FREIGHT TRAFFIC THROUGH WELFORD
Notes from the recent Parish Council Meeting
Concern was expressed at about the high levels of pollution when the High
Street is
grid-locked which may not be reflected in the monitoring methods.
BRUNTINGTHORPE PROVING GROUND There have been surges, during the last month,
of transporter movements of cars to and from this transit depot for used cars.
Harborough District Council will be informed of periods of increased numbers
of transporters through Welford
FREIGHT TRAFFIC THROUGH WELFORD A letter from Bob Seery, Northants County
Council Cabinet member with responsibility for highways reported on a meeting
in Leicester with officers and counterparts from Leicestershire County Council.
Councillor Seery had emphasised the overriding need for urgent action to be
taken and had stressed that the most effective manner to address the problem
of heavy goods through Welford would be a weight restriction. However, whilst
sympathetically appreciating the Welford situation, Leicestershire opposed
'any proposals which could have a similar adverse effect on any of the adjoining
villages over the boundary within their area.' Leics representatives also
anticipated substantial opposition to legal confirmation for a weight restriction
through Welford from the County Council, haulage representatives, the Highways
Agency, police and also from local communities.
The Parish Council considered other possible courses of action listed by Bob
Seery which had been suggested during the years of consultation including
traffic lights on the river bridge or on the road within the village, etc
. However, none of these was thought to address the problem adequately.
It was pointed out that a temporary weight restriction for the duration of
the reconstruction of Junction 19 (M1/M6-A14) had already been agreed together
with a review, following the completion of the work, of its effects. WAG representa¬tive
Geoff Woolley reminded the meeting that there had been a total of 6 weeks
of local road closures of the A5199 during the last three years and 'no com¬plaints
had been received.'
A joint letter will be sent from the Welford Action Group, the Parish Council
and Catherine Boardman, the County Councillor, urging the County Council to
improve the surface of the road in High Street to reduce the effects of noise
and vibration on the residents of High Street and to pursue the imposition
of a weight restriction on the A5199.
WELFORD PARISH COUNCIL INVITES YOU TO
THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
ON Thursday 1st May 2008 AT 7.30pm
IN THE VILLAGE HALL
The Parish Council has invited representatives from Biffa to update us on
activities at the landfill site and also our local Police officer to let us
know what the Police are able to do in our area.
We are inviting all villagers and representatives from all the clubs and organisations
in the village to come to the above meeting to hear what our speakers have
to say and to ask questions or raise any issues.
The annual meeting is an opportunity to bring up any matter which concerns
the Parish and not just those matters which directly relate to our speakers.
THE EVENTS CALENDAR IS BACK
At last, the village events calendar is back!
You can now enter your event in the calendar for all to see and avoid the
clashes between organisations that have been occurring since the demise of
the calendar.
This new facility is being provided by Welford Garage. Please use it for all
village events.
Thanks to Steve and Pete for reinstating this service.
SOME NOTES FROM THE WELFORD PARISH COUNCIL MEETINGS
of 28th February and 27 March 2008
PLAYING FIELD
TENNIS COURTS - a parishioner complained about the use of the courts by non-members
of the tennis club for activities such as climbing on the practice wall, riding
bikes, etc and making a great deal of noise. There are now two unlocked gates
in the wire mesh fence surrounding the courts. The complainant was asked to
report her complaints to the tennis club which is responsible for the courts
and to let the parish council know if the situation does not improve.
THE FENCE around the young children's area, which is repeatedly vandalised,
has been surveyed and a quotation received for fixing the uprights using coach
bolts for £1 360. To install a metal fence, similar to that of the main
fence of the field would cost c£4 500. Councillor Nigel Brotherton will
reinstate a section of fence using coach bolts to test whether it is vandalproof,
THE YOUTH AND COMMUNITY CENTRE will be reminded that vehicles should not be
taken on to the playing field.
A quotation has been sought to replace part of the Spinney fence,
A CCTV camera is to be installed on the Youth and Community Centre to deter
vandalism and anti-social behaviour on the playing field.
DASH - a voluntary service to keep the elderly and vulnerable safe in their
own homes will be holding a roadshow in Welford Village Hall on Wednesday
30 April 2008,. 2,00-4.00pm
AIR AMBULANCE Changes to Daventry District Council textile re-cycling scheme
will benefit from this service which will receive £50 per ton of textiles
collected in special bags on 21 April, 27 July, 27 October and 26 January.
DOG FOULING A letter to all householders will ask dog-owners to be responsible
for cleaning up after their dogs. There are several bins in the village. They
will be reminded that dog fouling is illegal and subject to fines of a minimum
of £50 and a maximum of £1 000. Villagers will be asked to report
instances of dog fouling to the clerk, Pauline Vann,
01604 740774.
BUS SERVICES Councillor Michael Lockwood said Welford pensioners had com¬plained
that the introduction of free bus passes on 1 April will cost them twice as
much to go shopping in Market Harborough. This is because when they travel
to Harborough on the 9,00am bus from Welford and return at 12.10pm using their
present pass they have to pay only £1.00. However, the new free pass
cannot be used until 9.30am. If they continue to use the 9.00am bus -the next
one is not until 11.20am - they will have the pay half of the normal fare,
ie £2.00. Northants County Council will be asked if the 9.00am bus,
which in the past, has often been late, can be re-scheduled to leave Welford
at 9.30am.
THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING which will be held in the Village Hall on Thursday
1 May, starts at 7.30pm. This is a chance for villagers to raise any issues
concerning the parish. Also present will be a representative from Biffa to
give an update on the landfill site and also the local police officer to let
villagers know what the police are able to do in the local area.
ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR A Youth Involvement Officer from Northants County Council
Connections organisation will be invited to discuss with the Parish Council
measures to address the problem of anti-social behaviour by disinter¬ested
youth in the village.
A resident complained about dangerous driving of mopeds and a car in West
End. He requested a CCTV camera to record the activities of youth congregating
out¬side the Youth and Community Centre gates. It was said that some of
the mopeds were leased solely for young people to get to work or college and
'not for larking about on in village streets'. The leasing organisation will
be asked to remind youngsters of the terms of their leases.
HIGHWAYS
A deep hole in High Street has been repaired by Atkins, which has been informed
that the work is unsatisfactory.
The demolition of a large part of a garden wall at The Square was witnessed
by Councillor Jill Smyth and immediately reported to the police. The damage
was caused by a lorry attempting to do a U turn at the bottom of High Street.Speedwatch
In spite of extensive publicity Councillor Michael Lockwood has regretfully
abandoned his attempt to organise a community speedwatch as he has been unable
to recruit any volunteers from the village to help him.
Leaking Water Main The stream of water in High Street was eventually stopped,
after running for 4 weeks, on 29 March. In spite of frequent reports, including
one by the Highways authority on 4 March, no action was taken until 12 March
when it was discovered that the source of the leak was not in High Street.
Although Anglian Water undertook to deal with the leak on 18 March, the work
was not carried out until 28 March, following a telephone call from the Harborough
Mail on 27 March.
PLANNING
Planning permissions by Daventry District Council
DA/2007/1286 10 Avon Fields, Welford for single storey and front extension,
raise height of roof and insert front dormers to form bedrooms and roof space.
Refusal of Planning Permission by Daventry District Council
DA/2007/1321 Change of use from photographic studio to residential (resubmission),
Doctor's Barn, Northampton Road, Welford. Reason: Insufficient evidence that
a robust marketing exercise had been carried out to sell the property,
Planning permissions considered by the Parish Council
DA/2008/0078 Construction of detached double garage with self-contained annexe
above. 19 High Street, Welford
Parish Council response: The Parish Council objects to this application for
the following reasons:
District Council policy on backland development should be applied, ie single
storey in height. The privacy of the neighbouring property, No 17, will be
compromised as all the windows of the proposed first-floor annexe will face
towards this property.
There will be no amenity space for the residents of the proposed self-contained
above the garage.
The proposed building, although within the curtilage of No 19 High Street,
would be an isolated, separate development from No 19. There is concern that
if per¬mission is given for this application the building could be sold
at any time as a separate entity.
DA/2008/0177 19A High Street, Welford Demolition of existing outbuilding and
construction of detached dwelling. It was noted that planning permission for
the conversion of the outbuilding was given on 18 December 2007 but a sub¬sequent
survey has revealed that it is structurally unsound. The current application
is for the the demolition of the outbuilding and rebuilding of a house exactly
to the plan of the conversion application. Concern was expressed that a survey
should have been made before the first application was made and that as a
new building the application would contravene the District Council policy
on backland development being preferably single storey.
WELFORD SPORTSFIELD ASSOCIATION has been awarded a further grant of £1
500 by the Parish Council in addition to that already awarded for the same
amount for replacement of its heating and hot water system in the pavilion
on the sportsfield.
THE POCKET PARK has been awarded a grant of £775 by the District Council
for resurfacing of the path through the park.
FINANCE Bank statement at 1 February 2008 £13 942. Receipts: £225
from Morleys Allotment Association; Interest- £116.98. Payment: £313.09
for maintenance of street lights.
THE NEXT MEETING of the Parish Council will be on Thursday 24 April 2008 in
the Chapel School Room in West End at 7.30pm. The change of venue is because
the WADS will be performing their spring production in the Village Hall.
PH
THE WELCOME CLUB
We were sad to hear of the death of Joyce Nieland who was a staunch member
of the club for very many years. She will always be remembered, particularly
for her enthusiasm in selling raffle tickets for the club. Our thoughts go
to Wendy, Tom, Rob and Richard at this sad time.
Our good wishes were offered and a presentation made to Jean Tyrell for all
her sterling work as club secretary. We are glad she has agreed to stay on
the committee. We welcome Eunice Buffery as our new secretary.
A generous donation to the club was received, made by donations at Welford
Church, given in memory of Walter Choyce, another long serving member who,
sadly, passed away recently.
FUTURE OUTINGS: (Note: There will be a raffle on all outings)
• Springfields shopping outlet at Spalding. Tuesday the 20th of May.
The coach leaves North Kilworth 10.10, Husbands Bosworth 10.15 and Welford
at 10.30.
• Great Central Railway on June 17th at a cost of £17.00 (which
includes train fare, bus fare and afternoon tea).
• Foxton Locks on July 15th This outing will be a canal boat ride.
• Black Horse, Walcote, on September 10th for a meal.
• Pantomime on January 6th 2009, the cost is £17 each this includes
the coach fare. This will have to be paid for by the 10th of August 2008.
At our March A G M, our honorary president, Eileen Burnham, our chairperson,
Marian Wright and all our members of committee were returned, our changes
from last year being, new secretary, Eunice Buffery and new treasurer, George
Gammage.
WELFORD CHURCH NEWS
Welcome to our new Curate
After a very successful Easter, with the Good Friday Road show being as popular
as ever, and good attendances at all the Easter services, we look forward
to welcoming a new Curate to help us in Welford. She is Sarah Brown and all
are welcome to her ordination service in Welford on the 6th of July.
The A.G.M. of the Parochial Church Council takes place on Sunday 20th April
after Evensong just after 7p.m. Please come along to that if you would like
to hear how we run YOUR Church. Anyone wishing to be confirmed should contact
Reverend lan Gemell as soon as possible because the confirmation service takes
place in May.
WELFORD CHURCH FETE
Please make a diary note that the Church Fete will be on Saturday 28th June
and will be held on the Park outside and inside the Youth and Community Centre.
The usual attractions will be there, The Lutterworth Brass Band is booked,
and the Maypole dancers from School, but we would love to see some different
stalls and events. Any ideas?
Please contact John Nicholas (575422) if you would like to help or run a stall.
CHURCHYARD MOWING
Any volunteers? The merry band are not getting any younger, and a couple more
helpers would make a big difference.
We provide the mower and the fuel, can you provide the muscle to mow the churchyard
extension or a quarter of it over a four week period.
We are drawing up this year's rota, and
would be delighted to welcome anyone who is prepared to give, probably about
6 to 8 hours of their time over the whole year, to help keep the grass around
the graves looking tidy.
Please contact Sue or John Nicholas on 575422 if you can help. If you are
in the group already and want to change anything please also contact us
WELFORD VILLAGE HALL
WELFORD VILLAGE HALL INTER-SOCIETY QUIZ
'A most entertaining evening' was the consensus of opinion of the 29th annual
Inter-Society Quiz.
A variety of organisations, as well as groups of friends, filled the Main
Hall. They included first-timers such as Charlie's Angels and Slimdance and
stalwarts like the Parochial Church Council and the Women's Institute.
The scoring throughout was very close but after the main, part of the quiz
the two highest--scoring teams were the Table Tennis Club with 63 points and
the Omniprinters from Market Harborough with 61 points.
The final two rounds to decide the winner resulted in a dead heat of 15 points
each for the two teams. The tie-breaker round of five topical questions was
won by the Omniprinters (Jane and Graham Sayles and Lucy and Simon Hobbs)
with 4 points. Penny and Alan Ainsworth,. Christine and Stephen Tilley, the
Table Tennis team were just behind with 3 points.
The Chairman of the Village Hall Management Committee, Geoff Newman, in presenting
the Edna Austen Shield and the runners-up Trophy, thanked everyone who came
along to the quiz, the Village Hall Committee for organising the event and
producing such an excellent light supper and Frances Stacey, his most able
scorer.
A profit of £340 was made for Village Hall funds.
YOGA FOR ALL
New courses will start on Monday 31 March 10.00-11.30 am and
Wednesday 2 April 7.30-9.00pm
These courses are suitable for men and women of all ages and abilities and
newcomers will be made very welcome,
Yoga will improve stamina, flexibility and suppleness and help you to learn
how to relax.
The cost for a ten-week course is £45 or £37.50 for 60+. If for
any reason you cannot attend a class in the course for which you enrol you
can attend any class in the other course.
For advice and information on Yoga for All please contact British Wheel of
Yoga tutor Wendy Willis on 01604 740437 and Phyllis
Hayhurst on 01858 575284 will be
pleased to enrol you.
PH
POET’S CORNER
WINTER IS ON THE WANE.
The walnut tree,
the cherry and the pear
Have not one leaf between them
Not one leaf have they to share,
And yet, the magnolia is in blossom
And the jonquils are in bloom.
The sun's rays are warmer
and the birds sing in tune.
New signs appearing daily
tell that winter is on the wane
And the joy of springtime
will soon be here again.
ROBIN WILLIAMS.
Waikanae, NZ
GOOD FRIDAY ROAD SHOW
As we are in an Olympic year, an Olympic theme was introduced to the story
of Easter for this years Good Friday Road Show. Flags from around the world
were waved, instead of palm leaves, as Jesus, carrying the torch, entered
Jerusalem. Over seventy-five children participated in learning the Easter
story with the Olympic slant and if flag-waving was anything to go by, thoroughly
enjoyed themselves.
Between visits to church to hear the story, they walked down to school where
an army of volunteers provided a variety of crafts to do. Cooking, braiding,
card-making, bead-threading, egg-painting, box-making, and many other crafts
kept the children busy all day and resulted in a full bag to take home.
Our thanks go to all the children for participating so enthusiastically and
to all the helpers, in whatever way for ensuring the children went home happy.
The weather, though very windy, stayed dry as we processed up and back six
times, only finally raining when we were in church for the last time - someone
was looking after us!
We hope to see you next year - the 19th time - and hope you all remember your
fun day in Welford.
Sue, Mandy and Ann
BARN DANCE
SATURDAY 10™ MAY 2008
AT WELFORD YOUTH AND COMMUNITY CENTRE
7PM- 11PM
TICKETS £10 ADULTS £5 CHILDREN
TO INCLUDE HOT SUPPER
AVAILABLE FROM THE SHOP, BROWNIES. GUIDES, CUBS OR SCOUTS
ALL PROCEEDS TO THE YOUTH & COMMUNITY CENTRE
RECENT DONATIONS
TO THE BUGLE
We are grateful to our following readers for their kind donations to help
The Bugle.
Lady Boardman Clipston
Peggy Wells Maidstone
Eileen Burnham Mkt Harborough
Ida Hutt Welford
Jessie Thompson Ormskirk
Robin Williams New Zealand
Thank you all for your donations which are much appreciated and keep The Bugle
blowing!
FLAGS
APRIL
21st Queen’s Birthday
23rd St. George’s Day
MAY
1st Ascension Day
11th Whit Sunday
JUNE
2nd Coronation Day
F.J.S.
WELFORD WI
FEBRUARY MEETING
Mrs. A. Thorrington reported that £85 had been raised for Macmillan
Charity from the Carol Service held in December. The President's Fund this
year will be the Air Ambulance Service chosen from an almost unanimous vote
by members.
Decisions are to be made as to the venue, date and format of our Birthday
Party this year. The Bursary is to be drawn at next month's meeting.
Mrs. Thorrington thanked all those involved with supplying and serving refreshments
at Cliff Huffs memorial concert, Mrs. Sue Nicholas also sent a letter thanking
everyone for their time and hard work and the W.I. choir and guests for performing
just for the occasion. She said her family really enjoyed everything and the
orchestra were very grateful for refreshments.
This month's speaker, Mr. Steve Frost gave a wonderful demonstration of Didgeridoos.
He had an incredible selection and played them all! It was very unusual and
very interesting. Next month's speaker is an Archivist.
Lovely refreshments were served by M. Davies, F. Brookes, and H. Turner.
The raffle ran by J. Baker was won by 1st F. Brookes, 2nd A. Minor, 3rd C.
O'Reilly and 4th T. Carroll The competition for something heart shaped was
won by
1st T. Carroll 2nd J. Tyrrell, and 3rd M. Partridge
MARCH MEETING
There was a good attendance to hear of the recent outings to the Terracotta
Army Exhibition in London and the talk by a police surgeon.
Options were discussed regarding the November Birthday Party.
In the draw for the Denham College Bursary, A Barber was the winner.
A team will enter The Village Quiz.
In the absence of the arranged speaker, Mrs Pauline Matthews ably entertained
by recounting her recent tour of New Zealand. We were pleased to know that
our
W.I. Link in N Zealand, Mrs Pauline Wareham, was able to meet and accept the
special gifts from Welford. Everyone applauded our very own speaker.
A competition for a Northamptonshire Memento was run by M Crowther. Winners
were A Barber, J Tyrell and D Bott. Items on show were a very old NorthantsDirectory
and a photo of Tyrell’s shop in The High Street showing a horse-drawn
cart.
The raffle was won by A Barber, A Thorrington and G Hart.
Delectable refreshments were provided by A Wing, R Reilly, J Mills and A Minor.
M.G.
WELFORD OPEN GOLF
I am now taking entries for this year's competition on the 6th July 2008 at
Cold Ashby Golf Club.
Costs will be about £20 per player if you are not a member of Cold Ashby,
£7 if you are. The chance to win the unique Claret Jug is open to anyone
who has their own golf clubs and shoes, and preferably has played often enough
as not to hold up other players too much. (We all know everyone has good and
bad days)
It will be the usual two tee start from 2.30 p.m. A stableford competition,
with a maximum handicap allowance of 24 for men, and 32 for ladies.
Apart from the Claret Jug there is the "Welford Shield" being fought
for the 19th time, a Father and Son Prize, and much more so please don't be
shy - have a go, phone John Nicholas (575422) to book your place.
J N
WELFORD CRICKET CLUB
The new season is nearly upon us.......unfortunately someone seems to have
forgotten to tell those who control the weather! Despite this, plans are now
well developed with a full season of fixtures stretching from the 20th April
through to the beginning of September, with the customary July Tour to Kent
and Carnival 6 -a -side at the end of August.
This year sees the Club celebrating its 30th Anniversary with a Dinner &
Live Music at Kilworth Golf Springs on Saturday the 21st of June. This will
be open to all associated with the Club, present or past, and more information
will be available closer to the time. One to put into your social diary now!
Following the success of last years Saturday morning coaching for Primary
school children (aged 8 to 11 before the end of August 08 ), we would confirm
that this will re-start this year on Saturday the 24th of May from 10.30 am
through to 12.00 noon. Full details, together with application forms, will
be sent out to all relevant age groups at Welford School after the April break.
As before, priority will be given to children attending Welford Primary School,
or playing for any WSFA team and places will be limited.
For Youths from age 12 upwards and Adults, we will be starting outdoor cricket
practice and nets on Thursday the 8th of May from 7.30 pm through to 8.30pm.
These will be open to all, regardless of standard ( including current playing
members of the Club who need the practice!) Appropriate application forms
will need to be completed on the night for all participants under 18.
Both the Saturday morning sessions and the Thursday Evening sessions will
be run by members of the Club, led by Robin Bennett, a qualified ECB assistant
Cricket coach and helped by various parents. There will be a nominal charge
per session of £1.00 to cover administration costs and the Club will
reserve the right to ask any parent/guardian to remove their child from the
sessions if their behaviour is inappropriate. Both sessions are open to girls
and boys.
Full equipment will be made available for use at these sessions, funded from
various sources including at the time of print, a very kind donation from
Welford Educational trust. Good attendance at both sessions will
allow us to arrange matches against other similar age group teams during the
season.
Fingers crossed now for some warm sunny weather!
WELFORD BOWLS
Champions again!! In a tense last game of the season,
Welford needed to get at least 2 points from the possible 6 to retain the
league title.
Geoff Newman and his team set off at a cracking pace, and Kilsby never looked
like recovering, but on the second mat we were 11 points down after 5 ends.
However the team pulled back the arrears and were fairly easy winners at the
end. With Geoff s team of Brenda Wright, Alan Ainsworth and Rita Rielly also
winning by a big margin. This meant Welford had retained the cup! The presentation
was made at the Friendly League's A.G.M. this year held in Welford, with team
members from all participating clubs taking part, and enjoying a social evening
with a couple of quizzes and a reading by Col Horner of Cliff Hurt's poem
of Alginon Knowles the clumsy bowler. A tribute to Cliff was made by Lyn Hudson
from Ravensthorpe, describing how she with Gwyneth Nesbit from Crick and Cliff
had set up the league and how he had volunteered to organise the compilation
of the scores, and when who played who etc. She said he was a real gentleman.
So another successful season draws towards its end, with our own A.G.M. and
final's night coming up in May. Please feel free to come and join us on any
Tuesday evening (7 to 8.30 p.m.) we do need some more members, we have all
the equipment you will need, and you will be made very welcome.
John Nicholas.
JOYCE WINIFRED DAISY NIELAND
1926 - 2008.
Joyce was born on the 30th of August 1926, the daughter of Arthur and Daisy
Seaton. They lived at No. 6 The Banks, at the bottom of West Street, Welford.
Her father died when Joyce was only 10 years old. At the same time she became
very ill with a rheumatic heart and was away from school for over year.
She left school at 14 and started work at Mrs Finch's bakery, then later at
Wheeler Lodge and Symington's corset factory in Market Harborough.
Joyce loved dancing; she never missed any at Welford or in the surrounding
villages. She met her future husband Terry at one of these. They married at
Welford Chapel on 2nd of June 1951 and lived in a small cottage at the bottom
of High Street. Wendy was born in 1959 and in 1960 the family moved to Newlands
Road.
When Wendy went to the village school Joyce began to work for Dr. Mann here
in Welford. She loved to help at their Dinner Parties. She would take Wendy
for a sneaky peek at the lovely dresses worn by guests. She did this until
Dr. Mann retired and moved away.
Joyce and Terry loved doing things together. They joined the Welcome Club
in the village. Sadly Terry died in 1990. She never really got over this and
spoke so often about him and how much she missed him.
Well into her seventies she visited the village school to listen to the children
reading and to tell them what life was like during the Second World War.
We heard at the start of this eulogy what Joyce was like as a person. She
was kind, generous and loyal. She was very gregarious and had a tremendous
sense of humour. She loved to talk and was good company. She adored animals,
feared water and dreaded cable cars.
She was an active member of Welford Welcome club and enjoyed their days out.
Active, being the word, armed with her raffle tickets and walking stick, she
terrorised the village. Even the vicarage surrendered under her onslaught.
Her mobility scooter was her chief weapon. She was fearless whilst aboard.
She wasn't the best scooter driver. She would catch your ankles if you were
in front of her, or reverse into you if you were behind. She crashed into
or ran over nearly every thing in sight, including the doctor in the hospital.
Her 80th birthday party was a wonderful occasion at Cold Ashby Golf Club.
The dining room was packed with family and friends. The former Pastor of this
Chapel, Cliff Jordan and his wife Anne were there from the Cotswolds. Joyce
was very fond of them.
Joyce was very much a lady of faith. She attended chapel weekly and was a
believer in the Gospel and all that it embraced.
Her family and friends, thank God for the life of this unusual lady.
Wendy, Tom, Rob and Richard would like to thank
everyone for their cards, flowers and kind expressions of sympathy received
after Joyce’s recent passing and for the donations received in her memory
for the Welcome Club and Welford chapel.
Thank you to her many friends for all their support. We know how much she
appreciated it.
A DEDICATION
A Full Peal of Welford’s church bells was rung on Sunday afternoon,
9th March, by The Peterborough Diocesan Guild of Bell Ringers who were pleased
to dedicate it to the memory of Joyce Nieland
THIEVES AT WORK
Shortly before she died, Joyce Nieland had an oil delivery to her home in
Newlands Road. Within days of her death, an opportunist thief (or thieves)
had removed the oil. Quite a large container must have been involved.
A despicable act you may well think.
With the price of oil as high as it is today it would be wise, if possible,
to take steps to safeguard your oil.
We reprint hints to help users to protect themselves against oil theft which
appeared in the February Bugle.
• • Screen the tank with fencing, trellis or a hedge;
• • Cover any external pipe work/fuel lines from the house to
the tank;
• • Install motion sensor security lighting;
• • Restrict easy access to the tank – thieves will want
to get as close as possible with a vehicle, so make their life harder with
a gate or fence;
• • Regularly check the fuel level so you can easily spot if the
level quickly drops - consider installing a tank sensor.
• • Join Welford neighbourhood watch scheme – telephone
police if you see any suspicious vehicles close to properties;
• • Check your oil is covered under your household contents insurance.
Victims of oil theft should report incidents to their local police force,
and alert other home heating oil users via Boiler Juice's blog at: http://www.boilerjuice.com/blog.php
WELFORD POCKET PARK
AT THE NINTH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE POCKET PARK
Peter Wattam, Co-ordinator, said that the Pocket Park had continued to develop
and mature and was much appreciated by visitors and villagers.
CHANGES during the year were the date of the AGM to coincide with the finan¬cial
year; the reversal of the intention of Northants County Council to transfer
management of its Countryside Parks and Pocket Parks to a non-profit-making
organisation and grass-cutting in the park now being the responsibility of
the Parish Council contractors.
VOLUNTARY WORK during the year included weeding and planting in the butterfly
garden, pruning of trees and shrubs and clearance of grass from the silver
birch grove in which daffodils were planted. The notice board, in which dis¬plays
are changed fortnightly, had been re-varnished and extra ventilation intro¬duced
which has eradicated condensation.
OTHER WORK ON THE PARK
The hedge has been reduced to about one metre high and will be maintained
at that height by Gaynor Groundcare - the Parish Council contractors,
Pond Clearance had not been possible because of weather conditions but a contrac¬tor
with a JCB will be employed during the coming year to clear the pond of reed
maice.
THE PATH, which is eroding, will be resurfaced by a contractor. A grant has
been awarded by Daventry District Council for this work. The contractor will
re¬surface with tampered-down millwaste up to the level of the edging
boards and camber the surface slightly to allow run-off of surface water.
VANDALISM which has not been evident in the last few years, occurred in November
when the new Pocket Park sign, made and installed by volunteers, free of charge,
was wrenched out of the ground and the back support pulled off. The sign will
be reinstated shortly,
THE SCARECROW WEEKEND in July was, in spite of the preceding very wet weather
during which the whole park was flooded, very well received by villagers and
visitors and much photographed! This event was in collaboration with the WADS
Open Gardens weekend.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Mr Wattam said that now that the grass cutting has been
taken over by the Parish Council and which is regarded by the Park group as
very satisfactory and sympathetic to the concept of a conservation area, the
group can concentrate on the management and development of the park.
THE TREASURER, Norman Hills, said the group had been able to maintain reserves
which, following the sale of the mower, had now reached £1 122 which
will enable any unforeseen or emergency work to be carried out. In the coming
year extra work on drainage for the path and the dredging of the pond will
be paid for out of reserves. The group is also aware that some time in the
future the decking and bridge supports will require replacement.
SILVER BIRCH GROVE MULCHING The Pocket Park group (Peter Wattam (coordinator),
Norman Hills (Treasurer), Melanie Ainsworth, Cliff Hayhurst, Phyllis Hayhurst
(Secretary) and June Simkins) has been awarded a grant of £50 by Conservation
Service Volunteers, Environment for mulch for the silver birch grove. The
provisional date for spreading it is SUNDAY 13 APRIL 2008 from 10.00am to
about 1.00pm. If you can come to help - even if it is for just half an hour
- we would be most grateful. It is light work and all you need is a pair of
gardening gloves. If you can bring your own bucket that would be most helpful.
For further information please contact Phyllis on 01858 575284.
PH
THE ANNUAL MAYFAIR at WELFORD
Is to be held this year at
The Chapel Schoolroom
On Saturday May 5th
12.30 - 4.00pm
If you wish to take a stall to raise funds for your local organisation - please
contact
Ruth Whitehead on 575373
or
JILL SMYTH ON 575842
CELEBRATING ACTIVE AGEING
A Free Event for the Over 50s at Daventry Leisure Centre
11am – 3pm, Tuesday 15th April 2008
From smoothie making to short mat bowls, line dancing to local history, health
checks to holiday Spanish – everything that the over 50s want to do
and know about. If you’re over 50, or are caring for an older person,
just come along and bring your friends too!
Over 20 Information Stands plus Workshops and Activities
Refreshments will be available all day and a free buffet lunch will be served
from 12.30
For more information please contact Sue Ousley 0n 01604 236284 or Tim Cantwell
on
01327 302403
The Active Ageing Network and DOF are grateful for the support of Daventry District Council, Northamptonshire County Council, Age Concern and SOLL Leisure in helping to make this event take place
'Copy’ for the next Bugle can be sent to John Dunn, 5 Church Lane,
(Tel: 575429) or John Nicholas, 25 High Street, (Tel; 575422) or Susie Bevin,
West End Farm, (Tel: 575226)