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August 2017 · Issue 220

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August 2017 · Issue 220

FASHION

CITY CHIC

WHAT TO PACK FOR YOUR WEEKEND AWAY

THE REGION’S FAVOURITE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

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PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW TELEPHONE NUMBER

Tel: 01952 522562 Fax: 01952 522567 Editor: James Baylis james@plus2media.co.uk Editorial Support: Tania Baylis tania@plus2media.co.uk Publisher & Design: James Baylis Contributing Photographer: Malcolm Couzens Contributing writer: Dwayne Forrester

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02 · www.wrekinnews.co.uk 2, 3 Welcome.indd 1

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Welcome Tel: 01952 522562 · james@plus2media.co.uk

H

Welcome to the August issue of Wrekin News!

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ELLO everyone and welcome to the August issue of your favourite monthly lifestyle magazine Wrekin News. We have another packed issue for you to enjoy and get involved with. Congratulations to the winners of our July competitions, who are as follows: Shrewsbury Flower Show tickets; Christine Lewis from Shawbirch, Lewis Stevens from Leegomery won the Black Magic tickets while Ray Rowley from Buildwas won the Severn Valley Railway family ticket. Mark Howe of Wellington won the Ironbridge Gorge Museums Annual Passport. Joanne Lutner from Lilleshall was our lucky winner of the Drayton Manor Park tickets while Catherine Harwood from Admaston was our Odeon Cinema tickets winner. Sarah Nicholas from Lawley wins the Escape Hair Voucher worth £35 and finally David Jukes from Wellington won the signed copy of local author Chris Owen’s new book Ironbridge in the Great War. Thank you to everyone who entered July’s competitions, we have another fantastic set of great days out passes to be won in this issue, so good luck to all who take the time to enter!

Please continue to support the magazine’s advertisers and tell them where you saw their advert. If you have a story to tell or want some help from our readers with a some local history then please do get in touch, the Wrekin News continues to be the number one local resource for printing your letters and memories!

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2, 3 Welcome.indd 2

31/07/2017 01:50

Acquiring the HSBC building - a good step forward for the Clifton Community Arts Centre Ltd

T

HIS notice announces an important step towards The Clifton Community Arts Centre Ltd acquiring a short term lease on the old HSBC bank property in Station Road, Wellington. For the first time, we are able to provide further detail on our funding requirements. The note emphasizes the crucial importance of the role to be played by the local community of Wellington in realizing the project and concludes by setting out various fund raising activities in the forthcoming months.

As previously advised, we have, some time ago, submitted an offer to HSBC to rent the building to use as a community arts and culture centre. The position is complicated by the fact that HSBC are only the leaseholder, they rent multiple properties with the freeholder and have been negotiating

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The agents have indicated to us that the Bank would be prepared to accept our offer subject to some amendments which the Board have considered are acceptable and we have notified the agents to that effect. This will go to HSBC for their approval and if it is approved, the next step will be to draw up a Heads of Agreement before agreeing contractual terms.

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We are a society owned by and run by the community with over 600 members but the more members we can attract the better our prospects of gaining grant monies. It will only cost £10 to become a member and that money will effectively be refunded through a system of discounted cinema tickets we intend to operate.

We would therefore encourage as many local residents who wish to have such a centre in the town who have not yet invested to do so.

In addition, we will be making our own loan issue for a term of five years. The loan will qualify for a tax incentive known as Social Investment Tax Relief. That will mean that an investor will get a rate of return equivalent to around 10% net per annum over the life of the loan. We will in due course issue a separate prospectus setting out the terms and providing full detail of our business plan.

Finally, we will be embarking upon a series of fundraising events starting with the Autumn Film Festival from September and these will be the subject of separate notices. In the meantime, you can obtain more information on the project, investing and events at www. theclifton.org or visiting our market stall at Wellington Market on Saturdays between 9.00 and 12.00.

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Ruth and Edd Lowe and some of the ‘Our Heroes’ committee members presented cheques recently following their record fundraising year to Help for Heroes, SSAFA Care for casualties and The Buglers.

The Plough have now raised over £125,000 from the past eight years and are already planning next years event.

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WELLINGTON is launching a Sunday Coffee Morning Culture following requests to liven up the Town Centre.

Local resident, Paul Kalinauckas said, “When I moved to Wellington I noticed how deserted the Town Centre was on a Sunday Morning. It seemed such a shame that there was nowhere to drop in for a coffee and a chat” Now following discussions with local shopkeepers, Nisa Mendez who owns the Coffee Shop in the old Coop Bank in Market Square, Mendez & Co, has agreed to open on Sundays. She said, “I’m happy to open on Sunday mornings if there is the demand. As well as coffee we will have croissants and copies of the Sunday papers and I am

happy to offer light breakfasts if people drop in and tell me what they want.

Wellington has a strong community feel and this will bring Market Square alive on a Sunday morning.”

Mr Kalinauckas said he was delighted with the move and expected it to be welcomed by local residents.

“Wellington has got a strong tradition of arts, music and festivals in the town centre, as well as the peace garden and improvements to the railway station, which are all community led. It would be great to develop a Sunday Morning Coffee Culture as well” he said.

The Sunday morning coffee openings start on Sunday 23 July from 9.00 am to 12.00 pm.

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31/07/2017 12:29

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28/07/2017 12:12

George

EVANS WHAT SOCIAL-ECONOMIC CLASS ARE YOU IN?

M

OST people I know would answer that question in a vague and uncomfortable way with, “Oh, middle I suppose”. Classes, we assume, are for other people. “We are just ourselves, a sort of one-off; we’re not rich nor poor. We don’t drive around in a Rolls Royce or live in a mansion nor do we walk around in rags and live in a slum.” Or some of my friends might make fun of the sociologists who invented the study of classes, calling the science, “people who don’t need to be studied being investigated by people who do need studying.”

Some readers will remember that last month I was writing about housing and that is one way in which we demonstrate

our class. That was certainly the way wealthy landowners did it in the old days. Attingham is a bit large for one family to say the least. Sunnycroft is an example of how wealthy traders, brewers, factory owners etc., demonstrated their rank. I remember the days before the war when, especially in the country, it was wise to think, “God bless the squire and his relations and keep us in our proper stations.

There were then lots of families

who would not let their children go to the Grammar School because they were proud of being working class. I know several friends who had enough academic ability to pass the ‘scholarship’ and then matriculate and graduate at university but who went to the secondary modern school, afterwards

The Wrekin’s favourite columnist!

8, 9 George Evans.indd 1

30/07/2017 17:46

enjoying a happy life. The 11+ exam was not very efficient and I also know children who failed it but later passed university degrees of bachelor, master and doctor.

One important thing to remember is that when you think, “I’m a one-off, I am not like anyone else,” you are quite right. We now have over seven thousand million people in this world and it’s a fact too often forgotten that every one of us is different from all the others.

It is very important to realise our individual differences when dealing with others. Isn’t it frustrating when trying to phone a hard-pressed business or government department and to find a series of electronically recorded voices going on about things that are nothing to do with you or music of a kind you hate?

If you don’t know what I mean, try calling 111. While I accept that the operator is doing her/his best the result is a total waste of time and I’d rather not write about it.

When I was a lad before the war, classes, especially in the country, were much simpler and also stricter than they are now.

The Squire owned the village and his family were top. As was said, “God bless the squire and his relations and keep us in our proper stations.” Middles included tenant farmers, followed by their labourers. Paupers weren’t in a class. In towns factory owners replaced Squires. Inherited titles mattered, even when the first holder was a warmonger, slave dealer or a mega-thief like Clive of India.

During the Last World War Sankey’s in Hadley had three canteens – workers, staff and senior staff. It seemed to work well for 1,000 plus employees.

The Army retains the strictest of class regimes, privates (the most public of all people) are the base, with NCOs, WOs and officers.

Generals were once paid as much as armies.

Wrockwardine village schoolmaster, who was also the church organist and choirmaster and parochial council secretary, had a tied cottage next to the school and with one assistant taught all the boys, ‘lads’ above seven years old. There was also a school for the girls and infants, locally called ‘babbies and wenches’. Of course the women teachers were paid less and perhaps respected less than the men as was usual at the time.

Equal pay was in the future.

The medieval class system was mostly established in Tudor times and even in my days – that’s the 1920s and 1930s – was only slowly dying out. There were still individuals around who thought of themselves as ‘better class people’ as though inherited wealth, aristocracy and estates somehow entitled them to a respect that’s unearned, and often due to slave-owning or the triangular trade with the Southern United States and the West Indies, especially Jamaica. An example was a remark of an Anglo-Irish aristocrat about a friend who was the wife of a wealthy brewer, “She’s nobody of course, but I like her.” Another little remark about class was from a ‘new-rich’ woman. She always referred to margarine as ‘servants’ butter’.

Class in towns and cities changed more quickly than in the country. Here there was less emphasis on the hereditary ownership of estates and more movement between classes, though ‘old money’ was superior to new and houses, clothes, cars and accents all displayed peoples’ real or imagined social class. ‘Leafy suburbs’ and ‘council estates’ are descriptions of class in housing terms still and within them are expressions like ‘starter home’ and ‘bought house’.

Another way of displaying class is by vehicle choice, with big, new, ‘posh’ cars being more likely to be parked in leafy suburbs.

I notice that public school accents are changing from upper class ‘posh cockney’ with exaggerated vowels to something more like standard English or received pronunciation while where they used to speak the local accent now ‘conner talk the awd lingo no mower’, so class is less easy to distinguish.

My younger friends say it’s out of date and politically incorrect to use expressions like, “very middle class.” They make fun out of people pretending to be posh, as in “The lady of the house speaking” and “I know my place”.

Nowadays there’s more individualism, aggressiveness and defensiveness. Youngsters accept political correctness and feminism. They accentuate economic status rather than hereditary and inherited class.

They simultaneously desire to be accepted in a higher class and deny that there is a class system.

Social classes are changing; do you fit in anywhere?

Les the market cobbler moves into New Street

For 14 years Les Gough has been our Wellington Market Cobbler, providing great service at reasonable prices with a friendly approach that brought us back time and again. Les said, “I have loved my time at Wellington Market and made some amazing friends, from customers to my fellow stall holders. Thank you all for making my time there so happy.”

“However, I needed to take the next step in my career, and that meant a move to premises within the town itself. I now have longer opening hours and an extra two days trade each week. Looking to the future, I can even consider opening on a Sunday!”

The official opening of Wellington

Cobbler, was Tuesday 25 July and already Les has seen new customers coming into the shop.

“It’s unbelievable the new people coming since I moved who say they never visit the market, not even as a walk through!”

Up until a few months ago the new premises was a sweet shop, but some will have fond memories of it being ‘Jefferies Bakers’. Further back it was a butchers. Maybe Les should be the candle stick maker!

Anyone who has the pleasure to meet Les, is immediately a friend, add this with his trusted reputation and fantastic prices, why go anywhere else?

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..

YOUR WELLINGTON 2017 PROGRAMME ANNOUNCED

Ambitious and exciting Arts Festival

The latest news and events from Wellington Town Council

Wellington Festival 13th to 29 th October 2017

W

ELLINGTON Arts Festival has launched the programme for this year’s event which it says is it’s “most ambitious to date”. The finalists from The Voice UK 2017 “Into The Ark” launch the Festival, in Wellington, on Friday 13th October 2017. Into The Ark are Dane Lloyd and Taylor Jones and their story is one that probably resonates with many aspiring musicians and dreamers across the globe. They met and bonded over their passion for gigging and their love for writing. But it’s their hauntingly pitch perfect harmonies and beautiful lyrics that sets this duo apart. As well as festivals and supporting the legendary Tom Jones this summer, Into The Ark will be playing more headline shows and we are delighted that they will be performing at the Wellington Festival.

Also joining us on Sunday 22nd October is Sound of the Sirens - a foot stomping, heart-rending, crowd engaging female Folk/Rock duo whose strengths lie in their passion, conviction and chemistry. They have recently appeared on the Aled Jones ITV show and they have been championed by Chris Evans who declared himself “blown away” when he heard them for the first time and he subsequently invited them to perform alongside U2 and Take That on TFI Friday last year.

Billed as Shropshire’s largest performing Arts Festival, Wellington Festival runs from the 13th to 29th October 2017. The Festival brings together local and national artistes to entertain audiences with an exciting mix of live performances including comedy, talks, film, poetry, music and interactive

workshops. Cindy Mason-Morris, Chair of the Wellington Festival, said the Festival was now in its 21st year and had been going from strength to strength “in the last two years, we have more than doubled our audience figures and we know that this year’s Festival will be more popular than ever”.

From Lesley Smith, performing the Witches of Manningtree, to Josh Pugh who is the current English Comedian of the Year. From Pottery Throwing Workshops to John Kirk – noted children’s storyteller.

From two furiously fabulous females and award winning writers Joan Ellis and Donna Jones MBE performing Navy Knickers and Nicked TV’s to a Wrekin Writers’ Short Story Workshop. Plus a Workshop for anyone with an interest in selfpublishing and a Children’s Poetry

Full Programme and Tickets information . . .

Slam competition.

From Graham Clifford – prize winning poet – and local writer, Gareth Barsby to Lucy Corbett, a successful poet, film-maker and performer. Her performance poetry is a blend of whimsical storytelling, upbeat humour and cutting satire. The Festival is also delighted to welcome Jacob Chandler who has exhibited his sculptures across the globe including New York, Moscow, Athens and London.

This is just a taster of the programme which has additional highlights including Laughter Yoga and Salsa sessions. With over 30 events, in 15 different venues across Wellington and a huge breadth of artistes from many different art forms, it is not surprising that so many of our audience eagerly anticipate the Festival programme each year. The Wellington Festival brings you events and experiences that you simply could not have at any other time.

The full programme is available at www.wellingtonartsfest.co.uk and tickets are available via our website, by emailing: caroline.mulvihill@telford.gov.uk or by writing, or calling into, Wellington Town Council’s Civic Offices on Larkin Way, Tan Bank, Wellington, TF1 1LX.

Sounds in the Square LIVE MUSIC TO ENTERTAIN SHOPPERS ON SATURDAYS ACROSS AUGUST Organised by H2A volunteers and funded with support fom Wellington Town Council Dates available in the Summer Guide or on www.madeinwellington.co.uk

www.wellington-shropshire.gov.uk 11 Wellington Town Council.indd 1

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ADVERTORIAL

News from your hospitals

Great Dawley Town Council donates to Dawley Food Bank

Bringing you updates from The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford and the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH):

Huge crane lifts old MRI scanner out of PRH A 230ft high crane has removed an MRI scanner from PRH – to pave the way for a state-of-the-art replacement to be installed later in the summer.

SaTH is replacing its two existing MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scanners, one of which is at PRH with the other at the RSH, as part of a £1.7million investment during 2017/18.

A new MRI scanner is also due to be installed at RSH by the end of March 2018 thanks to generous funding by the League of Friends of the RSH, increasing the number of MRI scanners at the Trust to three, which will allow more patients to be seen.

Glen Whitehouse, Radiology Centre Manager, said: “Our two existing scanners are in need of replacing and it’s great that these will soon be replaced, as the new scanners will provide more advanced and higher quality images. It’s also excellent news for our patients that a third scanner will be installed by the end of the year, as this will increase our capacity, allowing us to see more patients and reduce waiting lists.”

Trust wins national award for cancer app An interactive App developed to help cancer patients has won a prestigious national Patient Safety Award.

SaTH picked up the Cancer Care Award for creating an App that helps patients understand and monitor the side effects of chemotherapy treatment and the long-term followup of prostate cancer.

The Patient Safety Awards are among the most celebrated in UK Healthcare.

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Family donates £2,500 to create new Swan Room at Princess Royal Hospital A family has donated around £2,500 to create a new room at PRH which will provide privacy and dignity for patients at the end of their life.

The new Swan Room was officially opened on Ward 8 on 3 July by relatives of Hugh Dawson, who passed away on 14 December 2015, aged 73.

Hugh’s wife Gina Dawson, 70, and the couple’s daughters Emma Williams, 33, and Mandi Morris, 37, donated the money in memory of Mr Dawson, a retired RAF Flight Lieutenant in Air Traffic Control.

Gina said: “Hugh had throat cancer for eight years and had got over it once, but it returned and he was admitted to PRH. Emma decided to raise money as we found there were no comfortable chairs for us while we stayed with Hugh whilst he was in hospital.”

Swan Rooms are a space for patients that are at end of life to use, allowing relatives to spend valuable time with their loved one in a more peaceful and calming environment.

Hospital staff don pyjamas to highlight #endPJparalysis Hospital staff donned their pyjamas to highlight a campaign which is designed to help patients recover more quickly – by simply maintaining their daily routine.

Nurses, Health Care Assistants and other ward staff at PRH and RSH wore their pyjamas on 4 July to mark ‘Independence Day’ SaTH used the USA holiday to highlight the importance of patients remaining mobile, having their own independence and wearing their own clothes during the day while recovering in hospital.

The day highlighted #endPJparalysis, a national campaign originated by Professor Brian Dolan which encourages patients to get up, dressed and moving while in hospital. This helps to prevent the complications of being immobile, including chest infections, muscle degeneration, clotting; as well as shifting patient’s perceptions from ‘I’m sick’ to ‘I’m getting better’.

The Mayor of Great Dawley Town Council, Councillor Jane Pinter, with the donation made by Great Dawley Town Council and volunteers from the Dawley Advice Centre and Food Bank Mark Bestwick, Linda Hobson and Penelope Stokes.

At the Town Council’s Executive Committee meeting on Monday 10th July 2017 it was unanimously agreed by all Councillors for Great Dawley Town Council to donate a £250 grant to the Dawley Food Bank.

The Dawley Advice Centre and Food Bank is located in the Christian Centre, Dawley High Street, is ran by a number of volunteers and works alongside the Telford Crisis Network to help those in need.

The grant application follows a plea for donations from the Dawley Food Bank after it run out of food. The Food Bank has seen a significant increase in the number of families using the service, with a total of 84 families in June alone.

The Mayor purchased the food on Tuesday morning and delivered it directly to the Food Bank where a total of 627 items were delivered and ready to be distributed to those families in need.

The Mayor of Great Dawley Town Council, Councillor Jane Pinter, said ‘I was really upset and concerned when I heard that the Dawley Food Bank had ran out of food and knew that Great Dawley Town Council needed to help with a grant.

I felt very humbled this morning when all the volunteers were saying thank you for the donation because we need to say thank you to volunteers for their help and support to all those families in need.’

If you know of anyone in need of any help and assistance or you yourself are in need of food to feed your family please call 01952 361163 and someone will be there to help. On occasion you may need to leave your details on an answer machine, but rest assured they will always get back in touch with you.

If you want to make a donation to the Dawley Food Bank, all donations are very welcome and can be delivered to Dawley Christian Centre every weekday morning between 9.00am and 1.00pm. If you can please donate anything from tinned goods, tomatoes, potatoes, peas, carrots, meatballs, beans, spaghetti, to pasta and dried goods, as well as UHT milk and none alcoholic drinks.

Like us on facebook facebook.com/Wrekin-News 12 · www.wrekinnews.co.uk 12 News NHS.indd 1

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CITY CHIC

Model wears Next.

See in store or online for prices.

WHAT TO UR PACK FOR YO D EN K EE W AWAY If your summer holiday feels like a distant memory, why not make the most of the end of the summer and enjoy a city break with someone special? It’s the perfect excuse to relax, unwind and enjoy city life.

by Eve

Here’s what to pack:

Nicholls

Nude Ballet Pumps £35 Miss Selfridge

Cardigan £59 Monsoon

STYLISH, YET COMFY SHOES

The last thing you want when you’re hitting the shops or doing some sightseeing is sore feet, so make sure that you pack a comfy pair of flats. Conversestyle trainers or ballet pumps look great teamed with a pair of skinny jeans.

Maroon Cross-Body Bag £149 Radley at House of Fraser

Telford pub welcomes new customers this summer

T

HE LION invites new customers to enjoy a unique pub and restaurant experience.

The Telford based pub on Whitchurch Road, Wellington, has undergone a fresh transformation with new decoration, layout and food menu.

Experienced landlady Sophie Rickerby said: “I have been a landlady for six years now so running a pub is second nature to me, it’s always been something I really enjoy.

“It’s also a delight to see regulars and new customers coming in and having a good time because that’s the main goal.”

The newly refurbished pub generously offers an Indian food grill, private functions, plenty of drink promotions and a beer garden for hot summer days.

The pub received a testimonial from a satisfied patron who enjoyed their experience.

David Beck said: “It is a great place to go for socializing and meeting up with people, with a wide range of drinks on offer as well as

entertainment throughout. The staff and management are amazing as well.

“This is a must place to go, I highly recommend it.”

The pub is hosting an array of events in the near future involving karaoke, live performances and open mic nights.

Sophie added: “A variety of events are provided to keep evenings entertaining and enjoyable for everyone.

“Some of the events are even requested by the customers, so we always aim to please.”

The Lion opens from 12pm to 10pm on weekdays with a later closing time on weekends.

For more information about upcoming events contact 01952 877263.

THE LION

A COSY COVER-UP

Who knows what the Great British Weather has got in store, so don’t go anywhere without a cosy cardigan or a lightweight jacket.

ACCESSORIES

Use scarves and jewellery to add interest and a hint of individuality to your weekend.

Desert Patchwork Scarf £25 White Stuff

CROSS-BODY BAG

Keep your hands free by accessorising with a stylish, yet practical cross-body bag. A cross-body style is perfect for completing a casual look.

New range of TV’s from FSL Jones UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT Frank Jones of FSL Jones, has bought a fantastic new line of televisions to his already extensive range.

He will be the exclusive retailer locally for Mitchell & Brown TV’s.

As well as getting Frank’s years of experience and unrivalled customer service, customers will receive the Mitchell & Brown seven year warranty on parts and labour.

In a throw away society, were consumers don’t expect electronics to last past five years, Mitchell & Brown offer piece of mind, with Frank the man who can deliver, literally!

Frank’s service is completely based in your home, from bringing the products for you to choose to fully fitting and installing.

Customer care is not a call centre, but Frank himself, who is always happy to help so give him a call today on 01952 618975.

Drinks | Coffee | cocktails - Coming Soon BT & Sky Sports Multi Screen The Lion, Whitchurch road, Wellington, Telford, Shropshire TF1 3AG Tel: 01952 877263

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The adventures of Jo, Gary, Stuart, Jesse and Tony as they scale Mount Kilimanjaro / PART III (continued from issue 219, July 2017)

TO THE SUMMIT THE FINAL CHAPTER

Continued from last month: Hello again, if you missed last months second chapter of our Kilimanjaro trip I hope you can get your hands on a copy.

This concluding chapter starts on day two of the trek so at least you’ve not missed the nail biting finale!

By Anthony Nicholls

D

AY TWO felt very similar to walking up Snowdon to me, but we all felt the effects of being at altitude, shortness of breath relative to the effort we exerted, and slightly dizzy occasionally.

The body loses fluid quicker than walking in Britain due to the generally warmer temperature, and lower pressured drier air. We all had 2-3 litre water bladders in our rucksacks plus an extra litre. They were filled each day with boiled filtered water from the streams and we kept sipping little and often. Becoming even a little dehydrated during this sort of expedition is a very slippery slope. It soon leads to headaches, loss of appetite, and therefore strength, stamina, moral and health. Like many things regaining a good balance requires much more effort than maintaining it so we did as we were told even if at times we felt well within our comfort zone. Our guides new best!

The scenery had totally changed, we’d climbed out of the rainforest into moorland which afforded panoramic views east, south and west over Tanzania. We were

climbing a steep stretch when I heard a particularly enthusiastic “RAH” from Oh-mar. We replied in similar manner and a whisper came through the line that our guide, Dickson, who’d escorted the injured porter off the mountain had caught us up! Several more ‘Rahs’ celebrated his repatriation and with renewed vigour we continued onwards and upwards.

We had a good climb, and completed the expected six hour trek in under five hours very comfortably. That evening we were taken for a short wander to the Shira caves which were used by many creatures and humans in the past including early mountaineers. There’s a Flintstone style helipad here on a flat piece of ground circled and marked by yellow and white painted rocks. After dinner and briefing we had a medical which comprised of a few questions about our well-being plus a heart rate and blood oxygenation check.

I think we all passed as we weren’t frog marched off the mountain.

We ended the day sleeping at 3,750 metres or 12,303 feet above sea level.

We could feel our hearts beating a

little stronger and faster than usual just before sleep. Just as you’re dropping off your body finds it’s normal pattern and depth of breathing, the medulla oblongata which monitors and adjusts our breathing and heart rate in response to CO2 and O2 levels in the blood stream, metaphorically cries “WAIT A MINUTE I’M SUFFOCATING!” Stuart certainly had a moment of this and sat bolt upright in an acute moment of unease to catch his breath. The body soon breathes more deeply and often, and tiredness soon took us into our dreams in this sacred wilderness. The reality of where we were and what we were about to attempt stimulated our thoughts just before sleep but Morpheus won very easily.

Day three is an even more challenging day. We started early, walking by 7.30 according to my records, we have a four hour trek through alpine desert covering seven kilometres or 4.3 miles and ascending 850 metres or 2,789 metres before lunch.

We arrive almost bang on four hours at 4,600 metres or 15,092 feet above sea Continued on page 16 > www.wrekinnews.co.uk · 15

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The adventures of Jo, Gary, Stuart, Jesse and Tony as they scale Mount Kilimanjaro / PART III (continued from issue 219, July 2017)

> Continued from page 14

level which is nearly as high as Mont Blanc, at Lava Tower camp. We were given a hearty packed lunch prepared by the porters and indigenous striped mice (rats) were on hand to help out. The sizeable pretty mice are well fed due to the loss of appetite of trekkers. I didn’t eat much and hoped to feel better when we reached our next and much lower campsite. I think Jesse and I had a brief nap here to escape from the weird feeling of mild nausea and muzzy head. I certainly didn’t want to be moved on when it was time to go. Thankfully once we dropped a few hundred metres we started to feel much more normal.

Another two hours took us down 700 metres or 2,297 feet over three kilometres to a relatively comfortable 3,900 metres or 12,795 feet amsl at Baranco camp. The varied and odd effects of altitude had definitely touched us all by this point and we were glad to drop down which very quickly alleviated these symptoms. Oh-mar said because the next campsite was at the meeting point of other trails the guides hailed it as Amsterdam compared to the other sites which had about 60-80 tents on them.

We were relived to see that although it was probably twice as big as the previous two campsites it was generally quiet and peaceful. Porters were busy working but there were no parties of people from Rhyl singing Toremolenos!

Occasionally guides and porters of other groups would perform the local ritual dances and songs which signify their respect for the mountain and asks for the blessing of a safe ascent (and descent I hope) and their belief in us to get to the top. As we approached our tents at the far end and lowest part of the camp we were in for a treat. Our porters and guides greeted us with one of these rituals. We were encouraged to partake and with tears of joy we danced and sang the Hakuna Matata responses.

Spirits were high and we were told we’d walked strongly and had what it takes to succeed. We certainly hoped so. Another brief medical after dinner seemed to go well as again no one was carted away so we retired with renewed confidence.

Day four was the longest day of my life so far.

Probably because it’s actually two days in which we had little or no sleep to compliment the diminishing oxygen and air pressure of the ascent.

We started walking before 7am and were soon scrambling and climbing a steep but easy rock face.

Hands were needed but nothing too hairy. Less atmosphere means more radiation and dehydrating effects of the sun so we have an early dinner at 11am inside the mess tent to protect us as much as possible.

We continue to walk long dusty trails in alpine desert, the fourth of the five climate zones we will

have walked through in as many days. It’s like a scene from a Western, and very inhospitable for humans. Our flesh swelled in the lowering pressure, I took a photo of my puffy hand which I could no longer clench. Subtle changes in your body are felt, and confuse and concern your brain as you realise not a lot is functioning quite like it normally does. We plod on, pole pole, slowly slowly. We have another couple of short breaks, the sun shines but the air is cool so fleeces are on along with buffs and hats.

We arrive at Barafu (ice) camp 4,673 metres or 15,331 feet amsl. Just before 3pm bang on the predicted eight hours for this stretch. To the east we get a magnificent view of Mawenzi peak, Africa’s third highest mountain, which helps to distract from the thought of a seven hour assault on Kilimanjaro in the dark.

The wind was getting up and the porters struggled to put the mess and cooking tent up. Our dome mountain tents could cope but as the evening drew on, a weather front created gales. We had an early evening meal and briefing. The plan was to be woken up at 11pm for drinks and snacks in the mess tent, have our water containers filled and start walking around midnight. Jesse was getting a bit anxious and said he may not attempt the summit.

Stuart and I were thinking the same thing.

Jesse was travelling alone, in the tent at night so far from everything it would be far more daunting for him than us so we invited him to spend the remaining 3-4 hours in our tent to boost his moral. I talked and rambled on about all sorts of rubbish till Stuart was ready to put his sock in my mouth and Jesse was sleeping like a baby.

The wind was now howling, Stuart said: “Surely we won’t go up in this,” I replied: “Of course we will.”

Notes about Mount Kilimanjaro and our trip According to ultimatekilimanjaro.com ‘Every year, approximately 1,000 people are evacuated off the mountain, and around 10 deaths are reported. The actual number of deaths is believed to be two to three times higher.’ This is largely due to altitude sickness but also weather plays it’s part as guides take people all year round rainy season included. We didn’t tell our mum’s this before we went and I’ll probably ink it out of mine’s copy!

I’ve included many facts and figures metric and imperial for all those like me who want to know these things. Apologies if you think there are too many but I would want to know if I was reading it. amsl = above mean sea level.

25% of attempts fail Sabino’s parents don’t know what he does for a living because to them the Gods live on the mountain and it is sacred. When it snows on the summit they feel the Gods are happy with them.

They made it to the su mmit!

What an achievement, Gary, Jo, Stuart and Tony at the very top of Mount Kilimanjaro with their guides and friend Jesse.

The porters had to dismantle the mess tent as it couldn’t stay up in the wind. I took videos of the tent shaking ready for the Mountain Film Festival!

Tea and biscuits were served in our dome tents, water bottles filled and off we went! Head torches switched on, with top quality base layer, fleece, insulated mountain jacket, water and windproof shell jacket, insulated water and windproof trousers two pairs of woolly socks, thick walking boots and you could still feel the cold penetrating through it all! The wind chill was severe, I had a sock around my chin and mouth to tuck my water bladder tube into but it still froze solid. We didn’t stop many times but when we did I took my flask out of my rucksack which was insulated by a woolly sock, that had ice in too!

I remember feeling great and super happy for the first hour or so then all I wanted to do was sleep. I tried all I could think of desperately trying to stimulate my brain but to no avail. You couldn’t lift your head much for the dust and icy gale force wind, visibility was polarised by the spotlighting of the head torches on random bits of rock and the back of the next shadowy figure in front. My head pounded as we trudged on zig zagging for six hours following the trail of lamps up to the

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The adventures of Jo, Gary, Stuart, Jesse and Tony as they scale Mount Kilimanjaro / PART III (continued from issue 219, July 2017)

Stu art is photog rap hed at the su mm it hol din g pictures of his children

sky. Apparently when your drunk you have memory lapses because the brain is busy keeping everything functioning and doesn’t lay memory down properly in the usual way. This six hours felt similar to me. If someone said the six hours was actually two hours I would believe them. I have such vague recollection until dawn arrived. I remember collapsing having literally fallen asleep standing up and being helped to my feet a couple of times. Eventually we neared the ridge and crater rim, from here it was 45 minutes walk of a more gentle gradient. I remembered how a friend of an acquaintance of Stuart’s had died on this ridge in the arms of his guide shortly after summating. Underlying medical problems can often be exacerbated due to the altitude and exertion.

Dawn was breaking, the wind was dropping and it was getting warmer. I took a couple of pictures of Mwenzi peak at sunrise and plodded on feeling like I was having an out of body experience. I was hallucinating, the glacier had an unearthly glow and flickered through rainbow colours before glowing bright white. I had to stop looking at it. I was telling my legs where to go but they had a mind of their own and didn’t take me in the exact direction I’d decided. It was so much like being drunk it was unreal and my small amount of experience of that surely helped me through.

Stuart and I walked together as did Gary and Jo on the crater rim. We’d seen people turning back over the last few hours but generally people on the ridge were going to make it. We couldn’t talk much; there was little breath for anything but walking. I couldn’t even muster the wherewithal to get my phone out to take pictures.

The previous night Dickson had said: “You will feel really awful today, but you are all strong and we believe in you to get to the top. You must enjoy the challenge and how it makes you feel.”

He wasn’t wrong, we were so close but all I wanted to do was lie down and sleep.

At 7.15am Tanzania time on the 16th of February 2017 four more people from the heart of Shropshire, and a brave lone traveller from Colorado collapse onto the summit post of Uhuru peak. Sacred to many, the highest point of Kilimanjaro, the highest point of Africa, the highest freestanding mountain in the world. Roughly 75% of the 30 thousand people that attempt it, get to summit every year these days.

They’re guided by brave people who continually risk their lives for in our terms meagre reward so that their families may prosper.

After summit photos during which I tell Stuart to step back a little and in doing so he knocks a man over into the dias of the summit signs, we all feel better. That’s until we try and walk again. We soon get going and after more collapsing from me on steep scree as my legs still haven’t enough oxygen to do as their told we arrive back to Barafu camp at around 10.30am. We all feel wretched and are sent to rest for an hour or so till lunch.

We’re coerced to the mess tent, We’re all dehydrated but don’t want to drink. Gary who is the toughest bloke I know has his head on the table and isn’t speaking. Jo seemed to be in the best state and had done for most of the day, Jesse, Stuart and I were in a right state and felt like Gary looked. We all felt like we have the worst hangover by far and extremely tired. Ellea, our smiley witty server of food for the trip brings dish after dish but that makes us feel worse. We sip a little soup and water but we’re ready for a beach holiday.

After dinner (or torture tent) we have to pack our bags and trek four more hours downhill to our camp for the evening. We’re assured we’ll feel better as we lose altitude. It was one of the greatest wrenches of my life to pack my stuff and start walking but as usual the guides were spot on. Every half hour we felt noticeably better. After two hours we stopped for a short break and all agreed we were feeling peckish. We’d started guzzling water again and after four hours we reached camp, nearly 36 hours after we’d started walking the previous day.

Ready to wash and eat anything put in front of us; we did and felt great. We had one of the best sleeps ever!

Before we left camp we had more dancing and singing performed by our guides and porters and we made our way on relative lowlands to the Park gate and sign out.

It was here we met up with Chad our exuberant friend from across the pond who delighted in telling us his feet were so bruised he had to have a mountain ambulance ride off the slopes. He had sandals on and his feet looked fine to us (he should see Gary’s). The mountain ambulance is a stretcher mounted on a motorbike wheel complete with suspension.

Back in the minibus we taste some banana beer and laugh and joke with our crew who’ve been so amazing.

They’ve got four days off then they’ll be back again.

After all it’s just a walk in the park!

Jo was asked to start a just giving page because some of her friends wanted to donate something to Hope House for our efforts.

She raised £679 If you wish to contribute the page is still live and is www.justgiving.com then search for trekking up Kilimanjaro Jo Law. I’m writing this having just got down from walking up Mount Teide on Tenerife with my 8-year-old son Sam. He coped remarkably well with the high temperature and altitude of 3,718 metres or 12,718 feet and wants to climb Kilimanjaro even after reading this!

Thank you for reading.

Jo, Gary, Stuart, Jesse and Tony.

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Granddad Whiles This month the Wellington Remembers contribution looks a little different to our usual offering. We asked Peter, one of our volunteers, to write about his experience volunteering with us – maybe it will inspire you to join the team!

By Peter Riley

L

IKE most people of my generation who attended primary school in the 1950s I had a grandfather, Enoch Whiles, who had fought and survived the Great War, and yet the subject of his war experience to my knowledge was never discussed in his presence. What information I did glean was from his daughter, my mother, and this was often very limited. I knew that he had served in the Royal Army Medical Corps and along with his brother had survived the whole four years of the war with no physical injuries other than when he joined up in 1914 he had a full head of hair but returned in 1919 completely bald; the result of being rather too close to an exploding shell and spending time in the resultant crater in no man’s land.

❂

WELLINGTON REMEMBERS A little over a year ago I received some of my grandfather’s possessions; these included military medals and pictures taken during the Great War one of which shows a slim young man along with comrades, all with red cross badges affixed to their uniforms. The men appear to be relaxing outside what appeared to be a metal railed fence to a French house. Who were these men staring into a camera a century ago? My grandfather is on the back row holding a book; he was a bit of a scholar but like most of his generation would return home in 1919 and spend the whole of his working life down the coal pits in the mining village of Great Wyrley. Next to my grandfather stands the comedian wearing a bowler hat and next to him

a young French boy with scarf and military hat which probably belonged to the comedian. On the front row there appears to be a man of an age when he should have been home but he has 2 strips so would have been a Corporal and probably the most experienced member of the group. And there sitting cross legged at the other end of the front line is the youngest member of the team with the full innocence of youth written all over his face.

How many of these men would return home to England is unknown and if they did, would they, like my grandfather, keep the horrors of what they had seen and experienced for ever locked away, never to be told or discussed.

I wanted to find out more about the men who had travelled abroad to fight for King and Country.

It would have been wonderful to put names to the faces in the photograph but the chance of that was quite remote. But what of other men who had served and died, what lives had they led both before and during the war and in searching their past, perhaps, I was in some small way paying respect to and honouring the lives of my grandfather and his comrades.

It was fortunate for me in having little or no knowledge of to how to investigate the life of a first world war soldier that I came across the Wellington Remembers Group who were already collating information on the lives of the war dead as commemorated upon the lynch gate at All Saints Church Wellington. There are a total of 185 people named on the commemorative plaques: 184 men and one woman all of whom have some

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connection with Wellington. The task of the group is to create a small biography for each of the people mentioned and then publish this information in 2018, one hundred years after the ending of the war in Europe. With time on my hands and an interest in history I decided to offer my services.

To date I have been involved in around a dozen biographies and each is by its very nature quite unique but all ultimately ending in the death of the combatant often at a very young age. The first person on the list was the only woman commemorated, Miss Laura May Birch. She had worked at the local Lloyds bank in Wellington for some years after leaving school but perhaps seeking adventure went to work at the newly established Royal Flying Corp base at Shawbury in September 1917. On the way home one evening in a car driven by a member of the RFC, Laura was fatally injured when the car ran into the back of a stationary wagon at Battlefields Shrewsbury. Though only employed as a civilian clerk, Laura`s name is commemorated on the lynch gate and her body is buried along with her parents at Wellington Cemetery. Some of the combatants I have researched and perhaps their descendants may still live in Wellington; these include Private John Thomas Bailey who lived at number 10a Tan Bank Wellington and who died on the 6th September 1916 aged 22, whilst advancing on the village of Guillemont near Albert in France with the 6th Battalion Kings Shropshire Light Infantry.

Living less than one mile away in Wellington had been Private Thomas Fletcher of Glebe Street who died on the 14th July 1916 aged 21 with fellow members of the 7th Battalion K.S.L.I. advancing on the village of Longueval which is less than 3 miles from where John Bailey would die two months later.

The process of collating the historic information to ascertain the life story of the combatants is relatively straight forward and yet so often frustrating, due to alternative

spelling of names, for example Bailey for Bayley, variance in stated age of people within censuses and the repeated use of Christian names where children may have died in infancy. Within the group there are members far more proficient than myself in collating the information but the process is generally the same.

1) Search out combatants’ name in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. This would confirm date of death, Army information and possibly family details plus place of burial or Memorial.

2) Establish birth and any marriage of combatant by searching in Free Birth Marriage Death web site.

3) Use web sites such as Ancestry or Find your Past which are freely available at local Libraries. These sites provide copies of historic censuses, which were undertaken every ten years and would provide valuable family information such as family members, their ages, occupations and current address.

These web sites would also on occasions provide school records but most importantly military records such as Medal schedule and war gratuity sheet (wrong names).

4) Searching out the war diaries of the battalion to determine the location and undertaking of the battalion at the time of the combatants death; these are sometimes available on Ancestry or have been purchased by the group.

5) Search military history sites covering specific regiments or campaigns in the war.

6) Read through historic copies of the Wellington Journal held on Microfilm at Wellington Library.

These provide fascinating insights into everyday life in and around Wellington during this period.

By working systematically through the above and with more than a little help and guidance from other team members it has been possible for me to produce a small biography on a life cut short by war, but one that should never be forgotten. If you would like to have a go then contact Wellington Remembers.

Detective Corner Can you help? This month we appeal for information on a soldier who died just after hostilities ceased on the Western Front.

Do you know anything about Thomas (Tom) Spencer who served in the Royal Engineers in the Great War? He transferred to the Labour Corps but was accidentally killed on 30 November 1918 in France.

We believe he had a sister – Mary Jones.

Please contact us if you can contribute to this soldier’s life story.

Contact details: 07944 435978 or eamil: wellingtonremembers@outlook.com

Wellington History Group

A history of our Wellington Although we’re having a summer break from our free-to-attend monthly talks, there’s no reason why you can’t brush up on Wellington’s history.

‘A History of Our Wellington’ was written by Allan Frost especially for Wellington Town Council who recently published it as an A5 booklet, available free from The Forge in Crown Street and Little Business Company cafe in Market Square, Wellington. An A4 version is also available for free download from the Town Council web site at http:// www.wellington-shropshire. gov.uk/wp-content/ uploads/2017/01/WTC-AHistory-of-Our-Wellington. pdf, or from Wellington History Group at https:// wellingtonhistorygroup.files. wordpress.com/2017/02/ wtc-a-history-of-our-wellington. pdf. If you don’t have access to the internet or a printer, ask someone who has if they’d be kind enough to print a copy for you.

But what’s so different about it? Well, let’s put it another way. What do you know about Wellington’s town crest? Or how the town got its name? Or why Wellington-born Sir Thomas Leigh was involved in the smooth transition from the oppressive reign of Catholic Queen Mary to that of Protestant Good Queen Bess? And who were the Plimer brothers? What is the story behind Charles I and the Civil War Declaration? Or Sir George Downing, William Withering, John Barber, Henry Gauntlett, Hesba Stretton, Cecil Lawson

and other noteworthy Wellingtonians? And how did Wellington develop? For good measure, there’s even a section about The Wrekin Hill.

This twelve-page illustrated booklet is packed with fascinating detail. Read it; you won’t be disappointed.

Wellington History Group’s next free-to-attend public talk in Wellington library will be on September 20th at 7:30 when Neil Clarke will speak about The Foresters, their lives and connections with the area over the centuries.

You’ll find an incredible amount of other free-todownload publications at https://wellingtonhistorygroup. wordpress.com/. Please give them a try, or you won’t know what you’re missing!

Comments

If you have any comments or queries, please email Chairman Geoff Harrison: ghdl19768@blueyonder.co.uk

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SHARE YOUR SPECIAL MEMO RIES AND PICTURES THROUGH THE MOST POPULAR PAGES OF THE WREKIN NEWS

Frederick and his pa ls relaxing on the be ach

Wrekin News reader and regular contributor Hayley Easthope brought us some wonderful pictures that feature her father Frederick Scott. Frederick served in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) during the Second World War and he was stationed with the Allied forces in Egypt. We have printed a selection of Hayley’s pictures along with scans of some of the documents that Fred kept.

A couple of Frederick’s colleagues ride a camel

Frederick Scott pictured with his colleagues

In fancy dress for a

football match

Local dignitaries an d high command vis it

leagues A couple of Frederick’s col rs rte qua ng in their livi

osite Fred’s drill manual and opp ts one bay ng fixi of on trati illus

Local dignitaries an d high command vis it

20 · www.wrekinnews.co.uk 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 Letters.indd 3

31/07/2017 12:47

My Story

I

by Rona Harris

HAVE just realised that it is early afternoon, and sitting here in my lounge my thoughts went back Oh Yes, way back! I was fourteen years of age, and had just left school.

My first job was in the office of a local Cotton Mill, and a terrifying thought to me then was the PBX Telephone Switchboard, I had never before used a telephone, and unless you were a very rich family, no-one had a telephone in the their home, but you may be pleased to know that I did “master it” eventually.

At that time also my Dad was in the Army and my older sister Irene was in the Navy, so money was very ‘tight’, all Mum had was Dad’s army allowance, and a small amount from Irene.

Consequently, I left school on the Friday, and started my job on the following Monday my weekly wage then was £1.10 shillings (now-adays £1.50) but there was no chance of keeping my wage, as I say she needed every penny of it, and needless to say I did not get ‘spending money’.

Now I believe I told you in the past of how embarassing my life became then, always second-hand clothes, mainly from aunt’s of mine, whom I recall were in the main rather tall big, ladies.

Fortunately we had one auntie who had a sewing machine so she was given the task of cutting and tucking all these horrible clothes to fit yours truly.

It did’nt really stop with dresses etc. I had to wear horrible whalebone corsets, and my Dad’s army underpants they were in a material very similar to ‘jeans’ as worn today.

Do you know I still have a little cry when I think of that time and my clothing.

I am sorry to be moaning a little but it was terrible in so many ways, and you probably think that I was lucky to have these ‘hand-medowns’ but as a very young teenager not very good at all.

However the war did not last for ever, and the time came when Dad and Irene came back, and my Dad managed to get a transfer fom his job in Manchester to Wellington it was a rise in wages and responsibility and you know I have loved Wellington ever since and still do.

Life went on after that, and I got a job locally, and yes again on a PBX telephone switchboard and I was sixteen years of age then and still not allowed to ‘keep’ my wages, so life went on, until I became twenty-one, and then I could keep all my wages, but had to pay board and lodgings so I did not have too much to spend afer that.

If I tried to protest in any way, (and I can still hear my Dad’s words) “While you are living here you will abide by the rules and regulations of this house,” all very Victorian I agree.

I am enclosing a photograph of me aged 16/17 years of age and I do hope that I havn’t been too boring, how different life was then to now.

I must go now and write again soon.

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Andrew & Sara Wisdom T: 01952 426055 M: 07969 674026 Ketley Community Centre, Telford TF1 5AN www.firstclasslearning.co.uk/telford-ketley www.wrekinnews.co.uk · 21

18, 19, 20, 21, 22 Letters.indd 4

31/07/2017 16:11

Dea r Editor . . .

Letters

SHARE YOUR SPECIAL MEMO RIES AND PICTURES THROUGH THE MOST POPULAR PAGES OF THE WREKIN NEWS

Date and venue set for New College reunion

Ken asks George for some help from Queensland Wrekin News has received this letter from Ken Deuble who resides in Queensland, Australia. Ken’s family were originally from Hadley and emigrated to Australia in 1883. Ken has asked George Evans to help him with some background information on his families life in England.

Hopefully George can shed some light on Ken’s request but we would also love to hear from any of our readers who could also offer some information that would be of interest to Ken. Dear George, History Queries - 26 High Street Hadley & The War Stone

David Poulter has written to Wrekin News with more information regarding the forthcoming New College reunion.

David writes; “The New College reunion is all set for Saturday 23 September, at the Red Lion in Wellington. Tickets cost just £5 and are available from me via email; davidpoulter@aol.com or by telephone: 07874 704769, or you can join the Facebook group which is connecting quite a few of the old pupils with plenty of photos of us all when we were a lot younger! We are also hoping that several teachers will also

be attending.

“Tickets are selling quickly and we have some coming along from the years above and below so will no doubt they will sell out. So please order yours soon and don’t miss out.”

David also enclosed another tutor group photo, this time it’s the turn of the David Hammonds tutor group.

Unfortunately David couldn’t put too many names to the picture but he did think the picture included; Stuart Young, David Brain, and possibly Jane Lock. David would appreciate any help to name the others.

Mr Powell helps identify footballers

I love reading your history stories in the Wrekin News from a-far-away Australia and the latest one about houses in the July issue.

My family, who came from Hadley, emigrated to Australia in 1883 and I am keen to find out more information on their life-time while they lived in England.

May I take this opportunity to ‘pick your knowledge’ on the following two aspects of their lives either via email or email and Wrekin News article?

The War Stone My great grandmother’s second husband, William Hines (father: Richard Hines - mother Mary Hines) was born on 12 November 1846.

His birth certificate shows the residence of the informant, Mary Hines as ‘The War Stone Wellington’. Can you enlighten me as to what/where the ‘War Stone’ is/was?

Tollgate - 26 High Street Hadley My great grandmother’s parents lived at 26 High Street Hadley.

I’ve been advised that her father, James Davies, operated the Toll-Gate at this address. He also operated his tailor shop there as well.

Is 26 High Street, a triangular two-storey business/ residence dwelling still standing on the site today? I assume the triangular shape allowed my great great grandfather to keep watch in both directions for oncoming horse and buggies?

Can you enlighten me on the history of 26 High Street, Hadley and the Toll-Gate operations, especially from these premises (history, photos etc)?

George, this maybe a big ask but any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanking you

Ken Deuble

Do you remember Hobson’s?

Wellington resident Mr John Powell visited our offices last week to help us to identify three of the footballers on the recent picture of the Old Wellingtonians. Mr Powell played for the team during the 1954/55 season and also agrees with reader Mr Millington that the year the photograph was taken must have been 1952/1953.

Mr Powell confirmed that on the front row, third from the left was Ron Heighway and kneeling next to Ron was Geoff Clarke.

He also helped us to identify Harold Humphreys, know as ‘H’ who was standing on the back row next to the goalkeeper. (Fifth in from the left).

Mrs Amstrong of Broseley called the Wrekin News office recently to ask if any of our readers could remember what happened to Hobson’s shop which stood in the square in Wellington.

Hobson’s was a stationery shop also selling china, books, ledgers and cards. At the time Mrs Armstrong lived at Walcot and worked in the

shop from 1946 until 1954 and can remember working with Isobal Dicken, Susan Cread who was from Dawley.

She can also remember Ida Ward and Miss Lund.

If anyone can remember more about Hobson’s and those who worked there please contact Wrekin News.

(Address and contact details on page 2).

22 · www.wrekinnews.co.uk 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 Letters.indd 5

31/07/2017 16:14

BUCKATREE HALL HOTEL

EVENT CALENDAR 2017 2016

August JANUARY October Saturday 26th Abba Mania Tribute Dinner Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! - Great food and the chance to sing your heart out.

Your evening starts with a two course evening meal followed by tribute and dancing with our in-house disco until midnight. £17.50pp

September FEBRUARY Saturday 16th

Friday 6th All Inclusive Party Night Rock ‘n’ Roll 50’s, Flower Power 60’s, Funky 70’s, Electric 80’s, Alternative 90’s and Naughty 00’s. Enjoy a two course evening meal and an all inclusive bar with all these magical decades rolled into one night of nostalgic musical heaven from our disco. £34.95pp

Motown Magic Tribute Stop! In The Name of Love’ –there’s a ‘Heat Wave’ of an evening for you! Your evening starts with a two course evening meal followed by tribute and dancing with our in-house disco until midnight. £17.50pp

Friday 20th West End Musicals Tribute Your evening starts with a two course evening meal followed by a fabulous tribute to the classic hits of the West End. £17.50pp

November Sunday 12th Remembrance Lunch To commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts we are offering a FREE Sunday lunch to our veterans.

T&C’s apply.

APRIL

Friday 8th Gin Tasting with Moonshine & Fuggles Join us for a fun and informative evening as we sample a selection of gins accompanied by a selection of Tapas. In-between each tasting will be a short quiz. Money raised on the night will go towards our nominated charity Homestart. £25.00pp

Tribute Lunches

All are £16.50 per person which includes a 3-course lunch with coffee and entertainment.

30th November Elvis Presley 4th December Buddy Holly 6th December Doris Day

11th December Neil Diamond 14th December Elton John 18th December Tom Jones

MARCH

Celebrating a Birthday?

Free birthday cake for the birthday guest (must be pre-booked and minimum party numbers of 10)

21st December Frank Sinatra

All Inclusive Christmas Parties

Celebrating Birthday?

Special Overnight Party Includes FREEa Bar - From £45.00 per person Package Free 25th birthday cake for1st, the2nd, 8th, 9th 15th, 16th & 22nd Dec 24th, November, birthday guest (must be Includes check-in from pre-booked and minimum 2.00pm, party night party numbers of 10 apply). accommodation with full English breakfast and a box Hen All areParty? £24.50 per person which includes a 3-course lunch of chocolates in your room with coffee andon live entertainment.

Brides go free parties (based on 2 people sharing of 20 or more (entrance a double twin- Elvis bedded Weds 6th Dec - Abba / Thurs 14th or Dec v Elton to the party night only, not standard room – upgrades Thurs 21st December - Rod Steward v David Bowie accommodation). available at an additional cost).

Gift Vouchers

Tribute Dinners

Hen Party?

Looking for the perfect gift?

FROM £15.00 single Gift Vouchers supplement £34.50 Personalised vouchers Brides go free on parties of 20 or Looking for the perfect gift?

PER PERSON more (entrance to the party nightfor all events at Personalised vouchers available for all available the applies. only, not accommodation). hotel plus much more. events at the hotel plus much more.

To book any of our events call:01952 641821 email:sales@buckatreehallhotel.com visit:www.buckatreehallhotel.com

Buckatree Hall Hotel FP.indd 1

30/07/2017 20:21

WIN this THEATRE months TICKETS! picks HOW TO ENTER

The

Stage

Wrekin News has teamed up with The Place, Oakengates and the Theatre Severn to offer two lucky reader’s the chance to win a pair of tickets to see The Theo The Mouse Show and The Wedding Singer. All you have to do to enter is send your name, address and daytime telephone number to: Tania Baylis, (INSERT NAME OF SHOW), Wrekin News, Bridge Road, Wellington, Telford TF1 1RY or email your entry with all of the above details to: tania@plus2media.co.uk

THE THEO THE MOUSE SHOW He’s Back!! There’s a Mouse in the House . . .

W IN TICKET S

SUNDAY 3 SEPTEMBER 2017

Closing date for all entries is Wednesday 23 August 2017. Terms and condition apply.

BOX OFFICE: 01952 382382 GOOD LUCK!

Guy Sebastian to support Shane Filan at the The Palace on ‘Love Always’ Tour 2017 Shone Productions proudly present this fast moving colourful show suitable for all the family. Starring Telford Pantomime favourites - the cheeky but loveable Theo The Mouse and his long suffering

partner Wendy.

Full of music, comedy, magic, and lots of audience participation for everyone to enjoy - this is the family show not to be missed.

Make no mousetake!!

THE WEDDING SINGER TUESDAY 12 - SATURDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2017

BOX OFFICE: 01743 281281

W IN TICKET S

Step back in time and get ready for the biggest party in town! A sparkling new production of the hilarious musical based on the hit film, THE WEDDING SINGER. It’s 1985. Hair is huge, greed is good and rock-star wannabe Robbie Hart is New Jersey’s favourite wedding singer. When his own fiancée dumps him at the altar a seriously bummed out Robbie makes every wedding as disastrous as his own.

Can sweet natured Julia and her best friend Holly lure Robbie out of the dumpster and back into the limelight? Or is he going to see her head off down the aisle with Wall Street bad boy Glen. Only Grandma Rosie seems to be able to see that Robbie and Julia are the couple that are meant to be.

G

UY Sebastian will be joining Shane Filan on his “Love Always” Tour in September and October – a major indoor tour, taking in some of the UK and Ireland’s best loved venues, including the Oakengates Theatre @ The Palace, Telford on Wednesday 4 October.

The multi-platinum Australian artist has just been announced as Shane’s support act, and his exceptional vocal capability and emotive style are certain to prove popular at each of the concerts on the “Love Always” Tour.

Australia’s first ever “Idol” winner in 2003, Guy’s decade and a half long career has seen 42 Platinum and three Gold certifications, and sold three million in combined sales with a string of arena tours.

His 2013 single “Battle Scars” went Platinum in the US, with Guy in fact being only one of a few artists in Australian music history to ever achieve this.

Four seasons on the judging panel for the hit television show, Australia’s ‘X Factor’ have also given him opportunity to really cement himself as a popular household name.

The Shane Filan “Love Always” Tour follows the recent release of Shane’s same-titled album, with this being yet another example of how Shane

has positioned himself as one of the UK’s most popular male artists. This follows his amazing success with Westlife; one of the world’s most successful bands in the last few decades, with this latest tour giving fans to see him doing what he loves best.

Shane says,” It’s so exciting to be getting out on the road this September and October, and I cannot wait to see my fans at each venue. Guy is the perfect choice as my support act, so I am thrilled to announce him as support on the “Love Always” Tour. Sure my fans will love him!”

The Shane Filan “Love

Always” Tour will run from Wednesday 20 September until Sunday 22 October, including the Oakengates Theatre @ The Palace Telford on Wednesday 4 October, and will feature Guy Sebastian as supporting act. Full details of the tour, confirmed venues and tickets are all available from www.shanefilan. com All tickets are seated www.shanefilan.com www.ticketmaster.co.uk www.lizhobbsgroup.com Disabled tickets are available directly from the Oakengates Theatre @ The Palace Telford.

Telephone: 01952 382382

24 · www.wrekinnews.co.uk 28, 29 Entertainment.indd 1

30/07/2017 20:10

e 7

GO LIMITLESS . . .

big

SEE ALL THE FILMS YOU WANT, AS OFTEN AS YOU LIKE!

Imagine being able to see all the films you want, week in, week out. Mid-week romcom?

Saturday night blockbuster? With huge potential savings and access to exclusive member treats, joining Limitless means you can watch all the films you want as often as you like for one monthly fee.

screen In association with

Welcome

Odeon, Telford General Manager Annette Small welcomes you to 10 screens of film magic screening stunning RealD 3D. You can treat yourself to an exclusive entertainment experience with our Premier seats, cafe culture at Costa or icy indulgences at Ben & Jerry’s.

Parking is available at the cinema for the perfect spot!

FAMILY TICKET OFFER! AMP UP YOUR POPCORN

Feel like a kid again this Summer, or at least be treated like one with our Family ticket! Simply choose the Family ticket when booking any suitable film, and everyone pays Kid’s prices.

Amp up your popcorn with some sweet treats at ODEON. Add M&Ms, Minstrels, Mini Oreos or Pretzels to your favourite flavour!

Expires 03/09/2017 Terms and Conditions apply.

Terms and Conditions apply.

ODEONSAYS No online booking fees Book your visit with us online and don’t pay a penny in fees.

28, 29 Entertainment.indd 2

Mr. Krupp is the mean-spirited head teacher at George and Harold’s school. But after they finally get sick of him, they hypnotise him and transform him into ‘Captain Underpants’.

The Captain is a kindhearted and elastic-banded superhero that they created for the comic they’re working on, and he’s dedicated to protecting the innocent and punishing evil. While wearing nothing but his underpants and a cape.

The beloved series of books comes to life on the big screen with ‘Captain Underpants’, with an all-star voice cast including Ed Helms, Jordan Peele and Kevin Hart.

WIN CINEMA TICKETS ‘Atomic Blonde’ follows the adventures of Agent Lorraine Broughton, MI6’s most lethal assassin, as she navigates the ticking time bomb of Cold War Berlin on a seemingly impossible mission.

She’s an expert in hand-to-hand combat, sent into the city to find out who’s been killing their operatives.

But in a hive of spies, traitors and revolutionaries, she can’t trust anyone, and will need to deploy all her skills to stay alive.

The Cold War heats up in ‘Atomic Blonde’, an explosion of sleek, stylish action from one of the directors of ‘John Wick’ and starring Charlize Theron.

s teamed up with Wrekin News ha r a, Telford to offe the Odeon Cinem rd da an st of er’s a pair .

TWO lucky read ce oi ch ur yo a film of cinema tickets to e me and telephon Just send your na Baylis, Wrekin contact to: Tania ad, ckets, Bridge Ro News, Odeon Ti ail: em rd TF1 1RY or Wellington, Telfo ia.co.uk tania@plus2med

!

ETS TO BE WON 2 PAIRS OF TICK

30/07/2017 20:10

Ticket JUST

THE

Get set for

SUMMER SCHOOL HOLIDAYS! 26th July – 3rd September 2017

Furnace, fire and steam inspired events mark Ironbridge Gorge Museums’ 50th anniversary

G

O ALONG to the Ironbridge Gorge Museums during the summer school holidays between 26th July and 3rd September and join in a variety of furnace, fire and steam inspired events marking the museum’s 50th anniversary and celebrating the power and innovation behind the Industrial Revolution.

At Blists Hill Victorian Town various steam machines will be in action on different days; get up close and personal to discover how they work.

The Town’s replica of Trevithick’s Coalbrookdale 1802 locomotive and the newly restored Winding Engine will be amongst the machines in steam.

On Wednesday mornings see the spectacular iron casting demonstration and blazing furnace in the Town’s Iron Foundry.

Younger visitors can follow a fun self-led family trail around the Town, take part in lessons in the Victorian School House and have a go on the Victorian Fairground.

Over at Enginuity in Coalbrookdale make and mould enamelling, pewter casting and paddleboat making workshops will take place between 10.30am and 3.15pm on different weeks. Between 26th and 30th July, and again from 7th to 13th August, you can decorate copper key rings using enamel beads and watch as they are fixed in place using high temperatures in a mini-furnace.

From 31st July to 6th August, or 14th to 20th August, try your hand at making a pewter medallion to attach to a key ring, while the paddleboat making sessions will be held from 21st August to 3rd September.

Visitors to Coalport China Museum can gain inspiration from the bottle kilns then use their creativity to sculpt a model from air-drying clay to take home. The drop-in sessions will take place between 11am and 3.30pm every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Young artists can also decorate ceramic money boxes or fridge magnets, and paint china flowers, every day throughout the summer school holidays.

Information for visitors

WIN A FAMILY CARVERY AT THE SWAN!

Wrekin News has teamed up with the The Swan Hotel in Wellington to offer one lucky reader the chance to win a Family Carvery* ticket. All you have to do to enter is send your name, address and daytime telephone number to: Tania Baylis, The Swan Carvery, Wrekin News, Bridge Road, Wellington, Telford TF1 1RY or email your entry to: tania@plus2media.co.uk, terms and conditions apply, closing date for entries is Wednesday 23 August 2017 - Good Luck! * Two Adults and three children - drinks not included, Wednesday and Friday only, Sunday carvery not included.

Most of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum are open daily from 10am until 4pm; Blists Hill until 4.30pm. A great value Annual Passport Ticket allowing unlimited entry into all ten costs £25 per adult, £20 for seniors, £15 for children (16 years or under), £68 for a family of two adults and all their children and £50 for a family with one adult; under 5s free (terms and conditions apply); Passports can also be bought online in advance saving 10% and individual entry tickets are available at each museum. Activities will vary from day-to-day and some additional costs will apply.

For further information, call 01952 433 424 or visit www. ironbridge.org.uk.

26 · www.wrekinnews.co.uk 25, 26, 27, 28 and 30 Out and About.indd 1

31/07/2017 16:01

IRONBRIDGE.ORG.UK TO:

NO SWEAT!

FROM:

HARD SWEAT! At Blists Hill Victorian Town

At Enginuity

10 AWARD WINNING ATTRACTIONS IN A WORLD HERITAGE SITE

THE

Christopher’s Restaurant SWAN Bar and Rooms at

The Swan Hotel SPECIALS

Free House

Monday

Christmas Fayre Luncheon Menu 2 Course £8.95/3 Course £10.95 Christmas Fayre Evening Dinner Dance £14.95 Christmas Day at the Swan £45.00 per Adult/ £20.00 per Child under 10 Boxing Day Luncheon Menu £15.00 Christmas Confirmation Booking. If you would like to book a table please complete a slip. We ask for a small deposit of £5 per person

Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Chefs Special Night including pint, glass of wine or soft drink Sizzler Night All Day Carvery 12-9 Steak, Chicken & Fish Night or any two for All Day Carvery 12-9 FULL A LA CARTE MENU AVAILABLE Three Course Carvery 12-6 Kids Under 10

£7.95 £7.95 £3.95 £7.95 £15.00 £3.95 £8.95 £5.95

SATURDAY - FULL A LA CARTE MENU AVAILABLE WEDDING PACKAGES AVAILABLE

Watling Street, Wellington, Telford, Shropshire TF1 2NH

www.swan-hotel-telford.co.uk · Tel: 01952 223781 E mail: chris .witton@aol.com

SKY SPORT SHOWN HERE

CAN BE HIRED FOR PRIVATE FUNCTIONS & WAKES

www.wrekinnews.co.uk · 27

25, 26, 27, 28 and 30 Out and About.indd 2

31/07/2017 13:39

Ticket JUST

T: 01952 820810 62 High Street Newport TF10 7AQ

SPECIAL OFFER! August 50% off a child’s meal with any full paying adult with this advert

Food served Mon - 10am - 3pm Tue-Thu - 10am - 6pm Fri-Sat - 10am - 8pm Sun - 12pm -4pm

(Bookings required for Parties)

Open Late nights till 2am Fri & Sat Live Music every last Friday of the month Look out for our Theme Nights!

BOOK YOUR SPECIAL OCCASION AT THE BARLEY IDEAL VENUE FOR BIRTHDAY PARTIES, CHRISTENINGS, ETC..

Breakfasts Served from 10am - 12pm

NEW MENU

www.thebarleynewport.co.uk

THE

To advertise in

JUST THE TICKET Please call Irene on 01952 522562 or email

irene@plus2media.co.uk

P

Win tickets to Proms and Prosecco

ROMS and Prosecco in the Park takes place at the beautiful Chetwynd Deer Park in Newport on Saturday 9 September.

Timed to coincide with the Last Night of the Proms, the event features Soprano, Emily Haig, who recently performed the National Anthem at the 2017 FA Cup Final and British Grand Prix. Supporting Emily Haig are a variety of soloists and musicians including Cosford Military Wives Choir, Jack Foley, the Camerata of London’s string quartet and a wind quintet from the Amadeus Orchestra, the world’s foremost training orchestra.

Proms and Prosecco in the Park runs from 2- 9pm with live music from 4pm with an array of food stalls, retailers and children’s entertainment as well as bars featuring Gin, Prosecco and Craft Beers.

Concert-goers are encouraged to bring a picnic blanket and hamper, or even a table, chairs and candelabra to settle in for an afternoon of inspiring music and fabulous food, all in stunning parkland which becomes magical at nightfall.

Tickets are available from www.fizzfestivals.com until 31August. Tickets cost £26 or £25 for groups of ten or more. Children aged under 13 go free.

For more details visit www.fizzfestivals.com, email: hello@fizzfestivals.com or telephone 01952 482005.

HOW TO ENTER

Wrekin News has teamed up with Fizz Festivals to offer one lucky reader the chance to win a Family ticket to Proms and Prosecco at Chetwynd Deer Park. All you have to do to enter is send your name, address and daytime telephone number to: Tania Baylis, Proms & Prosecco, Wrekin News, Bridge Road, Wellington, Telford TF1 1RY or email your entry to: tania@plus2media.co.uk - terms and conditions apply, closing date for entries is Wednesday 23 August 2017 - Good Luck!

28 · www.wrekinnews.co.uk 25, 26, 27, 28 and 30 Out and About.indd 3

31/07/2017 14:52

Trucking Live Shropshire is set to become a major attraction when it returns to Oswestry Showground

A

PPEALING TO enthusiasts and families alike, Trucking Live Shropshire will feature trucks on show and for sale, club displays, action arena, trade stands, celebrity guests and more.

A traditional fairground, dodgems and a supersize bouncy castle offers fun for all the family and will keep the kids busy all day long!

Over 300 trucks are expected to join the display including club displays, painted supertrucks, American Big Rigs, fleet displays, classic and vintage vehicles and many more weird and wonderful trucks for visitors to admire!

For those visitors looking for high octane action, a pit-stop at the Main Arena should be on the cards. This year you can see James Smyth’s motorbike

&

and quad stunt show – pure adrenaline pumping entertainment!

The cult-classic Red Dwarf and Coronation Street star turned Radio DJ, Craig Charles will be joining us at Trucking Live this year!

Form erly Trucking Live Shropshire place SHtakes t OOswestry on 23rd- 24th September the TRatUR PSHhe CK4AS. Showground, Shropshire, SY11 SH IRE Adult day tickets advance £12*, gate OW price £14; Children day advance ticket (5-14yrs) £5* (Children under fivewith in association go free); two nights’ family weekend camping advance (Friday and Saturday) £45*, includes show admission for two adults, two children free and evening STRY entertainment. Well OSWE behaved dogs on leads welcome! SHOWGROUND Book online at www.truckinglive.co.uk SY11 4AS *Booking fee applies

&

S

Win tickets to Trucking Live!

24th - 25th September 2017

Wrekin News has teamed up with Trucking Live to offer one lucky reader the chance to win a Family* ticket to Trucking Live Shropshire at the Oswestry Showground. All you have to do to enter is send your name, address and daytime telephone number to: Tania Baylis, Trucking Live Show, Wrekin News, Bridge Road, Wellington, Telford TF1 1RY or email your entry to: tania@ plus2media.co.uk - terms and conditions apply, closing date for entries is Wednesday 23 August 2017 - Good Luck! *A family ticket includes entry for two adults and two childen ages 5-14 years.

For

SHR merly the TRU OPSHIR CK S E HOW

TRADE STANDS

ADVANCE TICKETS truckshows@kelsey.co.uk | HUNDREDS OF TRUCKS Adults: £12 | Children under 15: £5 Family (2 adults & 2 children): £29 Weekend Camping Ticket: £45

| ACT

TRADE STANDS | HUNDREDS OF TRUCKS | ACTION ARENA SHROPSHIRE On the Day Prices: Adult £14 | Child £7 | Family £35

OSWESTRY

S ND, SY11 4A SHOWGROU

24TH

23RD &

ADVANCE TICKETS Truck HOTLINE Truck Entries | Trade St Entries | Trade Stands | Enquiries Sponsorship | Weeke Sponsorship | Weekend Camping ADVANCE TICKETS HOTLINE Truck Entries | Trade Stands | Enquiries SHOW YOUR TRUCK £35 Adult: £10 | Children under 15:| Weekend £5 Sponsorship Camping Family (2 adults & 2 children): £25 Call £45 01406 373421 Weekend Camping Ticket: truckshows@kel Adult: £10 | Children under 15: £5 truckshows@kelsey.co.uk Family (2 adults & 2 children): £25 On the Day Prices: Adult £12 I Child £5 I Family £29 Gates open at 9am. F Weekend Camping Ticket: £45 truckshows@kelsey.co.uk

ADRENALINE TOUR

MOTORCYCLE & QUAD SHOW

ON SHOW

Call 01406 Call 01406 373421

On the Day Prices: Adult £12 I Child £5 I Family £29

IG RIGS

SE TO THE B

GET UP CLO

100s OF TRUCKS

Illustration: Graphicrepublic / Freepik

01959 541444 R E B M 01959 541444 E T P E S N ARENA NDS | ACTIO A T S E D A R |T

Gates open at 9am. Free parking.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH:

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

ALL ATTRACTIONS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. BOOKING CLOSES MIDNIGHT FRIDA

IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALL ATTRACTIONS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. BOOKING CLOSES MIDNIGHT FRIDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 2016.

All attractions are subject to change.

Booking closes Midnight Friday 22 September

WWW.TRUCKINGLIVE .CO.UK www.wrekinnews.co.uk · 29

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31/07/2017 14:05

Ticket JUST

Win tickets to Jungleland!

THE

To advertise in

JUST THE TICKET Please call Irene on 01952 522562 or email

irene@plus2media.co.uk

The Brewery Inn - a family pub with great food and drink

T

HE Brewery Inn is a traditional family pub that serves freshly cooked to order food. It has recently undergone a refurbishment since the sad passing of the previous landlord Roger Hotchkiss and the pub is now run by his daughter Fiona and the same staff team. The new bar area is always well stocked with an impressive drinks range and the specials board is always full of new ideas, alongside the many choices on the extensive menu, including a wide range of vegetarian dishes, plus smaller options for children, OAPs or those wanting a smaller meal. It is very much a family pub where children are always welcome, staff will warm baby milk/food upon request.

There are baby changing facilities and children’s toys to keep little ones amused. Plus children have their own menu with many choices. The pub often caters for family gatherings and parties offering a

free function room. The room can accommodate groups of up to 100 people, and is used for baby showers, christenings, family meals, birthday parties, AGMs, club and group meetings and much more. The pub has an enclosed patio terrace with undercover seating and a lovely view of the river Severn. Dogs are welcome out here and water is always provided. The large car park area has tie rings, a mounting block and fresh water for horses. River Severn day fishing tickets are available at the bar, with many enjoying a day on the river catching large barbell and chub followed by a refreshing pint afterwards. Throughout the year the pub holds many community/charity events such as clairvoyant evenings, family bingo, quizzes, raffles and much more. In the bar area there are large bookcases, selling books to raise money for the Severn Hospice. Good quality books and raffle prizes are always needed.

JUNGLELAND is a jungle themed soft play centre located in Trench, Telford, which has been in operation since 2008.

Over the last 7 years, JUNGLELAND has successfully expanded the facilities to include LAZERLAND, SAFARILAND crazy golf, ALIEN STRIKE tenpin bowling and the new BABY BUTTERFLY sensory room, all designed and installed in-house.

JUNGLELAND has become more than just a soft play centre, but a hive of activity serving the local community on a daily basis. JUNGLELAND offers toddler and pre-school classes, all taught by local, independent businesses. The classes range from ‘Baby Ballet’, ‘Diddy Dance’, ‘Little kickers’, ‘Lingotots’, ‘Heartbeeps’ and ‘Pajama Drama’.

We also offer FREE disabled sessions, held on the first Monday of every month. These sessions are hugely popular as they enable children with disabilities and special needs to interact and play with other children and siblings in a safe, fun and stimulating environment. This evening is attended by local families and groups such as ‘Discs’, ‘Ican2’ and ‘Pods’.

Wrekin News has teamed up with Jungleland to offer one lucky reader the chance to win two children’s tickets. All you have to do to enter is send your name, address and daytime telephone number to: Tania Baylis, Jungleland Tickets, Wrekin News, Bridge Road, Wellington, Telford TF1 1RY or email your entry to: tania@plus2media.co.uk - terms and conditions apply, closing date for entries is Wednesday 23 August 2017 - Good Luck!

Breakfast Served daily from 9am!

The Bre w ery Inn www.breweryinn.co.uk EVENTS · DRINKS · GREAT FOOD FISHING · ACCOMMODATION HORSE & DOG FRIENDLY PATIO TERRACE

The Brewery Inn, High Street, Coalport, Telford TF8 7HZ 01952 581225 · breweryinn@btconnect.com 30 · www.wrekinnews.co.uk 25, 26, 27, 28 and 30 Out and About.indd 5

31/07/2017 14:53

Telfood Feastival returns for 2017 2nd & 3rd September 2017

I

N A REGION renowned globally for its great food, Telford has sometimes been regarded as the poor relation, but in 2016 that all changed.

The first Telfood Feastival attracted over 7000 people into the QE11 Arena for the first Telford Food Festival aka Telfood!

Returning 2nd and 3rd September bigger and better the festival promises to develop on what it has started and make sure that Telford stays well and truly on the foodie map. With the addition of a tasting theatre run by local company SoFood! With all sessions being free entry, our Tasting Theatre follows in the footsteps of the old saying “The proof of the pudding is in the eating”.

Spice school, circus school, cookery school and pottery workshops will all be a fun, educational and hands on experience for all ages. You will be able to

handle exotic creatures from across the globe with Dudley Zoo. We will have also have alpacas and piglets to meet and learn the importance of rare breeds.

For the kids there’s plenty to enjoy with tennis skills, climbing wall, go kart and bubble football, pottery painting and biking skills. For the adults we have over 100 food, drink and craft stalls celebrating the best producers from across the region, joined by tasty street food.

The soundtrack to your weekend is here on our huge music stage.

With a fantastic line-up of unsigned bands, we aim to bring you the best talent from across the region. This eclectic line-up will provide the perfect backdrop for eating, drinking and merrymaking in the sunshine of our awesome park.

Tickets are available now and can be purchased from www.telfood. co.uk. Adults £6.00, children £2 or £13 for a family.

NSC to hold Advice and Guidance Event Four North Shropshire College (NSC) campuses will be holding an Advice and Guidance Event open to everyone considering enrolling at the College on a full, part-time or leisure course this September. The Oswestry, Aspire, Shipley and Walford campuses will be open on Wednesday 30th August from 4pm to 8pm, where the College’s talented and experienced lecturing staff will be on hand to discuss qualifications and options open to school leavers and adults looking to start a course this September.

As well as lecturing staff, there will be staff from the College’s Student Services Department available to discuss travel and financial support options that are available. It is not too late to apply for courses starting this September and take the first steps to shaping your future!

The College offers a vast range of part-time courses such as Access to HE, Accountancy, British Sign Language, Teacher Training,

Floristry, Dog Handling and Languages to name but a few. Full-time courses range from Agriculture and Engineering to Photography, Science, Catering and Construction.

There is a diverse range of leisure courses starting this September including; Beginners Dressmaking, Spanish, Yoga, Beginners IT, Animal Care Workshops, Basic Car Maintenance and Watercolour Painting.

The College offers a successful employability programme for those looking to gain more skills and confidence to get back into the work place. To find out more information, those interested can contact Rosemarie Sellers, Programme Leader via 01691 688050 or email r.sellers@nsc.ac.uk For more information about courses starting this September, please visit www.nsc.ac.uk. You can also apply by calling Reception on 01691 688000 or emailing info@nsc.ac.uk.

Join us in Southwater, QEII Arena

2nd & 3rd Sept 2017

Family, Fun & Food 100+ food, drink & Craft exhibitors, free kids activities, tasting theatre, live music and demonstrations…. Activities for the whole family. £6 adults, £2 kids and £13 families

www.telfood.co.uk

ADVICE & GUIDANCE EVENT

WEDNESDAY 30TH AUGUST 4PM - 8PM

Aspire (Nr Burford), Oswestry Campus, Shipley Campus (Next to Gardenlands) & Walford Campus (Nr Shrewsbury) • Tutors will be available to provide advice throughout the evening • View the facilities and sign up on the night!

• School leavers and Adults welcome • No need to book just drop in between 4pm & 8pm

Whatever your GCSE results, NSC has a course for you!

IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO COME & DISCUSS YOUR FUTURE WITH US 01691 688080 WWW.NSC.AC.UK www.wrekinnews.co.uk · 31

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31/07/2017 15:10

Care & Community

In later years . . .

Age UK backs campaign for Scams Awareness Month

A

A local charity, which supports older people in the county is supporting Scams Awareness Month

GE UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin are backing the campaign by the Citizens Advice Bureau to make us more scam savvy.

An Age UK survey found that 53% of people aged 65 and over have been targeted by fraudsters, and a third who responded to a scam have lost £1,000 or more.

It is estimated that at least 50% of the adult population has been targeted and that UK consumers lost a massive £3.5 billion to scams last year.

Scams can take many forms. As well as ‘older’ scams carried out on people’s doorsteps, fraudsters can target people by online methods,

through the mail, phone calls and texts.

Tactics include befriending and ‘grooming’, seemingly professional documentation and websites, impersonating a bank or the police, and intimidation. Scam victims are often added to a list which is sold on, which can lead to increased victimisation.

Heather Osborne, Chief Executive of Age UK STW, said: “Older people are at special risk of certain types of scam such as doorstep crime, bank and card account takeover, pension liberation and investment fraud, and they may be especially at risk at particular times through personal circumstances, such as social isolation, cognitive impairment, bereavement and

financial pressures. We have produced a useful booklet available for free with advice on how to protect yourself from a wide range of scams, pop into our office in Mardol, Shrewsbury or you can pick one up at any of our charity shops in Shrewsbury, Oswestry and Wellington.”

There are various signs to look out for if you suspect someone is being scammed. Some of the more obvious signs could be regular junk mail or frequent phone calls from strangers.

The Citizens Advice Consumer Service and Action Fraud helpline can offer further advice or call Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin on 01743 233123 or go to: www.ageuk.org.uk/ shropshireandtelford

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33 Adverts.indd 1

30/07/2017 15:51

Care & Community In later years . . .

Older people urged to think ahead with a free home energy check

A

GE UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin is urging people aged 60 plus to think ahead to the colder winter months by offering free home energy checks.

The local charity that supports older people across the county has secured some funding to offer a free advisory service which will help to make homes warmer and could save money on heating bills.

Being cold can be particularly dangerous for older people with Shropshire having one of the highest death rates in the country in colder weather - every year 285 people die from cold-related causes. The local company working with Age UK STW say it’s not just about keeping warm as improved insulation can also keep us cool during the summer months.

Phil Newcombe, Project Manager of Marches Energy Agency, said: “The people I visit are finding the home energy checks an interesting and enjoyable opportunity to think about how their homes work for them. This can be about keeping cool in the summer as well as warm in the winter. Improved insulation of your home can also help to keep the heat out.

Some people have been keen to change energy providers or tariffs, News NEW 17.pdf 1 31/03/2017 14:28:43 others haveWrekin benefi tted from draught proofing of doors and windows. Other

householders have needed help with installing new heating systems and insulation or urgent action on damp and mould or fuel debts.’’

Heather Osborne, Chief Executive of Age UK STW, said: “With all this warm weather we’ve been having it’s difficult for us to think about the colder months, but the home energy check only takes an hour. We are not trying to sell anything, we simply want to offer impartial advice about how to reduce your energy bills and make your home as energy efficient as possible. The scheme was extremely popular in 2016 so I am really pleased we are rolling it out for another year. Last year we visited a number of older people who were desperate for help to reduce their energy bills but didn’t know where to turn, so please do pick up the phone and talk to us.”

If you would like a free Home Energy Check call Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin on 01743 233123.

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To book a FREE home demonstration please call 01952 217151 www.watchalarms.co.uk 34 · www.wrekinnews.co.uk 34 Community.indd 1

30/07/2017 16:32

City watchdog sets deadline date for PPI complaints The City watchdog is to draw a line under the Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) mis-selling scandal with a deadline for complaints set for August 2019.

It will bring to a close a scandal that has cost Britain’s biggest lenders more than £30bn in provisions to cover compensation payouts, with the bill still rising - though at a slower pace than before.

The final deadline for complaints of 29 August 2019 was set by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The FCA said it would launch a twoyear awareness campaign this August to encourage consumers to consider taking action.

Chief executive Andrew Bailey said: “Putting in place a deadline and campaign will mean people who were potentially missold PPI will be prompted to take action rather than put it off.

“We believe that two years is a reasonable time for consumers to decide whether they wish to make a complaint.

“We have carefully considered the feedback we received and we still believe that introducing a deadline for PPI complaints and a communications campaign warning of the deadline will benefit consumers.”

Banks are still putting aside billions to

cover the costs of compensating those who were mis-sold PPI products but Barclays and Lloyds saw their 2016 profits surge as the provisions were lower than the year before.

Overall Lloyds has made provisions totalling £17bn so far, with HSBC’s bill standing at just over £3bn, Barclays at £8.4bn, and Royal Bank of Scotland on £4.9bn.

It is estimated that up to now only around half of those eligible to claim have actually done so, and for many the issue is that they did not know that they had been sold a policy, or that it was so long ago they have simply forgotten.

If between 1990 and 2010 you took out a loan, credit card, store card or mortgage it is possible that you may be due compensation which for many runs into £thousands. With the deadline now set I fully expect that the Banks may well be swamped, and I strongly urge you to act quickly to make sure that you do not miss out.

Acorn Claim Assist is unique in the fact that I personally deal with your claim from start to finish, which includes a free initial consultation, in the comfort of your own home, to establish if you have a valid claim, so what do you have to lose?

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Have you taken out a loan, credit card, finance agreement or mortgage in the last 20 years?

You may have been mis-sold a Payment Protection Plan (PPI) and could be due compensation of hundreds or possibly thousands of pounds!

www.wrekinnews.co.uk · 35

35 Acorn.indd 1

30/07/2017 17:00

The Tipple! FOOD Love Fo POLITICS: ENERGISED BY BREXIT MISCHIEF FOR THE by

Sue Ladds

GREATER GOOD!

A

ND SO to the Shrewsbury Flower Show again. For several years now I have enjoyed helping with judging the wine show which involves turning up late Thursday evening and tasting many entries. It’s a bit of an old Comrades Club, meeting old friends and sadly each year losing one or two to the Grim Reaper or because illness has overtaken them. However entry standards are always high and the local Wine Circle runs the show extremely well.

For those of you who have never been, the Shrewsbury Flower Show is a must see, a glowing tribute to the many exhibitors and organizers.

According to a recent interview with Princes William and Harry their mother Diana encouraged them to ‘be naughty but don’t get caught’.

Around the Royal Estates the possibilities must have been endless.

Well, my loyal reader I’m hereby encouraging a little mischief. For the greater good of course!

The crime figures are going up as more people use the 101 number to report non-emergency crime. The original name for this service (allegedly) ‘The we would love to help you but we’re too busy on very important matters service’ meant that calls took a long time to be answered and it’s rumoured that some early callers died laughing. So it’s known as 101. The police commissioner John Campion (how did we manage without him?) encourages the use of 101 for the police to better understand the levels and whereabouts of street crime to ensure future staffing levels.

So please, report crime on 101. Every dropped piece of litter, vandalism, violence, graffitti, cycles on pavements, every small crime you witness ring in to report. Don’t make up stories, you don’t need to.

You may think it pointless but if it means better police funding for our area then its a positive result. If it’s merely an embarrassment to the police, well thats a result too.

Be careful what you wish for, Mr Campion.

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by

Professor Ralph Early

F

OR many people the word ‘food’ means just that: food is food. It is about nutrition and in our modern world food often equates to filling a car’s petrol tank: topping up with the energy needed to get through the day. However, the word food has many facets. It invokes images that go beyond basic sustenance, for example, when thoughts of food products and meals come to mind, such as favourite foods that provide hedonic pleasure or calm us when we are emotionally fragile. Here chocolate is pertinent. These thoughts can recall blissful associations with food, but they may also stimulate disquiet over unhealthy food choices and badly constructed diets. Food arouses diverse considerations.

If we look beyond nutrition and gastronomic pleasure, we can see that food fulfils multiple roles in our lives.

It is a lubricator of human interaction.

It expresses who we are socially and economically by the choices we make.

It can communicate something of our education and skills, particularly when it comes to cooking from scratch versus existing on empty calorie, convenience foods.

So, food is not just food. It is a multidimensional subject and a foundation upon which our lives and cultures are built. Even so, many people take food for granted. They fail to understand what food really means, or see the wider issues that food represents. Remarkably, few realise that while food embodies very many things of importance to our lives, it is also an intensely political issue and will become more so as the 21st century progresses, with food security and sustainability taking centre stage.

Food and politics have always

intertwined. Whoever controls food and the means of production controls the people. This is a constant. Take an example from history. Following the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, ownership of land went significantly into the hands of the Crown with parcels allocated to barons who, as land-holders, maintained peace in the provinces on behalf of the King.

In return for providing food to the developing aristocracy and landed gentry, English peasants were allowed to farm the land now owned by foreign invaders. The political power of the Norman Monarchy was reinforced by its control over food and the source of production.

In more recent times and for much of the 20th century those who owned the means of primary production in Britain, the farmers and land owners, exerted substantial political power because they exercised extensive control over the food supply. Things have changed. Political power has been transferred from the production end of the supply chain to the retail end where supermarkets control access to the food marketplace and consumers’ purses. This ensures ability to influence politicians and governments and adding to the power imbalance in the food system major food manufacturing corporations also exert far-reaching political power, because they are large-scale employers and daily keep millions of citizens fed.

Although the topic of food politics goes unnoticed by most people, consumers will increasingly feel its effects as the consequences of Brexit work their way through the fabric of the economy. Arla Foods has already warned that by next Christmas butter prices could double. This is partly

36 · www.wrekinnews.co.uk 36, 37 Wine and Dine.indd 1

30/07/2017 18:38

ve Food

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DELUXE CLEANING ALSO AVAILABLE because of EU policy seeking to reduce milk surpluses and increase dairy farm incomes: a morally and economically worthy objective. However, the Brexit-caused effect is that the value of the British pound has fallen since the EU referendum and British agricultural produce is now more attractive to European food companies. Quite simply, British cream is being exported because Brexit has made it cheaper for continental dairies to buy, which pushes up food prices in the UK. For students of food politics Brexit will bring fascinating times, but this may not be so for consumers: especially if prices continue to rise, shortages occur and supermarket shelves can’t be stocked. Already Brexit-related food politics is affecting fresh produce growers who have difficulty harvesting produce now that many of the 85,000 seasonal EU workers that have kept us fed for decades are remaining at home. Meat processors, bakeries and many other food businesses worry they will lose highly skilled migrant employees because the weak pound has made working in the UK less attractive. Haulage companies express anxiety that leaving the EU’s customs union will cause excessive delays when importing foodstuffs through Channel ports, e.g. fresh produce from Spain, such that when it arrives in the UK it will no longer be fresh.

Most British consumers are unaware that food politics influences their lives. It is however deeply embedded within our food system. The interplay between the food industry, speculators in London finance houses and the Westminster political classes creates a food politics mix that constantly affects what we eat. Brexit and the multitude of uncertainties it brings will throw many new and often capricious factors into the food politics arena. Consumers must hope that things will turn out alright in the end, after Britain leaves the EU, and that they will continue to have access to a plentiful, affordable and safe food supply. Disconcertingly though, and in spite of the political Brexiteers’ reassurances that Brexit will bring only golden opportunities for Britain, many food industry experts and economists are not so sure when it comes to the food on our tables.

Ralph Early is Professor of Food Industry in the Department of Food Science and Agri-Food Supply Chain Management in Harper Adams University, a Council Member of the Food Ethics Council and a member of the Guild of Food Writers.

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36, 37 Wine and Dine.indd 2

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> Pictured Lavender and Marigolds and

home

Begonias.

garden and

Bedding plants in full flower

T

HE bedding plants in your garden should be in full flower and to prolong their life check them regularly and remove any dead flowers. This will stimulate them to produce new flowers.

If you want your garden to look particularly attractive for a special occasion any gaps can be filled with a plant which is already in flower or alternatively with foliage colour to create that special interest. The foliage option will last longer than any flowers.

Lavender bushes should be trimmed as soon as they have finished flowering but do remember that lavender is one of the few plants which will not stand hard pruning.

The old wood is ‘blind’ (does not have live buds which can grow) and so for this reason only lightly trim and preferably only the new growth by two thirds. This will maintain the plant for longer but it will still gradually increase in size each year.

Trained trees should have a summer prune, this is necessary to keep them in shape and any fruit

of Lilyhurst Plant Centre

will be more prominent so easier to check when ready for picking. This should only be a light pruning as a hard prune now will kick start the tree into a flush of growth which will probably not have sufficient time to harden before winter and will, therefore, be killed by any early frosts. The danger here is not from the frost damage which can easily be removed but these damaged areas are a weakness which allows disease to enter.

As fruit bushes crop they can be pruned. With red currents and gooseberries, once cropped, the bushes should be thinned by removing some of the older branches to allow new growth which will carry future crops.

Whenever you walk around the garden it is wise to have a hoe nearby so that weeds can easily be eliminated. At this time of the year a quick swipe with the hoe will sever roots from shots and the latter can be left on the soil surface to dry in the sun.

If you are going away do remember to heavily water any containers and if possible group then

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in a shady spot to try and preserve any moisture as much as possible.

This also applies to hanging baskets unless you have someone willing to water them for you. Those baskets

with round bottoms can be stood on buckets or pots. Mow your lawns at the last possible moment so that an untidy lawn does not broadcast the fact that you are away.

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38 · www.wrekinnews.co.uk 38, 39 Home and Garden.indd 1

30/07/2017 16:39

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www.wrekinnews.co.uk · 39

38, 39 Home and Garden.indd 2

30/07/2017 16:39

Wellington Cricket Club hosted its annual Ladies Day in aid of Severn Hospice

Your Community

Gin Tasting Evening On Friday 8th September 2017 Moonshine and Fuggles of Ironbridge will allow you to taste a selection of their amazing gins, paired with the best mixers and garnishes.

Selection of Nibbles. £25.00 per person to include, gins, mixers and nibbles.

To reserve your tickets please call the Buckatree Hall on

W

ITH Ascot Races as the theme, 100 Ladies were welcomed to Orleton Park with arrival drinks in the Marquee before being seated upstairs in the newly refurbished Club House.

With an action packed afternoon planned a four course meal started the afternoons events followed by a Grand Raffle, Auction, Themed Cocktail Bar with our very own Jockeys as Waiters and prizes for Best Dressed.

01952 641821 Registered Charity No 1148269

Fashion Show On Thursday 19 October 2017

on day ail: o t nia or em o.uk 2 l Ta Cal 52256 edia.c t on 2 m ven 5 2 9 s e 01 @plu our nity a y i n e u d ta u m m d ncl to i our Co eboar c i Not

Fashion brand Captain Tortue will showcase their new collection with the opportunity to try and buy. £5.00 per person to Tea, coffee and a selection of cakes. At The Buckatree Hall Hotel, The Ercall, Wellington, Telford TF6 5AL. To reserve your tickets please call the Buckatree Hall on

01952 641821 Registered Charity No 1148269

Organiser Kaye Simmonds said this year has been a great success which is down to the Ladies that purchased tickets and the local sponsors who continue to show their support. Special thanks goes to this years headline sponsor Rob Cave at The Carpet Bank for his very valued contribution, Also Barclays, Harwood Estate Agents, Henshalls Insurance, Wrekin College, Wrekin Housing Trust, Peony Flowers, Rybrook Shrewsbury, Oak Travel, Morrisons Wellington, Tesco Wellington, Simmonds Transport, Heaven Skin Care, Shropshire Homes, Eco Electrical plus many more local companies who’s valued support helps make this Charity Event a huge success.

A cheque for £3,000 has been presented to Severn Hospice.

Kaye Simmonds

Third Telford Wildlife Forum

The Wrekin Forest Volunteers, Telford’s Shropshire Wildlife Trust volunteers, are holding their third Telford Wildlife Forum of 2017 at 7:30pm on Tuesday 25 July at Horsehay Village Hall, Bridge Road, Horsehay, Telford, TF4 2NF. They are having an illustrated talk titled; ‘The Nature of Wyre’, by Rosemary Winnall, naturalist and co-author of the book; ‘The Nature of Wyre – a wildlife rich forest in the heart of Britain’, and which will be a celebration of it’s fabulous wildlife.

There will also be a round-up of local conservation news.

Entrance is £2 for Shropshire Wildlife Trust members and £3 for non-members, which includes free coffee, tea and biscuits.

For further details please contact Stephen Mitchell on 01952 590820 or 07842 137410 or Rob Doran on 01952 407021 or 07926 387733.

You can also follow Shropshire Wildlife Trust on Twitter - @ShropsWildlife, or visit their website: www.shropshirewildlifetrust.org.uk

40 · www.wrekinnews.co.uk 40 Community Notice Board.indd 1

31/07/2017 16:25

Cancer in pets

T

HE word ‘cancer’ strikes fear into the heart of many pet owners, and unfortunately it’s something we see all too commonly. However, if caught early there are often treatment options available to help slow (if not cure) progression of the disease and ensure that a good quality of life is maintained.

The correct term for cancer is ‘neoplasia’ which means ‘an abnormal growth of new cells’.

Tumours can be ‘benign’ which means that the tumour won’t spread to other parts of the body, and does not usually destroy or alter surrounding tissue. An example of this that we see commonly is a ‘lipoma’, which is a benign tumour composed of fatty tissue.

Sometimes however, tumours are ‘malignant’ which means that they can spread (metastasize) to other sites in the body, or invade and destroy tissues. Malignant tumours tend to grow quickly. An example of a malignant tumour is an ‘osteosarcoma’, which is a tumour of bone.

Cancer is something that can affect any part of the body, and hence can cause many different symptoms. For example, cancer affecting the gastrointestinal system can cause loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea and weight loss.

There are a variety of tests used to help detect cancer including blood tests, x-rays and ultrasound scans. Samples can often be taken from a suspected tumour either with a needle or by biopsy to determine what type of cells are present, and to help decide what treatment may be the most appropriate.

Depending on the type and location of neoplasia, surgery may be a suitable treatment, for example to remove a tumour on the skin, and this is often curative. Chemotherapy is also available for animals, just as for people, and the cancer we use this for most commonly is lymphoma. We do not use as high doses as in people as the side effects are not tolerable for animals. Therefore the aim of chemotherapy is usually to induce a period of ‘remission’ (where we see no signs of the cancer) rather than to be curative, although remission can last for many months to years in some cases. Radiotherapy is also available for animals, just as for people, although this is at specialist centres only rather than your local veterinary practice.

Pets do regularly get non-cancerous lumps and bumps, but it’s always worthwhile to have them checked by your vet as there are more options available to treat cancer if caught early.

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Dr Rachel Saunders

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41 Severn Edge Vets.indd 1

30/07/2017 16:35

Syd

Taylor

The region’s nu mber one motoring journalist

A TRUE DELIGHT A

friend who was a long-time acquaintance of the Seventh Duke of Earl once told me that the old aristocrat - a man of strong views - never held with modern medicine. A keen motorist of the old school, the late duke had a stable of desirable automobiles, believing in the efficacy of metal machinery as a holistic alternative to aspirins, powders and poultices. In particular, he was an advocate of what the French might call ‘plein air’ motoring as a restorative cure-all for all kinds of medical complaints. His remedy for ailments was simple: get in a car and take the top off.

By this he meant not the process of preparing for the stethoscope but rather the more inviting prospect of driving off with the top down regardless of weather - indeed, the colder and wetter the better. For the venerable duke top down motoring amounted to a pick-me-up guaranteed to put ‘the flu’ to flight and hand a winter cold its cards.

So, when I woke with a snuffle and rolled out of bed with a groan I suddenly remembered I had a convertible car on test - a heaven-sent opportunity to test the old dukes theory. And it couldn’t hurt that the car was a convertible Ford Mustang 2.3 EcoBoost. Certainly not a car to be sneezed at.

“Wait a minute” said a know-all neighbour when I told him the apparent contradictory truth

that the opulent-looking sizeable piece of roadgobbling automobile came with a label suggestive of sandals and sustainability.

“You mean to tell me” continued the neighbour “That this is a Ford Mustang with Eco-Boost credentials. How can this be?”

“A simple matter” I replied “Of mind over muscle. In today’s turbulent world a little turbocharged sense goes a long way - and quickly.

While, of course, at the same time saving fuel and thereby prolonging the longevity of the planet.”

“But is it quick?” was all he wanted to know. I put him right at once.

“This Mustang packs four-pot punch of the intoxicating sort.” Suddenly I was temporarily incapacitated by a sneeze that lifted my neighbour off his feet and deposited him on top of a garden gnome with a pointed hat. I left him where he lay, just in range of the lawn sprinkler and took to the road beneath a bright summer sky.

I was eager to prove that a Mustang is better than a mustard bath for unblocking nasal passages - and as for unblocking the neighbourhood passageways - I was heartened to discover how a car so impressively designed for pure motoring pleasure exerted a healthy influence on other road users as they smiled and submitted to its evident superiority.

Critics may carp that American cars are too big for British roads but at the wheel of the Mustang traffic parted magically. Of course, the obvious

FORD MUSTANG 2.3 EC OBOOST CONVERTIBLE 6 SPEED MANUAL

reply to such critics is to point out the size of vehicles on the school run.

If ever there was a ‘must have’ car for today it’s the Ford Mustang - a tonic and a treat encouraging you to enjoy yourself, to live a little, to laugh a lot and indulge in motoring delights. And take it from me it’s luxury you can afford. It’s so competitively priced at £37,145. Verily ‘tis a ‘stang’ that doesn’t sting you in the pocket - and boy: is it rapid! 60mph in about 5.5 seconds and oodles of torque for safe overtaking - so you don’t have to overuse the super slick six speed gearbox. The 2.3 EcoBoost turbocharged 4 cylinder engine gallops along with 313 horses at its beck and call to take you to 145mph. And you can select a driving mode from ‘normal’ to ‘track’.

A car like this is not about tight handling and quick turning. It’s about straightline velocity. ‘Its one purpose is your true delight’ (A Shakesperian quote used by Billy Butlin).

It looks different in a debonair way, letting you promote its individuality without incurring spiteful envy. In a word it

42 · www.wrekinnews.co.uk 42, 43 Syd Taylor.indd 1

30/07/2017 21:55

Male Buckatree Hall Hotel staff put their best feet forward

M

ALE staff at a Telford Hotel have walked a mammoth one million steps between them to celebrate national Men’s Health Week.

Bosses at Buckatree Hall Hotel and its two sister properties, Carlton Park Hotel in Rotherham and Shap Wells Hotel in Cumbria, encouraged their staff to put their best foot forward by investing in pedometers and starting a competition.

Each hotel kept track of their own steps and awarded a prize to the most active.

At Buckatree Food and Beverage Supervisor Gavin Gibbs walked the most steps - 170,433.

Gavin, 37, said: “I really enjoyed being active and it was satisfying to see the steps quickly tallying up on my pedometer.

“I certainly walked further as I discovered my colleagues were catching up with me.”

They wanted to mark the occasion to highlight the importance of men’s health following the death of Julian Parkhurst, General Manager of Shap Wells hotel, who suffered a heart attack almost three years ago.

Wayne Jenson, General Manager of Buckatree Hall, said: “We are always keen to encourage staff to exercise and it’s been a fun way to promote a serious concern.

“We value the health of our staff and guests and are still campaigning to get a defibrillator based here in case anyone visiting or nearby at the Wrekin is in need of one.”

For more information about the Buckatree Hotel, see: www.buckatreehallhotel.com or call 01952 641821.

Local art on display at exhibition

invites respect.

Undoubtedly much of this is down to the enduring success of the Mustang brand which since its conception has roped in classic cool credentials all for itself.

Is a Mustang without a V8 mill the motoring equivalent of a T bone steak without mustard? I say let others babble on about burbling exhausts and The Devil’s music. For me the proof of the pudding is in the eating. This 2.3 Mustang has the power to please while boasting an economy that V8 advocates can only dream of (over 34mpg ).

At this point: a brief medical bulletin. Those keen to know if this cool convertible banished my cold should know that I set out sniffling and came back smiling. The placebo effect? No. Mustang medicine. A must-have tonic whatever the weather.

Wellington Methodist Church Art Group held their recent annual exhibition on Friday 7 and Saturday 8 July at Wellington Methodist Church. Lots of wonderful drawings and paintings were on display and the group had a very successful and enjoyable event.

Pictured at the opening are: Liz Doody (art tutor), Denis Allen Wellington Mayor, Stephen Reynolds Telford Mayor and Barbara Murray. The art group meet at the church on Tuesdays during term time. For more details please contact Barbara Murray on 07592 881108 or email: barbaraqsc@gmail.com www.wrekinnews.co.uk · 43

42, 43 Syd Taylor.indd 2

31/07/2017 16:20

Lawley Primary School in bid to win £10k makeover

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HEMS LTD Harley Leonard, Taylor Biggs, Lennon Holmes, Abigail Thomas and Kiera Harris all from Year 5 at Lawley Primary School in Telford.

A TELFORD school is calling for votes from the local community after being shortlisted in its bid to win a £10,000 national competition.

Lawley Primary School is down to the last six junior schools in the country in the Dulux Smarter Spaces Competition - but it now needs help in the public vote part of the programme to ensure a chance of victory.

If successful, a team of experts will come in and offer advice on transforming an area of the school into a ‘smarter space’, which will be based on a design submitted as part of the competition.

Lawley Primary School spokesperson Deborah Dodds said: “To be one of only six schools across the country to be shortlisted in this competition is truly wonderful news.

“We have been selected from hundreds of entries - but we now need to crank up the campaign and get people voting for is if we are to have a chance of winning the £10,000.

“The school submitted a story based on ideas from Year 5 pupils, outlining how they want to use their entrance hall as a space which makes staff, pupils and visitors feel happy and bright when entering the school.

“To vote for us and help make our dream come true, people should visit www. schoolofdreams.co.uk or visit Lawley Primary’s Facebook page to access the link.

“The vote opens is open now and will remain open until September 8.”

The Dulux Smarter Spaces Competition 2017 will produce two winners - one primary school and one secondary school. Each one will be awarded £10,000 to spend on the design and decoration by using the skills of Dulux’s own design experts.

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44 · www.wrekinnews.co.uk 44 Home Services.indd 1

30/07/2017 22:46

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30/07/2017 16:50

Sport WREKIN NEWS

email your sports story to: james@plus2media.co.uk

WELLINGTON FACE SURVIVAL BATTLE

W

ELLINGTON face an uphill struggle to survive in Division One, especially now Samit Gohil has returned to India. The overseas professional suffered a desperately unlucky hand injury very early in the season. It never fully recovered. This is a bitter blow for Wellington’s survival hopes, not only because they will miss his contributions with bat and ball but also because league rules prevent clubs replacing overseas professionals during the season.

On a brighter note, Worcestershire’s Jack Shantry has played three games and Jack Twigger has recovered from his hamstring injury.

However, the truth is, July was a pretty dismal month for Wellington as they slumped to the bottom of the table.

The first game in July was away at Smethwick and saw Jack Shantry make his first appearance.

Smethwick scored 195-8 with Wendell Wagner taking three for 51 and Shantry claiming two wickets along with Martin Delaney. Dan Lloyd replied with 46 and while other batsman made starts no one could stay with him and eventually Wellington were bowled out for 169. This defeat saw Wellington fall into the relegation zone for the first time this season.

Next game at home to Himley saw Wellington bat out for a losing draw. Himley were restricted to 233-6, mainly thanks to Jack Shantry and Samit Gohil, each taking three wickets. At tea that looked a gettable total. However, Wellington lost regular wickets and when Samit Gohil was out for 97, the ninth wicket to fall, the last pair had to hang on for a losing draw.

Batting first against Walmley, Wellington scored

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Cricket round-up with Fraser Watson 227-6. Samit Gohil top scored with 66 but there were notably contributions from Sam Lloyd (35) and Matthew Tilt (37*). Jack Twigger returned after being side-lined for two months and bowled well but Samit Gohil underlined his importance to the side by taking four for 31.

Walmley were reduced > Samit Gohil - a big to 125-7 and promptly loss to Wellington ‘shut up shop’. With only Picture by John Cutts

Amateurs appeal for Under 13 footballers Wellington Amateurs Football Club are looking for young footballers to join their Under 13 squad for this season. If you are in years 7 or 8 at school you will qualify.

Interested in joining the Ams, then give our manager Andy Evans a call on 07470 196285.

FIXTURES FOR AUGUST Wellington’s fight for survival begins at home to Tamworth 5th August, home to Bridgnorth 12th August, away to Bromsgrove 19th August, home to Moseley 26th and finally away to Attock on 28th August. All games begin at 12 noon.

eleven runs being scored in last twenty overs the Walmley innings reminded everyone why the idea of straight win-lose matches is gaining momentum. Nonetheless, a valuable16 points to Wellington.

After a freakish rain storm the game against Leamington was reduced to 24 overs. It also marked the first game without Samit Gohil.

Leamington briskly amassed 122-7 with Martin Delaney claiming three wickets. Despite making a good fist of it Wellington were 30 runs short and the game ended in a draw.

Even with a heavy loss to Barnards Green, Wellington can take a few positives from the game. Jack Twigger found his form taking five wickets and Sam Lloyd continued his good form, scoring a half century. However, Worcestershire’s George Rhodes scored 99 for Barnards Green to take the game away from Wellington, who were eventually well beaten by over 100 runs.

Wellington are only twelve points from safety and have eight games to close the deficit.

New Telford boss Edwards is ready for the challenge ahead There was shock at the news of the departure of popular managerial duo Rob Smith and Larry Chambers from AFC Telford United, writes Lez Dean.

The rapid appointment of ex-Wolves and Aston Villa player Rob Edwards was even more surprising.

The move to replace Smith and Chambers has been greeted with mixed emotions from fans whilst others see this as a possible chance to break away from the depressing cycle of decline that has pervaded at the club for the past few years.

It is a risky business trying to make judgments on the potential of any given club by studying friendly fixtures. Throw into the mix the new coach factor and the task becomes nigh on impossible. However, it is apparent that the new boss is determined to employ a less direct style of play than his predecessors. Perhaps predictably, in the pre-season encounters to date matches against the more gifted sides, Aston Villa and Wolves under 23’s has seen the Bucks make little headway losing 4-0 and 1-0 respectively. Opposition from lower leagues were dismissed comfortably, Haughmond 4-0 and Wolves Sporting 5-0. Whilst a meeting with

southern league Hereford, the most comparable standard to that in which the Bucks will compete, ended 0-0.

Telford’s new style is pleasing on the eye and refreshing to see but still lacks a vital ingredient when facing more defensively adept opponents.

Edwards footballing philosophy is admirable but lacking the very same thing that scuppered the previous regime, the lack of a cutting edge or an instinctive goal-scorer. Bucks fans wait expectantly to see if Mr Edwards can come up with the goods and so ensure better times ahead.

46 · www.wrekinnews.co.uk 46 Sport.indd 1

31/07/2017 16:19

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