WELCOME. Inside issue six of Community News you will find lots of useful information regarding our local area, including a diary of local summer activities for young people and adult education classes. Thank you for passing all this information to us. If there are other events in the area we should include in future issues, our contact details are on the back page! Community News team

The Turner Hodgkiss Community Nature Reserve - get involved

A local farm house has been in the Turner/Hodgkiss family since it was built in 1878. Evelyn and Peter Turner lived in it for over 50 years. Before them, it was Evelyn’s parents, with the help of her brother Harry that farmed the area. In memory of their family, Jenny and Terry Hodgkiss want to create a Community Nature Reserve.
The land, gently sloping from top to bottom, was recently described by a member of Staffordshire Wildlife Trust as “a seasonal pond, wetland, self set woodland, oak, willow, sycamore, beech, looks good for amphibians, moths, woodland birds”.
We are looking for volunteers to become involved with the managing of this delightful site (including the hard ‘graft’!!) that will eventually be open to the whole community to enjoy.
We are also looking for volunteers with specialist skills. For example a solicitor to draw up a lease, individuals with specific wildlife skills to both identify the flora and forna etc. Advice on tree management, as well as the management of the wildlife habitat, perhaps a quantity surveyor, an artist and someone who can draw up plans. I am sure there are other skills that will be needed.
We plan to become affiliated to Staffordshire Wildlife Trust because of the benefits that affiliation can give us, including appropriate training and insurance.

If you are interested/want to find out more, please contact Eric via email: reserve@loggerheads.eu, telephone 01630 673543 or by letter to “The Reserve”, c/o Loggerheads Library, 7 Eccleshall Road, Loggerheads, Market Drayton, TF9 4NX.
In the near future a meeting will be arranged for all who have shown an interest to plan the way forward.

Save the Children

Thank you to everyone who supported the Barn Dance at Broughton in October the event made over £300 profit. Look out for our next event a quiz in the New Year.
Update on Burma - Save the Children has now helped more than half a million people in the worst hit areas. Relief supplies - including plastic sheeting for over 100,000 households, almost 1,900,000kg of rice, close to 96,000 sachets of oral hydration salts, 10,500 mosquito nets, 7,000 blankets and almost 14,000 blocks of soap. Now we are providing long term help to get children back in education and parents who have lost their livelihoods back in work.
Please support Save the Children, if you would like to donate please contact Linda on 01630 672267. If you would like a Save the Children collecting box please ring Rosie 01630 672061.

Staffordshire Wildlife Trust – North West Group

We have started our new season off with two brilliant talks. The first was an illustrated talk by Ray Perry on Rudyard Lake. He outlined the history and amazed us about the popularity of the lake in Victorian times. He updated us on the many new buildings and developments that have taken place during the last few years. Well worth a visit.
The second talk was given by David & Val Chant entitled “Close and Personal with Birds of Prey”. They brought with them some live falcons and a couple of owls - the picture being one of them. These illustrated talks are always very popular.
Alan Cornwall writes:
Being a “Birder”, this was one talk I did not want to miss. I had an expectation that I would pick up some tips on identifying local raptors, especially in flight. However, along with about 50 or so others that made up the audience, I was totally mesmerised for an hour and a half. David and Valerie nurse and house, rescued birds of prey. Valerie is a veterinary nurse and it is clear that she knows what she is doing. They bought along a selection of birds to show us and to let us stroke. Each bird had a unique character and each clearly enjoyed being on stage and playing to the audience. The Harris Hawks were aloof, like west end stars appearing at the Victoria Hall. Crash was a Tawny Owl in recuperation following an argument with a motorbike. Valerie had rebuilt his wings using steel pins (I’ve earned brownie points for rebuilding our bird table!). My favourite was the Barn Owl – a cheeky lightweight shouting for attention and purring when in David’s hand. I saw one hunting along a hedge row in Knighton last Spring. The top billing was the European Eagle Owl, who gave us an acrobatic show by spinning around David’s arm!
The passion and dedication that David and Valerie bring to bird conservation fills me with hope that the love of nature is still strong and healthy.
Future Events:
Meetings are normally held at 7.30 on the third Friday of each month at Eccleshall Church Hall, and on the first Friday of alternate months at Maer Village Hall, starting in October.
Friday 5 Dec - Maer- Wildilfe of Northern Botswana, an illustrated talk by John Berrington
Friday 16 Jan - Eccleshall - Birds of Florida, an illustrated talk by Dawn Osborn ARPS
Queries? Contact 01782 680250 or email lovattdm@aol.com

HALES CLUB

Following 'The Hales Club Extraordinary General Meeting' this summer, it's been fantastic to see a lot of new faces and receive on-going and renewed support from existing members. However, there is still a long way to go, and we need to keep that momentum going!! Ideas and suggestions will always be welcomed.
Take a look at the web site www.halesclub.co.uk for information of forthcoming events. There is always the opportunity to use the fantastic facilities of the 'galleried hall' as a venue for your own occasion of celebration or meeting.
Relax in the warm friendly, family atmosphere of the fully licensed bar, offering something for all ages including a full size snooker table, music, games and lots of special events.
The Cellar Bar is now open on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 7.00pm - 11.00pm and Sunday lunchtime from 12.00pm - 2.00pm.
One of our main goals for 2009 in to raise £2500 to replace the kitchen, to enable members and visitors far more catering options for venues. This is a massive challenge!! Anyone that is able to offer support for this project by way of donations or time and labour, we would love to hear from you.
If you would like any further information, or feel that you can offer some support in keeping this amazing local community club going, please contact Andi Davies on 07792493302.

Many thanks to all that have worked so hard so far. And just as important, thank you to all The customers. See you soon!

The World of Flowers Comes to Ashley!

A flower arranging demonstration was held recently at Ashley Parish Church. Three ladies all of whom have various experience in floral art created beautiful arrangements with fresh flowers. Two were local ladies, Kathleen Pemberton and Glynis Boulton who have arranged flowers in the church for several years and have developed their skills in flower arranging since retirement, showing us all that we are never too old to learn something new! The third presenter was Peggy Leslie, well known in Stone for her many years working with flowers in many capacities not least as a competitor in local shows, the last one being the Eccleshall Show where she won Best In Show with her floral arrangement! The evening was held to raise money for a Flower Festival at the Church next year. This is aimed at bringing the community together through the beauty of flowers and music.
Forty people of differing ages attended, including two children and one gentleman – well done Eric who masqueraded as the official photographer but enjoyed himself as well! Everyone enjoyed the flowers but this was made even better by the chance to take an arrangement home through the raffle.
Thank you to all who took part; the flower arrangers who braved the limelight, the visitors who came and made it all worthwhile and particularly the ladies who worked hard to put the evening on. Evenings like this do more than raise money; they bring us together for a bit of fun even though the church was a bit chilly!

Newcastle-under-Lyme College
Drop-in advice surgeries in Loggerheads

If you want to broaden your horizons, take up a new hobby or simply get out of the house and meet new people then come along to find out more about the part-time courses that are available LOCALLY. The College works closely with Staffordshire County Council to provide learning opportunities for people of all ages throughout the Borough. In Loggerheads, classes are currently held at the Hugo Meynell Primary School on Wednesday evenings from 6.45-8.45pm. The courses on offer include Complementary Therapies, Digital Photography, Floral Art and Floristry and Painting and Drawing.
There is a monthly drop-in session at the Loggerheads Community Information Shop. Sara Littlejohn, Adult Community Development Officer for Newcastle College, is available at the Library on the first Monday of every month, from 11.00am until 1.00pm. At the drop-in sessions, you can find out more about the courses on offer and talk to Sara about any other courses that you are interested in that are not currently run in Loggerheads.

To find out more, please contact Newcastle College Information Centre on 01782 254212, email info@nulc.ac.uk or visit www.nulc.ac.uk/community

Market Drayton National Women's Register

Market Drayton National Women's Register group meets weekly in each other's homes for topical discussions, themed activities and social events. Last month, we tackled a climbing wall at Standon Bowers Outdoor Education Centre, though most meetings exercise the mind rather than the muscles! Other recent evenings have discussed green issues, compared newspaper output and explored the world through travel writing. Whatever the topic, the underlying aim of NWR is to provide an opportunity for women to escape domestic or work pressures to develop broader interests, self-expression and a network of like-minded friends. Being like-minded doesn't mean agreeing with each other's views, though, otherwise there would be nothing to discuss!
The local branch also runs a monthly reading group, where we discuss the books we've previously chosen to read, usually contemporary and classic literature. Each NWR group plans and coordinates its own programme, yet the national organisation of NWR also provides access to larger events and activities, including postal book clubs, pen-pal scheme and annual conferences.
For more details of NWR's aims and activities, see www.NWR.org.
For local events and book group programme, see www.MarketDraytonNWR.free-online.co.uk or telephone the Local Organiser, Cynthia, on (01630) 672141.
Our December programme:
Monday 1st December Vaughan Williams: his life and music.
Monday 8th December The business of the beautiful game: is commercialism killing football?
Monday 15th December Hans Christian Andersen: a fantasia on sticks.
Book Group - Thursday 4th December - Poetry evening Thursday 8th January - Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, Thursday 5th February 2009 - Authors who cross genres and age groups.

Girl Guides needs Leader
The 1st Loggerheads Guides is looking for a leader to help with activities and crafts as well as to book events and visits.

The group meet on Monday from 6:30 to 8pm at Hugo Meynell School during term time.
If you are interested, please contact Liz on 01630 673135

KNIGHTON VILLAGE HALL

We provide a community centre for the use of all parishioners in Mucklestone and surrounding area.

Regular Events:
Monday evenings, Tuesday afternoons, Friday mornings every week;
We have a variety of activities taking place including three groups of Badminton players. I know they would welcome anyone who wishes to keep fit by playing Badminton regularly so why not pop along to one of the sessions and find out more.
Once a fortnight;
A very friendly Whist Drive is held on Tuesday evenings, 7.30pm, and again anyone of any ability is welcome to come along for a very inexpensive evening of cards.

December events:
12th Dec at 6.00pm St. Mary's School is holding a Christmas Disco.
16th Dec at 7.30pm the Christmas Whist Drive. Tickets are £1.00, including refreshments and the Champion Prize will be £10.00 with many other prizes for both ladies and gents. There will also be a prize raffle.
17th Dec at 7.30pm the annual Carol Concert, giving everyone a chance to come and join in their favourite carols together with other seasonal items. A collection will be made for the Church of England Children's Society

Our rates are extremely competitive and details can be obtained from Mrs Nancy Bentham, Booking Clerk, by telephoning 01630 647970