Village news
If you would like to contribute to Village News, write to Andy Rush, Editor, Loughborough Echo, Princes’ Court, Royal Way, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 5XR or email: andy.rush@trinitymirror.com
East Leake Mike Elliott 0115 937 6506 elliottnews@btconnect.com
OPEN CHURCHES. As part of the national Open Churches event, East Leake St Mary’s Church will be open for visitors both Saturday and Sunday this weekend, July 22 and 23.
On Saturday visitors will be welcome between 10.15am and 7pm while on Sunday it will be between 12 noon and 6pm. Visitors will be able to get light refreshments, prayer resources will be available, there will be a history trail for the Grade 1 listed building church and there will be musical interludes.
Services at St Mary’s on Sunday will be 9.15am Communion and 10.30am Morning Worship.
Local residents and those from further afield will be made very welcome.
MOTHERS’ UNION. St Mary’s Church Mothers’ Union at East Leake held a branch meeting last week in the form of a fund-raising garden party for the Mothers Union Summer of Hope appeal. It was held at Gill and John Young’s home at Holme Farm Stables, Costock.
The overall ambition is to raise £125,000 to help more families, parents and church groups worldwide turn their hopes and prayers into reality.
There was a raffle and the opportunity to give a donation in return for tea and cake and friendly fellowship, and a wander in the garden.
The June meeting was a very enjoyable visit to Southwell Minster, which started with afternoon tea in the Refectory, followed by an excellent guided tour of the Minster, and concluded with an inspiring service of Festal Evensong for St Barnabas day, beautifully sung by the men and ten young girl choristers.
FESTIVAL. A Music and Arts Festival is being staged by East Leake Academy on Monday next week, July 24, from 5pm to 9pm. On the main stage will be Homesick and Kynch as well as some dance acts while on the Acoustic Stage will be Matt and Tori.
Admission is £3 with under 12’s free. Proceeds from the event are going towards the Academy music department
LANDS TRUST. Many villages throughout the country have a local charity and coming up to 400 years ago the East Leake Town Lands Trust was established and is still operating after its inception in the year 1637.
This old village charity was set up by decree all those years ago “for the good and ease” of the residents of East Leake.
Based at that time just on the revenue of about 25 acres of farm land - a little over 10 hectares - the Trust’s assets now total nearly £56,000 with over £2000 per annum available for distribution.
Donations made by the Trust over the last hundred years have included paying for street lights, coal for the unemployed hit hard by the depression, restoration of the parish church clock, layout of the memorial Garden, a flagpole, a Maypole, numerous benches, school football kits, computer benches and software for schools, camping equipment for the Guides, repairs to the Scout hut, stage lights for the village Hall, cleaning of the War memorial, tree planting, toys for Playgroup, wet weather wear for school activities, Christmas hampers for senior citizens, display cabinets for the Parish office, and the list goes on.
The Trustees welcome requests from groups or individuals, so long as they fit the founding principle of helping the community of East Leake. Grants are usually made to organisations or groups, but in exceptional circumstances may be available to individuals.
There is a preference for capital projects --not running expenses -- and support will only be given where funding for the whole project is assured.
The project or need must be East Leake based and some form of justification will be expected. Single grants are very seldom over £500.
Informal advice from the Secretary, Conrad Oatey, by phone (01509 852549) or email (conrad@eastleake.net) Formal applications in writing to East Leake Town Lands Trust, 7 Hall Gardens, East Leake. LE12 6NA
CHOIR APPEAL. The increasingly popular East Leake Community Choir would welcome more members.
The message they have put out to would-be members: “If you enjoy singing, why not come and join us. We meet in St Mary’s Church every Tuesday at 7.30pm. Singing is good for you – body and mind.”
More information on the choir can be obtained from contacting Chris Ebbern on 07792 089104 or by email on chris_ebbern@yahoo.co.uk
FOLK CLUB. East Leake has a successful Folk Club, based at the Bulls Head public house in the village, and are offering to have its members attend local events to give performances.
The group members hail in the mainly from the village and meet once a fortnight on a Tuesday evening from 8.15pm to 10.30pm at the popular pub to enjoy playing and singing traditional and other music.
Mr Ray Dawson, the main coordinator for the club, says they are a very informal bunch, allowing their Folk Nights to evolve and grow according to the needs and expectation of those who take part.
“We are a small and very informal group. Usually there is about a dozen of us that meet up each time, with wide ranging abilities. We meet in the lounge bar, entrance is free,” says Ray.
Anyone interested in being involved is invited to just turn up on a club night from 8.15pm onwards.
Ray told the Echo the club does not work like most folk clubs as they encourage everyone to take part and join in with the singing and playing. “We provide the chords and words for a large repertoire of songs. Many are traditional folk songs, but we are perfectly happy to try our hand at other types of music, for example, songs by Elvis, Buddy Holly and Johnny Cash have all been sung in the club.
“Anyone can come and listen, we hope they would like to join in with the singing or, if they have an acoustic instrument, they can play along. We regularly have guitars, ukulele, concertina, harmonica and fiddle accompaniment to the songs we sing.”
Ray says there is no ‘guest spot’ as such, but in the latter part of the evening, everyone who comes is invited to do a solo (or duet) spot if they want to (about half will do so). “We are very tolerant of all standards - obviously it is nice to have very proficient singers and musicians, but we like to encourage beginners to have a go too,” he adds.
The club was formed so that amateur musicians had the opportunity to get together and sing and play music in an informal, stress-free environment.
Members say that since their inception everyone has increased in confidence and proficiency and four years ago they decided to introduce an ad hoc sing around session part way through their evening giving opportunity for those who may wish to play solo/duo have the opportunity to do so.
From time to time some of the club’s regular members do give performances, usually for charity organisations or to raise money for charity. Contact can be made via eastleakefolk@gmail.com where details can be obtained from Mr Dawson.
CHOIR CONCERT. St Mary’s Church at East Leake, welcomed the well-known Radcliffe on Trent |Male Voice Choir under their Director of music Paul Hayward for an evening concert. Light refreshments were served in the interval. in the interval. During the concert Clarinettist Mathew Glendenning, 2015 Nottingham Young Musician of the Year, took part.
INSURANCE. East Leake Parish Council has agreed the cost of their insurance for the next year, at a figure of £3,492.63. It is provided through parish council insurance specialists Came and Company. The insurance for the council’s John Deere tractor is £635.75.
ACADEMY. East Leake Academy Principal Mrs Kathy Hardy says in her Blog that she continues to be immensely proud of her students and staff especially in these turbulent times and says more than ever the academy needs to be the hub of the community and the place where the young people feel safe, valued, listened too and inspired.
“At the end of last term ELA turned out for an afternoon of running - and some walking - for our own Race for Life in aid of Cancer Research. The support and comradery by all staff and students involved was fantastic, we are awaiting the final fund raising figure, well done to all for such a tremendous effort. I am really looking forward to our Sports Day too – it is a real highlight of the year.”
Mrs Hardy says their students continue to pleasantly surprise and remind them how many positives there are at ELA and the distance we have travelled over the past few years. “The intelligent conversations regarding current affairs following the election, and the recent attacks are inspirational. Our students are very observant about the wider world around them and take a genuine interest. Many are also very mindful of how they can make a difference in this world too. We are currently interviewing for Peer Mentors, House Captains and Young Ambassadors all of whom will make a positive impact and difference to our academy and wider community.”
Students from Years 8 and 9 have just returned from a very successful trip to Rouen, France and we have the London Theatre Trip still going ahead too.
The examination season is now in full flow and we have been very pleased with the conduct of all students engaging with the examinations and we wish everyone well for the remaining papers still to be sat.
The Principal says as always, she thanks everyone for their continued support as we complete their final term this academic year. “We are building up for September, still with our high expectations of being on time, smart and ready to learn with all the correct equipment and positive attitude to learning.”
RARE BIRD. Hundreds of bird lovers have visited to a quarry in East Leake - and are still doing so - for a sighting of the rare European bee-eater bird. And a 24–7 watch is being kept on where the birds are likely to nest to ensure they are not disturbed.
So many avid bird watchers from a wide area of the country have been visiting the Cemex Quarry in East Leake to spy the bee-eater - which had not been seen in the area for nearly 50 years – a special car park was set up for them.
Seven of the birds have been spotted and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has engaged volunteers to protect them.
Mark Thomas, from the RSPB, said: “We are delighted to see they are making themselves at home in East Leake. The birds have been seen mating, so it’s likely they will nest here.
“Bee-eater sightings have been on the increase and have pushed northwards due to climate change. These exotic birds will likely become established visitors to our shores, and thanks to partnerships like this one with Cemex we can provide the right habitats to accommodate them.”
European bee-eaters have only been known to nest six times in Britain since 1920, but are becoming more common in recent years because of climate change.
Tim Sexton from the Wildlife Trust said: “As the name suggests they feed mostly on bees although they have also been seen eating dragonflies butterflies and moths at East Leake.
“The habitat within the quarry should provide all they need in terms of nesting opportunities. The birds have been seen going to roost with sand martins which are active on the site.
“We are not yet sure how many pairs are present, however, should they stay to breed then they could be here until mid to end of August.”
The trust has been involved in the planning and restoration of the quarry for the last two decades to ensure wildlife is allowed to thrive while it is in operation and also after work has been completed.
Dr Rob Lambert, vicepresident of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, commented that the presence of these birds at the quarry was a tribute to an existing partnership between the Trust and Cemex that has been developed for over 20 years at the site
Costock
PARISH COMMUNION. Costock St Giles Parish Church are to host an East Leake Benefice of Churches Parish Communion at the end of the month, in the village hall.
It will take place on the last Sunday in the month, July 30 and Costock parishioners at the service will worship with friends from its sister parishes and share refreshments afterwards. The service will be slightly earlier at 10.30am.
SPEED SIGNS. There is no current likelihood of Costock having another flashing speed sign.
There is a sign to warn motorists approaching the village from East Leake but a request from the parish council for one facing the other way has so far been turned down.
Kendra Hourd, the Notts County Council Highways South area manager, has told
Coun. Reg Adair, a member of the County Council, has been told by the officer that while a request for a second sign is still listed but not actionable due to the current policy of concentrating on sites which do not have one sign is the priority as far as she understands.
She does point out that the County have introduced a 20mph limit on a section of the main road through the village adjacent to the village school. And she says there are also other child warning signs and slow markings with red surfacing there.
OPEN CHURCH. Tea, coffee and cake will be available for visitors to Costock Parish Church on Sunday this weekend, July 22 and 23, as it takes part in the national Church Open event, being one of several in the area that will be open for people to look round. The church will be open from 10am to 4pm both days.