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This weeks local news

Copy for the edition published on Thursday 3rd May 2012

ECCY FACTOR: Entry forms for the Festival talent contest are now available online at the Festival website www.ecleshallfestival.co.uk and from the library. Entry is open to any local performer, groups duos etc, singers, acrobats, public speakers, choirs, musicians etc. The contest takes place in the Holy Trinity Church on Saturday June 23 as part of the Street Market celebrations.

Closing date for the competition is June 16th.

ECCLESHALL SINGERS: The annual general meeting of the Singers took place on Tuesday April 24 at the Methodist Church when officers were elected for the forthcoming year. Peter Jones had stood down as chairman after two years and was replaced with Sally Herbert. Secretary Helen Morrey was replaced with Anne Beaumont.

PARISH MEETING: The annual Eccleshall Parish meeting took place at the community centre on Wednesday April 25 and were given a presentation from Philip Thurlow-Craig from Crimestoppers and Stafford Borough Crime Prevention Panel.

The head teacher from Bishop Lonsdale School Chris Middleton together with two young pupils thanked the Council for its grant which helped towards taking 90 children to the Houses of Parliament.

 pic Anna Stockton and Amanda Bourne with head teacher Mr Chris Middleton

Reports were given by the various Council committee chairmen and the Parish Clerk on the activities of the past year.

Borough and County Councillors gave a report on their activities during the year and the various organisations who had received grants gave a report on the use of the funds and thanked the Council for the grant.

The meeting was well attended and the chairman Councillor Gordon Dale thanked people for attending.

pic of some of the grant recipients with chairman. l to r Peter bertram (Eccleshall in Bloom), Robert Carruthers (First responders), Councillor John Allen, John Pinney (Holy Trinity Church), Councillor Henry Butter (Croxton Church) and Councillor Gordon Dale chairman.

CHOIR AT THE LIBRARY: The Bishop Lonsdale School Choir gave a performance at the High Street library starting at 2.15pm last Thursday April 26. The library team of Claire Spencer and Janet Tomkinson provided refreshments for the singing youngsters.

pic of the children

WOODSEAVES QUIZ: The bi annual general knowledge quiz held at the Woodseaves village hall last Saturday drew a good crowd of 12 teams and raised funds for the local churches. After a nail biting tie breaker between Alex's Ladies and Velkro, Alex's Ladies team won.

ECCLESHALL GUIDE: The 2012 Eccleshall Guide was being distributed to homes in the area last week and is now available from News Express and the library. The Guide is free of charge thanks to the generous support of the advertisers. The 14th edition contains 80 pages of information about all things Eccleshall and is produced by Peter Jones. In addition the Guide has a web site at www.eccleshallguide.com and an APP.

LAST SUPPER: Borough Councillors will be joining the outgoing Mayor Councillor Stan Highfield at the Upper House Barlaston tomorrow Friday May 4. Eccleshall Councillors Chapman, Jones and Pert accompanied by their wives will be in attendance.

PARISH WALKS: The original set of twelve walks leaflets have been updated and together with a glossy walks booklet are now available free of charge from the library. Eccleshall has over 130 public footpaths and the booklet and the leaflets are produced by the Parish Council with funding from the County Council and the Eccleshall Guide. Comments have been received praising the booklet and the leaflets including a note from the Principal Rights of Way officer at the Staffordshire County Council who described them as ..." truly terrific!"

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH: At the groups meeting on Monday April 23 the plan to erect some 'No Cold Calling' signs in strategic places around the Parish in an effort to discourage doorstep sales people. NHW leader John Baldry is working with the local police to establish the best sites for the signs.

New PCSO Ian Brewis joined the Eccleshall team recently and the NHW are working closely with him and the rest of the team.

There have been reports of burglaries in Ranton, High Offley and Ellenhall and we are reminded that it is car boot season and we should make sure that our garden equipment and power tools are safely locked away. Is your shed burglar proof?

There will be police officers available to talk to us at the library on Tuesday May 8 starting at 10am.

pic Ian Brewis new PCSO in town

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK: 13th -19 May is Christian Aid Week when volunteers are needed to deliver the special appeal envelopes to homes in the parish. The envelopes will be available from the back of Holy Trinity Church from Sunday May 6. The appeal is being co-ordinated by Brenda Morris and Joan Oldbury and they would appreciate your support. They can be reached on 859291 Brenda and 850911 for Joan. On Saturday May 19 there will be a Christian Aid stall outside the Co-op from 9.30am to 12.30pm.

YOUTH DROP-IN: The young people of Eccleshall 11 - 15 years old are invited to drop-in tomorrow Friday May 4 at the library.

ST CHAD'S MUSICAL EVENING: The musically talented people of Slindon and area will be providing a concert at the St Chad's Church on Friday May 11 starting at 7.30pm. The evening includes food and wine and tickets are £10 each for details contact John Treanor on 851378.

The annual Slindon outdoor Rogation Sunday service will once again be held at Slindon House farm on Sunday May 13 starting at 11.30am and all are most welcome.

ROTARY AUCTION: On Saturday May 26 the Rotary Club are staging a fun auction at the George Inn between 10am and 12 noon. The event is to raise funds for the Jubilee party event being planned in the town. They are looking for smallish items to be donated for the auction. they can be brought to the George between 9am and 10am on the day of the auction, dropped in at the News Express shop between now and the auction or ring Peter Jones 0n 851381 and they will attempt to arrange collection. Those people who have never been to an auction will find this one amusing and good fun and folks should not be worried about scratching their head and bidding on a grand piano!

CHURCHYARD MAINTENANCE: The next opportunity for gardeners to give a hand at the Holy Trinity Church is this Saturday May 5, weather permitting starting at 9.30am If you can spare an hour or so for some gentle garden maintenance you would be most welcome by the team.

WOMEN'S INSTITUTE: Thursday May 10 is an evening for resolutions but it is followed by a Beetle Drive at the club's meeting at the parish room starting at 7.30pm.

MOTHER'S UNION: Bob Lee from St John Ambulance is the guest speaker at tonight's meeting at the parish room starting at 7.30pm. He will telling the group about a new minibus which the SJA are making available to local people.

THIRD AGE: The next meeting of the Eccleshall Third Age Club is on Monday May 7 at the Methodist Church starting at 2pm.

HISTORICAL SOCIETY: David Templeman is the guest speaker at the next meeting being held in the community centre on Wednesday May 9. His talk will be about 'Mary Queen of Scots from Sheffield to Fotheringhay - the final journey'.

The talk starts at 7.30pm.

FESTIVAL QUIZ: As a fund raiser for the forthcoming Festival in June a fun general knowledge quiz is being held in the community centre on Wednesday May 23 starting at 7.30pm. The quizmaster will be Peter Jones and the hot meat baps will be provided by William Perry. Tickets are £6 each available from News Express. The questions are guaranteed to be a good mixture of all levels of general knowledge with the emphasise on fun. Bring your own drinks and teams are limited to a maximum of 6 per team.

The funds raised help to pay for the various street entertainers at the Street Market on Saturday June 23.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING: The AGM of the Eccleshall Parish Council will be held in the community centre on Wednesday May 16 starting at 7.30pm. The election of Chairman and Vice Chairman will take place at the meeting.

NOISE AND SMELL: The Parish Council had received complaints of excessive noise and a smell from the new Saint Gobain plant on the Raleigh Hall Industrial Estate. The Parish clerk was asked to write to the Borough Council and request that remedial action be taken immediately.

COFFEE MORNING: The monthly coffee mornings being held at the Methodist church room continue on Saturday May 5 between 10.30am and noon.

WOMEN'S FELLOWSHIP: The members meet at the Methodist school room on Tuesday May 8 starting at 2pm. The guest speaker is Major Violet Cummings from the Salvation Army.

NOTE BASHING: A number of the Saints Alive Company were 'note bashing' in the Holy Trinity Church on Sunday along with accompanist Wendy Jackson in preparation for the Company's performance at the concert in Festival week.

pic: Chris Howe, Alison Llewellyn, Joy Jones, Hazel Bradshaw, Anita Guest, Stephen Cooke, Kate Griffiths, David Llewellyn and seated Wendy Jackson.