We’re invited to the Prestwich launch of the Bury Walk Active Booklet on Monday 9th August, 10am, Prestwich Library. Becky Earl from Sports Development will be leading a 30 minute walk which is suitable for all ages and abilities. The walk is on pavements. All you need is sensible footwear and a bottle of water.

The Walk Active booklet contains 18 walks in Bury (3 in each township) of varying grades all designed to get people out walking in their neighbourhoods. The booklet is part of Bury’s Walk4Life promotion campaign to get us out, about and fitter!

This north Norfolk village has everything you’d want, especially if you love stars, there aren’t any street lights; if you don’t leave a light on if you’re going to be out late, you’ll not find your way back!

The village stores are a delight – with local produce including a super range of local ales, apple juices and organic wines. They also have rooms of antiques to browse through and will order your fav newspaper for you to collect each morning, too! The Gin Trap, local pub is close for food and beverages and the plant nursery iat the back of us is great to pop in to, too. We’ve been on some super local walks especially at Holme Marsh Bird Reserve and Andrew’s sick of me gathering pinecones for my students back at college – we’re going to be creative with nature, next term!

Musts to visit are of course Sandringham, although we were a little disappointed that you’re only allowed in a few downstairs ‘showing rooms’. However, for your £11 admission fee you do get to see the stuffed, hunted animals (yuk), gun collection (not to my taste) and superb collection of cars and carriages. We were surprised at the tearooms – never before have I received a mug of boiling water, tea bag and plastic spoon at a stately home! However, their variety of home produced apple juice available at our village store is exceptional!

Burnham Market with its shops is pretty as is Walsingham’s Farm Shops (both in Walsingham and at Norfolk Lavender, Heacham). The Walsingham Old Abbey and Court House is well worth a visit with a superb river and woodland walk.

Topping the bill is Holkam Park’s lakeside nature walk followed by afternoon tea – in teacups with a teapot – along with the most superb home made cake. Your £2.50 car-parking fee is also refunded against food/souvenir purchases so afternoon tea for two, with cakes came to under £7. The nature walk’s great as the little signposts tell you all about the ducks and undergrowth too (Andrew says its like leafleting, lots of stopping but with a educational read rather than a letter box!).

The Sedgeford Village SHARP dig is the longest running community led archaelogical dig - we were welcomed to teh visitor’s centre and volunteers working on teh dig came over to offer to talk to us about it - and invited us to sign up for a course to learn how to help next summer (maybe a project for my students!). Hiring cycles from nearby Bircham Windmill was also fun as was the climb up this lovingly restored now working windmill - with super bakery and tea rooms - so we’re heading for home with their special flour, too!

Pity, as with all holidays – there is an ending and a pile of emails/letters and phone messages to deal with when life meets us back home. … until next time ….. in another cottage in another quiet English village (with a shop of course!) … or maybe back here ……

Summer is here!
Wondering want to do with your time this summer?Take a look at all the playschemes, activities and events running in Bury this summer for children, young people and families

Click on and Check out all the information behind the new look Find it 4 Me picture icons at:
www.bury.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople

One super thing about summer holidays, is an escape from people who continually criticise the Coalition. I have learnt that there is no use arguing with those who consider ‘their’ party to be right – and look at its track record (war/£/broken promises). In just 10 weeks since the start of this brave new Coalition Government, the Liberal Democrats have exerted a huge influence over the very necessary, change agenda.

There is so much to understand and analyse about the past Government and to find out why their strategies didn’t work better and why many others were wrong. For example, in The Independent today, ex-M15 chief (yes, a woman!) Baroness Manningham-Buller made it very clear that our early entry into the Iran conflict, with the USA was not her advice and compounded problems, resulting in problems to operate effectively and a 100% budget rise for her department. Compare the reported Chilcot Enquiry with (p.16), a small photo of the most cutest little girl sitting by the roadside, waiting for the coffin of her Ghurkha Dad to pass at Wootton Bassett yesterday. I hope she’ll get the same love, respect, help and support as our own UK soldier families, too!

Life is tough for our Service men/woman both home and abroad. Life is also tough as ordinary people have to face up to living in a country where the previous Government made that ‘feel good’ factor, far too optimistic and more funding was spent than was really available. War costs in £ as well as humanity; human greed and international bank losses also compounded the problems of our country’s finances. Going into the election the Liberal Democrats made clear that they had four key priorities: fairer taxes; a fair start for children with extra funding for disadvantaged pupils; a comprehensive clean up of our politics, including a fairer voting system; and a green, sustainable economy.

Thanks to Lib Dem involvement, the Government will deliver on each of these. The press reports many of our Lib Dem supporters to be fed up with our party. I still maintain, and I was at Birmingham for the special Conference to vote for them to follow this line, that it is the only possible way forward – at the present state of play. Labour supporters – why don’t you value the good things that were achieved but also analyse the problems, mistakes and difficulties. Futures are built on understanding the past and charting our way through the present.

The Met Office Flood Forecasting Centre has issued an Extreme Rainfall Alert to a number of regions including Greater Manchester. The alert warns of a high probability of extremely heavy rainfall events between 18.00 today (Tuesday 20 July 2010) and 07.00 tomorrow morning. This heavy rain may lead to some localised surface flooding where local drainage systems become overwhelmed.

Please take extra care when travelling .

For more information please log onto the Met Office website at www.metoffice.gov.uk and click on the weather warnings tab.

Prestwich Local Area Partnership voted overwhelmingly against Bury Council’s plans to impose parking charges on Fairfax Road at its meeting on 15th July.

The vote was taken after the controversial plans were outlined at the meeting. Angry residents in the audience grilled Council parking chiefs for half an hour after it was confirmed that the Council plan to charge motorists £1 to park for up to an hour, and £2 afterwards.

St Mary’s ward Councillor Richard Baum said “It was clear that everyone in the room was against these proposals. It’s all about making money for Bury Council by punishing the people of Prestwich. These charges mean that people going to the doctors or the walk-in centre will have to pay. That’s just not fair, and that’s why I voted against the parking charges at the LAP like I did at the Council meeting when they were first proposed.”

Sedgley Councillor Steve Wright said “Local people are angry and we need to make it clear to the Conservatives at the Town Hall that Prestwich opposes these proposals. They are bad for business, bad for traffic congestion and bad for the town. I appeal to everyone in Prestwich to try and beat these plans by letting the Council know how much we oppose these charges.

Your local Liberal Democrat Councillors have called on the Conservatives running Bury Council to scrap proposed charges for the Fairfax Road. The planned charges will see motorists charged £1 for short-stay parking, and £2 for long-stay.

Lib Dems in Prestwich have opposed the Fairfax Road car parking charges from day one. We voted against them, and have campaigned strongly against them since.

The £1 charge for short-term parking will be particularly damaging to local shops, whilst at the same time doing nothing to achieve what the Conservatives at Bury Town Hall say they want, namely to reduce all-day parking.

We’re worried that on street parking will increase on the nearby residential roads traffic congestion will increase on surrounding roads, and local people who need to use the NHS walk-in centre and GPs, particularly the old and disabled, will be disadvantaged.

In the interests of Prestwich, its time for a re-think on the Fairfax Road parking charges.

Join Ian - Ranger for Prestwich and the Friends of Prestwich Forest Park on a Prestwich Clough action day. Anyone welcome!

Working in the clough stream to improve stream flow involving moving stones and re-channelling. (Please note, it will be quite physical at times)

When: Sunday 18th July 9.30am.

Meet: Prestwich Clough, Prestwich. Meet at Clough entrance on St Anns rd, opposite Lowther Rd at 9.30 or come and find them in the Clough.

Bury Ranger service will provide gloves and tools but would recommended wearing clothing that can be messed up and safety boots and wellington boots.

Any questions please do not hesitate to call or email Ian Rogers, Bury Ranger Service 0161 253 5522

This week we’ll be popping over to visit our son who is a Bone Marrow volunteer. We’re really proud that he has this opportunity to help somebody else - hope it works out for them.

This week was a delight, with so many different meetings and a good end to our college year, too (my day job).  One evening found me at a resident’s group AGM. It was lovely to meet residents, whose homes I pop our Focus Community Leaflet through their letter boxes!  Residents are very concerned at spiralling costs of looking after their development, as are other Tenants and Residents Groups, too.  

Tuesday night found me supporting my fellow ward Cllr Steve for our surgery and then a Sedgley Liberal Democrat Member’s, friends and supporters meeting at St Gabriel’s Community Room (part of Church building). 

Wednesday evening was a meeting of a new group formed to steer through a new youth club – a ROC Café for 11-16 year olds at the Phoenix Centre, St Mary’s Park.  This is to start towards the end of the summer – what a great new addition for our young people – a drop in coffee bar with music/sports and other activities.   Along with the local Police and Fire Service as well as Bury’s Youth Service, partners will work together to support the club and PMYA who manage the Phoenix Centre (Prestwich Methodist Youth Association).  The club will be open to all young people and also has disability access.  I’m looking forward to be a volunteer youth worker with them too on their volunteer’s rota.  Yes, local councillor’s role up sleeves and get involved too!