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Quorn Village News Contents Younger Quorn News
Good News – Safer Routes to School Since the last issue of "The Quorndon", there have been new and exciting developments with St Barts Primary School and the Parish Council working together on a ‘School Travel Plan’. So what does a School Travel Plan aim to do:
So what is a school travel plan? It assesses the children’s and parents’ needs and wants, and balances these with the aims of getting children to school in a safer and healthier manner. It could include consideration of:
As a Parish Councillor I attended the Annual Governors’ meeting in December and received a very enthusiastic response from Mrs James (Head teacher), governors and parents. A working party was formed which now meets regularly. Questionnaires went out to the children in January and by the time you read this article, a questionnaire should also have been sent out to parents. The results of these will be analysed and used to prepare the detailed plan. Getting a crossing between Farley Way and Woodhouse Road would be a major achievement on its own. Where schools have a ‘School Travel Plan’, this adds real additional pressure that is taken seriously when considering highway safety improvements. In the next financial year the Farley Way traffic lights are due for renewal (they are 17 years old), and the indications are that with no additional pressure (and the County’s financial constraints), they could well be replaced ‘like for like’ – so the timing now is optimal – we have to act! Please support us! If you are a parent/carer please fill in the questionnaires. If you are a resident you may also have views or ideas we could consider – please let us know. If you have any views please contact me at sue@quorndon.com(or
5 Spinney Drive, Quorn) Quorn Walks Leaflets - start of a series Enclosed with most hard copies of this issue of "The Quorndon", you should find a ‘Quorn Walks’ leaflet. This is a free sample from a series of leaflets written by a number of local residents for Quorn Parish Council. The aim of the leaflets is to encourage people to use the extensive network of public footpaths in and around the village, by not only suggesting some routes but also providing information to add interest along the way. As you will see, Walk 1 is a five-mile route to Swithland Reservoir and Mountsorrel, taking in the beautiful stretch along the banks of Buddon Brook familiar to many – and which, with luck, will have recovered from the winter rains (and wandering cattle!) by the time you read this. The other five leaflets are still in preparation, but are on schedule to be available by May 2004. These can be purchase through local outlets - look for details on village noticeboards. They take in the following routes:
Each leaflet includes tips on the flora and fauna to look
out for, some historical snippets, a map and illustrations. Boots and
binoculars are recommended! Quorn Flower Club - Quilt and Flower Festival Just before Christmas our secretary was rummaging through the archives of the flower club, trying to ascertain when the group actually began, and discovered that the first meeting was held in Sept 1984. This means we are approaching our 20th birthday. It was felt that we must mark the event, and so at rather short notice we have decided on a Flower Festival to be held over the May Day Bank Holiday weekend in St Bartholomew’s Church, which will complement the village’s usual May Day celebrations. It will not just be a Flower Festival, but a Quilt and Flower
Festival as we had already been approached by Quorn Quilters to join in
an exhibition with them, and so it seemed a joint festival would be a
very good idea. The Farnham Chapel is to be opened thanks to the agreement
of the Farnham Family and most of the Quilts will be displayed in the
chapel. The theme of the flower part of the festival will be “Anniversaries” and we would welcome sponsors for the flowers, to help swell the funds for Breast Cancer. It is going to be a busy year for the Flower Club as we have already been approached to do flowers for two weddings. Members very much enjoy these events, as they are a real challenge and put our flower arranging skills to the test. We have some excellent talent in our midst and it is great for those talents to be put to good use. As always new members are very welcome whether experienced
or beginners – contact Carole Green 01509 416034 or Frances Forbes
01509 827225 for more details or, if you would like to sponsor flowers
for the festival contact Val Garner 01509 621130. Quorn Sketch Club - 2004 Season The end of season was held at the Quorn Country Hotel last November. The group decided that they would meet, this coming season, on the first Tuesday in the month. As in past years, the group will meet in Station Road Car Park at 9.30 am and the session will last two hours. The list of venues, starting on Tuesday April 6th 2004, will include repeat visits to some of last year’s venues, as some had to be cancelled due to bad weather or a lack of attendance. This decision will also enable members to complete unfinished sketches! New members, experienced or beginners, are urgently required. Please note there is no membership fee. If you would like to join or just give outdoor sketching a 'Trial Run' and would like a list of venues, then please ring the telephone number below. Please note the season will end on the first Tuesday in October 2004, and the Group will meet for coffee at the Quorn Country Hotel at a later date. This date will be decided nearer the end of the summer. For more details please ring 01509 412759. The Fellowship, which normally meets in the Parish Church on the second Monday of each month from September to May, is open to all men of goodwill. Its programme comprises visiting speakers, social events and outings to places of interest. Though affiliated to Quorn United church, and including occasional religion-based topics in its programme, membership is not restricted to Christians. Programme details in the Village Dairy. The Club meets in the Church Rooms on the third Thursday of the month at 7.45pm. There are plant sales, lively discussions and good speakers. Subscriptions are £12.00 per year. The Townswomen's Guild celebrated forty years in the Village on February 16th 2004, with a party in The Church Room. A reminder that membership subscriptions of £20 were due in February. This subscription includes eleven meetings (August is a holiday month) with speakers or similar, has to be a good deal. At this time of the year, The Guild are working towards The Spring Fair, the first fund-raising event of the year. This takes place on April 24th in the Church Rooms from 10.00am to 12.00am Topics this Spring and Summer include "Woods of the World", "Behind the Scenes at Chelsea Flower Show", "The Air Ambulance Service" and a JP talking about "Life on the Bench". For more details, please consult Village Diary. Visitors and new members are very welcome at all of these meetings. Call Barbara Williams on 412100 for more details. Charnwood Choral Society Charnwood Choral Society was formed in 1944, has 60 members and is conducted by Andrew Goff, a freelance musician who has broad experience in choral music. Rehearsals take place on Monday evenings at Rawlins Community College at 7.30pm. New members are welcome, and no audition is necessary. For further information contact Rhiannon Tabraham on 413612
or email rhiannon@tabraham.fsword.co.uk Concluding their 30th year celebrations, the Orchestra will be giving two concerts in the coming months. Details of the concerts on April 17th and 19th June are in the Village Directory. Tickets available from Grants newsagents in Barrow, or Judith
Rodgers on 01509 412063 or email Rodgers_david@hotmail.com The Old People’s Fellowship, both members and friends, continues to meet on Wednesdays in the Church Rooms. Sadness came to the Fellowship with the passing of Kathleen Long, who had been a loyal member for many years, and also a member for over 20 years of the Rawlins Lunch Club. She was a wonderful friend. May she rest in peace. For more details call Mrs Callaghan on 414606 The Lunch Club meets on the 1st Thursday of each month at 12 noon, in Rawlins Lounge. Everyone is welcome. For more details call Mrs Callaghan on 414606. On 15th May, the 2004 Playtex Moonwalk will take place in London. 15,000 women, plus a few men, from all over the UK will take part in either a power walking marathon, or half-marathon, to raise money for breast cancer research. All this takes place over night, and walkers will wear a special t-shirt with a decorated bra on top to show their support for breast cancer research. Breast cancer affects 1 in 9 women in the UK, and the research programmes need all your support. Sarah Bloodworth, Prue Seal and Karen Tickle from the village, along with Jacquie Harvey and Jo Willars from Cropston, have taken up the challenge and are going for the full marathon. They have already started training and are determined to finish in style. As part of their training programme, they will have delivered some copies of "The Quorndon" around the village, for which "The Quorndon" will be making a donation to their sponsorship. If you would like to sponsor them, any amount is welcomed,
call into Flowers by Sarah where you will find the sponsorship forms.
The downside of living longer can be that we spend our last years alone. Abbeyfield is a charitable organisation providing ‘family-style’ houses where elderly people who are unable or unwilling to live alone can find support and companionship without losing their independence and privacy. Holloway House in Sutton Close is the Abbeyfield house in Quorn. It opened in 1996 and is built to a high specification. The House has twelve self-furnished bed-sitting rooms on two floors, served by a lift, a spacious communal lounge/dining room, a fully equipped kitchen and laundry, charging facilities and storage for electric buggies, a guest room and a live-in housekeeper who looks after the well-being of the residents. A garden-room extension is under construction. All the bed-sitting rooms have en-suite facilities, telephone and television points and emergency call alarms. Residents have their own keys to their rooms and to the front door of the House, and their own front door bell. Lunch and tea are provided in the dining room, and residents eat breakfast in their own room – there are kitchenettes on both floors for preparation. Residency is open to all, irrespective of sex, race, religion, age or financial circumstances, but as we are not registered to provide nursing care, we do require residents to be in reasonably good health for their age. Because Abbeyfield is a non-profit organisation, charges are modest. If you, a friend or a member of your family would like to know more, or to look round Holloway House, please ring 01509 416040 or email info@abbeyfieldquorn.co.uk It is with regret that we inform you that Alfred Stanley Counsell (known as Stan) from Mill Farm in Chaveney Road passed away on Wednesday 3rd March in the LOROS Hospice. A tribute to Stan, who was a vigorous and lively resident of Quorn, and
who served the community in many ways, will be included in the next issue. Here we are again on the verge of a new season. The square has taken a mighty pounding over the last few years of dry weather and poor grass growth and needed a good winter to aid recovery. Certainly, until late February the winter weather had been ideal. After the traumas and expense of trying to save the ground, we are now moving forward again. Our junior set-up has gone from strength to strength and we now have a good programme of Sunday fixtures again. Some years back we stopped playing Sunday matches. Age and family commitments meant that we were running out of players who could play on both Saturdays and Sundays. Now the younger players are forcing us older players out of the Saturday league matches, which mean we have a mix of experience and youth playing on Sundays, and good fun it is too. Junior nets commence on the first Friday of May for ages up to Under 13, which is year 8 at school. Older juniors will be netting during the week, probably Mondays as last year. If you are interested in joining us, please give me a call. This time of year is devoted to getting the ground ready for the coming season. The other major exercise taking place this spring is some tree planting and building a new kitchen within the clubhouse. Lots of work but it’s worth it! For more details call Jon Cox on 01509 237771. Swimming for the disabled and over 50’s It is a great time to get into shape and lose a few pounds for the summer. The pool is especially heated to be warmer for these sessions as it is a disabled and over 50’s session. There is a rope in the shallow end for whoever wishes to stay in that area. As always, the hoist is available on request. It’s all wheel chair friendly. The session it is from 1:15pm till 2:15pm on Wednesdays. Concessions are £1.30. We are a friendly group so come along and join us you know it makes sense!! For more information call, Sophie Henshaw on 01509 213262. April 3rd marked the re-opening date for the 84th consecutive season of bowls in the village. Traditionally we always hold a social event during the day, tied in to a Grand National Sweepstake – it serves the added purpose of enabling our Treasurer to count the number of members who have survived the winter, and then extract their annual subscriptions while they are full of enthusiasm for the season ahead. We should have record numbers of members this year – after all, it’s been a mild winter, and our special offer of half price membership for new bowlers last year attracted many new starters to the game – all of whom have stayed with us. Half price membership for beginners – just over £30 for a whole season – will continue again this year. Nowadays we don’t bowl on opening day – a series of wet Springs and verbal abuse from our green staff has put paid to those few hardy souls who ventured out – so bowling tends to get under way towards the end of April. Our first match is on April 24th, at home to Oadby. By the first week in May, our very popular social bowls nights – 6.15pm for 6.30pm, are underway. Most of our new members came along “on spec” on a Friday night. With borrowed shoes, borrowed woods – and sometimes borrowed spectacles – somehow 3 hours later they’re a bowler, with 40 new friends and an excuse to enjoy the outdoors for life. By the end of May, most of them are “hooked”, locked into a lifetime of bowls. By June, the really keen are well and truly into club bowls at village level: Ladies matches during the week, Men’s matches on most Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursday evenings, and Saturday afternoons. The Mixed Season kicks off with one of our oldest, and most revered competitions for the Royal British Legion Cup. At the time of writing, as usual, we are full of expectation for a season to remember; it would be difficult to match last year where we ended up in two matches on County Finals Day, but we live in hope. Do come along and meet us. Find out what really happens beyond that big brick wall opposite Rawlins. Believe it or not in this day and age we still welcome spectators; we don’t have turnstiles, we don’t charge, we offer seats in the sun, shade or suitable for a nap and if you smile nicely we’ll probably make you a cup of tea. If you can’t, come and have a drink with us on Open Gardens Day, we will be open again this year on the Sunday. For further information contact John Ventham, Secretary, on 01509 416390. Not everyone knows that Quorn has a tennis club, curiously known as Quorn Lawn Tennis Club, as the four courts are shale courts i.e. not grass, though this is an anomaly by no means confined to Quorn! This club has been established in Quorn for many years, providing a tennis venue for all, where young, old, male and female, experienced or aspiring, can enjoy the fun of improving/developing their tennis, in friendly competition, good camaraderie and in a pleasant countryside location. In any club membership is all important, and numerically we function best with 60-80 adult members, and a similar number of junior and intermediate members (6-18yrs) . New members, experienced or not, can be certain of a warm welcome. If you are not sure of your standard of play, note that we have a fully qualified coach ready to freshen up your game, who caters particularly for juniors, holding coaching sessions at the Club during the season, and organising play at Rawlins in the winter months. Play at the Club tends to fall into the usual categories, namely, club play, match play, men's and ladies' practices and junior sessions, but it is Club play on Wednesday and Friday evenings that is the centre of Club life. In addition, there are occasional weekend tournaments open to all. On the social side, traditionally we enjoy a pre-season lunch party and a winter dinner dance, this year's being held at the Quorn Country Hotel. Finally, a word about our facilities. Our four shale courts are regularly maintained by a professional groundsman. This court surface is particularly good for knees, and close line calls!! Then there is the club house. Some two or three years ago the club formed a Fund Raising Committee and with the substantial sums raised, a complete refurbishment has taken place i.e. structure, kitchen, men's and ladies' changing rooms, as well as the main social area. The work has been largely carried out by a determined band of club members. In fact, we are all now rather proud of our new look! The Club is situated on Woodhouse Road behind the Manor House Hotel. To find out more, telephone the Club Secretary on 01509 557703 (between
6pm and 8pm) who will be pleased to provide you with further information.
The Barn Dance at the end of January at Humphrey Perkins Community Centre at Barrow on Soar was well attended, despite the stormy wet night. The band "Up Jumps the Devil" and caller Geoff Cubitt provided a great evening of music and dancing, keeping everyone "on their toes". They received a well deserved ovation at the end of the dance. The Club's next dance is on 24th April at Quorn Village Hall (this is a change to our usual venue). The caller that evening will be Roy Garrington and music will be provided by Kevin Downham. Club members and friends are spending the last weekend of March in Cromford, Derbyshire. There will be plenty of walking and dancing on the agenda for the weekend as well as an evening playing cards, board games and carpet bowls, which proved, very popular last year. The Junior Club continues to meet between 6.00- 7.00 pm each Wednesday evening in term time, at the Village Hall. The Juniors hope to have a team ready to dance at the Quorn May Day Celebrations at the beginning of May. Any children between 7 and 11 years are welcome to come along on Wednesdays, please telephone Mike Bird on 01509412047 (e-mail: bird@quornvillage.com). For further information, please telephone Pauline Kinch on 01509 413762
or visit our website at www.quorndon.com/folkdance. Quorn United Church - Church Cleaning St Bartholomew's United Church, Quorn belongs to all of us and at sometime or another we are glad it is there to use. It may be for weekly worship or just at Christmas time or perhaps for a christening, wedding or funeral. Whatever our needs it is always there and has been for several hundred years. An ageing, diminishing group of volunteers, weekly, take their turn at cleaning the Church. This is a heartfelt plea to everyone in the parish who might find 1 - 11⁄2 hours, approximately four times a year, to clean the church. The more volunteers, the larger the gap between turns: two ladies or gentlemen and younger folk with a little time to spare would be welcomed. There are already two or three husband/wife partnerships on the rota. Cleaning is not too difficult, most of us sweep, vacuum clean and dust, and equipment is provided in Church. The brasses are cleaned by a different group who might also be pleased to welcome newcomers. We are a flexible friendly bunch who 'swap' weeks if clashes with other commitments occur. Do please consider helping with this essential work, it is not too onerous. Most of us clean on Friday or Saturday making the Church spic and span for the Sunday services but other folk clean on days when it is convenient to fit in with their timetable. Please contact Rev D Bowler on 412593 or Kate Hutchinson on 413895 if
you could help. Charnwood Conservation Volunteers Charnwood Conservation Volunteers have a programme of practical tasks during the coming months. April to June. Everyone is welcome, whatever your age and experience. On Sunday April 25th, they will be doing some fencing at the Outwoods SSSI to restrict access to some sensitive areas of the wood; On Sunday 9th May, grass management will be carried out at Mountsorrel Marshes, one of the last marshes remaining in Charnwood; On Sunday 23rd May, tree care and path maintenance at Disley Pool will be undertaken: On Sunday 6th June, further tree care will be carried out at Birstall Wet Woodland. For more details of these and other activities, contact Charnwood Wildlife
on 01509 264714 or look at their website on www.charnwoodbc.gov.uk
Younger Quorn News Girlguiding UK - Quorn District Quorn became a separate new district within Girlguiding Leicestershire in 2003 consisting of 6 units -2 Rainbow units for girls 5-7 years, 2 Brownie units for girls 7-10 years, a guide unit for girls from 10 years and a Ranger unit for young ladies from 13 plus. Both Rainbow units re-opened in 2003 and enjoyed a lively time with a Summer BBQ and Christmas Party where Santa was a surprise visitor. Their first Promise evening was very special with all the Rainbows taking their Promise together and the Brownies got involved serving refreshments. The two Brownie units continue to flourish with one of the units having recruited two new Guiders and 5 Unit Helpers. 2003 was an important year for Brownies with a completely new Programme and Uniform being introduced. All the Brownie Guiders have been trained on the new programme and are now using the new books and ideas in their meetings. As usual though they enjoyed the annual pack/holiday and outings including visits to the Mayor of Charnwood (which has become a very enjoyable regular event) and visits to the Police Station and Fire Station to help gain interest badges, a treasure hunt and fun outings to the Pantomime, Cinema and theme parks ensured the Brownies and their leaders continue to have fun and ensure a secure future for Quorn District. Brownies are 90 years old in 2004! Quorn will be celebrating with a big
party in the Summer. Quorn has a very lively Ranger unit who meet on a Thursday at the Baptist Church in a very comfy room where their favoured activities include cooking, eating, talking and sleepovers along with the more traditional guiding activities. This term they are actively fundraising for a breast cancer charity along with other Ranger units in the county. The Rangers have invited their parents and all the guiders in Quorn to a supper in March so they can show us how they have been raising the funds. They know of course with a promise of food they can expect a good turn out. You may have read in the local and national press articles highlighting the shortage of adult volunteers and the plight of our waiting lists. Indeed Quorn District has babies on its waiting lists. Guiding has changed of course over the years but remains the largest voluntary organisation for girls in Britain with more than 600,000 members. Quorn District has the same problem locally and is desperately short of adult leaders to help within the existing units and more importantly be willing to either open new units or make it possible for the current leaders to open new units in all sections but particularly Guides and Rangers. It is becoming increasingly difficult to offer places to all girls wanting to join the movement or even move into the next section. For the leaders it is a very difficult decision to turn girls away. Quorn has excellent units and we see it as a compliment that more and more girls want to join in the fun. So if you can offer support at all with the usual plea -it's only an hour a week!! Please do come forward you would be made most welcome and we can guarantee without any problem that you will ENJOY it. Cathy Hewitt, Quorn District Commissioner 2nd Quorn Scout Group and QWEST Explorer Scout Unit are continuing to provide more opportunities to the young people of Quorn and the surrounding villages. The growth and expansion of the provision in Quorn is something that the current Leadership Team and Executive Committee are justly proud, but we want to be able to offer more. The two Beaver Scout Colonies (boys and girls aged 6 to 8 years old), two Cub Scout Packs (boys and girls aged 8 to 101⁄2), Scout Troop (boys and girls aged 10 to 14) and Explorer Scout Unit (young people aged 14 to 18 year olds), provide weekly activities, plus camps and outings for 120 young people. Why do the Leaders lead? All of the 20 Leaders give their time for free, which some friends and colleagues may think is a strange thing to do, but there is a very good reason - it is really good fun! The work required to plan a meeting is manageable, attending the sessions are enjoyable and the extra meetings for the Leaders and adults can be very sociable. Who are the Leaders? Some of the Leaders are parents of existing members; some of the Leaders have stayed after their children have moved on; some Leaders don’t even have children, but have come through the Movement themselves and enjoyed it so much they want to continue. Over half of the Leaders have joined in, despite never being a Scout themselves- experience is NOT necessary, all you need is a sense of fun! The final myth to dispel is that you have to turn up every week. We work around it by planning the activities around who can turn up. What would we like you to do? To enable 2nd Quorn and QWEST to provide more activities we would like to invite more adults to join the Leadership and support teams. If you don’t think that working with the young people is your “cup of tea” then you could help out with the Committee work – this primarily includes fundraising and the management of the building and resources. There are about 8 meetings a year, plus the AGM, so it’s a good way of getting involved even if you can’t make a more regular commitment. Any time that you can give to 2nd Quorn Scout Group can (and will be)
put to good use. The Churches of Quorn will be holding their annual joint Holiday Club from Wednesday 18th August to Sunday 22nd August. The session each day will run from 10am to 12 noon and is open to children who are currently at school in any year up to and including year 8. The club will be based on the life of St Paul and have an Olympic theme. Come and join us as we have fun and games, Bible stories, songs and craft activities. There will be a family barbecue on the Saturday for which tickets, at a cost of £1.50 per person, will be on sale during Holiday Club. The Sunday session will also be open to all members of the family. For children at St. Bartholomew's Primary School, application forms will
be distributed by the school early in June. For all other children, application
forms will be available from the Holiday Club Office at Quorn Baptist
Church, Meeting Street (01509 621106) also early in June. First Steps Toddler Group
Rawlins Under 5’s Toy Library
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