Spring Has Sprung ?

THE EAST GOSCOTE COMMUNITY MAGAZINE

Spring has sprung ?

May 2010 1 2 EDITORIAL Welcome . .to the spring issue. I think spring is here, LONG FURROW is published by the editorial but we are still getting early morning frosts as I write panel made up of residents of East Goscote and this editorial ! is printed by Clipper Print, The Warren, East This issue has quite a bit from the parish council and Goscote. councillors, since the AGM was held a few weeks ago. We had the biggest audience turn out that I can EDITORIAL PANEL remember. We had to bring out extra chairs. Well Dennis Bishop (editor) done, keep it up. As you are probably aware, most of 212 Broome Lane the official stuff is towards the back of the magazine, East Goscote and clubs, societies etc are nearer the front of the Leics. LE7 3WQ magazine, and articles about village affairs are in 0116 2607410 shaded boxes. Do take time to read the council Ian Clarke (treasurer) reports towards the back of the magazine. It is worth knowing what is being done for us by so many people. 205 Long Furrow This is all very positive, but as you will read from PC East Goscote Porter’s report (p.11), and St Hilda’s report (p.22), 0116 2604426 and the Parish Council Chairman’s report (p.24), we are still plagued by vandalism. There seems to be a John Malpus 2609789 reluctance to report, or intervene against anti-social Sue Round 2607774 behaviour. At times it seems that there is almost a Dave Cannon, 2606773 desire to defend anti-social behaviour. If we don’t Betty Allen 2601541 face up to our responsibilities, then in the end we all suffer from having to live in damaged surroundings. It is our village, let’s keep it a pleasant place to live in. Congratulations to those involved in the scarecrow exhibitions (p.7) It was a good opportunity to walk July 1st 2010 around the village, and have a laugh at the sights. It Oct 23rd 2010 took me several weeks to get rid of the scarecrows February 1st 2011 and excess straw which my family had used to build May1st 2011 them. Congratulations also to Andy Houghton (p.4), Jennie Angell (p.8) and Maureen Loseby (p.20) . .see the relevant pages to find out why! Mid July 2010 Speaking of getting rid of extra straw, the Sileby tip Mid November 2010 will be closing in the next few months, so it will be a Mid February 2011 longer journey to Mountsorrel in the future. So, we are thinking of better ways to dispose of our rubbish, Mid May 2011 particularly from the garden. Composting obviously makes sense (p.13), and we have had several articles PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS now on creating a Greener Goscote. The village is THAT APPEAR IN LONG FURROW ARE COPYRIGHT AND CANNOT BE USED WITHOUT THE OWNER’S maturing and, hopefully becoming a better place to PERMISSION. live in. Our shops are the envy of many, and there are so many amenities that people come from surrounding villages for them. Until further notice, we will charge £8 for our smallest Not just amenities, but activities as well ! There are a ad (one eighth of a page) . The cost of other size variety of activities for youngsters over the summer. adverts are: £15 per 1/4 page, £30 per 1/2 page and Sublime science(p.6), Petting Zoo (p.12), the £55 per full page. If you pay for 4 issues in Summer fete (p.8), Midsummer Madness etc (p.15), advance, a 10% discount will be given. Ian Clarke on to mention a few. 0116 2604426 will be able to provide further So . .I hope you enjoy your reading . .and can get information on advertising in LONG FURROW. involved in some way1 Circulation of the magazine is currently 1200 copies Dennis Bishop delivered free to all business and residential addresses in East Goscote. As usual, we are publishing a list of advertisers who Long Furrow retains the right to edit or refuse articles if it is deemed necessary. Anonymous items will not be support LONG FURROW; please give them your published unless details of the writer are made known support. When using these businesses, please tell them confidentially to the editor of Long Furrow. that you have seen their ads in the magazine. Some The views expressed in Long Furrow are those of the advertisers have expressed satisfaction at the support contributors and do not necessarily represent those of given to them by our readers, thank you! the editorial panel.

3 East Goscote, Leicester Pruning Telephone: 0116 260 3411 Tree Planting Hedges Mobile: 07752 887782 Crown Reduction Fully Insured - Certified Arboculturist Free Quotations Chipping Barry Agger Forestry Tree Felling etc & Tree Care Specialist in Domestic & Commercial Surgery

Goscote resident takes charge at Syston squadron

Pilot Officer Andy Houghton has been appointed as the new Officer Commanding of 1181 (Syston) Squadron after Flight CHARITY TABLE TOP SALE Lieutenant Mat Faulkner’s move to 643 Voluntary Gliding Squadron at RAF Syerston as a Staff member. Mat has been with the squadron for over 6 years ON having moved from Loughborough to Syston on an initial temporary secondment. SATURDAY 19TH JUNE

Andy joined South & East Midlands wing in 11:00 – 2:00 September 2007 initially as a Civilian Instructor [CI] AT having taken 7 years out from the corps in order to pursue his career as a Police Officer with EAST GOSCOTE VILLAGE HALL Leicestershire Constabulary. Having been with the cadets from the age of 13 with No. 277 [Blackwood] Squadron, No. 1 Welsh Wing where he was also a CI – Andy decided to take on a bigger role with Syston and ADMISSION: 50P ADULTS was commissioned as a Pilot Officer in 2008. Having ACCOMPANIED CHILDREN FREE completed his initial officer’s course in July 2009 he has been operating as the Squadrons Adjutant and Duke of Edinburgh Award officer.

TO HELP RAISE FUNDS FOR THE ` EAST MIDLANDS DOG RESCUE’

4 Wreake Valley District

We are looking for volunteers to help with Guide and Rainbow units both in East Goscote and Queniborough. Can you spare a few hours a month to help? Making a difference to girls' lives and helping them achieve their potential is hugely rewarding, but there are lots of benefits for you too. A role in Girlguiding can certainly give your CV a boost! As a volunteer you will develop a whole range of skills such as communication and organisational skills, teamwork and leadership. If you become a Leader there are lots of other training opportunities locally and nationally. Perhaps you've always wanted to become qualified in First Aid or learn about event management. Volunteering with Girlguiding can provide you with the opportunity. You'll have lots of fun! The guiding programme is packed with activities and challenges, and you'll have a chance to experience them along with the girls. Volunteers can be either male or female, aged 18-65.

Helpers are vital to Guiding and you can help make a difference. For more information please contact Susan Round, Wreake Valley District Commissioner, on (0116) 2607774.

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THE SCARECROW HUNT

Gill and Tricia would like to say a very big thank you for all the support you gave us for this event. We were overwhelmed by you all we had 88 Scarecrows in the end the village looked great WELL DONE EVERYONE. As you are all aware the reason for the event was to help KYLE DAISLEY raise funds for Diabetes U.K. and to do this he was going to run the LONDON MARATHON. Well he did and he came home in a very respectable time of 4 hours. Well Done Kyle you did us proud. On the day we managed to raise £357 far more than we had dared hope.

We have been asked to make the Scarecrow Walk an Annual Event we would like to know your views. Some folk have already told us they would like to take part so we have decided we will if enough folk are interested. We are hoping to have a collage of pictures in one of the Village Notice Boards in the not to distant future. So keep watching for your scarecrow so many of you were so inventive we could not believe it.

Young Miss Georgia Lunn came into the church centre and told us she had found 81 of the 88 that was the most we were told so WELL DONE GEORGIA no prize this year but perhaps next year, but your scarecrow was good.

Gil Morton & Tricia Marsland

The Girlguiding centenary celebrations continue in earnest. East Goscote girls joined Rainbows from across Leicestershire for a Centenary Princess party at De Montfort University in April. They all dressed in their best princess outfits and enjoyed a brilliant afternoon of fun that included a puppet show and lots of princess crafts.

Wreake Valley District guides( Rainbows, Brownies and Guide units from East Goscote and Queniborough ) joined together for a full day of celebration and reflection of guiding over the last 100 years . The girls took part in activities reflecting each decade of the last 100 years. They also went into the future to think about what future guides will look like. The event was held at Topstones, the Leicestershire guiding facility near Tilton-on-the hill on 17th April. The event was sponsored by an Arts Development grant provided by Charnwood Borough Council. This allowed us to produce a `Totem Pole`on the day with contributions from all girls and volunteers present. Everyone produced a wooden disc decorated using pyrography which was varnished and attached to the pole. Beaded Trefoils were also made by the girls to add to the pole. The finished pole was amazing and will be sited permanently at Topstones for all to see over many years to come. They day finished with a barbeque and campfire songs.

Within the unit we have continued some centenary badge work. We said goodbye to 7 Rainbows at Easter and wish Anna, Niamh, Isabel, Mia, Demi-Leigh, Kiera and Rebecca all the best as they move onto Brownies. 7 new Rainbows are settling in well and will be enrolled later in the term. We hope to be able to get out and about in the village for some outdoor activities if the sun shines!

Thanks for your continued support Sue Bowles (Cedar) Tel 2375475 for general enquiries Sue Riley (Rowan) Tel 2600782 for waiting list enquiries East Goscote Scout Group Dear friends and Villagers,

Some of you know me as ‘that Scout lady’, some as ‘Skip’ and some as Jennie Angell but hopefully Summer Fete you all know me as a friend. I would just like to tell you all that after 32 years of steering the East Goscote Scout Group I have decided to retire from running the Group. I have had a lovely time doing all sorts of different activities, fund raisers, building the HQ or just helping the youth of today become tomorrow’s citizens. But I could never have done this without your support, so I would like to thank you for the support you have given me and the Scout Group. Steve Round has agreed to take on the Group and I hope you will give him the same support you gave me. Good luck Steve. Saturday 12th June I have moved over to help run the Scout section 1-4pm with Phil Bott so I am afraid you will still see me around being a nuisance to you all! Many thanks Jubilee Playing Fields again for your help and support you have given me and the Scout Group. Enter your pet in the Dog Show Yours Competition Jennie Angell (Skip) Fun for all the family. Arena Displays, Games, Stalls, Refreshments, BBQ

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8 Helen Batson on 07971 274405 / 0116 2608600

Dianne Munnelly on 07720 886070 / 01664 853040

We know you’ve all been wondering what we’ve been up to at Bizzy Bees Preschool…. The spring term at Preschool was as fun as ever with learning opportunities built upon the interests of our children. Some of the experiences that we enjoyed together were role-play in our fruit/vegetable shop; visits to the library; making birthday cakes out of playdough; painting flower pictures for our mummys; exploring soapflakes,cornflour and cous cous and singing- songs on our pretend stage in our lovely garden. The spring term was concluded with an Easter eggstravaganza! The children strutted proudly around the church in amazing bonnets/cool hats that they had created with their parents and afterwards singing beautifully the songs they had learnt to a delighted audience. Many thanks to all the parents for their fantastic support and to everyone who came along to join in the fun. Our summer term is well under-way now and is as always a busy time full of exciting activities and events. We started the term thinking about road safety and the children have been delighted with the fantastic resource sack that we have been loaned. The children have been exploring role- play equipment such as a zebra crossing/lollypop person outfit/stick; games; books and story sacks bringing the subject to life. Looking forward to keeping you informed in the next edition of the Long Furrow. Bye for now from Helen, Dianne, Lisa, Angela, Tasha, Jayne and Karen.

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10 Police Report April 2009 till April 2010

Please find the below crime figures for the period 01 April 2009 to 01 April 2010. The crime figures include crimes that are in the public interest, assaults, Burglaries, thefts, criminal damage, and drug related offences. They do not include domestic incidents or other non recordable crimes such as Sudden Deaths.

The biggest concern this year seems to be the amount of criminal damage that has been reported in the village. Much of the damage has been reported in the last few months with the church in particular being targeted. The local beat team have worked closely with the church and have stepped up patrols recently in both uniform and plain clothes as well as marked police vehicles and plain vehicles. We have issued warning letters in March 09 to a number of individuals regarding their behaviour around the village and the initial response from those letters seem to be positive. The fire at the church recently caused a lot of upset for those that use the centre but also the people that live locally. We are committed to those people that wish to use the centre for their lawful business. I am however very happy that only three burglary dwellings were reported in the last year. I will see you at the meeting and hopefully will be able to answer any questions you may have. Assaults – 11 Burglary Dwelling – 3 Burglary Other – 18 Damage – 34 Damage M/V – 20 Drugs – 1 Public Order – 2 Theft - 10 Theft Cycle – 3 Theft from Motor vehicle – 11 Theft Motor Vehicle – 3

Total 116

Phil Porter

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11 12 THE GREENER GOSCOTE PAGE

COMPOST AWARENESS WEEK took place this year from Sunday May 2nd to Sunday May 8th but there’s still loads of free information and advice to be had, along with some really good deals on composters and food digesters suitable for all lifestyles. For details see Contact Us below.

I was lucky enough to get a slot on “The Eye 103 FM” (a community radio station based in Melton and covering our area) in order to promote composting. It was a fascinating experience and if you haven’t tuned in to 103 The Eye before, give it a go. As well as 103 FM, you can also listen live via their website. Anyway back to muck and magic. Compost Awareness Week is promoted in the UK by Recycle Now and the theme of this year’s campaign is “Give it a Grow”- in other words, try something different. Here are a few different things you could try:

Never tried composting before? Now’s the time. It’s never been easier and there are plenty of bargain composters available not to mention all the free advice. Composting is nature’s own recycling. It uses vegetable kitchen waste (and some garden waste) plus a few extras, rescues it from your rubbish bin and from landfill (where it just causes trouble) and gives it a new lease of life as a free soil conditioner, weed suppressant or even potting compost. It’s a very green thing to do so it makes you feel better too. · Had a go at composting and want to try something else? Well what about a food digester, which can cope with processed food (i.e. leftovers including meat and dairy products, which a garden composter can’t). No good for garden waste but it can really slim your bin. · What about a wormery? Not so much a composter, more of a hobby for those who are fascinated by invertebrates ! And you get an endless supply of free concentrated liquid garden fertiliser and bait for the fisherman in your life. Charles Darwin was fascinated by these little critters and so will you be. · Try composting different materials. Egg shells (I recommend giving them a squeeze as you add them to the composter to start the breaking up process), tea bags (rip them to speed things up), vacuum cleaner dust (it’s mostly made up of human and pet skin cells and hair and it’s ok), toilet and kitchen rolls, corrugated cardboard, tissues, shredded paper. It’s all good stuff. Egg shells help with structure and acidity. Much of this stuff relieves pressure on your black wheelie bin and although some of it can be recycled in the conventional way, there’s no harm in recycling some this way and it will help to balance the greens and browns in your composter (you’ll find out about them as you go along). · Pass it on ! The best way to get a new composter going is to start it with some compost from an old one – a bit like the ginger beer plant for those with long memories. So if you’ve got the hang of it, you could help someone else to get started. Elderly people are a possible interest group. They often have a wealth of knowledge and an instinct for recycling and waste reduction but need a bit of help. We have a 93 year old to look after. She has a bit of garden which is beyond her now so she didn’t take much persuading to allow a composter in the corner. The carers have to take the compostables down the garden but she is mustard at separating out endless quantities of tea bags, banana skins etc etc and a kitchen caddy makes the job easy. · Seasonal tip. Try mixing grass mowings with shredded paper or layering it with corrugated cardboard to prevent the silage effect. It seems to work. Contact Us: For information or advice on composting or recycling, contact David on 2606773, 07724891627 or [email protected] . Useful links: www.recyclenow.com , www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/ , www.leics.gov.uk/index/environment.htm , www.charnwood.gov.uk/pages/recycling , www.103theeye.co.uk , www.thebigtidyup.org,

EAST GOSCOTE NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH

There have been three house burglaries in the area. Please can you all be extra careful and vigilant at the moment and report anything suspicious to the police.

East Goscote has had several new Neighbourhood Watch signs put up recently. I would like to thank Nick Shivers for his hard work to put these up and East Goscote Parish Council for their support with this.

Ellen Hewitt (0116 2608224)

13 MAHAVIR MEDICAL CENTRE The practice is now offering extended hours. So if you work and are unable to attend at any other time then the practice will offer you an appointment later in the evening as a routine appointment depending on availability. These sessions are held on Wednesdays These appointments are only pre bookable. The surgery will only see patients that have made an appointment in advance, the practice telephone system will still automatically divert to the out of hours service at 6.30pm Choose Well For Expert Help And Advice

Self-Care is the best choice to treat very minor illnesses and injuries. A range of common illnesses and injures can be treated at home simply by combining a well stocked medicine cabinet with plenty of rest.

Pharmacist Visit your pharmacy when you are suffering from a common health problem that does not require being seen by a nurse or doctor. Your pharmacist can provide advice on common illnesses and the best medicines to treat them.

GP If you have an illness or injury that will not go away after trying the above, make an appointment to see the doctor or health professional. PLEASE REMEMBER DOCTORS ARE VERY BUSY SO PLEASE DO NOT WASTE THEIR TIME BY BOOKING AN APPOINTMENT FOR AN ILLNESS THAT CAN BE SELF TREATED WITH OVER THE COUNTER MEDICINE.

NHS WALK Walk-in Centres treat minor illnesses and injuries that do not need a visit to CENTRE A&E.

A&E Accident & Emergency departments should only be used in a critical or life- threatening situation. A&E departments provide immediate emergency care for people who show the symptoms of serious illness or badly injured. ANTIBIOTICS ARE NOT ALWAYS THE ANSWER THEY REDUCE YOUR IMMUNITY!!!

Health Checks at East Goscote Library

Charnwood Borough Council and Leicestershire Libraries have teamed up to create a healthier and hopefully more active community. A qualified fitness instructor from the Active Together Team will be conducting free health checks at East Goscote Library on Tuesdays 18th May, and 13th July between 2pm and 5pm. The health checks include measuring body fat percentage, weight, blood pressure, body composition, basal metabolic rate, muscle mass and total body water percentage. To take advantage of this offer book a free health check by contacting East Goscote Library on 0116 305 3510.

14 Midsummer Madness 2010 Broomfield Primary School East Goscote

Friday, 18th June Infants and Junior Sports day Refreshments available during the sports, (Sports start times to be confirmed later) Please stay a while after the sports and join in the fun, Drinks & Cakes, Chocolate fountain, Tombola, Plants, Lollipop treasure hunt, Hoopla, Football raffle, plus many more fun stalls Stalls will open at 3.20pm. Broomfield’s Grand Raffle drawn at 4.00pm ------Saturday, 19th June Family Disco, BBQ & Raffle 7.00pm until 11.00pm An evening of music & entertainment for children & adults Burgers, Hot dogs, Tuck shop & Soft drinks on sale, plus Raffle Tickets on sale now from Broomfield School £6.00 per family ticket (2 adults & 3 children) additional Adults £2.50 & Children £1.25 (under 16). (all children under 16 must be accompanied by their own family, we respectfully remind you that we want this event to be enjoyed by all age groups, so any disruptive behaviour will be controlled) We Thank you for supporting Friends Of Broomfield School. All proceeds will go towards new equipment for Broomfield Primary School

15 A presentation was made to Mr Ivor Reynolds of Two peach standard roses, by the Village Hall Management Committee, on behalf of all the hard work and commitment, the late Mrs Maureen Reynolds gave to the Committee.

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16 BOROUGH COUNCILLORS Council’s benefits and revenues service. The ANNUAL REPORT 2010 contract is worth £22.5m. Capita was selected as Charnwood’s preferred partner in 2009. Charnwood Borough Council has agreed to The Contract is expected to deliver £3m in fund a Risk Assessment to be carried out on savings to the Council by using Capita’s exist- the mound as they are the Freeholders. I have ing expertise in new technology to improve been told that this will be done within the new processes at the Council. As a result of this financial year once funds come through for 63 staff have transferred to Capita. This con- 2010/2011. I have also asked Mr. John Leney, tract has taken a long time to complete and Head of Property Services, CBC, if he could the staff involved has had to cope with a put this in writing to the Parish Council, and he prolonged period of uncertainty. I for one am has agreed to do so. Now that we are in the glad that it has finally been sorted out for them new financial year, I have arranged a further all. meeting between Mr. Leney, Liz Pizer, and myself, which will take place here at the vil- As you will recall Charnwood Borough Council lage parish office on Tuesday 20th April, to invested £1m with Heritable Bank. The leader plan the way forward so that work can finally of the Council said that repayments so far are begin and future maintenance plans can be in line with the notifications from the adminis- discussed. trators received in 2009, and in fact the De- cember 2009 payment was slightly higher Having contacted Mr. Chris Buckingham at than the anticipated amount. Officers advise CBC and Jelson’s regarding the maintenance that they still expect to receive up to 80% of to the trees along the brook. I am pleased to the claim. The loss has had no direct impact say that finally, following a full tree survey on the draft budget for 2010/11 nor has it carried out by Jelson’s, they have now been affected the level of Council Tax proposed for worked on and that 13 trees have been cut that year. back, pruned, and sorted out. Some of the delays to this work were due to the nesting season of birds, and winter. All that remains In February of this year I received an early now is for both CBC and Jelson’s to agree to morning call from a concerned resident re- set up a ‘Positive Management System’ along garding a substantially large amount of with a 5 year maintenance plan. There was rubbish/furnishings etc that had been dumped some delay to this process which was due to between the Pizza & White Slice shops in the the nesting season and winter weather. village. I immediately rang CBC who came out to inspect and within 2 hours this had all been The fence at the brook (Melton Road) has also removed. I would not only like to thank the finally been repaired by Jelson’s, and made CBC Cleansing Dept for their prompt attention, safe once again. but also Mr. Nick Shivers, East Goscote’s Caretaker for his assistance with this matter. Following an invite from the Senior Housing I received several calls and e-mail messages Officer, CBC, I attended a village inspection of about the dire conditions to the Long Furrow Charnwood owned housing on Strollers Way during the winter months. I asked these com- and Fleury Court in February of this year, plainants to pass on their along with several Housing Officers, the Audit complaints/concerns, etc, to the Parish Coun- Commissioner and PC Porter. The inspection cil who I knew were having a meeting with was arranged in order to meet with residents Martin Broomhead, County Council, General to discuss any issues or concerns they may Engineering Group Manager, about the awful have regarding the area. Anti-social behav- and dangerous state of the Long Furrow so iour was high on the list of concerns and Clair that they could be passed on to him at the Westrup, Senior Housing Officer, said she meeting, and he could then respond to them would liaise with the police on this matter. I am directly. The County Council has the responsi- also now in the process of setting up a ‘No bility for gritting highways including public Cold Calling Zone’ in both of these areas. footpaths; however, they were only gritting major roads to conserve supplies. CBC only On February 3rd 2010, Charnwood Borough has limited supplies for gritting in winter and Council announced that they had signed a 10 this is used for Leisure Centres and Car Parks. year partnership with Capita Local Govern- ment Services for the administration of the

17 Back in October 2009, you may recall that an In April 2009 I received a call from a con- Area Forum was held in Rearsby whereby a cerned resident about the share of £20,000 was up for grabs and that 2 dilapidated/dangerous state of the old pump bids from East Goscote came within the top 5 station on Broome Lane. Following a site visit votes out of a total of 13. All of these were to by myself I agreed that it needed to be made be taken away and looked at. Although I feel secure by being cordoned off, or sealed up, in this was a good attempt at involving communi- the interests of safety. There was a big open ties more, I feel it was an arbitrary and flawed crater inside which was filling up with water process. The voting procedures which were and could pose a possible threat to any chil- used at the first meeting were embarrassing. dren that might try to play there. This had There was an error in the short-listing process actually been investigated in the past but it which required a re-vote. The officers then would seem that there was no breach of plan- allowed a further vote because one person ning control then. CBC had understood that complained they hadn’t had enough time. The the owner of the land was trying to dismantle inevitable happened in that the order changed. the building but works had been stopped by I believe that it was the wrong call and the the Environment Agency as the work was officers should have risked upsetting one tar- being conducted within the flood plain and dy individual rather than discrediting the there were issues that needed to be resolved. whole procedure. It was a bad example to set Following photographic evidence that I e- for people who do not normally attend such mailed to CBC, they spoke with the owner meetings. I complained about this re-vote to who assured them that the site would be the officers whilst at the meeting. Personally, secured and tidied up. The owner did as prom- I think it would have been a lot fairer to split ised and CBC visited the site the following the money available evenly between the par- week to verify this had in fact been done. ishes represented and leave each parish I will have the honour of attending the Free- council to decide where the money is best dom of Entry Ceremony and Parade where spent, possibly through their own community the Mayor of Charnwood will present the Free- engagement process. A second meeting of dom of Entry to the 203 (Loughborough) the Area Forum took place on February 11th Squadron of the Territorial Army, the 158 2010, and the main proposed topics were the (Royal Anglian) Transport Regiment and the allocation of the Area Forum’s £20,000 budget. Royal Logistic Corps (Volunteers) this April 10th 2010. The Regiment will then exercise its A new kerbside textile recycling service was right to march through Loughborough “with launched in Charnwood on January 12th of Drums Beating, Bands Playing, Colours Fly- this year. CBC has teamed up with the mental ing and Bayonets Fixed”. I whole-heartedly health charity ‘Mind’. A dedicated ‘Mind’ recy- believe that we should all support our Armed cling bag was delivered to all properties in Forces – no matter what is asked of them. Charnwood back in December, which can now be put out for collection next to your Since the last Annual General Meeting I have green recycling box rather than in it. The bags been working hard to resolve the many will then be taken away by the collection issues/problems for both the village and indi- crews – who will leave a replacement bag. vidual residents – some have been completed, These bags can also be collected from the some are still on-going, some are being moni- Parish Council offices. tored, and once again I am hopeful for satisfactory results where needed. There have As you may recall, the new refuse, recycling been a couple of planning issues which I have and street cleaning contract with Serco start- discussed with CBC and one now has an ed on Saturday 1st August 2009. In addition, enforcement to stop the work they were doing CBC was also developing a policy for the and reapply with new plans which would com- introduction and replacement of litter and dog ply with planning rules, etc. waste bins across the Borough. This got off to a bit of a sticky start for East Goscote at first. It’s has been an extremely busy year and However, following several meetings with much has happened which has not only affect- CBC, myself, Liz Pizer, and the Parish Coun- ed East Goscote, but the Borough as a whole. cillors, things began to improve and the village I have tried to keep everyone as informed and is now much cleaner as a result, and contin- as up to date as possible by writing in the ued to be monitored by CBC. Long Furrow Magazine, which I hope you all find informative.

18 At this point I would like to say a very big ‘well done’ to Ms. Ann Parker of Strollers Way for winning (unanimously) the first prize for the Community, or Shared Gardens category, in the East Midlands in Bloom Annual Competi- tion. Ms. Parker attended the Town Hall where she received £100 (in garden vouch- ers) and a Trophy engraved with her name and the year of the win. Thanks to Ms. Parker the prize will benefit all the residents of Stroll- ers Way.

I would like to also take this opportunity of thanking the CBC Officer’s, all the East Gos- cote Parish Councillors, Nick Shivers, Care- taker, PC Porter, the Chair of the Parish Council, Mrs. Loseby, Mrs. Beaver, Assistant Clerk, and most particularly, Mrs. Liz Pizer, Parish Council Clerk, for all their help and assistance during the past year who have assisted me greatly in my duties and who have all worked so very hard in the best interests of East Goscote. Together, I believe, we have achieved much and I look forward to another successful year serving the people of East Goscote.

To conclude, my surgeries have begun again for this year, and I will continue to leaflet all households quarterly, but should you need to contact me at anytime, I am always available and you can contact me either by e-mail at [email protected] or telephone me on 01162929419

Cllr. Cathy Duffy.

East Goscote Library is having a book sale.

Old library books and DVDs will be sold to make way for the new stock and anyone who would like to have a browse should visit the library on Ling Dale between Monday, 7th June and Saturday, 12th June. CHIROPODY For further details please contact East Goscote Library on 0116 3053510 STATE REGISTERED East Goscote Library is open CHIROPODIST

Monday 9.00 – 12.00 ¨ HOME VISITING SERVICE Tuesday 2.00 – 7.00 MRS B.K.JUJ Wednesday CLOSED Tel:Tel: 01160116 260 260 3188 3188 (MCHs.SRCH) Thursday 2.00 – 5.00 Friday 9.00 – 12.00 LOCAL HOME VISITING PRACTICE Saturday 9.30 – 1.00 & 2.00 – 5.00

19 The SEALs have now been entered into the Broomfield’s got Talent schools talent final called Class Act, hosted by Once again Broomfield’s Roundhill School. Everyone at Broomfield wonderfully supportive Friends of would like to offer their good luck wishes to the Broomfield ‘FOBs’ organised a SEALs at this event. School Talent contest. Key Stage 2 children auditioned in their classes More Football Success and one or two successful acts from Bryn, Ryan and the rest of the each class went through to the live final on football team played in a league and we won it! There were three other th Thursday 25 March. This was a very entertain- Primary Schools in our league and ing evening, attended by a full house and raising only two teams went to the finals, which were a fantastic £400. Richard Hill Primary School and Broomfield The children delighted us all with their acts Primary School. We played 8 games, won 7 and which they performed superbly and with great drew 1. enthusiasm. There were also performances from When we got to the finals, we played Church Year 3 dancers, year 5 and 6 dance club and Hill Junior School and lost 2-1, but we still had Broomfield’s singing club. a chance to come third. So we played our second The evening was hosted by Mr Nichol and Kevin game against Richard Hill and won 2-1. That left Harrup, Judith Mitchell and Holly Mitchell us in third place. We enjoyed it all the way lined up to be judges, providing chil- through, especially the finals, even though we dren with positive feedback about their lost one game. performances. (Look out Simon Cow- By Bryn and Ryan Year 5 ell!) The winners were decided by the audi- The Broomfield Challenge ence who all had a chance to vote for their The first round of our brand new favourite act. In third place was Isabella who Broomfield Challenge Quiz took sang a beautiful version of ‘Truly Scrumptious’ nd from ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’. place on Thursday 22 April. Eight Second place went to ‘The Rocking Robbins’ children from each year group were whose very lively dance was delightfully per- selected from class competitions to formed. make up teams of children. Each team First place was given to ‘The SEALs’ who are consisted of one child from each year group. The Spencer, Ethan, Adam and Louie. Spencer is a winning four teams will be taking part in a very big fan of ‘The Beatles’ and the boys had second quiz at the beginning of June and the all decided to sing a Beatles song that they all winners will go on to the grand final in front of knew well. They thrilled the audience with their a live audience sometime towards the end of term. very confident version of ‘Baby You Can Drive My Car’. Spencer and Adam sang lead vocals Visit from the Leicester Riders and Ethan and Louie were backing singers and Foundation and Key Stage played the maraca and tambourine. One children had great fun Louie was not at school for the first audition and on Friday 16th April when so the first time he performed was to the rest of they were treated to a visit the school at the dress rehearsal. from Gareth, a representa- Louie said he didn’t hear when the winner was tive from the Leicester Rid- announced and only realised they had won when ers Basketball team. The Adam and Spencer jumped up and down! Ethan children were all left on a high after their intro- said he was “absolutely amazed” to hear they duction into this fun sport and each child also had won as he hadn’t expected to win. received a special gift from the Riders Team.

20 The children would like to say a big thank you to the Leicester Riders and wish them good luck Mini Bus for next season. The school has a lovely, brand Fundraising Events new mini bus which Commu- Following the terrible earthquake disaster in nity groups can hire for outings, Haiti we raised a fantastic £538.47 towards this events etc. Please contact the Bur- sar at deserving cause by having a non-uniform day, the school for further details. (0116 2606704) selling cakes and holding a raffle. And Finally! Year 3 World War II Visit to Beau- On the day of the General Election year 4 and manor Hall 5 children told their classmates what they This term children in Year 3 have would like to do to change the country if they been learning about World War II. were Prime Minister. Each child in year 5 had to write their own manifesto, the children then On Friday 19th March both Year 3 held a vote on who they thought had the best classes visited Beaumanor Hall for a World War ideas. Here is a summary of the winning party II day. During the day the chil- leader Declan’s Manifesto. dren went into an air raid shelter and heard the sound of an air Hello my name is Declan, below are some raid siren. “I enjoyed this part of reasons why you should vote for me. We need the day the most” said Jamie. a better country so vote for me. Hannah said the sound of the air raid made her If I became Prime Minister I will change all the feel like she wanted her Mum and Dad. While shop prices in your area, for example if a bag of in the shelter the children sang typical songs 6 carrots cost £1.10 it will now cost 90p, if I am from the era like ‘Run Rabbit Run’ and ‘Bless Prime Minister, so if you are short of money Them All’. vote for me. Jamie and Hannah also told me that they split If you want a safer Country, vote for me. into groups and went on a treasure hunt, they If you are worried about your child smoking, also learnt about semaphore and made code drinking or taking drugs I will take them away wheels. from our Country so we will be made a safer On their return to school the children have been Country. busy making information booklets about World If you are wasting money on petrol I will bring War II, writing about the blitz, air raid shelters, out electric cars where you can charge them up evacuation and V.E day. at home or at car parks all around the Country. So if you want to save money on petrol vote for Marathon Success me. Congratulations to Miss If you want to have more money vote for me Osmond and Miss Jex and if you need your child to be safe vote for who both completed the me and finally if you are worried about the London Marathon on petrol killing the environment I will bring out Sunday 25th April. Miss the electric car that will be safer for the environ- Osmond completed the race in 4hrs and 18mins ment. I am more than any other Prime Minister and Miss Jex finished in 4hrs 55min. I will change the Country by lowering prices, Well done to you both we are very stop petrol and ban smoking and certain drugs proud of you. from this Country, if you need this kind of stuff

Miss Osmond Miss Jex BOOKMARKS Thank you for the response to our request for the Self Portraits East Goscote Jubilee Bookmark: it was tremendous. Year one children have been learn- It is surprising just how many are still in existence ing about castles, knights, Kings and Queens after 19 years. We apologise to all those who we and princesses. Here are some examples of self never got back to. portraits turned into Kings and Queens by Mrs Grainger’s and Miss Dodd’s class. John & Angela Malpus.

21 ST HILDA’S CHURCH NEWS Into Spring 2005

The new Parochial Church Council has a The Church Fete will take place on Saturday number of maintenance tasks to address this 26 June on the grass area in front of the year. There are many jobs we would like to church, weather permitting. Indoors if wet! undertake but we are constantly set back by Please do come and join us and if you would having to pay out for new windows and other like to have a stall please let the vicar know work due to vandalism. February and March - 0116 2692555 . There is to be a Church have been particularly bad months for this. Outing to Wickstead Park on Sunday 4 July. On the morning of Mothering Sunday we We shall have a short service in the park came into church to find 5 windows smashed when we arrive. .. A child’s bike and large pieces of stone from the pub wall were used to carry out this We were really pleased that the Scarecrow deliberate act of vandalism. Since that day Walk went so well and over £300 was raised we have had two more incidences of for Diabetes U.K. Well done to Tricia and individual windows broken. The shed has Gill who organised it all and worked so hard also been badly damaged and is unrepairable. with their helpers to provide refreshments in The police are aware of the children who are the church hall during the afternoon. I doing this and if anyone sees anything at all, counted over 60 scarecrows when I walked not just around the church, but in any part of round the village on the Sunday afternoon the village they should contact the police. and I didn’t manage to see quite all of them! Nobody wants this sort of thing happening Everyone who took part made a splendid on our village. effort with their scarecrows and anyone who missed it, missed a treat! Somehow I think We welcome Liz Angel, who is a curate in it might take place again next year! Watch the Fosse Team, to St. Hilda’s for a period of this space 3 months. She has lived on the village for a couple of years but has been working with St. Jane Mercy - Church Warden Peter’s and St. Paul’s, Syston for most of that time. Now we are going to benefit from her ministry with us. Our Family Service is on the fourth Sunday of every month with

the focus on children’s worship. We had a Home-Start football theme on Palm Sunday with the Charnw ood 4 6 Derb y Road children making banners and scarves to wave. Loughborough LE11 5BX In April we had a drama on psalm 23 - The Fam ily Support Lord’s My Shepherd, and the children Volunteers W anted enjoyed the puppetry. Why not come and If you have parenting experience join us, it is for an age range of about 4 -10 and can spare 3-4 hours each week to visit fam ilies in nee d of year olds. You will be very welcome and Liz befriending then w e need YOU! The next FREE preparation course will be leading our next Family Service on runs every Tues and Fri from 8th June for 3 w eeks, 9.30am – 2 .30pm 23 May. On 30 May there will be a Team in Loughborough. Eucharist Service at Thrussington church. E xpenses are paid. A pre-course Whenever there is a fifth Sunday in the interview is re quire d. P hone: 01509 239786 month all the churches join together that day E: en quiries@ hom estartcharnw ood .co.uk C harity N o 1108575 Company N o. 5373643 for a united celebration. Funded by th e Na tion al Lo tte ry throu g h B ig Lottery F und

22 St Hilda’s church is your parish church which means that it is your right to use the church for special times in life such as to get married, be baptised and to celebrate other special occasions and also to come to church for not so happy times such as death and funeral of a loved one. That is not all; you are welcome to join the congregation in worship and other social activities. We all, who worship at St. Are you looking for an accountant ? Hilda’s church, seek to engage with the community Look no further and serve in any way possible. There are two programmes planned for this summer AJD Accountancy Services Limited can provide you for all to come and enjoy. with the following services: St. Hilda’s Fete is going to be on Saturday 26 June between 11am and 3pm. This is our second year and Preparation of Sole trader, Partnership it was a big success last year with many people from and Limited Company accounts, the village coming to the church gardens and church Completion of VAT returns, centre opposite the children’s play area on Lingdale There is going to be lots of stalls, entertainment, Wages service, dances and presentations again this year. Plus other accountancy related advice. On Sunday 4 July we have arranged a parish picnic jointly with Thurmaston as we now are linked with them. We will not have service in the church but go Please Contact Andrew Disney FCCA, to Wickstead Park in Kettering and have a short on 0116 2604978 service there in the open and enjoy the day with for further information. family and friend. Regulated by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants As it is said that the church is here for you from the beginning to the end of life and also all the way in the middle. We are not here only to provide care for soul and to look after each other on our spiritual journey but also to engage in social action and help each other to create and sustain a caring community in East Goscote and beyond. Our main service is on Sunday 10 am and on fourth Sunday we have family service for people of all ages including children with child friendly activities. On 2nd and 3rd Sunday we also have a service at 6pm. We look forward to see you for our programmes and service. For more information on any of the above or otherwise, please contact the vicar, Rev. Javaid Iqbal on 0116 2692555 or email [email protected]

W.W.W.

GCF

A ‘Get Together’ for Christians in East Goscote

Welcome, Worship and the Word, followed by a faith tea

27th June, in St Hilda’s , between 4pm and 5.45pm

We hope you can manage to come along . .

For more information contact Janet & Dennis, tel:2607410

23 please if you see any act of vandalism to the Church Annual Parish Meeting April 14th 2010. please call the Police, if you do not wish to give your name ring Crime stoppers on 0800 555 111. Chairman’s Report. Antisocial behaviour continues to cause distress to many residents .Please report all incidents to the Police, a record is kept of all reported incidents, and we have The Parish Council have included funds in the budget asked for the list to be added to the monthly crime this year for Children’s Summer events and Christmas report. The Parish Council has updated our existing Community Scheme for elderly residents, at the time CCTV and we are looking at additional sites for of writing this report details are still being decided, as further cameras. we may have to change the format to adhere to legal Vice Chairman Councillor Yvonne Smith, Councillor requirements. Bob Black and our Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator The Pavilion was constantly being broken into by Mrs. Hewitt have accompanied Police Officers in vandals ripping through the walls, destroying toilets vehicles on evening and night shifts. and fittings, the Parish Council decided to clad the Charnwood Borough Council have contracted their exterior in a brown metal cladding and replace the Cleansing and collection of waste to Serco and this guttering. at a cost of £4,154 +vat. service commenced in August, following a Meeting During the very cold spell the pavilion pipes froze and and discussions with Charnwood and Serco, East resulted in flooding bringing the ceiling down and Goscote is now receiving an excellent cleansing and ruining an electric storage radiator. The cost to repair waste collection service. the damage was £5,054 which has been reclaimed I have attended four Official engagements during the from the insurance less the excess. However as the loft year on behalf of the Parish Council. The East Goscote housed 21 water tanks The Council has decided to Football Tournament 2009. To present medals,The install a large tank and water heater, at an extra cost to Remembrance Service at St. Hilda’s Church, The us, that will prevent a reoccurrence and boost the water Dedication of the Fleury Bell at St. Hilda’s Church, supply to the showers. and the Christmas Concerts at Broomfield School. The Parish Council have purchased a Line marker at The Village Hall continues to be well used and is the cost of £500, a strimmer at £172, restored the popular for parties. The Village Hall is run by the CCTV system at £225 and replaced the bark chippings Village Hall Management Committee and managed by under the play equipment in the play area with safety Liz and Tracey who expertly deal with all bookings matting that will allow the grass to grow and administration. Thank You to Chairman Cllr. through it at a cost of £175. Yvonne Smith and Vice Chairman Cllr, June Kyle, and Tree works were also carried out on our trees after a all Committee members. professional tree inspection. Mrs. Gill Morton resigned as a Parish Councillor in A New Bus Shelter has been erected at the Chestnut May 2009, Gill joined the Parish Council in February Way Bus Stop by kind permission of Dr. Shah, 50% of 2005.and was a willing team member, loyal and with the cost of the new shelter has been funded by a particular interest in all matters concerning the Leicestershire County Council. elderly. Mrs. Margaret Gillam resigned in June 2009. The Christmas celebrations, Santa touring the Village Margaret was on the Village Hall Management and meeting all the children in the Village Hall, the Committee for some years and served as Vice display of singing and dancing toys, the mini fair, and Chairman, Margaret joined the Parish Council in 2006 the Christmas Tree display in the Church was enjoyed and was a loyal, team member with particular interest enormously by everyone, a busy, happy evening to in the Village Hall and children’s events. Thank You remember. A big Thank You to Cllr. Yvonne Smith, Gill and Margaret for your service to our Village as Mrs Liz Pizer, Mrs. Tracey Beaver, Mr. Nick Shivers, Councillors. Mr. Robert Black joined the Parish Cllr. Bob Black, Council in August 2009 Bob has already become Cllr June Kyle, Cllr. Betty Allen and Cllr Cathy Duffy, invaluable and is very enthusiastic, with a particular and everyone at St.Hilda’s Church for all their hard interest in Highway Safety matters, Policing, and Anti work in planning, and organising the event. social behaviour. Welcome Bob. The cost of vandalism to the Village this year is: £896 Mr. Adrian Hodgkinson joined the Parish Council in This compares with £1,123. In 2009 March 2010 welcome Adrian, we look forward to £1,119. In 2008 working with you. £3,295. in 2007 During long, severe icy weather conditions this winter We are pleased there has been a reduction in the cost of The Long Furrow was not gritted by the Highways vandalism to the Village. Department of the Leicestershire County Council, Sadly, St. Hilda’s Church has been the target of leaving the only access road to 1,000 homes in our serious and dangerous vandalism, in fact criminal Village in a very dangerous condition for a very long damage. The Parochial Church Council have had to time. This happened because Long Furrow is a constantly undertake repairs and this has been very Priority 3 road and will only be gritted when time and expensive. It is the duty of us all to care for our Village, resources allow. East Goscote Parish Council have demanded that Long Furrow is returned to a Priority 2

24 road. We have written to Leicestershire County Council, had a meeting with Mr. Martin Broomhead ADVERTISERS INDEX from the Highways department, and appealed to Mr. David Parsons CC. we have the full support of our Aerials Elms TV Aerials p9 County Councillor Mr. Dave Houseman. A petition Blinds/Curtains Barkby Blinds p25 signed by residents of our Village, after a child was E.G. Carpets & Blinds p.15 involved in an accident in the icy conditions, was Building and TLB p5 presented to Cllr. Houseman at the Parish Council Maintenance Stone fireplaces p9 meeting on 10th February. Our Grateful thanks to our Waite, Glazier p11 Caretakers Nick and Richard, and Clive Tennant for Clean Eaves p15 gritting paths and other important thoroughfares Car Repairs/Sales during this time. Clive Smith p10 17 Planning Applications were considered during the Goscote Services p4 year. Computers Progressive Computing p19 Our grateful thanks to Cllr. Dave Houseman our T N T p13 County Councillor for all the support and help he has Driving School E G School p16 given the Village in County Council matters. Finance A Longley p16 Our grateful thanks to Cllr. Cathy Duffy for all the AJD p23 support and help she has given the Village in all Gas Servwell Robert Butler p19 Charnwood Borough Council matters. Gardening I C Garden Care p16 Thank You to the Long Furrow Editorial team lead by Health & Beauty Chiropody p19 Mr. Dennis Bishop for their commitment to providing Pharmacy p.10 every home and business in the Village with a copy of Holidays Wells next sea p.27 The Long Furrow, and to all who deliver the Magazine. Legal Josiah Hincks p6 I wish to express my thanks and gratitude to Mrs. Liz Memorials De Montfort p19 Pizer our Parish Council Clerk and responsible Painting & Decorating Financial Officer, Thank You Liz for the professional Robert Ingram p5 and dedicated way you work for East Goscote. Thank Printing Clipper Print p10 You to Mrs. Tracey Beaver our administration assistant Roofing E. G. Roofing p8 for all her help. Thank You Tracey. TV/ Hi-Fi Glenfield Television p10 My thanks and gratitude to Mr. Nick Shivers our M. Pope p10 Village Caretaker for all his hard work and Tree Care B Aggar p4 commitment to the Village. Undertakers G. E Gamble p11 My thanks and gratitude to Mr. Richard Garner our Village Caretaker for all his hard work and If you use these services, please mention the Long commitment to the Village. Furrow. My Thanks and gratitude to PC. Phil Porter and PCSO Laura Grimley our local beat officers, Thank You both. My Thanks and gratitude to Mrs. Ellen Hewitt for her dedication and hard work to Neighbourhood Watch in the Village. As set out in Standing Orders, this is the end of my term as Chairman of East Goscote Parish Council, I wish to record my Thanks and Gratitude to all the Councillors for their support to me during this time, and their commitment to all Parish Council working parties, Committees and Parish Council Meetings. Thank you to Cllr. Yvonne Smith Vice Chairman. BARKBY BLINDS Thank You to Cllr Betty Allen for her wisdom. Domestic &B CommercialB Thank You to Mrs. Liz Pizer for all the support, help 3 DAY DELIVERY ON and guidance she has given to me, and Thank You to SELECTED VERTICALS Roger for his help and support at all times. NO NEED TO GO INTO TOWN ! CONSERVATORIES A SPECIALITY Maureen Loseby Visit our workshop, or we’ll visit you! View our huge range of Verticals, FREE MEASURING & INSTALLATION Rollers, Venetian & Pleated blinds NOW STOCKING WOODEN VENETIANS in the comfort of your own home. PATIO AWNINGS & CANOPIES PHONE NOW FOR A FREE QUOTATION 0116 269 3120 Workshop No1, Main St, Barkby, opposite Post Office, Easy Parking

25 County Councillor Dave Houseman’s Report to Pleased be assured that everything will be done to East Goscote Parish Council March 10th 2010 resolve this matter. I strongly believe this injustice Gritting and salting petition, Long Furrow, East Goscote. must be addressed as not only is it unfair but it has now, unfortunately, been proved to be unsafe because people are being put at risk, particularly I would like to thank East Goscote Parish Council young children and the elderly. Of all the issues I am and the 378 people that signed the petition and working on this will have the highest priority Laura Laing the resident that presented it to me at however long it takes to get a satisfactory result. the council meeting on 10.2.10. This means that more than 17% of the East Goscote electorate Dave Houseman, Leicestershire County Councillor signed the petition. Officers have been requested to for East Goscote, Cossington, Ratcliffe on the put this vitally important issue on the Charnwood Wreak, Syston west, and Thrussington. Highways Forum Agenda. I have now received confirmation that it will definitely be an Agenda Telephone 0116 2600848 Disk: County Councillor Item on 31st March and I have asked officers to Dave Houseman’s to Report to East Goscote Parish inform East Goscote Parish Council, I will inform Council 10.3.10 Tilly-Paige Laing-Geddes and her mother. I am also making every effort to get a review this year of the FINANCIAL REPORT - APRIL 2010 gritting and salting routes. I do not agree that Long Furrow should only be You have all received your financial report in your gritted when resources are available because at pack. Looking at our expenditure last year, wages times this makes it very dangerous. It's just not good and admin make up the majority of the expenses, enough because Long Furrow runs all the way now having four hard working members of staff. around the village and it’s the only way the majority The large amount in Open Spaces is the cost of of residents can gain access to their homes. maintaining the green areas, the mowing contract, Three buses an hour usually use Long Furrow but the play areas and the pavilion rent. This year we when it becomes so treacherous, because it’s not installed a metal cladding to the pavilion at a cost of . being gritted, it seems bus drivers have been £4154.00 and we also purchased new tools instructed by the bus company not to use it. This amounting to £700 and a new bus shelter £1000.00. makes access even more difficult and some We also installed safety matting to the village green residents are being made prisoners in their own play area. Also part of that amount includes the homes. invoice we have had to pay for the insurance work, Many representations have been made to me about which we are being repaid £4804.00. the road not being salted and gritted when it needs to be. It has been pointed out to me that residents in The free 2p which is an amount of £6.15 per all age groups suffer social exclusion and have great electorate may be spent on things which in our difficulty getting to their GP, the Elderly Persons opinion are in the interests of, or will directly Residential Home, the library, chemists and getting benefit the area of its' inhabitants, or part of it, or food related provisions. It is used of course also by some of them. This we have spent on items like subs many children to get to school. Villagers pay their and donations, production of our village magazine, council tax and are rightly asking why they are not the free "poop scoop" scheme, and the Christmas receiving the service they deserve from the council. lights celebrations. I have calculated that East Goscote residents pay The Christmas lunch for the elderly was paid for this nearly £1million each year in council tax to the year, by 12 local businesses who donated £1200 to County Council, which is a first class council, but is the Parish Council to enable them to run the scheme. delivering a second class salting and gritting service to East Goscote. Residents are rightly questioning if On the income side of things, it is largely made up East Goscote is getting a fair distribution of the of our precept and pitch rents along with the VAT resources. refund. A few weeks ago a child, Tilly-Paige Laing-Geddes, slipped and fell under a vehicle which might have Financial matters within the village have an effect been avoided if the road had been salted and gritted. on every household via the community charge; this Clearly this situation cannot continue and Long is where we notice any increase at a personal level. Furrow must be given a higher priority in regard to gritting and salting. The County Council have For next years budget 2010/11 the parish Council repeatedly refused to change their priority routes to have precepted £55,300 – an increase of 1.8% include Long Furrow. The Parish requirement for a band D property in the

26 village of East Goscote for 2010/11 is £60.33. This is a increase of £1.06p for the year. The average in the Borough of Charnwood is £70.64 indeed if you lived a few miles away in Syston you would be paying £94.38 for your parish services.

The parish Council budget for 2010/11 is £63,610.00 but using some of our reserves, we are able to reduce our level of requirement to £55,300.

Our projects for 2010/11 include £3,500 to renew the play area safety surfacing which is badly worn, £250.00 to provide 2 additional grit bins, £750.00 for the summer playscheme and £1000.00 for the community scheme. Also £750.00 has been allocated to upgrade the electrics in our sports pavilion.

INCOME 2009 2010 EXPENDITURE 2009 2010

BALANCE BF £35,477.01 £29,489.77 ADMIN/STAFF £32,408.32 £34,111.57

VAT REFUNDS £2,224.86 £2924.63 BURIAL £0.00

PRECEPT £54,300.00 £54,300.00 OPEN SPACES £21,529.39 £21,437.91

INTEREST £986.18 £23.61 V.H.M.C. £ 999.75 £1226.20

PITCH RENTS £1,417.00 £1805.00 FREE 2P £ 4,025.06 £3861.95 MISC INC £178.59 £7777.91 VAT £ 3,146.44 £3715.56

PETTY CASH £150.00 £180.00 COUNCIL VAN £ 3,134.91 £3273.56

(£59,256.63) £67,011.15 TOTAL £65,243.87 £67,626.75

UNPAID CHEQUES £1363.50 CURR ACC £ 250.00 DEP ACC £ 29,963.23 CASH £ 24.44

TOTAL £97,864.42 TOTAL £97,864.42

GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK Our luxury 4 to 6-berth holiday caravan at Wells-next- the-Sea, Norfolk is closed for this year but we are taking bookings for 2010. Pinewoods Park holds a David Bellamy Conservation Award and is set in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Within 10 minutes walk of miles of unspoiled beaches, woodland trails and nature reserves and less than a mile from the fascinating fishing port of Wells - this holiday destination is only a couple of hours from East Goscote and combines relaxation, interest and activity for all ages and tastes. Phone 0116 2606773 or 0772 489 1627 for further 70 : 00 information. ( and it won’t cost the Earth )

Your letters & Comments I am writing to say how much I enjoyed being part of the East Goscote Scarecrow Hunt. I felt it was a real family time, and it was lovely to see families out for the afternoon, walking, cycling and just having fun finding the scarecrows. We, as a family, on a wet Easter Monday, also enjoyed making the scarecrows together for the hunt. Personally, I hope that it can be repeated another year, lasting maybe a whole weekend (or over a Bank Holiday weekend in May perhaps). Also, if it was more widely publicised, especially in neighbouring villages, it could become quite a special area event. We should be pleased to show off our village ! (name and address supplied)

27 YOUR BACK PAGE On this page is a list of village contacts that is certainly not complete and in some cases out of date. Updating it is up to you. If you are a member of a group which is providing a service to the community, please let us have up to date details. Organisations whose primary aim is profit can purchase an ad for a few pounds and be listed with our other advertisers.

Air Training Corps 1181(Syston) Squadron Bizzy Bees Preschool Andy Houghton 2603948 Helen Batson 07971274405 Boys Brigade Jeff Matthews 01664 850795 Sims (ex. Plough) 2603388 Jnr Section Mick Lattimore 2606243 Police Syston 2222222 Beavers Johanne Draycott 07981101644 Post Office 2606236 Borough Councillor Cathy Duffy 2929419 Rainbow Guides Sue Bowles 2375475 Brownies Rosemary Fraser 2602912 Broomfield School Alan Nichol 2606704 Recycling & Household Waste Busline (Public Transport Info) 2313391 (Sileby) 01509 814713 Charnwood Borough Council 01509 263151 Recycling Officer 01509 634712 Chiropodist (free to the elderly) 01509 564321 Scout Group/Hut Steve Round 2607774 Cubs Jayne Disney 2608786 Scouts Phil Bott 2692018 Afternoon Tea Tricia Marsland 2609088 St Hilda's Church Centre Bookings Country & Western Dancing 01949 881502 Tricia Marsland 2609088 Daisy Chain Natalie Palfreyman 2607923 Syston Bowling Club 2692105 Dorrell, Stephen MP 2608609 Syston Catholic Church Fr Anthony Pateman 2608476 E G Parish Council Liz Pizer 2602202 Syston M'dist Church E G Football U10’s Darren Eden 2692830 Rev. I Mason 2607626 U11’s Jimmy Price 2603046 Syston Model Railway Soc. U8 Leigh Carver 2601410 C. Leach 2605760 U7 Simon Riley 2600782 Syston Volunteer Bureau 2607888 Friendship Club Eileen Ellis 2605933 Tots Tricia Marsland 2609088 Guides Julia Bolton 2608524 Tree Warden June Kyle 2607848 Jam 4 T Tricia Marsland 2609088 Twinning Assoc. Eileen Ellis 2605933 Leicester County CouncilCouncillor Village Hall Bookings Booking Officer 2602202 David Houseman 2600848 Village Hall Pre School Library 3053510 Sally Lander 2694835 Long Furrow Editor Dennis Bishop 2607410 Mobile . . . . 07756312171 Long Furrow Adverts Ian Clarke 2604426 Wreake Runners Dave Palmer 2606889 Mahavir Medical Centre Wreake Valley Lions Mrs C Grimes 2608412 Dr B Shah 0845 045 0381 Wreake V. Youth Club Neighbourhood Watch Carol Baxter 2608858 Ellen Hewitt 2608224 Pharmacy Arvind Patel 2606734

The Parish Council Offices are at the side of the Village Hall

Open Mon, Tues, Thurs From 9:30 to 3:00pm

LONG FURROW EMAIL ADDRESS: [email protected]

Website address: eastgoscote.leicestershireparishcouncils.org