You write to "The Quorndon"

Dear “Quorndon”

I was amused to see my photograph in your magazine taken on the Stafford Orchard at the village fete. I am afraid I have no recollection of the event, but it must have been a fancy dress parade as I am wearing trousers, and under normal circumstances my mother would never have allowed me to wear them.

She considered trousers to be menswear and not at all suitable for a female. She never ever wore them herself. When the first blue jeans became fashionable, I begged for a pair, but she would not countenance them, deeming them only suitable for workmen!

I am pretty sure the girl standing behind me is Shirley Mitchell. She was my best friend, and we mostly went everywhere together.

She used to live in the house next to the Coffee House Entry, and I lived in the last house in Nursery Lane. If I stood on our front wall, I could see the back of her house, and I would shout to her and she would come up the garden and climb on her back garden wall and we would have a “conflab” literally “over the garden wall!”

I don’t remember the Frank Facer’s furniture shop. When I was a girl there was a house there and the man who lived in it (I think his name was Mr McArthur) had two chow chow dogs. They looked enormous to me and every time I walked by they would leap at the gate barking like mad with their peculiar purple tongues hanging out and make me jump.

I well remember the Co-op Bakery. The wall there used to get lovely and hot, and when my boyfriend walked me home we would stop there and enjoy the warmth whilst having a kiss and a cuddle. At that time there were some cottages where the back of the shops are now, and one night the lady who lived there opened her window and in no uncertain terms told us to clear off. So after that we stopped at the bier house in the churchyard which was next to the iron gate leading in to Nursery Lane, and that served us well until we got married in 1960. Happy days!

Christine Cox (nee Baum)

By email:

50 years ago as a young soldier an 'old sweat' sergeant suggested I learn to type. "When you're old and can't walk laddy, you can always sit down and write". Cracking advice. Those days it was on an old 'Royal' clonking machine. (Remember, when the dot would punch holes through to the carbon copy? Wonder what happened to 'Tipex?) Progressing then to a word processor and eventually my computer complete with printer, scanner, and copier. Good heavens, the things you can do with a computer.

That said, apart from 'IT' little has changed for the better in life. One of my pleasures is to frequently check the Quorn website in the hope catching up with other old Quornonians from the 1930's and 40's era. Sadly, no luck so far.

Clifford Newton (Cliff@Newton5386.Freeserve.co.uk)

Ed: So if you are out there from that era, Cliff would like to hear from you.

Dear “The Quorndon”

Thank you for printing my letter in the Autumn issue regarding Facer’s shop and the Co-Op.

However, you missed out a few of my words and made the article read as though the bakery was behind Facer’s shop and not the Co-Op as was the case.

Ann Bradley

By email:

Though now years too late I've often wondered if Quorn might have qualified for entry in the Guinness Book of Records.

During the 1940's and 50's there were seven (7) qualified soccer referees in Freehold Street: Len & Wally Sutton - Class 3; Terry Stirling - Class 3; Jeff Sewell - Class 1; Trevor Newton - Class 3; Ernest Newton - Class 2; Cliff Newton - Class 1. Jeff Sewell and Cliff Newton eventually officiated at Professional Football League Club level. That has to take some beating!

Clifford Newton (Cliff@Newton5386.Freeserve.co.uk)

Dear Quorndon

The football season is upon us again, and local residents near Farley Way are remembering the rather complacent article by the owner of Quorn Football Club in an earlier edition. In referring to “the lady who complained and has now moved away” he conveniently forgot the long list of signatures on the petition against mounting a telephone mast so near to our homes ­ he took no notice of it, of course, merely put up two. In the same way earlier he had ignored repeated warnings of excessive use of the overhead lights on the main pitch, and when it was proved in August of the fourth year that the ration for that year had been used, he went to the council and got the rules altered. We now have light pollution from the practice pitch six nights a week, and from the main pitch as often as may be.

The use of both pitches seems to require a great deal of shouting and bad language, and there is little quiet to be enjoyed in the garden in the evening or on a Saturday afternoon. Equally, when the clubhouse is in use for a party, we have the benefit of the disco until late at night. At least this is so in the summer when the windows are open, or are we supposed to keep ours shut?

Perhaps though one of the biggest nuisances which occur is the traffic and parking. If the gates are not open at 5.30 for the start of the practice pitch use, Farley Way is partially blocked for the home going traffic, and there is considerable congestion. If, on a match day, patrons do not choose to go in to the ground, they park on the verges reducing visibility and make access to Farley Way dangerous or we have their vehicles on our roads, making access to the estates nearby difficult. The same thing can also occur overnight when, presumably, some person does not feel fit to drive home but wishes to collect their car at their convenience the next day and so deposits it on our road until they can fetch it.

Lights, noise, traffic and the siting of two telephone radio masts, all combine to make the Football Club a most undesirable neighbour! Need I say more?

A Local Resident (expressing the consensus of local opinion) (Name and address supplied)

By email:

Our property borders the proposed development off Meynell Road and along with many residents have been objecting to any kind of development in this greenbelt of Quorn. We were dismayed to read the article "Affordable housing" which stated that a scheme to build 12 affordable housing units on land adjacent to Meynell Road has the full backing and support of the Parish Council and an application has been submitted! On inquiring about this with Peter Blitz, Charnwood Planning, he states that no such application has been received!

There are a number of issues that this "proposal" brings up, all which have been voiced in the past during our objections to the development of "Fox Hollies" land off Meynell Road.

We have considerable correspondence concerning this as well as many objections from residents. We would welcome the explanation from the Parish Council, why this statement was put out and why the need for such housing in "Quorn".

Ian Clarkson

By email:

I am currently trying to locate a lady who was brought up and lived in Quorn for many years: her name is Caroline Mattocks/ Maddocks (could never remember how to spell it properly) and she was a qualified nurse who worked in the district.

I trained with her at Leicester Royal Infirmary between 1981- 1984, unfortunately we lost contact some years ago when she got married. I really would love to find her again as she was a great friend, so if you can help me I would be grateful.

I look forward to hearing from you soon

Kara Earl, Lead Practice Development Nurse ­ Medicine, Kettering General Hospital

By email:

On October the 3rd I set out for China to take part in the 2004 Trek for Life along the Great Wall of China for Cancer Research UK. Thanks to many supporters in the village including my Mum, Carole Green, and the members of Quorn Flower Club, I raised over £5,000 for Cancer Research UK and the monies raised will go specifically towards research into Breast Cancer.

I had the most amazing time, meeting and trekking with very inspirational people who had survived Breast Cancer and I shared an incredible journey along the Great Wall and some surrounding villages with them.

This was no holiday; we were up at 6.30am each morning (if we had got through the night with the friendly local bugs!) and were doing our morning exercises by 8am. I trekked for 6 days over a varied terrain and covered a total ascent of 3,000 metres including some demanding gradients of over 70%!

We met local farmers and their families and experienced the Great Wall at its best in some remote parts away from the "madding crowds". It was truly fantastic - an experience of a lifetime that I will never forget!

Thank you so much to everyone who supported my Trek and Cancer Research UK, by donating money, goods for garage sales, offering their talents for the Flower and Quilt Festival, baking cakes and generally putting up with my constant requests for help; I couldn't have completed the challenge without you!

Thank you! Tiffany Green (tiffany@visualinnovations.co.uk)