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BOOKS! DVDS! and JIGSAWS

Further items have been added to the small storage area which can be delivered on request.  They are as follows:

BOOKS

  • Patrick Kidd’s – “The Weak Are A Long Time in Politics” – Political sketches from the Brexit Neverendum written by the sharp-witted Times journalist covering the period 11th October 2014 (the election of Douglas Carswell as UKIP’s first MP) to 25th May 2019 (Theresa May’s resignation).  It seems like only yesterday….
  • Vince Cable’s – “The Storm” – The last world economic crisis (2008) explained by the former economics lecturer, Chief Economist for Shell, MP for Twickenham and Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills who turns his attention to the credit crunch, the property bubble, ever-increasing personal debt: some things don’t seem to change….
  • Angela Stead and Hugh MacBride’s – “Siblings Haven – Safe in Wartime Devon” – A sibling memoir of their early years.  Children of prominent journalists, their father drove them away from the potential dangers of London as WW2 loomed depositing them at a boys’ school on the fringes of Dartmoor run by a malevolent aunt.  Compelling portrait of fascinating characters coping with the challenges of everyday life in extraordinary circumstances.
  • Michael Fairless’ – “The Road Mender” and “The Gathering of Brother Hilarius” – Two titles in one volume, both displaying the Christian writer’s love and keen observation of the countryside and the natural world.  The Road Mender is a series of meditations on the road to Heaven, written and completed just before the author’s death and The Gathering is a great lesson in selflessness and sacrifice

DVD’s

  • DVD – Mrs Henderson Presents (age 12 and over) – a musical film telling the true story of Laura Henderson, an eccentric British socialite who opened the Windmill Theatre in London in 1931, starring Dame Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins and introducing the singer Will Young in his first acting role.
  • DVD – Call the Midwife (age 12 and over) – BBC series about a group of nurses midwives working in East End London in the late 1950s and early 1960s.  This first series is based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth who worked with the Community of St John the Divine, an Anglican religious order, and tackles the “Baby Boom” issues of poverty and post-war immigration.
  • DVD – Casino Royale (age 12 and over) – First film to star Daniel Craig as James Bond.  MI6 operative Bond gains promotion to 00 status by assassinating two targets.  Co-starring Dame Judi Dench reprising her role as M, head of MI6.
  • DVD – Ladies in Lavender (age 12 and over) – Two award winning actresses, Dames Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, star in this evocative heart-warming story set in Cornwall in 1936.  Two sisters discover a castaway on the beach below their house and with the help of a local doctor nurse him back to health.  The presence of the musically talented young man disrupts the peaceful lives of the sisters and the community in which they live.

JIGSAW

  • Jigsaw – April Cottage – 1000 pieces – a beautiful thatched country cottage with picturesque garden on the banks of a river populated by swans and mallards.

Contact Debra Thatcher if you would like delivery – 01572 823910 or debrathatcher@hotmail.com

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PETERBOROUGH HOMELESS DONATIONS

As the temperature drops and the rain falls, life for those who live on the streets will become increasingly comfortless and difficult. Thank you to those of you who have donated warm clothes, sleeping bags etc in the last few weeks. Your donations are always gratefully received and will help to make a difference.

For the time being we are collecting small/medium size men’s clothes. I’m afraid there are no facilities for mending the clothes, so please ensure zips work and buttons are present.

Men’s clothes:
T shirts, polo tops S/M
Joggers  M
Jeans/cargo type trousers 30-34” maximum
Trainers, walking boots, normal boots & shoes
Dark coloured boxer underwear, new or in very good condition S/M
Towels – any size
Sleeping bags
Small tents
Canned food with self-pull lids
Canned dog food with self-pull lids

Please ring or text me before you drop off your donations.

Many thanks,

 

MARGIE & MARTIN WALL
8, East Lane
Ridlington
07928378668
01572 821397

Tracey Herbert  – tbhphh@gmail.com ( co-founder )

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A MESSAGE FROM ANNE HARVEY – FUNDRAISING

I have registered to take part in the ‘End to End’ Lands End to John O’Groats Virtual Run (874 miles) and hope to raise money for Cancer Research and Church Funds.

The event starts on October 26th and ends up to 12 months later. I would be delighted if you would sponsor and support me!

I plan to provide further details of the event and chart my monthly progress in the Parish magazine. So watch this space and…thank you 😊

https://endtoend.run/lands-end-to-john-o-groats-virtual-run

Anne Harvey
acharvey@hotmail.co.uk

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INCREASE IN RISK TO ROAD USERS

In June 2020 retrospective planning permission was granted by Rutland County Council for two businesses to operate from the barns situated within the Park Farm site.

As part of the planning process Ridlington Parish Council raised a concern re potential increase in traffic along Holygate road. As you will be aware, Holygate Road is a single lane carriageway with no footpath and unsuitable for increased business traffic including HGV’s.

It is the intention of the Ridlington Parish Council to submit a letter to Rutland County Council regarding concerns over the increased usage by commercial vehicles along this road.

Rutland County Council stated that there were no incidents recorded on the Police “crash” record. However, we are aware of three separate collisions between delivery vans within the last few years.

In the past a Christmas Fayre at Park Farm was curtailed by the Council as the access road was deemed to be unsuitable for visitors.

Our particular concerns are:

1. The narrowness of the blind double bend situated at the top of Church Lane. Pedestrians have to walk on the road as there are no footpaths for protection;

2. Damage to the roadside ecology as vehicles are eroding grass verges.

3. The possibility of further planning applications being approved in relation to business use at the barns.

Ridlington Parish Council are preparing a report for the highways and planning departments at Rutland County Council, the County Safety Officer and Councillor Lucy Stevenson whose portfolio includes Highways within Rutland.

Any comments you may have on this issue would be appreciated and maybe added to our report.

Please respond to clerk@ridlingtonparishcouncil.org

Thank you.

Dave Johnson
Chairman
Ridlington Parish Council.

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UPDATE – RIDLINGTON PLAYING FIELD – QUESTIONNAIRE

I refer to the update sent to you on October 16th regarding the Playing Field including an important opportunity for you to help decide it’s future.

We hope you will complete as much of the questionnaire as you can. Your opinions and ideas are really important! Thank you.

Please click on the links below:-

Word Format – Questionnaire final

PDF Format – Questionnaire – Playing Field

Ruth Lees

Please note:- 
This questionnaire has been re-sent to you in a different format – a Word document.

For those of you who may not have Word but still wish to complete the document, please feel free to print the version in PDF and drop it into either Ruth Lees’ or Suzanne Baines. Thank you.

Apologies for the inconvenience in not attaching the two links together at the same time. Jackie

 

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AN UPDATE ON THE RIDLINGTON PLAYING FIELD

Please find below an update from The Trustees of the Charity – Ridlington Playing Field

You will no doubt be aware, The Playing Field and the Children’s Play Area have been closed to much activity this Summer. This is all due to the Covid19 pandemic, but most especially because the Trustees do not feel confident to safely operate the facility within the current regulations and guidelines.

As a result, you will have noticed, especially those of you who walk your dogs through or past the Playing Field regularly, that the grass has been allowed to grow during the summer.  We have had it cropped for hay during this period and it has also been mown a few times since.

Whether you enjoy walking, playing football and cricket or using the play equipment, our Playing Field is a wonderful space that was gifted to the village many years ago.  It is also a haven for insects and wildlife.

Despite all the difficulties we are presently living under, it is the Trustees intention to bring the Playing Field and Children’s Play Area back into full use as soon as we feel able to.

We are currently planning for how this amenity can best provide for all future requirements of those in our community that may wish to use it.

We have a brilliant opportunity right now to add to Ridlington’s heritage and come together as a village community. Let us look after the Playing Field and invest in some new equipment that could benefit so many of us across all age groups.

Therefore, YOUR opinion is really important.

There are various funding sources that we can approach to help us. Of course, we also need to continue to raise some money ourselves.

The Playing Field Charity has been very fortunate indeed to receive some money from the government via Rutland County Council during the Covid19 pandemic. This will help support our ongoing and future work including the regular maintenance required, particularly since we have had to cancel all our fundraising events.

As a first step we need to know your opinion and views on how you may be able to help. For example the equipment you would like to see being used. Therefore we have created a questionnaire which you can access by clicking on the following link… Questionnaire – Playing Field

Please complete as much of the attached questionnaire as you can and return it by October 31st to Suzanne Baines (ideally by email) who has volunteered to lead this project.

 

Thank you!
The Playing Field Trustees
October 2020

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Your Opinion Matters – It’s your chance to have an input.

Website Survey

There are going to be some changes made to the website over the coming months and we’d like your opinion.

The current website has run its course and now needs some redevelopment. The increased use of the site due to the pandemic and the need for information and help has seen a growth in interest in the site and visits to it. We don’t want to waste that interest and would like to build upon it and make it more engaging.

The success of the Parish Councils’ website is dependent upon a healthy visitor participation. With that in mind, it was felt that the time was right to give members of the Ridlington Community an opportunity to voice their opinions as to what form that website should take.

We want you to think of a bigger picture and have an aspiration as to how the website should be developed to make it more relevant to you as a community.

The website still has some basic functions that it has to fulfill in relationship to the functions of the Parish Council but beyond that we’d like you to dream big.

Please take the time to complete our online survey so we can draft a plan for the development.

CLICK HERE to access the survey.

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RUTLAND HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE POLICY CONSORTIUM

Please read this important letter from the Rutland Health & Social Care Policy Consortium.

OPEN LETTER TO THE RESIDENTS OF RUTLAND
FROM THE RUTLAND HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE POLICY CONSORTIUM

Monday, October 5, 2020

Dear Rutland Resident

Every household in Rutland will receive a brochure from Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) urging us to agree to the closure of acute and obstetric services at Leicester General Hospital, and the Birthing Centre at Melton Mowbray. It is important that you reply with your own views, but please read the following carefully before you finally decide how to reply, otherwise Rutland may lose a great deal because of a lack of public information.

We are concerned by key proposals which could disadvantage Rutland: –

LOSING ACCESS TO BEDS – HUGE CLOSURES ARE PLANNED.
New plans issued on 1st September propose removal of approximately 500 acute and maternity beds from Leicester General Hospital and Melton Birthing Centre. Future services and beds to replace those removed will be based at Glenfield Hospital and the Leicester Royal Infirmary (LRI). The plans admit that 100% of Rutlanders will be disadvantaged by these proposals because of reduced accessibility. Travel times will be increased, public transport and parking may be more difficult. They also say that they are planning to reduce their acute workload by 20%, so if Rutlanders go elsewhere that is helpful. This could mean going to Cambridge or Oxford for specialist treatment.

LOSING SIGHT of RUTLAND’S NEEDS.
These plans only look two years ahead, yet were prepared over a period of seven years. However, this did not involve enough people who understand Rutland’s distinct needs. There is substantial housing development and our population is growing. The proportion of elderly and the very elderly is growing much more rapidly than elsewhere reaching 35% of our population by 2035. Also the plans take no account of rural poverty.

LOSS of NATIONAL POLICY APPLICABLE TO RUTLAND.
National and local policy is to move services closer to home and many Rutlanders can support that. CCGs know that hospital and community services are interdependent and a national requirement exists, that alternative provision must be offered before they close beds. None has been offered so far. CCGs have a duty (under S.14T of the Health and Social Care Act 2012) to reduce health inequalities for communities. They have to improve access to services and health outcomes achieved. These current proposals appear to fly in the face of these duties. They can be seen as a conscious decision to reduce services for Rutlanders.

Rutlanders need local services and beds to prevent unnecessary admissions to LRI and Glenfield as well as local beds to enable speedy discharge from major hospitals back to local services. Local services can include out-patient services such as diagnostics, dialysis, chemo, urgent care, which can all be based successfully in the community. Many Rutlanders support services focused on a hub, preferably based upon Rutland Memorial Hospital or an equivalent provision. If this were cut, it would be a serious loss to existing provision. The information that is available makes it clear that the success of the proposals on offer are dependent on undertaking more care in the community yet the current consultation is silent on community services and the future use of Rutland Memorial Hospital. Until we understand what services will be available to us here in Rutland we are unable to support the reconfiguration of Leicester Hospitals.

LOSS of INVOLVEMENT IN PLANNING.
This consultation document has been issued after proposals for acute and maternity services, which disadvantage Rutland, are already well advanced. However planning started in 2013 to develop a community strategy that is not yet finished. Some Rutland people were so frustrated at their lack of involvement that 100 of them took the bull by the horns in 2019 and prepared a Rutland Health Plan. It was received favourably by the CCG CEO and an official Rutland Health Plan was promised for January 2020. We are still waiting. The current consultation document contains proposals for developing community services for Leicester City on the vacated LGH site. There is absolutely no reason why Rutland cannot be treated in the same way. It has more to lose than any other community across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland if the current plans remain unmodified.

LOSS of QUALITY, CAPACITY, ACCESSIBILITY and OUR LOCAL HOSPITAL?
Strong rumours continue that Rutland Memorial’s future is uncertain and nothing clear has been said. If all acute and maternity beds at Leicester General and Melton are closed without local alternatives being offered in advance of a decision to close Leicester General, then Rutland could become a ‘Health Desert’. It is not surprising, therefore, that people are very concerned there is an unstated hidden agenda to close Rutland Memorial as well as to take away access to acute and specialist services. The local hospital at Ashby was closed 6 years ago but the promised alternative services were still not in place at the beginning of this year and we fear Rutland could experience similar gaps in services.

WHAT CAN WE DO?
Questionnaire – Please do not agree to the closure of Leicester General until you are satisfied the proposals for some alternative services and/or compensations for losses in Rutland are acceptable. CCGs are required to demonstrate they have ‘engaged’ with our local community, and have listened. This is in order to propose changes shaped to meet local needs and avoid negative impacts, most particularly on the most vulnerable. Without this in place, we Rutlanders, especially the elderly and people on low incomes, will be losers.

IT IS AN IMPORTANT TIME TO MAKE YOUR VIEWS KNOWN – Our MP (Alicia Kearns), County & Parish Councillors and the Press will receive information from the CCGs, so it is important that they understand our expectations of healthcare in Rutland, please make your views known. We will be saying that we want a package of integrated health services as developed by over 100 Rutlanders in September 2019 and written up as “A Health Plan for Rutland”. We will stress that we cannot accept closure of acute services until the alternatives are set out and clear costings are presented.

WHAT IS THE RUTLAND HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE POLICY CONSORTIUM?
We are a group of local residents, knowledgeable about Health and Social Care both as consumers and professionally. We are very concerned for the future Health and Social Care provision for Rutlanders, especially as our community ages. We study National Health Policy and how it is applied locally. We are particularly worried by what we identify as repeated breaches of legal and policy requirements.

The views expressed here also reflect and present the views of a group of 100 Rutlanders who attended a consultation event in September 2019 which informed the report ‘A Health Plan for Rutland’. Our thanks are due to those people for coming to the event and for their valuable input.

Our members are:-
Jennifer Fenelon (Chair), Christine Stanesby, Janet Seden, Kathy Reynolds, Judy Worthington and Miles Williamson-Noble. The core membership is advised by specialist contributors and expert consultants.

We can be contacted at rhscpc@icloud.com
The ‘Health Plan for Rutland’ can also be obtained by emailing rhscpc@icloud.com

Final Dear Rutland Resident Open Letter-1