Comment - Editorial, comments, local issues and letters

Summer 2000


For the first time

Bradway has it's own Internet site, with the launch of an Internet edition of Bradway Bugle. This is part of a wider initiative to encourage community magazines in print or on the Internet.


The site aims to provide a community resource based on information published in the magazine, along with useful links identified by other web users. As such it should prove both of value to the local community and of interest to people living outside the area. Information on the site is indexed for ease of access.


We want this to be a community site, so please give us your opinions and ideas on how to improve it, and most importantly tell us the location of other local useful sites or information which could be included.


Being on the Internet will allow us to update information on local events more frequently and provide new opportunities in the way we present information - the use of colour for example. Eventually we hope to include an index to local e-mail addresses, a news & comment page generated by users and much more. But we need your input and help, so drop us an e-mail to editor@villagepublications.co.uk


Make us a favourite! [Hint: hit control - d]


Editorial

The level of support shown recently to Makinsons' over bureaucratic threats to remove their footpath plant displays was heartening. It seems that this show of community spirit has proved successful, with bureaucratic officialdom beating a hasty retreat in favour of the status quo.

Unfortunately too many rules and regulations, made with the best of intentions, inhibit rather than add to the quality of our lives. What might sensibly apply to one location can be a nonsense elsewhere.

The fact is that Sheffield is a big city - remote from the daily lives of many of its inhabitants - and some might argue too large for one tier of civic administration. Short of the continental idea of each community having its own forum, (remember parish councils?), we must hope the Councils Area Initiative will ensure the interests and priorities of each community are taken into account. We understand that a draft action plan for the South West Area is well advanced.

Following this months local election, the three councillors for the ward are Keith Hill (Lib Dem); Colin Ross (Lib Dem); and Anne Smith (Con). If you have any local problems with council services you should take them up with the relevant departments first. If this proves unsatisfactory then try the councillors. They can argue for a change in policies or priorities or put pressure on service managers.

Talking about a sense of community, the launch of an Internet edition of the Bugle provides a real opportunity to create an information service of value to people living in Bradway. But we need your input and help to make it a success. Ideas, suggestions and offers of help please to editor@villagepublications.co.uk

John Baker, Editor


Local fury

Makinsons on Twentywell Lane were overwhelmed by the level of response to their recent appeal for support against pressure to remove their daily display outside the shop. A heartfelt thank you comes from all the staff at the shop to everyone who responded.

There were literally hundreds of letters and protest forms. Even an hour long video showing how little hindrance to movement the display is. To reproduce just some of the comments would fill this magazine, so these are just a random collection of the key expressions of support:

"Makinsons is a huge asset to the community, serving a wide area."
"I have a severely visually impaired disabled daughter who has never had problems passing along the footway."
"One expects to see greengrocers displaying their wares on the pavement."
"How about the number of cars parked on pavements, these are far more of an obstruction."
"Like many people I much enjoy the colour of the display and suspect that trade at other shops would suffer if it was withdrawn."
"Why complain about something so trivial - have they nothing else to worry about."
"Makinsons is one shop we cannot afford to lose. The owners of Makinsons with their staff provide an unparalled service."
"The display outside the shop in no way causes an obstruction."
"Loss of the display could result in a loss of trade and if the shop should close leave Bradway like so many other villages without a local fruit and vegetable shop."
"Small concerns that serve the public need all the support they can get."
"The display is a shear work of art and acts as a magnet for all the parade."
"All the residents in Bradway really value this shop which succeeds in competing with supermarkets!"
"There is ample room for wheelchairs and pedestrians on the pavement."
"I strongly recommend this ridiculous and pointless suggestion be withdrawn immediately!" ..... and so it has been.


Adult Education

King Ecgbert School offers Adult Education Classes in Information and Communication Technology and are a recognised 'IT For All Centre' as advertised Nationally on TV and Radio. Sessions are on Wednesdays in the Wessex Computer Suite from 7-00pm to 9-00pm. All abilities can be catered for from complete beginners to experienced computer users. Each 5 session module costs a very reasonable £30 (i.e. £6-00/evening). The final modules this year start on 7 June, but there will be a full programme again in September.

The school is now able to offer (ECDL) a qualification in computer and Internet skills recognised and welcomed by employers across Europe and supported by the British Computer Society.
For more details phone 236 9931 or E-mail djm@ecgbert.sheffield.sch.uk


Bradway Leisure Plans

The official launch of the new style Bradway Leisure Club is now planned for 10 a.m. on Tuesday, September 19th, in the upstairs rooms at the Bradway Scout Centre.

Following two exploratory meetings in March and April, a small group of enthusiastic potential members agreed that there was a need in the area for a regular daytime meeting place for local people who are no longer at work and find that time is dragging.

Ideas suggested for club activities included informal chat sessions with cups of tea and coffee; whist, bridge and scrabble; arranged visits to local garden centres; and talks by invited speakers, perhaps followed by pub lunches.

If you have any ideas for possible club activities, or would like to be involved in the organisation, please contact me at 80 Wollaton Road, Bradway, or telephone: 236 1327.

Roger Davis


Business On-Line

More and more businesses are recognising the importance of having a presence on the Internet. This need not be expensive if you take space on an existing site, or perhaps you would like a site of your own.
Village Publications can help you get started by providing advertising space and professional help with design and production through local consultants Visual Creations. If you are interested in finding out more just call us on 0114 236 9025.


Abbeydale Hamlet

Following last years change of political control, we are pleased to see that the City Council has voted funds to Abbeydale and Shepherd Wheels to the tune of £ 300,000. Although this is insufficient to repair all the neglect of recent years, it is a significant contribution which will strengthen the case of other applications for grant aid.

The hamlet is open to the public throughout the summer. Open days at Shepherd Wheel are 29 May, 9 & 30 July, 28 August and 17 September.


Internet in Brief


Latest figures show the number of regular UK Internet surfers rising from 7.5 million at the end of 1998 to 12.5 million last year, with a forecasted 16 million by the end of 2000.

Save up to 20% on your Internet calls by making your ISP your best friend on BT's Family & Friends service.

1,000 new entries are expected to be added each quarter to the Internet version of the Oxford English Dictionary.

150 million people use English on the Internet, making it the most widely utilised language on the web.Check your phone bill and update Friends & Family numbers at www.bt.com/intouch


Council Elections

The result of the local election for Dore Ward on 4 May were:

Anne Smith Conservative 2,776
Samuel Wall Labour 726
Muhammad Zahur Lib Dem 2,457

 


Millennium Flower Festival

St John's Church Abbeydale will be holding its Millennium Flower Festival from June 16th to 18th on the theme 'The Life of Christ'. The church will be open from 12 noon on Friday 16th with afternoon teas served from 2.30pm to 4.30pm. At 8.00pm the 'Tuesday Singers' from Whitby will give a concert in the church.
On Saturday 17th the church will be open from 10am to 5pm for viewing, with a Morning Market from 10am to 1.30pm serving hot dogs and ploughman's lunches, with lots of stalls for everyone and activities for children.

The festival continues on Sunday 18th with normal services in the morning and viewing between 2pm to 6pm with afternoon teas available. At 7pm the festival closes with a combined service for Churches Together in S17 with guest speaker Mr Jack Straw of Radio Sheffield. Proceeds shall be shared between the Milawi teacher-training project and church funds.

Ray Wright, Church Warden


Lost sparrows

The house sparrow, once one of the commonest British birds is thought to be in rapid decline. There has been much speculation about the cause, but currently nobody knows why this is.

The Royal Society for the protection of birds are asking young people to help with a survey to establish the true position on numbers. The closing date for the survey is 9 June.

Forms are available on the RSPB website at www.rspb.org.uk/youth or BBC's UK Wild site at www.bbc.co.uk/ukwild


Guiders needed

Greenhill/Bradway district Guide Assoc. Urgently need women between the ages of 18-65 years to train as Guiders, to help run Rainbow, Brownie and Guide units in Greenhill and Bradway.

Guiding offers the chance to play a part in the development of girls, the friendship of people of all ages and opportunities for personal development.

If you would like further information please contact:

Diane Wheeler (Divisional Commissioner) tel 235 1787 or Denise Rees (District Commissioner) tel 236 9720.


Ladybower Challenge Walk

Do you enjoy walking in the beautiful local countryside? Well, King Ecgbert School Association is organising a 26 mile Challenge Walk on Saturday, 1st July.

It will start and end at our Wessex Building on Totley Brook Road in Dore, going out to Ladybower Reservoir via Burbage Rocks, and returning via Hope, and Grindleford Cafe, where the main walk ends and lifts are available back to school if required.

There will also be a short round walk of about 12 miles for those who don't wish to do the full walk. The walk is part of the parent-teacher association fundraising effort, and for the entry fee, we will provide: -

  • checkpoints en route with free cold drinks
  • free travel from checkpoints back to the finish for walkers wishing to retire
  • a cloth embroidered badge for all entrants
  • a certificate if the walk is completed in 12 hours
  • a Ploughman's Platter and tea at the finish point
  • First Aid personnel in attendance

For both walks, it is up to you to decide on your route, but you have to cheek in at the checkpoints. The cost of the walk remains at £8.50 (£4 for under-18's).

Under-16's will have to walk with a responsible adult, and under-18's need written parental consent.
For further information or application form, please telephone 236 7942 or send an S.A.E. to: Mrs. C. Brewster, K.E.S.A., King Ecgbert School, Furniss Avenue, Dore, Sheffield, S 17 3QN.


Dear Sir

May is here and so are the summer migrant birds, breeding and singing here (so this is home?) wintering round the Mediterranean or in Africa south of the Sahara. It is humbling to think of the long distance connections our small locality has, especially when the threads are strung by tiny mites weighing a few grammes.

But April this year provided fascinating glimpses of an occasional winter visitor, the waxwing. Jaunty, with a cross expression and crest raised, the size of a starling, a flock of 16 was at the top of Twentywell Road and on Prospect Road for a fortnight. They are a lovely fawn colour, with yellow waxy tips to the wing feathers. Coming from the conifer forests of Finland and Russia, they are unused to people and very confiding. Clustering in berry bushes, they scoff the berry clusters and allow you to reach within a couple of metres before showing any concern.

They'll have returned home now. The previous year that I saw any was 1998, when 80 were near the Castle Inn and another 80 on Prospect Road. An international connection for Bradway, but in another direction.
No sooner had the waxwings departed, than the first chiffchaffs started to call their name: by Good Friday I had heard them at the Castle (a popular location it seems!), Totley Lane, by the Cheshire Home and at the top of Twentywell Lane. They might still turn up at locations haunted in recent years, so keep your ears tuned at the bottom of Poynton Wood or the foot of Twentywell Lane.

Listen also for the descending lilting flute of the willow warbler, grey-green and smaller than a sparrow. Singing can usually be heard from near the Castle Inn (again!), Totley Lane and Totley Brooke Road. This is Britain's commonest summer migrant, but numbers have fallen in recent years. No one yet knows why: continuing spread of deserts in North Africa is a likely culprit, showing once again the influence that events in faraway places can have on our local environment.

More cheerfully, goldfinches are tinkling their bell of a song at Tinker's Corner and the top of Twenywell Lane. Try to catch a glimpse of them if you hear the song:- a patchwork of black, white, red and gold.
The swallows at Tinker's Corner did well last year, raising two broods. Now the mews has been redeveloped, they live in the house on the corner. The swallow at Bradway Annexe last summer was in fact breeding in the bike shed! I had thought it was the Tinker's Corner bird hunting far from home, but not so. The good news is that it suggests that swallows are breeding well enough locally for new sites to be colonised.

Watch for them this summer, with their dramatic curving pathways and sudden slowings into the darkness of the shed!

John Kirkman


Speak Up

If you have some local news or information, know something about the areas history, or have an opinion to express, why not write to:

The Editor, Bradway Bugle, 8 Thornsett Gardens, S17 3PP. Tel: 236 9025

or e-mail


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