Dot Com for Pensioners
Pensioners on the lookout for work and the opportunity
to increase their household's income have been given a much-needed helping
hand from a revolutionary website aimed specifically at people looking
for part-time or temp work.
Launched in September 2000, www.parttimeexchange.com allows pensioners
to search and apply for a wide range of suitable jobs in their region
for free - without leaving the house. Pensioners looking for part-time
work can search the website for specific jobs or log on and leave their
details with an explanation of the type of work they are looking for.
If they don't have access to the internet, their details can be added
to the site for free by calling 0800 0851980.
Parrot Line
There can be few Bradway residents who have not enjoyed
the antics of the Macaws (parrots) at Makinsons shop on Twentywell Lane.
Parrots, there are several different species, are wonderful intelligent
birds, that can give years of enjoyment and entertainment in return for
the right care. But like all exotic species they have their own dietary
and care needs.
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Macaws on holiday. Picture by Ian
from Makinsons greengrocers on Twentywell Lane
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Parrot Line is a free local service intended to
help both you and your parrot get the best from each other. It offers
leaflets and information on the different parrot species, free home
visits to help you and the bird get off to a good start, ongoing
support and even cover when you go on holiday.
Buying a parrot is not a cheap hobby, nor is it
something that can be done on a whim. Parrots can be destructive.
They have large, powerful beaks which can cause devastation to furniture
and untamed birds also need careful handling for the same reason.
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Parrots have loud raucous calls so you need to consider
the effect of this noise on your home environment, both to yourself and
to your neighbours.
Nor after spending a large amount of money can you expect your parrot
to do tricks and recite words after twenty minutes handling, everything
takes time. But parrots can live for decades and they are very intelligent
and demanding birds, invariably becoming a lifetime companion. So taking
on the responsibility requires a long term commitment.
Parrot Line can be contacted on 274 7985 or 0402 454 873.
Bradway model plane enthusiasts
Experienced air traffic controllers would have their skills
tested to the limit if asked to mastermind activity in the restricted
air space of the Bradway Scout Centre on the first Saturday afternoon
of every month.
A wide range of model planes will be soaring round the hall at up to rooftop
height, all under the intense scrutiny of their floor-bound pilots, ranging
in age from early teenagers to veteran flyers who have long since crashed
through the 65-year-old bus-pass barrier!
They are members of an informal club with no official name, but which
has been 'operational' for more than five years under the general supervision
of their unofficial squadron leader, Mr Trevor Faulkner, of Birchitt Close,
Bradway.
Model aeroplane flying covers a wide range of types and
skills, with the Bradway enthusiasts mainly concentrating on rubber wound
craft capable of staying airborne for around ten minutes. The total cost
of building a model can be as low as £1.50, bringing the sport well
within the range of anyone's pocket money!
"That is the great appeal of the business" Trevor
told me. "Anyone can afford to take part and learn a lot of new skills.
There is far more to it than folding a piece of paper into an aeroplane
and launching it across a school classroom".
The most experienced flyer to join in the fun at Bradway
has been Donald Andrew, a wartime Spitfire pilot and a veteran of the
air defence of Malta in 1943, who was also in action for the invasion
of Sicily and Northern France. Donald, who now lives at Bents Green, says
that he owes his life to the knowledge gained when he first flew model
planes as a boy.
"I got to know all about spins, stalls, dives and
turns at a very tender age, and how to correct them while still safely
on the ground, so I knew just what was happening when flying in action.
I began with rubber driven models, and my father promised to buy me a
little petrol engine when I passed my Matriculation exam at Nether Edge
Secondary School"."The engine duly arrived, and I built my first
petrol
powered plane and flew it at the old Coal Aston airfield.
The plane, a Paul Puffin designed by Colonel C.E. Bowden, flew free flight
of course, so there was no control after it left the ground. I continued
to build models during the war, and in my flying training in Rhodesia
had a model which I converted to a glider as there was no rubber available.
It disappeared in a thermal at a great height and is probably still flying
somewhere today!" "There was no time for flying models in Malta
though, as I was otherwise occupied!"
Indeed, one of Donald's proudest possessions is his battered
Log Book, recording over 300 hours of operational flying from Qrendi airfield
in Malta, and the shooting down of two German planes, for which he was
Mentioned in Despatches.
As a young Sergeant Pilot, Donald had flown out to Malta
aboard a Liberator bomber, sitting cramped up in the bomb bay with 19
other replacement pilots to join in the desperate air defence of the besieged
island.
Donald had decided to volunteer for the RAF after spending
the first night of the Sheffield blitz sheltering in the former Abbeydale
Cinema from 6.15pm until 4am the next day. "It was quite frightening,
and a lot of bombs were dropped nearby" he said. "There were
piles of rubble all over the place, and the tram lines were curled up
into fantastic shapes above the roads. An incendiary bomb had even dropped
onto the lawn behind my home in Hutcliffe Road.
"As a result of seeing all the destruction, I did
not have any doubts later on about shooting down German planes".
Roger Davis
Never too late
It is never too late to learn, you really can teach an
old dog new tricks. With the endless array of adult learning opportunities
available these days, many of which are virtually brought to our doorsteps,
we can all build on our knowledge and skills for employment, hobbies or
pleasure.
The idea of lifelong learning really caught hold with the setting up of
the Open University in the early 1970s. Now with the pace of technological
change and with people living longer and staying healthier, it is increasingly
recognised as essential in business and as beneficial in retirement.
Many people start with evening classes at their local adult education
institute - the least time-consuming and generally the cheapest option.
You can learn a marketable skill or simply acquire knowledge for pleasure.
It is of course possible to study for a qualification part-time, locally
or from home. You can also go to a university, no longer the preserve
of the young. Older students taking their first degree are commonplace
these days, and not only at the Open University. New universities (former
polytechnics) are particularly flexible when it comes to adapting their
courses for part-time study. Even if you already have a degree, you can
either start again with a new topic or register for a masters degree.
If you are over 50, a cheaper and totally different way of studying, is
to join your local University of the Third Age (U3A). This is ideal for
those who are retired, or whose children are now financially independent
and many Third Agers choose to learn something that has nothing to do
with the skills they already have. There are already some 90,000 members
in 435 local branches.
How about it? I you are looking for a new challenge, skills or knowledge,
now is the time to think about the possibilities. But remember, learning
takes up time, weekends, evenings or holidays, and costs money. So before
you sign up, make sure you can set time aside and that you know what the
costs will be. Some contacts are:
The Open University Tel: 01908 653231 Website: www.open.ac.uk
The University of the Third Age (U3A) Tel: 020 7837 8838
Further Education Funding Council Tel: 02476 863000 Website: www.fefc.ac.uk
Campaign for Learning Tel: 020 7930 1111 Website: www.campaign-for-learning.org.uk
Foster-a-civet
As reported in an earlier issue, Bradway native Scott
Roberton, went out to Vietnam last year with Frontier-Vietnam to carry
out Biological surveys in the North Vietnamese forests. He quickly knew
that Vietnam was the place for him, and set out to find further employment
there.
In September he became Research Co?ordinator for the Owston's Palm Civet
Conservation Program (OCP), which is part of Fauna And Flora International's
Cuc Phuong Conservation Project. This role will see him into the year
2004 and not only give him excellent experience in environmental education,
training and research, but allow him to undertake a research MSc in affiliation
with the University Of East Anglia, covering the behaviour of this rare
species.
Owston's Palm Civet is an endangered small carnivore (between
a fox and weasel in size), only known to exist in parts of Vietnam, eastern
Laos and southern China. Very little is known about the animal in the
wild, yet the OCP has been at the forefront of its research in captivity
since 1996 when the program was established.
The OCP started as a captive breeding program and since
Scott arrived is developing into a multi faceted conservation program
involving the training of rangers, continued research, and an education
program.
Scott is developing a foster-a-civet scheme in an attempt to create further
awareness about the plight of this important species, and to raise much
needed funds to secure the future of the program. " Not only will
the scheme give people the unique opportunity to be directly involved
in a conservation program, it will allow people to decide where their
money goes"
The scheme is split into four components: foster-a-civet'; research-a-civet';
'train-a-civet'; and teach-a-civet'. Each will direct money to that specific
part of the Program. For example, teach-a-civet gives kids, classes or
even schools the chance to contact Vietnamese children in Conservation
Clubs and talk about environmental matters.
An educational pack for primary schools (KS1/2) focusing
on Vietnam, Vietnam's Wildlife, Owston's Palm civet, Cuc Phuong National
Park and The Cuc Phuong Conservation project will also be provided. The
kids will be able to give feedback about the pack and get regular updates
on the program and the civets.
If you, your class, or your school, wants to be involved
in this important program please contact Scott at:
Owston's Palm Civet Conservation Program, 100 Dong Cac, PO BOX 222, Hanoi,
Vietnam.
Tel: 00 84 (0)30 848 004 or
Email: cpcp@fpt.vn
Family History
Chances are you spent Christmas with some members of your
family, and in between eating, watching TV and opening presents, you may
well have ended up sharing memories of absent family members, distant
relatives or discussing long-buried ancestors.
Maybe you remember tales told by your grand parents or your own parents,
have sepia pictures in an old album, perhaps old letters. If this stirs
your curiosity you might like to find out more about the family's past
for your own interest or to pass on to future generations.
For a start, living relatives and their memories will probably enable
you to span several generations. It can be amazing how many relatives
you might have even in that short time. Our Victorian ancestors tended
to have large families and in the age of Empire to spread around the world.
On the other hand as you go back in time people were far more likely to
be born and die in the same town or village.
But how do you fit all these people into your extended
family tree, how do you fill any gaps or push the line back into the more
distant past? Fortunately researching family history is one of the most
popular leisure pastimes today and a whole industry has grown up to serve
it. And this is one hobby where the computer can come into it's own with
special programmes for storing and marshaling information, and by providing
one of the best resources is the power of the world wide web.
Before using the computer, the best way to start your
family tree, is put down what you already know. Try to map out your immediate
relatives, listing full names, dates and places of births, marriages and
deaths. Go as far back as you can - missing information can be added later.
You will soon get a feel for the project, how many branches there are
likely to be and which areas you will want to explore first. Quite quickly
the limits of paper records will become apparent.
Fortunately there are numerous computer software programmes
on the market which can accommodate your needs and leave scope for later
additions and corrections as more information comes to hand. Suitable
software is readily available on the High Street or via the Internet.
You could try www.gensoftsb.com which has details of programs and comments
on them. None are particularly expensive and some can be tested free for
a limited period. The best programmes will accommodate more than a diagrammatic
tree, allowing you to add photographs and links to background information,
such as anecdotes and potted life stories.
Involving the immediate family is the next step. E-mail
is one of the best and cheapest ways of passing on or obtaining snippets
of family history from distant relatives. Often those overseas will prove
the most interested, and you may find common cause with other members
of the family who share your interest.
It is now that the web comes into its own. There are host
of web-sites to help you, some amateur sites created by families themselves,
others more professional in nature. Many are packed with useful advice.
You could do worse than start by looking at the BBC's contribution at
www.bbc.co.uk/ history/programmes/blood , which offers information on
how to take the first steps into genealogy and on how to build a family
history. There are tips on searching records, and where to go to find
them.
Equally useful is the website of the Federation of Family
History Societies at www.ffhs.org.uk Besides giving general advice to
newcomers, the site features a shopping list of family-history aids, including
computer genealogy and Internet books. The societies can suggest local
sources which could he of use and can put you on to enthusiasts who are
happy to offer advice.
Another useful site for those getting
started in genealogy is www.genuki.org.uk the web- site of the UK and
Ireland Genealogical Information Service (Genuki). The scope of their
web-site is enormous, and includes online tutorials and useful introductory
texts.
Genealogy is life in the past lane, and can become an engrossing hobby.
If you feel yourself getting hooked, call up www.thegoodwebguide.co.uk
and give yourself a present of thegoodwebguide to Genealogy (£12.99,
ISBN 1903282063), It takes a look at the hundred best websites which will
help you build your family history.
John Baker
The Wildlife Garden
Bulbs are one of the great delights in the spring garden.
Nothing quite lifts the spirits as much as the sight of these harbingers
of spring forcing their shoots up through the soil and bursting into flower.
In the wildlife garden, spring bulbs have another important function -
they are the first reliable sources of nectar and pollen for emerging
bees, providing them with a valuable food supply until the fruit tree
blossoms appear.
The demand for bulbs world-wide is quite staggering, with
over 1 billion flower bulbs being exported from Holland to the USA each
year, worth over £200 million. Many of these, plus the millions
of bulbs which come to Britain every year, are not actually grown commercially,
they are wild bulbs dug up in countries as far afield as Mexico, India
and Georgia. For instance, from 1978 to 1988, 71 million anemones, 20
million cyclamen and 111 million winter aconites were exported just from
Turkey, all of which were collected from the wild. The exploitation doesn't
end here, as the money from these bulbs goes straight to the middlemen,
not the collectors. The Turkish villagers who collect them only earn about
£2 per 1,000 bulbs.
Over the last few years, things have started to improve.
The conservation organisation Flora and Fauna International has set up
the 'Indigenous Propagation Project', aimed at helping Turkish villagers
propagate their own bulbs and eventually sell them via companies such
as Unwins. This enables the villagers not only to generate more money
for themselves, but also, it provides a sustainable source, rather than
depleting the ever dwindling supply of wild bulbs. With government help,
the Turkish wild bulb trade has been reduced by 60% over the last few
years.
Much of this effort may have been in vain though, as the
middlemen are now active in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia and
have set up similar bulb collection operations over there.
So, how can we help?
The second point in Flora and Fauna International's strategy
is to try and get us to not knowingly buy bulbs collected from the wild.
This is all well and good, but as there is no statutory obligation for
firms to label the source of their bulbs, how are we to know which bulb
is collected from the wild and which one is cultivated? Help is at hand
though, every September they produce the 'Good Bulb Guide', listing bulb
firms which have promised 'never to knowingly sell wild bulbs', (the A
list), or those that clearly label any wild material as 'from a wild source',
(the B list).
However, collecting bulbs from the wild is not restricted
to third world countries. Here in Britain, to meet the ever increasing
demands for native bulbs by garden centres and bulb growers, fueled by
the interest in growing native species in our gardens, some of our woodlands
have been stripped of tens of thousands of bulbs. Sometimes, this has
been done with the permission of the landowner, but usually this has not
been the case.
Bluebells also face another threat. They have been found
to contain 'pharmaceutically active substances' and medical companies
may precipitate a 'gold rush' to exploit the bulbs even further. To combat
these threats, bluebells were placed under the protection of the Wildlife
& Countryside Act (section 13, part 2) and it is now illegal to sell,
offer for sale, advertise for sale or transport for the purpose of sale,
any bluebells from the wild. Bluebells can now only be sold if grown from
seed or dug up with the landowner's permission.
So we should only buy bulbs, whether native or foreign,
from reputable sources or those which are grown commercially. Otherwise,
it would be sadly ironic if by growing bulbs in our garden with the intention
of helping encourage our native wildlife, we were in fact helping decimate
the flora of not only many third world countries, but also our own.
Fair daffodils, we weep to see
You haste away so soon.
Robert Herrick To Daffodils
Maggie Pie
Meadowhead School Association
The turn of the year is a time for both reflection and
anticipation. This has certainly been the case with the Home and School
Association.
November saw the first school reunion organised by the Association and
we welcomed back almost 200 of our ex-pupils who had left the school in
1990 and in 1995. Judging by the amount of chatter, hugs and laughter
it seems the event was a success.
I think it is a mark of a happy school that so many people came back and
chatted freely with ex-colleagues and teachers. Many stories were recounted;
we are now planning the next event for 1991 and 1996 leavers.
November also saw the big event for those who had left
the school in the summer as we held our GCSE presentation evening. This
goes from strength to strength and we welcomed over 1,000 former pupils
and parents as well as our special guest, the Master Cutler. The ever
popular interlude based on Memories went down the usual storm!
More distant memories were re-ignited as we were reminded
that a time capsule had been buried way back in 1960. The intention was
for it to be opened at the Millennium; the only problem was that no-one
knew where it had been hidden. Further investigation revealed not one
but two - one buried by the former girls school and one by the boys. At
the moment we're trying to confirm the capsules' location with the help
of a metal detector! If you were there when the originals were buried
and you'd like to see them again, please contact me.
In the last issue of the Bugle I mentioned the 30th Anniversary of the
Home and School Association. We're thinking about how best to celebrate
it but if you were a committee member at any time in the last 30 years
please contact us - we'd love to hear from you.
Anticipation is very much in the air at the time of going to press. The
Local Education Authority has given priority to Meadowhead School in its
bid for funds for a replacement building.
We are keeping our fingers crossed. By the time you read
this we should have the decision from the DfEE. Let's hope anticipation
turns to celebration.
Finally, we look forward to our programme of events through
the Spring and culminating in the School Gala on 23 June.
If you're interested in finding out more about the Home and School Association
or would like to help us out then phone me on 2377765.
Peter Francis, Chairman
Meadowhead Home and School Association
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