10 Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, Thursday, January 10th, 2008


Attacker (23) had violent history


A SABDEN man launched


an unprovoked attack on another man who was drink­ ing in a Clitheroe social club. Blackburn magistrates heard


that the victim was head-butted and then punched by Simon Martin Thompson, who had a history of violent offending. Now a judge a t th e crown


court will decide whether Thompson should be sentenced as a dangerous offender because of his previous convictions for assault and grievous bodily harm. Thompson (23), of Padiham


Road, pleaded guilty to assault­ ing James Scriven causing him actual bodily harm. He was com­ mitted to Preston Crown Court for sentence. Mr Philip Potter (prosecuting)


said Mr Scriven went outside the social club in Wellgate for a cig­ arette and was aware of a group


of males, one of them Thomp­ son, who were “messing around”. Mr Scriven returned to the


club an d . 10 minutes later Thompson approached and said: “Have you got a problem with me. • “Mr Scriven said no and was


then head-butted in the mouth by the defendant,” said Mr Pot­ ter. “He staggered back and then


Thompson went flying at him and punched him about the face and head. Mr Scriven ended up on the floor with the defendant still punching him and the attack only stopped when he was dragged off by other people in the club.” When interviewed by police,


Thompson admitted that his vic­ tim, who he did not know, had done nothing wrong and he did not know why he had attacked- him.


A SERIES of monthly coach excursions organised by the North East Lancashire Ramblers proved to be a hit in 2007. Such was the success, that


Ramblers plan New Year excursions Wales, Derbyshire and Yorkshire.


walks of various lengths and diffi­ culty will again be taking place this year. Leaders will take walk­ ers to The Lake District, North


. Coaches will collect ramblers from various points around the Black­ burn and Burnley area one Sun­ day in every month. For details call Julia Hartley (01282 864337), Hazel Dean (01282 449979) between 7 and 9 p.m. or Sue Bax- endale (01254 235049).


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www.ciifheroeadvertiser.co.uk


Clifheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Ciassifi^' Rieroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burniey 422331 (Ciassified)


Walk proves popular


IN spite of an


unfavourable forecast, 19 ramblers set off from Grassington on the first weekend walk of 2008. Led by Lesley Luckin,


the group stopped to admire the Linton Falls before continuing along


the river on the Dales Way. Passing Linton


Church, the ramblers climbed to Ray Lathe and from there took field paths to Hebden village in unexpected sun. At Hebden the v ^ ;


led up a steep s lo p 4 ^' reach Scar Side House and the p a th on Edge Top with lovely views over Wharfedale. After walking along


Bumper cheques for charities


THERE were bumper cheques for two local charities following a record-break­ ing bonfire night in Clitheroe. The North West Air Ambulance and


Derian House Children’s Hospice each received £4,500. The cheques were presented during the


Rotary Club of Clitheroe’s weekly lunch meeting. Representatives of fellow organisers the


Rotary Clubs of Ribblesdale and Pendle View, Clitheroe Round Table and the Lions Club of Clitheroe were also present.


The net proceeds from this year’s event


amounted to £9,000. This was by far the largest amount


raised in the past nine years. Thanks were expressed to Castle


Cement for its generous sponsorship and to all who helped this year. Pictured are representatives of th e


organisations who helped ensure a safe and successful event, with Derian House gen­ eral manager Mr Trevor Briggs and air- ambulance representative Mr Les Hardy in the foreground. (G061207/3)


Edge Top, past Mossy Moor Reservoir, with several icy showers as well as rainbows, they descended to cross Heb­ den Beck which was swollen by recent rain. They eventually reached the old lead mine work­ ings. After a brief lunch stop, the walkers took the walled track through Yambury leading to Bare House. Here they dropped down to the Dales Way and calmer weather, returning on field paths to Grassing­ ton after completing nine miles.


I i , i V. u - ' ' • ' ■ N ^ 1 I I k f..- 1 T ^ www.ciitheroeadvertiser.co.uk Ciitheroe Advertiser &Times, Thursday, January 10th, 2008 11


Letters to the Editor I Write (o: The Editor, Clillicroe Advertiser and Time.s, 3 King Street, Clitheroe BB72EW Editorial e-mail; vivien.meath@eastlancsne« s.co.uk — Royal Mail fiasco


- time to sell off? IN May/June last year there was a major theft by one of the employees at the Royal Mail Sorting Office at Clitheroe. Over a period of some weeks a


lapve amount of mail addressed to 1,'OKs in the Claremont AvMue/Shays Drive area was not delivered. This included credit cards, debit cards, PINs, bank statements, cheque books, dividend warrants, birthday presents etc. I, myseK, gave a statement to the


Royal Mail investigation depart­ ment and I have since been given to understand th a t the person con­ cerned has been identified and a quantity of undelivered mail has been found a t his home. In due course a small amount of the missing mail was, in fact, delivered, but the majority remains missing. During this unhappy incident I was treated with all courtesy by the staff of Clitheroe Sorting Office, but regret that this attitude did not extend to the other part of Royal Mail, which appears to treat its customers with nothing but contempt. One is no longer permitted to


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^ 4 New Market Street, CJitheroe BB7 2JW


Tel: 01200 423267 ^ SHOP ON LINE - wvyw.kenvarey.co.uk OUTDOOR ADVENTURE STORES }■ - . '.’I, I --y ■


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speak on th e telephone to the Clitheroe Sorting Office. The tele­ phone number has been discontinued and all communications with the Royal Mail must now be with the so called “Customer Service Centre” in Belfast - providing, of course, one can ob tain a connection. If the Royal Mail staff employed to handle complaints are too busy to take calls one cannot even choose to wait in a queue. One is simply told to call back and the line is disconnected. This is called “customer service”. One can still complain to Post­


watch. This independent consumer body, responsible for monitoring, on behalf of the consumer, one of the largest monopolistic organisations in the country, employs exactly two staff to answer telephone complaints from unhappy Royal Mail cus­ tomers. I am told that they are not


•-‘uTnlE | | -Shooting


Walking ® Fishing Tackie «Gifts § m m i


/ m n a n ] ® ' ' si!*'' Sensational Giveaway Prices


on all conventional glass tube televisions


January Sale also on across the branches at: LDU


provided with funds to employ more. How effective can they really be under these circumstances? In due course, after much trouble,


I was awarded by the Royal Mail £8.16 in respect of my losses, which included a £10 gift voucher and var­ ious items of a financial nature which were only replaced after a great deal of time and expense. I also received a letter apologising for the Royal Mail’s “failure to deliver vari­ ous items of mail”. What a wording! They didn’t “fail to deliver” my mail. It was stolen. What can be done? Given the size


of the postage increases in recent years, are we not entitled to better treatment than that which I have experienced? The Royal Mail had displayed in this matter all the arro­ gance of a Government monopoly which has a negligible concern for the interests of its customers (the people who pay the wages). Perhaps a complete privatisation of the Post Office and a break up of its near monopoly is the only solution. It is certainly difficult to imagine a pri­ vately-owned business, operating in a competitive environment, treating its customers in the manner which the Royal Mail apparently considers acceptable.


IAN SNOWDEN, Claremont Avenue, Clitheroe


• Please turn to page 2 for the


response from the Royal Mail’s press ollke-Editor


St Mary’s Centre:


we must act now! I WAS saddened to hear the news regarding St Mary’s Centre just before Christmas. But I was con­ vinced that the Ribble Valley’s only opinion portal, aka this newspaper’s letters page - would be loaded with passionate and frustrated letters regarding the sad news of the impending closure of our only com­ munity centre resource, the St Mary’s Centre.


But sadly, it wasn’t. And a public


show of support was not demon­ strated. The home of the wonderful oper­


atic and dramatic society, Ribble Valley Film Club, Clitheroe’s cinema and so many more fantastic commu­ nity events and societies is set to close, despite more than three years of financial investment, successful and intense work by the Trinity Partnership in attempting to pro­ vide our beautiful town with a much needed “home” for the community. And so it would appear, nobody is all that bothered! How can this be? As we see the scaffolding erect


itself around the Castle Keep and millions of pounds being invested in a bid to attract additional tourism into the area, and as the town boasts a premier skate park, a nationally celebrated “Juice Bar,” and the all new Grand development, it is clear that Clitheroe is preparing for excit­ ing new times ahead. Surely, it makes no sense to close


the towns multi-faceted entertain­ ment venue a t this pivotal time in Clitheroe’s history? The “sod’s law” combination of a


split board room and an unsuccessful funding application of £180,000 is to blame for this tragic situation, com­ ing a t a time when St Mary’s had been enjoying record numbers of events, users, supporters and visi­ tors! The decision to walk away must


have been difficult for the 'Trinity board, while devastating for the user groups and hundreds of regular patrons. But while we consider what a devastating effect this will have on our town I feel we should ask our­ selves a question. How hard must this be for the man behind the dream of developing the St Mary’s centre into Clitheroes arts and entertain­ ment centre? The man who has invested a lifetime of passion, energy and enthusiasm to this little commu­ nity, and made many fan tas tic things happen, but asked for noth­ ing, not even publicity, in return! I ’m ta!kmg of course about Geoff Jack-


son. I know th a t Geoff has put an explicit amount of time and enthusi­ asm into the development and I feel crushed for him th a t th is failed NWDA funding bid has put the brakes on so violently, so unexpect­ edly. But surely there is hope? We can’t


seriously consider closing St Marys for good? Geoff’s dream and hard work, along with the dozens of com­ mitted volunteers’ brilliant commit­ ment can’t all have been in vain? Ribble Valley Borough Council


has shown excellent support towards the St M ary ’s Centre, and has demonstrated a long-term commit­ ment. Perhaps RVBC might consid­ er managing the centre as a council service? I t would make good sense, particularly as the last six months have demonstrated th a t it can become a sustainable business, and I suspect that a body as big and pow­ erful as the RVBC would have a lot of clout in attracting the necessary funding that is required for the rede­ velopment. Look at how well they did in attracting the £3 million tor the Castle redevelopment. I think that we all need to urgent­


ly consider a future without our community hub, and act fast before the historic building becomes afford­ able housing! If you are interested in giving this


fantastic project a big kick of enthu­ siasm and want to SAVE the St Mary’s Centre, please e-mail savest- marys@aol.com and lets get busy!


STEVESUTTIE Support centre


before it’s too late I WAS alerted to the possible demise of the future and financial viability of St Mary’s Centre by recent press publicity in the Clitheroe Advertiser. On Saturday, December 22nd a


party of 10 of us attended the centre for a performance by the “Swing Commanders”. We all thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Courteous and professional staff, excellent local Bowland ale and great entertain­


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Qreenhiii Skipton Road Colne BBS ONX


01282 860075


ment by this Western swing sextet in festive and comfortable surround­ ings. My gratitude is also extended to Nick Lakin the centre manager, who was the epitome of helpfulness in dealing personally with our book­ ing. As a non-resident of the town I


know nothing of the politics of the situation nor of the possible exis­ tence of a hidden agenda surround­ ing the future of the centre, but I would certain ly encourage all Clitheroe residents to recognise and support this admirable community facility before it is too late.


JIM OLDCORN Great Harwood


Packed out for a


brilliant evening I WOULD like to offer my thanks to the Clitheroe Jazz and Blues Club for an absoutely splendid evening last Friday at the St Mary’s Centre. Once again the untiring efforts of


a bunch of volunteers working behind the scenes enabled many of us to marvel at the true professional­ ism of the “Stumble”, one of the best blues bands on the UK circuit. The place was absolutely packed


and this pays homage to the need for Clitheroe to continue to have its very own community centre. Well done to all concerned and I


look forward to the next Jazz and Blues night.


DAVID WALTON, via e-mail


You r letters. . . ® The Editor welcomes letters on any su b je c t , but corresp ondents are reminded that contributions may be edited or condensed, must not exceed 350 words and should reach us by noon on Tuesday. Letters with noms de plume are


only accepted for publication if the editor agrees that there is a valid rea­ son for the writer's identity to be withheld.


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