Ruddington Parish Council

November 2011 FREE – MONTHLY Issue No. 22

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COMPETITION PRESENTATION EVENING

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(Parish Council Chairman Mrs. Barbara Venes with some of the winners)

On Tuesday 25th October the Parish Council held a special Presentation Evening at St. Peter’s Rooms to celebrate the success of the competitions held over the summer. Prizes and certificates were presented by the Parish Council Chairman, Mrs. Barbara Venes, to winners of the Front Garden, Window Boxes/Baskets/Planters, Allotment and the new “Photographic” Competitions. Around 40 people attended the presentation, after which refreshments were served and residents had an opportunity to meet their Parish Councillors.

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‘IN THE PINK’ AT CLASSIC CUTS

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Staff at Classic Cuts, the hairdressing salon on High Street, were delighted to raise £550 for Breakthrough Breast Cancer during their recent fundraising event. They managed to sell 600 raffle tickets with lots of prizes including hairdressing vouchers and hair products.

The highlight of the event was on Saturday 15th October when they sold pink cup cakes (made by one of their clients) and pink fizz. Staff wore very pink outfits for the day and even some of the clients who came for appointments wore pink.

Owner Traysi Kirk told me: “I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone that donated and supported us. Also, thanks to my staff who worked really hard promoting and arranging costumes, etc. – so well done Michelle, Tasha, Amy, Lauren, Emma, Courtney and Lucy!”

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SHRIMPTON COURT

Mrs. Margaret Grice would like to thank everyone who helped to raise £250 for Macmillan Cancer Support at the recent coffee morning held at Shrimpton Court.

“THE WHIFF OF MANURE MAKES MY HEART SING”

Do you know that there are several allotment plots in Ruddington village? These are for village folk who have an interest in growing their own fresh, organic, wholesome food and reducing their dependence upon commercially grown produce. The main allotment sites are at Paradise Gardens on Wilford Road, Hareham Gardens at the corner of Musters Road and Asher Lane and Buttercup Gardens, further down Asher Lane.

It’s not only about old men in sheds (although there are some about!), but rather an opportunity to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and enjoy sweet air and light exercise. Vegetables grown by yourself and eaten soon after picking can be extremely nutritious and really stimulate your taste buds!

Ruddington Gardeners’ Association was established in 1934 to promote and encourage the interests and activities of all those who enjoy gardening. Whether you already have an allotment, a garden at home or a simple window box, the Association has something of interest to offer you.

It is fair to say that the Association has been somewhat dormant for the last few years and is now seeking to recruit and increase its active membership, ideally to the number that was commonplace in the 1970s and 1980s. Therefore, you are invited to an open evening on Wednesday 30th November 2011, at 7.30 pm in the Hermitage on Wilford Road. There will be an illustrated talk on ‘Allotment gardening – vegetables for all seasons’ by Mike Davey, followed by the opportunity to hear more of the Association’s future plans and to chat informally with others who share your interests. Light refreshments will be provided free of charge.

We look forward to meeting you!

Please notify Clement Dixon by 21st November on 0115 9211565 if you intend to come, to help plan catering.

(Paradise Gardens, Wilford Road)

ARRANGING A FESTIVE MEAL?

Have it in Ruddington! Christmas is traditionally a time for friends, colleagues and family members to get together to enjoy good company and festive fayre. But why travel into town when you can enjoy an excellent, well-cooked Christmas meal right here in Ruddington? With several of our pubs and restaurants offering special festive menus at competitive prices, you’ll be spoilt for choice. You can find contact details for most of our village venues listed in the Parish Council’s Village Guide or on the website at www.ruddingtonparishcouncil.gov.uk, or just pop in to your favourite pub or restaurant to book a table. But don’t feel you have to wait until Christmas – whether you’re arranging a special dinner, birthday, anniversary party or just having a casual meal with friends, you’ll find a great choice of venues in the village.

Please keep it local if you can!

(Researched & written by Faye Stenson)

REMEMBRANCE 2011

A Service of Remembrance will be held at the War Memorial on Church Street at 10.45am on Sunday 13th November followed by Morning Service in St. Peter’s Church.
On Friday 11th November, members of the Ruddington & District Royal British Legion, supported by members of Ruddington Parish Council and residents of the village will assemble at 10.50am at the War Memorial to observe the two minutes silence at 11am, the time of the cessation of hostilities on the 11th November 1918. Full details of both services will be circulated on posters throughout the village.

For those wishing to visit the War Memorial after the service, the gates will remain open until Friday 25th November 2011.

“STRICTLY” COMES TO RUDDINGTON

Well Done …. to Leila Hall aged 7, who has danced her way to compete at the ‘National’ Grand Final organised by the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing at the prestigious Winter Gardens in Blackpool. Leila had to dance in several heats to make it to the finals in Ballroom, Latin American & Classical and will now be competing against some of the best young dancers in the country in November.

Leila is taught by her Mum, Claire Hall, who has been teaching at St. Peter’s Rooms for many years. For further information about classes, please telephone The Claire Hall School of Dancing on 0115 937 5114.

RAGTEX COLLECTION

The Hermitage Preschool is holding a Ragtex Collection on Wednesday 9th November. Please bring along any unwanted curtains, linens, clothes, bags and shoes. The amount raised depends on the weight of the items collected, so they’re particularly keen to receive heavier items. If you’d like to keep up to date with Preschool news, they now have a ‘Facebook’ page – just search for ‘The Hermitage Preschool’ and click ‘Like’.
(Researched & written by Faye Stenson)

POLICE STATION CLOSURES

Many of you will no doubt have read in the Nottingham Post, about possible Police Station closures. The first batch of closures appear to have already been agreed and our own Police Station was mentioned as a possible candidate in what has been described as ‘Phase 2’.

Ruddington Parish Council was approached earlier in the year about a possible facility based in Parish Council premises, as part of an exercise to determine a suitable alternative location in the village. At that time, we believe other non-Parish Council facilities were also being considered.
At the time of printing this Newsletter, we are still part of the discussion process and will keep residents informed if and when progress is made. (Parish Councillor Allen Wood)

NEWS FROM SOUTHWOLDS

We have had a great start to the year - the best GCSE results ever with 87% of our students achieving 5 or more A* to C grades, and Ofsted rating us as Outstanding for attainment! The term started with a bang when Ofsted inspectors arrived just 3 weeks into the term, but we were delighted that they rated us as ‘Outstanding’ for both attainment and also for care, guidance and support for students. As you know, we pride ourselves on our excellent academic results and our caring environment, so it was great to have this recognised by Ofsted. Overall, the school was judged to be good with outstanding features. The Inspectors were also particularly impressed with our students and the way they behaved in school. A quote from the ‘main findings’ section of the report said:

‘Students’ attitudes to learning and behaviour both in lessons and around the school are good and this contributes to the good progress they make in their learning. The school’s outstanding curriculum and systems of care, guidance and support contribute to the promotion of very positive non-academic as well as academic outcomes for students. This is particularly evident in the extent to which students feel safe and adopt healthy lifestyles, both of which are judged outstanding.’

An Ofsted inspection is a really stressful time for the whole school. With just two days notice, five inspectors descended on the school for two days, observing parts of 46 lessons, holding meetings with students, governors and staff, and surveying parents. So I would like to thank the staff, students, governors and parents for their support during this time and for helping us make the improvements that have led to this excellent report.

Andrew George, Head Teacher

(Supplied by Kate Foale, Chair of Governors, who advised that the school now has a considerable number of pupils from Ruddington)

FOOD MILES

Are you aware that if you shop locally (at Thomas’s, for example) some of the vegetables are grown within a one mile radius of the shop, including most of the potatoes and some of the green vegetables. Within the county, other root crops and greens are sourced but sadly there are few growers left in Nottinghamshire. You can do your bit to keep them going by buying locally.
(Written & researched by Allen Wood)

OUR WEATHER RECORD

During an incredibly mild Autumn when October arrived it was predicted that the warmest ever UK temperature for the month might be reached. And so it was – in Ruddington!

At just after 4pm, on Saturday 1st October, Steve Mills’ high tech Oregon Scientific weather station on Paget Crescent recorded a new all time high of 29.8°C – a statistic that was instantly accessible on computers around the world via his rather impressive and comprehensive internet site.

IT expert Steve’s keen interest in meteorology began whilst learning to fly (he got his pilot’s licence 11 years’ ago). He first put Ruddington’s weather on the web back in 2006. Since then he has recorded not only all the highs but also the lows – minus 16°C is our minimum so far. There is a complete record of rainfall, humidity, air pressure, wind speed and even the UV index during our sunniest days! This combines with networked data from wunderground.com “to provide an even more accurate weather picture and forecast than the Met Office” claims Steve. “I’ve also installed a time lapse camera at the front of the house showing the ever changing weather patterns in the skies of Ruddington”.

Sure enough the roof of his house bristles with meteorological equipment all linked by radio sensors. There is an anemometer, weather vane and hygrometer assembly along with a rain gauge, barometer, UV sensor and camera - all recording data every five minutes and feeding it first to his weather station then automatically onto the internet.

Global warming? “I’ve not really seen any evidence over the past five years” says Steve. “But we do seem to be getting earlier winters – and it looks like this year will be no exception!”

You can visit Steve Mills’ Ruddington weather web site at: http://www.sandcmills.net/Flying/Weather/PHP/wxindex.php
(Researched & written by Graham Wright)

POLICE NOTICE - ACT NOW - Protect your allotment from thieves

We would like to inform you that there have been a number of thefts from allotments in your area. To help prevent your allotment from being targeted by thieves, please take note of the following information.
*Don’t leave items on display, remove valuable items and store in a secure location. *Fit an alarm to allotment sheds and consider the use of CCTV to deter criminals. Get more information about these devices by contacting your Local Beat Manager. *Ensure that you have good quality padlocks to secure entrances to sheds. *Consider buying Smart Water for any tools kept on the allotment to help prevent items from being stolen. *Keep serial numbers for electrical items where possible. This will help the police return items to you if they’re stolen and later recovered. *If a crime is in progress, dial 999. You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. If you see anything suspicious please report it on the above telephone numbers.

RUDDINGTON FESTIVAL

On Saturday 14th July, 2012 the local residents who have volunteered to organise the “Ruddington Festival 2012” invite you to join in a fun filled afternoon / evening of activities to celebrate OUR village. ………………
If you are part of an organisation or indeed an individual who would like to be involved on the day, either contact or drop into the Christmas Fayre at the Ruddington Grange Golf Club. It is on Sunday, December 4th from 10am till 2pm. Admission is free and members of the organising group for “Ruddington Festival 2012” will be there for you to find out more and they would be delighted if you wanted to offer to help make July 14th a fantastic day for Ruddington.
(By Barbara Breakwell)

STREET LIGHTING IS CHANGING

Nottinghamshire County Council is running a four-year programme to reduce street lighting. This will:
*Save carbon *Save money *Make the stars more visible
Lights in your area may be subject to the following changes:
1. Part-night lighting
Lights turned off from midnight GMT to 5.30am GMT in residential areas
2. Dimming
Lights turned down on through routes when there is less traffic
3. Switching off
A small number of lights in rural areas are being switched off
To find out more, log on to www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/streetlighting or call 08449 80 80 80

POLICING

Our Beat Manager Ann Gill says:

“PROTECT YOUR SHED! You will already have read that allotment holder sheds are being targeted but it’s not just allotment holders – it’s all garden sheds. Please read the item headed ‘POLICE NOTICE – ACT NOW’ on page 5 and take the precautions recommended.”

Police contact numbers are:

0300 300 9999 (non emergency)

Our Beat Manager is PC Ann Gill – tel: 07702 141 724