
The aim of the Telephone Befriending service is to provide support to people who may be suffering from the debilitating effects of loneliness and/or social isolation. We will offer an individual a friendly volunteer who will ring the person regularly for a chat. It is a completely confidential service.
If you want to know more about becoming a volunteer please contact Joan Hawkins 07545909868
Until 2020 we were a branch of the Embroiderers guild to which we remain affiliated, but are now an Independent stitch group. We share our knowledge together, through invited speakers and workshops and group led practical sessions. We meet on the second Saturday of the month at Braunstone West Social Centre, St Mary’s Avenue, off Braunstone Lane, Leicester LE3 3FT 2.00pm for 2.15 start, with time to socialise.
Our telephone befriending service is a new service for people living in and around Ratby
Training and support will be available to the volunteer
There has been a group meeting to share our interests in embroidery and textiles for over 50 years, we celebrated the 50th anniversary in 2018 with an exhibition at Newarke Houses Museum.
Everyone is welcome, we have a varied mix of members of all abilities and interests. In February we had a Show and Tell meeting where we shared some of the items we had made during lockdown, the March meeting was a talk by an experienced quilter. If you enjoy being creative, like any sort of stitch and would like to join us please contact Susan Flint Chair 0116 4299458 or Briony Wilig Secretary 0116 2872531 or just turn up on the day.
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Ukraine Artwork From BGLC Year 10 Student, Sophie Human Sophie emailed her open hands holding Ukraine picture, which we think is a brilliant piece of artwork and very apt at this present time.
Girls Rugby Success! BGLC students, Year 7 Jess Chodynicki and Year 8 Isabelle Bradford, play for Leicester Forest Rugby Club - their U13 girls team came 2nd in the County Cup! What a great way to promote Girls Rugby! Thank you to Jess’s parents for sharing this photo. WELL DONE Jess & Isabelle! #BGLC_PE
BGLC Cross Country Runners Represent Leicestershire! On Saturday 19th March, BGLC students, Cassie Dodge, Louie Paddison, Joe Matthews and Katie Parker all represented Leicestershire in the English Schools XC at Hop Farm in Kent. The weather was fine and sunny, the course flat and fast, and the atmosphere was amazing! They all ran really well and represented
Leicestershire and Brookvale Groby Learning Campus with pride. In the words of one of their coaches "Congratulations to everyone who raced today. Whatever your position and how you thought it went, you have qualified and competed at the highest level in schools’ competition. An achievement in its own right" Well said, CONGRATULATIONS to Cassie, Louie, Joe and Katie! #BGLC_PE
BGLC Year 9, Lexie Edwards, Won The Girls Singles Event At The Badminton England U15 Sheffield Gold Tournament! This is more amazing badminton success for BGLC Year 9 student Lexie Edwards! Lexie played in the Badminton England U15 Sheffield Gold tournament. Lexie WON the Girls Singles Event, demonstrating that hard work pays off! She’s been dedicated to her training under the Leicestershire Performance Centre Gold programme, and now recovered from her injuries, she is going from strength to strength! An amazing result for Lexie! WELL DONE - BGLC are so proud of you Lexie! #BGLC_PE
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Brookvale Groby Learning Campus KS4 Girls Futsal Team Were Crowned Hinckley And Bosworth Champions And Qualified For The County Finals BGLC KS3 Girls Futsal Team won 3 games, drew 1 and lost 1, which was enough to take BGLC through. Louisa Tarbuck, Katie Lane and Erin Ellis shared the goals. The Year 8/9 team qualified for the final after an unbeaten group stage and were leading 1-0 going into the final minute of the final. Unfortunately, our opponents equalised in the dying seconds and we suffered the heartbreak of a sudden death penalty shootout defeat. All four teams were fantastic!
BGLC KS3 Girls Badminton Team Qualify For The Finals! January saw Bosworth Academy host the HBSSPAN badminton competitions. Our KS3 girls team qualified for the County finals and were joined by our KS4 girls who didn’t drop a game during the tournament. The County finals are held at the end of March. WELL DONE & GOOD LUCK GIRLS!
British Science Week On Thursday 17th March, Brookvale Groby Learning Campus welcomed 32 Year 6 students from Elizabeth Woodville Primary School, with their Teachers, to plant some sunflower seeds. This ties in with British Science week, and a fabulous transition event from Year 6 to Year 7. #BGLC_Science #BritishScienceWeek #elizabethwoodville
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Ozzy O’shea County Councillor
T: 0116 2394336 M: 07808585825 E: ozzyoshea@hotmail.com The County Councils Raises Concerns Regarding Hinckley and Bosworth Local Plan. The following is the decision from the cabinet meeting held on the 29th March 2020 a) That the County Council’s response to the Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council (H&BBC) Pre-submission Regulation 19 Local Plan consultation, set out in paragraphs 36 to 67 inclusive and the Appendix to the Cabinet report be noted; b) That the County Council at this stage considers insufficient evidence has been provided to demonstrate that the Local Plan meets the tests of soundness as set out in paragraph 35 of the National Planning Policy Framework and strongly discourages H&BBC from submitting its Local Plan while relevant significant issues are still to be resolved; c) That it be noted that should H&BBC proceed with the submission of its Local Plan to the Planning Inspectorate at this stage without addressing the concerns raised by the County Council, the County Council will object at H&BBC’s Local Plan Examination; d) That it be noted that the County Council will continue to work with H&BBC to try to resolve issues to help develop a Local Plan that is sound (in planning terms) and deliverable. The County Council has set out the following reasons for its decision. H&BBC’s Regulation 19 consultation took place from 9 February to 23 March 2022. The Chief Executive was authorised by the Cabinet at its meeting on 11 February 2022 to submit comments on behalf of the County Council to enable a response to be submitted within the statutory timeframe. HBBC’s new Local Plan will set out the Borough Council’s development strategy to 2039. Given its location close to Leicester and close functional connectivity to communities living and working in Blaby, Charnwood, and North West Leicestershire, the content of the emerging Local Plan is particularly important to this area and the wider Leicester and Leicestershire Housing Market Area (L&L HMA). The planning system requires that a local planning authority may only submit its Local Plan for examination if it is confident it will meet the tests of soundness. H&BBC has indicated that the Local Plan will be submitted
without an accompanying up-todate Sustainability Appraisal on the Pre-Submission Regulation 19 Local Plan, without proper consideration of the transport impacts of the intended growth strategy and without setting out how the impacts of the strategy will be mitigated. The County Council has raised concerns at both Regulation 18 and 19 stage about how the growth strategy impacts upon school places and how new and extended schools will be delivered (and any associated transport impacts). There are also concerns about the lack of information about the viability of the Local Plan. The County Council is therefore concerned that submission of the Local Plan for examination by H&BBC at this stage conflicts with the requirement to only submit a plan that the council believes is sound. This places significant burden on the County Council to try to resolve these issues in an unreasonable timescale before the matter is considered at Local Plan Examination. The approach being taken means that the County Council reluctantly has to advise the Inspector that it believes that the Local Plan is not sound. For the County Council in its role as a key infrastructure provider for transport and education the lack of evidence and certainty (in terms of understanding mitigation, viability and deliverability), presents significant risk to the County Council. The focus needs to be on resolving these issues where possible and minimising this risk through closer partnership working to prepare a sound Local Plan for Hinckley and Bosworth Borough. The following link will take you to the full cabinet reports. https://politics.leics.gov. uk/ieListDocuments. aspx?CId=135&MId=6774&Ver=4 Temporary Traffic Regulation Order Markfield Road, Ratby. Leicestershire County Council Highways has agreed to a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order at the above location. A road closure is required on Markfield Road, Ratby between the western entrance to Markfield Road Service Road for Numbers 140 to 198 and the western entrance to Markfield Road Service Road for Numbers 39 to 127 on the 11th April 2022 for 3 days. The Temporary Traffic Regulation Order will be implemented for public safety for STW and
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their contractors to undertake the installation of a new water connection. The proposed alternative diversion route will be via: Ratby Lane, Launde Road, Markfield; A50 Leicester Road (Field Head), A50 Bradgate Hill, A50 Markfield Road, Groby Town, Leicester Road from A50, Sacheverell Way, Groby; Groby Road, Main Street, Ratby and vice versa. During the closures, alternative routes available to all traffic can be viewed at https:// one.network/?tm=GB127596489 How to spot a genuine Royal Mail email or text. Royal Mail explains how to distinguish a genuine message from a fake: Royal Mail will only send email and SMS notifications to customers in cases where the sender has requested this when using our trackable products that offer this service.
Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) using its suspicious website tool, or forward phishing emails to its report@phishing.gov.uk inbox. If you spot a suspicious advert online (social media, newspaper websites, search engines) can be reported to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). You can use to below link to report to the (ASA) www.asa.org.uk/make-acomplaint/report-an-onlinescam-ad.html#:~:text=If%20 you%20have%20received%20 a,%40phishing.gov.uk Vehicle Theft Prevention Advice From The Beat Team Having your car broken into and losing your things to thieves can be very distressing. Here are a few simple steps you can take to keep your vehicle, and what’s in it, safe.
In cases where customers need to pay a surcharge for an underpaid item, Royal Mail leaves a grey ‘Fee To Pay’ card. It doesn’t for payment by email or text. The only time Royal Mail asks customers to make a payment by email or by SMS is in instances where a customs fee is due. In such cases, it also leaves a grey card telling customers that there’s a ‘Fee to Pay’ before releasing the item. This would apply either to an international customs fee or to a surcharge for an underpaid item. If you do have a fee to pay, you don’t need to click any links in texts or emails. The website is www.royalmail.com/receivingmail/pay-a-fee, so type this into the address bar to make sure you don’t inadvertently click on a link for a fake site. A Royal Mail spokesperson said: ‘The security of our customers is a high priority for Royal Mail. On our website we offer advice and information on what customers should do if they receive a suspicious email, text message, or telephone call that claims to be from Royal Mail, or if they or discover a Royal Mail branded website which they think is fraudulent.’ ‘This advice includes reminding customers to never click on a link in an email if they are unsure about it, especially if it asks for personal financial information like your bank details. We also advise customers never to send sensitive, personal information, security details or credit card numbers by email or text.’ How to report scams You can report scam texts by forwarding the message to 7726 (this spells SPAM on a phone keypad), which is a free reporting service provided by phone operators. You can report dodgy websites to the National
1. Always lock it Fuelling up or popping back into your house to get something are perfect examples of how easy it is to turn your back for a moment and forget your vehicle is unsecured. So get into the habit of locking your vehicle even if you’re only going to be away from it for a moment. If your vehicle has wing mirrors that fold in automatically when locked, make sure you lock it properly. Criminal gangs are looking for vehicles like these where the wing mirrors are still out because it is clear to them that the vehicle has been left unlocked. 2. Close windows and the sun roof to prevent ‘fishing’ Leaving windows and the sunroof open invites fishing for items through the gap by hand or with, say, a bent coat hanger, which could also be used to unlock a door for them to get in. Thieves can be ingenious. Don’t give them the opportunity. 3. Secure your number plates with tamper-resistant screws The easiest way to change the identity of a stolen vehicle or avoid speeding tickets and parking tickets is to fit stolen number plates. Using security screws to attach your vehicle’s number plates makes it harder for thieves to get your number. 4. Fit locking, anti-tamper wheel nuts to secure alloy wheels Stolen wheels are valuable, either as parts or for their scrap value. Using locking wheel nuts reduces the risk of your vehicle’s wheels being stolen.
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5. Secure anything that’s on the outside of your vehicle Anything left on roof-racks, tailgate racks, holiday top boxes or in tool chests are easily stolen when the vehicle is parked. The use of cable locks, padlocks and self-locking tool chests, which are secured to the vehicle, makes them more secure, but still, don’t leave things in them if you can avoid it.
9. Park in well-lit and busier areas It can take less than 30 seconds to break into a vehicle. Parking in well-lit areas and busy streets increases the chances of a thief being seen, so they’ll probably steer clear. 10. Take your documents with you Having a vehicle’s registration and insurance documents could let a thief pretend to be the owner. Which means they could sell it on quite easily. So, never leave any documents in the vehicle. 11. Choose your car park wisely If possible, always try to park in well-lit and staffed car parks or those with a "Park Mark" safer parking award.
6. Take it with you or hide it Your mobile phone, coins for the car park, sunglasses, packs of medication or other items that can earn quick cash are irresistible to the opportunist thief. Remember, the cost of replacing a window is often much more than that of what’s stolen. And it should go without saying that wallets, handbags, purses and credit cards should never be left in an unattended vehicle. 7. Hide electrical items and leave no clues Leaving sat nav mounts, suction cup marks on windows or cables on view gives it away that you have left a sat nav, smartphone or other device in your car. Even if they can’t see the sat nav or iPad they might still break in to see if it’s stored in the car, out of sight. 8. Tool theft from vans Vans are often targeted by thieves for the tools stored inside. If you have to leave tools in a van overnight, it's a good idea to mark them clearly with your name / company name and address using paint pens and seal with a clear lacquer spray. Alternatively, you can use a variety of other property marking systems. Items that are clearly marked are less desirable and more difficult to sell on. Consider using a lockable cabinet within your van to store tools – a number of security rated products are available. Small cameras are also designed to record inside vehicles. You can also take photographs of items of value, make a note of the serial numbers and consider registering them online at a property register site.
A Security Safety Message From A Genealogist My concern is that many people do not realise how easy it can be to obtain some of their personal information which could be used in a scam. No cost is involved, just a little time. The more unusual the surname, the easier it can be found. An unusual spelling of a forename makes it so much easier to trace, even if someone has a more common surname. Some of the things used for proof of identity online, such as your mother’s maiden name and place of birth are, in the main, easy to find. Your first school can be guessed fairly accurately by finding your parents address when you were young, especially if it was in a village. These details should never be used to confirm your identity with banks or any other organisation. Addresses are most commonly found from Electoral Rolls. There is nothing that can be done about past entries. Electoral Rolls are updated each year in October. There is an option to prevent your details being available in the public domain, which does what it says on the tin. Your previous address would still be a good guess for a scammer, but if you have moved since the last Roll was published, tracing you becomes harder. Shredding documents which include personal information, such as bank account numbers, sort codes etc., surely makes sense and care taken with what is posted on social media. Who knows who will view it? You: I’m off to Spain for two weeks on Monday. Burglar: That’s nice! Finally I would like to thank you all for your continued support and remind you that should you need my help or advice, I always pride myself on making myself available to residents. Remember I am only a phone call or email away. Ozzy O’shea. Always Working for you
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Kirby Muxloe WI Will Be Holding Their Spring Fair Saturday 7th May 2022 10 - 12pm
St Bartholomew's Church Hall Main Street - Kirby Muxloe A variety of stalls including Crafted Items, Plants, Cakes, Preserves, Tombola, Hand made Cards, Paintings by local artist, Pre-loved Hand Bags and Scarves, Wood Turned Items, Books, Ian the “Cheese Man” £1 Entrance Refreshments will be available
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Article by Liz Collinson Well, we got that wrong didn’t we? Last time we were anticipating the coming of spring, and what did we get? Snow! Time to gird up our loins and press on regardless, in the full hope that things can only get better, don’t you think? Which brings us inevitably to – guess what – our Library! As we reported last time, we now have five new enthusiastic members of our Steering Group. There is a definite wish to develop our role as a Community Hub and we have set up a Community Outreach Group to focus on this. We will keep you informed of initiatives as they emerge, and we would also welcome ideas from you about what we should do. Our community belongs to us – how would we like to see it develop? What can we do to encourage participation and what sort of projects would you like to see? How would you like to be involved? We can provide support, publicity and co-ordination. For example, one small thing we are proposing is to provide sunflower seeds and pots for planting, in the hope that we can have sunflowers in gardens all over the village. Wouldn’t that look lovely? All proceeds will go to the proposed Village Festival in September. FORTHCOMING EVENTS Book Sale Thanks to the generosity of our customers, we now have, once again, loads of second-hand books and jigsaws in excellent condition, which means that we shall be mounting a book sale at our May coffee morning on 28th May, so do come along and support that. Quiz You will be very happy to know that the ever-inventive Roger and Rosemary Stead are putting together another paper-based quiz for some time in May. When ready, quiz sheets can be collected from the Library for £1.00 each and there will as usual be a prize for the winner.
to develop our garden into a sensory garden. We are now at the project design phase. When we have the design, we will be holding an open event so that you can come along to and have a look at the plans and hopefully decide how you can contribute, with plants, labour and donations. We are very excited about this, so watch this space for more information as we progress. In the meantime, we are having a grand garden tidy-up project. You may have noticed that the garden area at the front of the Library has been cut back and tidied up, but we need some help with this. At our next coffee morning on April 23rd, we are inviting you along to lend a hand from from 10.00 – 11.00. There may be a free cup of coffee in it for you! We would also appreciate some help with mowing the lawns. Tom has been doing it for years now and we are all getting on a bit, so if anyone could lend a hand, that would be great. Just let us know. And finally on the garden, you may have noticed that, thanks to the generosity of our community, we now have chairs and tables in the garden for you to sit in the sun (we hope!) and have a cuppa and cake. Whilst we await the construction of the new garden, we feel that at present it looks a bit boring, so we are scattering seeds and making a few cheap and easy improvements to make a pleasant and relaxed area, AND FINALLY……………………. APRIL COFFEE, CAKES, AND CHILDREN’S CRADT MORNING SATURDAY APRIL 23RD 10.00 – 1.00 AT THE LIBRARY AND DON’T FORGET TO BRING A GARDENING TOOL OR TWO TO HELP WITH THE GRAND GARDEN TIDY-UP!
Recycling A reminder that we are collecting stamps, old pens and pencils that you no loner need, and used printer cartridges at the Library for recycling. Garden Project You will remember that we intend
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Climate Emergency Set To Get Much Worse In 30 Years Article by Blaby Green Party
The latest UN climate report says the world needs to cut it emissions by 45% in ten years to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees, but they estimate emmisions will rise by 14% in the next 10 years increasing global warming to 2 degrees by 2050. The world is at 1.1 degrees of global warming and half the world’s population has been affected by climate change - wildfires, reduced crop yields, heat exhaustion, landslides, and floods. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused more carbon emissions and pushed up the price of oil, gas, wheat, and nickel. To avoid dependency on Russian oil and gas we need to switch to using wind, solar, biogas and biofuels. Wind farms are the quickest and cheapest way to make clean energy. Any drop in wind can be covered by using stored energy sources like biofuel, biogas, hydrogen, and battery backup, as well as relying on solar, tidal, and hydro energy. Nuclear power plants take over 10 years to build and exploiting more offshore oil and gas exploration will only add to global warming. The oil and gas industry are making huge profits, while some people cannot afford to pay their energy bills. Introducing a “dirty fuel tax” on the oil and gas industry would enable the government to help people out of fuel poverty. One way to reduce our dependency on vulnerable gas and oil imports is for us to reduce our personal usage if we can. Hopefully, the government will introduce a more effective grants system for home efficiency improvements this year. Our Green Party Member of Parliament, Caroline Lucas, as well as fighting tirelessly for greener policies, has successfully led a campaign to sell off all Russian investments from MPs pensions funds. If you are lucky enough to have savings or a pension fund that you control, consider ethical investments that don’t fund fossil fuels. www.Green.Bank lists ethical banks.
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Get Your Lawn Ready For Summer
Seventeen Years Of Ratby Ramblers Article by Jane Rayne
Seventeen years ago, the late Jill Grey of Ratby had the idea of starting a local walking group. Jill used to say it was the best thing she had ever done. The inaugural walk took place on 3rd March 2005 when a small group of local people set off “Up the Burroughs”. The above photo, courtesy of Ann Barwell, shows a few of today’s walkers as they set off on a celebratory walk “Up the Burroughs”, but this time stopping for a coffee break at the Forest Hill Golf Club. Since that earlier date, the membership has expanded to include people from neighbouring villages.
Christian Aid Tea Party Article by Gillian Wisdish
This year Christian Aid Week runs from 15-21 May. There will be a Tea Party to raise funds on: Friday 13th May at Kirby Muxloe Free Church. This will start at 2 pm and finish at 4.30 pm. There is a car park on Main Street and entrance through the side door on Church Street. There is no charge for refreshments including drinks and cake, but please bring a donation. All proceeds go to Christian Aid. We look forward to seeing you there! Gillian Wisdish on behalf of the CA group for Kirby and LFE.
Back This Year Ratby Yard Sales Article by Justin Garratt
There is still time to register your address to hold a ‘Yard Sale’ and sell your unwanted treasures from the comfort of your own drive, path or garden on spring bank holiday MONDAY 2nd MAY 2022 between 10am and 3pm. If you live anywhere in Ratby you can register to be on the map by going to the website https://form.jotform.com/220885969354371 or scan the QR code with your phone to get directly to the form. Or leave a message on 07768235585 with your Name, email, address and phone number. If you would like to spend your bank holiday wandering around Ratby village in search of a treasure or a bargain you can call in at St Philip and St James Church LE6 0JF where you can collect a printed map on the day. Warm and cold drinks and homemade cakes will also be being served in Church, again between 10am-3pm, in aid of Church funds. We warmly welcome people from within the village to set up stalls and people from surrounding villages to visit the event. There is a small charge of £2 to have your yard sale added to the map.
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With warmer, longer days on the horizon, the beautiful bright colours of your garden are best enjoyed alongside a lush, green lawn. As the centrepiece of your garden, GreenThumb Lawn Treatment Service will ensure your lawn reaches its full potential as a weed-free, healthy, and well-loved lawn. Our ‘Summer Ready’ Treatment is applied between April and June and features a fully coated fertiliser designed to give your lawn a timed release of nutrition over several months, feeding your grass and stimulating growth. This sophisticated treatment also includes a weed control to help eradicate those which are unwelcome on your lawn, keeping your lawn looking its best ready for summer. An added benefit of our ‘Summer Ready’ Treatment is that you’ll also receive an application of our fantastic water conserver, Oasis. Now is the perfect time
for an Oasis Treatment as it helps your soil to make the best use of any available moisture, meaning you’ll need to water up to 80% less. Our popular Oasis Treatment now features an innovative, highly concentrated seaweed extract which has proven to have an almost immediate visual effect on the colour of your lawn. At this time of year, we also recommend implementing a regular mowing regime to help your lawn be the best it can be. Dry, sunny days are the best conditions for mowing, however it’s important that your mower blades are kept sharp or replaced when needed to avoid causing damage to the grass plant. It is also important, especially during the summer months, that your grass isn’t cut too short as this will weaken it, attracting unwanted weeds. When dry, we advise raising the height of your cut from 1” up to 2” and give it a good drink the day after mowing. Let’s create the lawn we both love. Contact your local GreenThumb branch today 0116 269 4019 or email leicestershirewest@ greenthumb.co.uk
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Kirby Muxloe - Save The Date! Why? What’s On? KIRBY MUXLOE FUN DAY Sunday 11th September Children’s Entertainments • Crafts • Refreshments Local History Exhibition • Games Scarecrow Trail Saturday 10th And Sunday 11th Theme: Once Upon A Time We are inviting villagers and groups to design and make their own scarecrow based on a children’s book or character. There will also be refreshment stops and a Makers’ Trail of local crafts for sale on Saturday 10th. Get Started Now! Summer Sunflower Spectacular Plans are afoot to grow SUNFLOWERS all around Kirby Muxloe during the summer months. After Easter there will be various pickup points where you can donate money to a local charity in exchange for a pot, compost and seed. There will be an opportunity later to purchase seedlings. But you could start growing flowers yourself from seed at home and share with neighbours. To register support with any of the above events, to offer help or just to find out more details please contact the fun day and scarecrow trail committee. Amy at amymcdowall@live.com or Rosemary at rrmrsteady@aol.com or Sue by ringing 0116 239 4809
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Kirby Muxloe WI Article by Lynne Lewis
Kirby Muxloe WI hosted the first Forest Group meeting in two years and what a well attended and successful evening it was. The theme was a “Spanish Wine Tasting” evening with Sue Lobb giving us an excellent exploration of three modern Spanish Wines and an insight into the Spanish wine industry of the northern area of Spain. Sue provided us with a map of the districts and information on all aspects of wine making ,which grapes made which particular wine and why . Sue dealt with a myriad of questions from members, dispelling some of the myths as well as giving useful wine knowledge. We were taken from the costal area of Penedes in the North Eastern area of Spain tasting a
lovely sparkling wine Frexinet Cordon Rosado Cava to Rueda in North Central Spain tasting a Marques de Riscal Verdejo 2020 Rueda DO and finishing with a tempranillo wine Finca Carelio from the Ribera region of northern Spain. This all went down well with the delicious Tapas Buffet of banderillas, mushroom pin wheels and mackerel tarts finishing with manchego cheese and biscuits and a lovely madeleine cake. For the non alcoholic drinkers , they were not forgotten and offered a lovely glass of non alcoholic Sangria which was also delicious. Sue then asked us to guess the price of the different wines which brought up a few surprises. We finished the night by drawing the raffle and everyone went away with a better knowledge of Spanish Wines which they otherwise might not have tried and a raffle prize if they were one of the lucky ones.
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T: 0116 2394336 M: 07808585825 E: ozzyoshea@hotmail.com Tribute to Simon Cole QPM We were both shocked and saddened to learn of the sudden death of former Chief Constable Simon Cole QPM. Ozzy worked with Simon in the police. He also worked closely with Simon as the former Mayor of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council and the Chairman of Leicestershire County Council they were good friends. Chris had met him on several occasions and worked with his key officers as former Executive Member for Community Safety at HBBC. Simon came across as a natural leader and cared deeply for his officers and residents alike and promoted Neighbourhood Policing which gave us all that extra security. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends and colleagues at this time as we all mourn the passing of our friend Simon. RIP. Easter Arrangements. The following opening times during the Easter period have been announced by the Borough Council, together with the arrangements that have been made for various council services:
T: 0116 2912796 M: 07306 390543 E: chris.boothby@hotmail.com
Council Office Closing Times. Borough Council services at the Hinckley Hub will be closed on Good Friday 15 April and Easter Monday 18 April and re-open on Tuesday 19 April at 8.30am by appointment. To make an appointment please visit www. hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk/contact or call 01455 238141. The 24-hour payment line is 01455 619617. In an emergency call 01455 251137 Refuse and Recycling Arrangements. All refuse and recycling collections will continue as usual during the Easter period, with normal collections on Good Friday and Easter Monday. Once again, we take this opportunity to thank all of you for your support and remember we are only a phone call or email away. Regards Chris & Ozzy. Working for you.
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To launch their new topic on ‘Towers, Tunnels and Turrets’, Year 2 went on an incredible trip to Warwick Castle to learn about the history of castles!
For British Science Week 2022, the theme was Growth so we decided to investigate plants in more detail using microscopes and magnifying glasses. The Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) kindly lent us a set of microscopes for the Spring Term and we have loved exploring with them! Year 1 and 2 looked in more detail at the features of leaves whereas Year 3 and 4 explored the similarities and differences of seeds. Finally, Year 5 and 6 investigated the question: Does the stamen look the same in every flower? The children all loved the opportunity to use the microscopes and had great fun comparing and classifying!
The children were given an ‘ultimate kids tour’ of the castle itself and througoughy enjoyed exploring the Great Hall and its’ many rooms. The children were amazed to find real ammonimites over 100 million years old in the floor of the castle! They also got to weild a real sword and find out how heavy a Knight’s armour was. The children were very interested to learn all about the different parts of a castle, from the moat and drawbridge to the battlements at the top of the Conquerer’s Fortress! They were very surprised at the view from the top end enjoyed looking at the landscape through binoculars. As you can imagine, the children learnt a whole host of facts about Warwick Castle! For example, they now know that it was built by William the Conqueror and is 954 years old! As a result, the children have produced some great writing back in school and declared this trip to be the best trip ever!
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Ratby Community Library And Crow Pie Cafe Article by Joan Burton
Happy Easter to all our visitors. Something a little serious... The trustees and volunteers of Ratby Community Managed Library are now running the library entirely without financial support from County Hall. We raise money through our cafe, quiz nights and personal donations from visitors and this is what is used to pay for all utilities: electricity, gas and water supplies, the alarm system, door and building maintenance, grounds upkeep, public liability insurance, hire of printers, purchase of furniture, goods for the cafe, stationery for the homework corner, even removal of nappy containers from the loo! Not surprisingly all this is pretty expensive and that's why we are reaching out to as many local and national companies and organizations as we can to help support us in our aims as a community hub. Last week we had a very friendly and enlightening discussion with our local Rotary Club, an association that does a huge amount of charity fundraising for the county. The Parish Council is also being approached for funding so watch this space...
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Local environmental and wildlife expert, Dave Nicholls is giving us valuable advice on how to cultivate the land behind the library as a wildlife garden based on having our biodiversity bid for a Shire grant approved by County Hall. Other approaches to supermarkets, local businesses and fund holders are ongoing; we need the cash to keep going and we're determined to raise it! So, if you are able to help in any way, contact the library or email ratbylibrary1234@outlook.com Crow Pie Cafe open every session for delicious coffee and teas, cakes and savoury snacks at very fair prices! The cafe is the main source of income for the library so do call in and enjoy your visit. We thank you for your support.
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Coming Events Crafty Corner knit and stitch group: next meetings 5th April and 3rd May. Jane Hewison, textile artist invites any knitters, stitchers or other craft workers to meet with her on the first Tuesday of every month in the library. For the next meeting Jane is offering a mask making session but of course, it's the crafters who decide what they want to focus on each time; Jane is happy to work beside or with you all. Last day of school and first afternoon of fun 8th April. This fun Easter event took place before publication but was entertaining and full of activities. A raffle and 'Guess the name of the Bunny' was on offer as well as luscious cake and drinks from the cafe. Quiz Night with Steve Roche as question master every month. Steve has all his dates arranged for 2022, but his next challenge is a little later than normal because of the Easter break : 7.30 on Friday 22nd April. Rosie Robinson's Book Club is up and running. Book discussion, pamper gift and a really super atmosphere create a warm welcome to the session. Call in for details as to book choices and times.
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The Patient Participation Group Ratby Surgery Article by Joan Hawkins
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At the PPG meeting in March the PPG were given an update from Dr Ogle with regards to the proposed new medical centre. With his permission we would like to share this with you.
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Ratby Medical Centre – Work starts this month! The eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed that some works have started at our new site on Desford Lane over the last few weeks. The Practice are pleased to say that the New Medical Centre building works are due to begin at the end of the month! As a practice, we are hugely excited that after all our hard work over the last six years to promote the needs of the patients of Ratby and the surrounding villages that we are going to be opening a purpose built Medical Centre in early 2023. We are excited at the prospect of having a larger number of clinical staff providing medical care for the residents of Ratby, but also residents of Kirby Muxloe with the closure of Forest House Medical Centre in Leicester Forest East being anticipated next year as well. We would like to thank everyone including the PPG, LLR CCGs and our local councillors for their support for the project and we will be continuing to share updates as they happen here, on our practice website and on our Facebook page. Members of the PPG we are all very excited about this news and are very proud to have been involved in the development of this facility. We know how much work the Doctors have done to make our desire for better facilities a reality and look forward very much to the completion of the project.
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The Kirby Muxloe Local History Group Article by Judith Upton
The Kirby Muxloe Local History Group generally meets 6 times a year, and membership is open to all. Details of the dates of meetings, together with the topics that will be covered, are shown on the notice board in Kirby Muxloe Library and on our website, which is www.kirbymuxloelocalhistorygroup.org Covid precautions will apply. For further details, please see our website. Our new “Memories” meetings unfortunately remain suspended, pending our assessment of the effectiveness of our new anti-virus procedures. Our next meeting will take place on Tuesday 17th May at 7:30pm. The speaker will be the well known historian Peter Liddle M.B.E., former county archeologist . The subject is “The Vikings in Leicestershire”. The talk will be followed by a short A.G.M. Covid precautions will still apply. Memories of Sweet Shops, gobstoppers, Tizer and Jones’ Ginger Beer There is evidence to suggest that sweets were first consumed by cave dwelling humans as long ago as 2000B.C. The first “sweets” were probably pieces of honeycomb taken from the bee hives. The ancient Egyptians were known to have mixed their honey with fruits and nuts. The history of sweets is a long and interesting subject, but let’s fast forward and look at sweets in our lifetime. Fry’s milk chocolate: Fry’s 5 Boys was one of the first modern day pieces of confectionary, together with Fry’s chocolate cream bar. The Five Boys bar was split into 5 sections, each with a different face, moulded into the chocolate. The faces represented Desperation, Pacification, Expectation, Acclamation and Realisation. The chocolate was very popular at the beginning of the twentieth century, but by the 1970’s, its popularity had waned as there were so many new products coming onto the market. I am reliably informed that if you want to experience the flavour of Fry’s mint chocolate, take a Fox’s Glacier mint and one square of dark chocolate and suck them together – it never fails! Fox’s glacier mints originated in Leicester, where many of us will remember the factory with the large Fox’s bear on top of the building. In 1918, Jelly Babies were invented by Bassets. At the time, they were named “Peace Babies” to commemorate the end of WWI. By the 1920’s, we had Chocolate Flake, Fruit & Nut and Milky Way. By the 1930’s, Aero, Smarties, Rollo, Dairy Box, Black Magic, to name just a few of the new confectionary items coming onto the market. Towards the end of the ‘30’s, with Hitler in power in Germany and war looming, Aero launched a marketing campaign- “Don’t be angry, have a piece of chocolate!” As many will remember, during WWII, sweets were rationed. Rationing commenced in 1942 and didn’t actually end until 1953. The rationing equated to seven ounces of confectionary (200grams) per person per week, if over 5 years old. This was around 1-2 sweets per day; however, many people saved their sweet coupons to give to children. Unfortunately, sometimes although you had the ration coupons, the stock of any sort of sweets was non-existent. Ration chocolate was made using dried milk powder, as the use of fresh milk for the manufacture of sweets was forbidden. The chocolate, which was wrapped in semi-transparent paper was said to have tasted like cardboard. During WWII, many American GIs were billeted In K.M., Ratby and L.F.E. They had an ample supply of chocolate, chewing gum and other tasty treats. The airmen were very popular with the boys and older girls in the village. Other wartime sweets include pear drops, dolly mixtures, black jacks, sherbet lemons, lemon bonbons and sherbet dabs. The other sherbet that springs to my mind is Kali - a mixture of sugar and acetic acid and colouring. It was often sold in a cone-shaped bag and was eaten by sucking it through a liquorice pipe, dipping a finger into the bag (resulting in a very pink or green finger) or sticking a stick of rhubarb into the bag. Our mothers made toffee out of a mixture of sugar (if available) syrup, vinegar (yes!), margarine and water. We had a “toffee hammer” at home, in fact I still have it today. Some people made truffles out of dried milk, cocoa and sugar (not sure how they tasted). During the next 70 years, in fact up to the present day, we still see Love Hearts, fizzy fishes, liquorice torpedoes, Refreshers, candy necklaces,
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Spangles, Polo mints and gobstoppers. Gobstoppers are still made but not the very large ones which were sold in the 1950’s – they are now thought to be too much of a choking hazard. Some sweets are no longer made – Caramac, Fuse and sweetie cigarettes. It seems strange today, but back in the 1940’s and ‘50’s, sweetie cigarettes were so popular, as at the time many people smoked cigarettes and it was almost seen as a sign of sophistication. How times change! The next question is where did we buy the sweets? If we go back into distant years, there were many small shops in villages like K.M. and Ratby. Often set up in the front room of a house, just selling a few tinned items and sweets. Our nearest equivalent today is Thompsons on Barwell Road, K.M., where, at around 3:15 in the afternoon, a queue of children can be seen outside the shop, ready with their 15p or 20p to buy a few sweets of their choice. Marie is very patient, especially as children often ask for a mixture of two or three different types. Next, we come onto “pop”. Do you remember sitting in the back of the car with a bottle of Vimto and a packet of crisps whilst your parent or parents visited the pub for a quick drink? Do you remember Jones’ ginger beer, delivered once a week in stone jars on the back of a lorry and Corona fizzy pop with the flip off top? Ginger beer plants come to mind, often the fizz was just too fizzy and bottles exploded on a weekly basis! One interesting story came to light a few weeks ago - when Burdett’s shop and off licence was on Main Street K.M., empty bottles were stored in the yard at the back of the shop. In those days, each bottle carried a deposit of 2p. Children (boys especially), used to go to the back of the shop, collect as many bottles as they could hold and then present them to Mrs Burdett who then paid out the 2p’s. The money was then used to buy sweets. Did the Burdett’s find out? I’m sure they did eventually, but not before many children had taken advantage of the practice. To conclude - do you remember Smith’s Crisps? Especially when the bag contained a blue paper, twisted round at the top and containing salt? Eventually they replace the little twisted bag with small square paper bags, but it was never quite the same, was it ? Many thanks to the members and visitors at the K. M. Local History Group who were present at our January meeting. Your memories were invaluable in writing this article – thank you.
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