12 Clitheroe Advertiser STimes, Thursday, January 31st, 2008 Youngsters


of Belarus ANNUAL visits made by children from Belarus was the topic under dis­ cussion at Clitheroe and District Masonic Fellow­ ship’s first meeting of 2008. Guest speakers Mr and


Mrs Miles Leadbeater told 49 members about their visit to Belarus, as well as the work they do for the children aged between nine and 13, who visit the Ribble Valley annually. Youngsters from Belarus go to chari­ ty groups throughout the country, and the speakers described how important it was for them to have access to clean air and to visit doctors and den­ tists. In Belarus the cou­ ple were taken to visit houses and saw how peo­ ple live. They were made most welcome and given meals. They stayed in a block of flats which were basic but clean. During their stay they were taken to the opera. They showed a display


of articles made for tourists to buy. Mr. R. Shuttleworth gave a vote of thanks to the speakers. • The next meeting


wll be on February 11th at West Bradford Village Hall between 2-30 and 4


www.clitheroeadvertiser.co.uk


Ciitheroe 422324 (Editoriai), 422323 (Advertising), Burniey 422331 (Ciassified)


School’s ‘Italia’ style dining jiih lewd Charged


A TOUCH of Italy was brought to a school dining area courtesy of its hospi­ tality and catering stu­ dents. Pupils in Year 9 at Rib-


blesdale High School Technology College cre­ ated a fully fledged authentic Italian restau­ rant, preparing, cooking and serving a full three- course meal.to 74 guests. The event was staged


as part of the school’s new GCSE Hospitality and Catering course. Deputy headteacher


Mr Andrew Davidson said: “We feel it is impor­ tant that the pupils in school have an opportu­ nity to apply what they learn to a real situation. “This approach devel­


ops skills, self confidence and esteem, the young people remember the processes and tacts much easier and it does show them what it is like to work in business and industry.” Mr


Davidson


described the event as “another example of how the school is transform­ ing learning, by giving the pupils an opportuni­ ty to apply learning in a


act on bus A 40-YEAR -OLD man has appeared before Blackburn magistrates charged with indecently expos­ ing himself on an af tern o on bus from Clitheroe to Padiham. P au l Thomas


Sweeney, of St Am4%


S t r e e t , P ad ih amW alleged to have board­ ed the bus in Clitheroe in a drunken state. Pat Bramley (pros­


ecuting) said the bus contained a number of elderly female passen­ gers and schoolchild­ ren. Sweeney is alleged


to have exposed him­ se lf to two elderly ladies and carried out a lewd act. T h ey alerted the


real context”. He added: I t certainly was a “Certainly the pupils superb experience for the showed high skill levels, youngsters and with a not only in the cooking of packed house, there the meal but also by needed to be a huge team working as part of the effort, for which staff front of house operations Mrs McLeod and Mrs team.


Grimshaw need to be


commended for support­ ing the students. “This event motivated


the pupils, they worked very hard and, to be hon­ est just as in any restau­ rant, they were out on their feet at the end of


the evening.” Parents, staff, governors and invited guests, including the head chef and man­ ager from The Olive Press and Dunbia, Saw- ley MD, enjoyed the meal and ambience, (s)


bus driver but Sweeney then alleged­ ly put his arm round a third lady before again exposing him­ self and repeating the action. T h e bus was


stopped in Whalley where police boarded and arrested Sweeney. He was remanded


on bail pending a fur­ ther court appearance.


Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classified) Sign this petition


for saving PO A FT ER reading your front page announcement last week with regard to local Post Office closures, it could not have come at a worse time when our village of Bolton-by-Bowland has been cut off twice by deep flood waters at Sawley bridge in the past two weeks. In the notice of closure at Bolton-


by-Bowland Post Office, the “Devel- a ^ e n t Officer” for Post Office Lim- states that alternative services


are available at Gisburn, Chatburn and Downham. The office in Gis- bum is already under threat with the demise of the village stores and those at Chatburn and Downham are at times inaccessible due to flooding, plus all of these offices are at least four miles further for customers to travel for postal services, when some have already travelled almost that distance to reach the present office in Bolton-Bowland. The proposed replacement out­


reach facility, to be sited in the vil­ lage hall, will only open on Monday and Thursday afternoons from 2 to 4 p.m., whereas at the present time the office is open for 17 hours in total on five days of the week. When you require postal services you cannot wait about for three or four days until Post Office Ltd decides to open again. You need to get that urgent present oft in the post or withdraw some cash for personal use straight away. Why should those who live in the countryside be so disadvantaged under this present government to those living in tovras and cities? Bolton-by-Bowland is one of the


few villages in Lancashire without a regular bus service and if you do not have access to a car then these other post offices might as well be in the next county instead of in the Ribble Valley -


they are totally inaccessible


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for some, if not all at certain times of year. The population in this village and its environs is increasing with more people moving here to live in bam conversions who, like all of us, will gradually age with time and that is when the local amenities real­ ly do count and you do not want to travel long distances to access them. In addition, several local business­


es, including myself, use this post office for urgent parcels despatch for on-line customers as well as banking for business and private bank accounts. Our customers across Britain and beyond expect a fast turnaround for their orders and if we have to travel to Chatburn Post Office then this will add in the region of around 1,000 miles extra mileage per year. All of this comes at a time when every day we are implored by the media and the Government, and quite rightly so, to do our bit for the environment, reduce our carbon footprint and help in the fight to


«


mbat global warming. This whole licept of post office closures totally flies in the face of all of this and


defies logic. In recent years Royal Mail Parcelforce has reduced its van staff locally from three to one per­ sonnel and the collection service has become unreliable. This is why cer­ tain folk have used the Post Office once again as they used to prior to the creation of Parcelforce from the old Royal Mail Parcels division. Also for small business users who are not VAT registered the postal services are exempt of VAT, therefore assist­ ing these businesses to keep their prices competitive in the face of the large mail order firms. The price of diesel has already reached the £5 a


Wrilc to: The Editor, Clitlieroc Advertiser and Times, 3 King Street, Clitheroe BB72EW or e-maii: vivicn.meath@eastlancsncws.co.uk our


gallon mark this month - how much more increase in costs can local resi­ dents and businesses take? The proposed replacement out­


reach facility will entail constructing a similar secure facility in the village hall as to that which already exists within the current Post Office, Vil­ lage Store and Tearooms in Main Street. If this whole plan is being brought in under the guise of saving on expenditure, then why not use the existing facility and reduce the hours somewhat, a suggestion which has already been put to the postal authorities by the present sub-post­ mistress. We should be proud of our postal


heritage in this country because let us not forget that it was Britain who introduced the basic rate postage stamp with Rowland Hill and I am proud to state that it was one of my ancestors that gave us the gummed envelope. Why, oh why is this Gov­ ernment so bent on destroying everything that works well? As the Bishop of Blackburn said on BBC Radio Lancashire last Sunday morn­ ing, the Post Office is as important in the community as the parish church - they are both at the centre of that community, where people can meet, have a chat and feel part of that community and not feel isolated, especially if they live by themselves. I feel so strongly about this that I


have organised a petition letter on display in Bolton-by-Bowland Post Office, so if you care about our postal services please add your sig­ nature, it will be much appreciated. The petition’s closing date is Febru­ ary ^ th.


PETER FOLEY, Holden Clough Nursery, Holden, Bollon-by-Bowland


A word of thanks


to a great worker 1 AM writing regarding the current issues brought to light in recent weeks surrounding St Mary’s Centre and its management. I feel what needs to be taken into


consideration is the time and effort of the people involved in attempting to create a venue, which Clitheroe des­ perately needs, that can add some­ thing to the community. There have clearly been problems


surrounding the centre at some of the events, but it seems pointless and in some ways rather petty to complain about these problems. The staff have given their all in trying to gain fund­ ing that could have ensured the transformation of the centre from what some may see as a poorly run establishment into a symbol of Clitheroe’s future. I feel also that I should bring to


attention something that some peo­ ple in Clitheroe seem to forget and that is the unbelievable time and effort Geoff Jackson has put into not only the St Mary’s Centre project, but into this town as a whole over the years. He has literally put his whole


working life, not just 10 or 20 years but over 40 years, into this town through Trinity and Trinity Partner­


ship, working hours that most people would find mad. I ’m sure there are many people in the community that are appreciative of the work he has done, but I also think there are some that appear to be ungrateful. Geoff has put his all into this town


with the aim of improving the com­ munity and the St Mary’s project should have been given the support it deserved and Clitheroe would have been better off for it. As for the new Oasis Grand Cine­


ma, unfortunately I feel that the “cir­ cle of inclusion” may not be appro­ priate for all in the community no matter how much the Oasis group may like it to be.


NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED Saddened by this


critical stance I WAS saddened to see the letter "I'm glad to see the back of all this centre nuisance" in last week's paper. As a result I felt that I needed to


respond in order to clarify the situa­ tion. The residents of the streets adjoining St Mary's Centre were dis­ turbed by a drunken party under the apparent management of the Trinity Partnership. This was totally unac­ ceptable and should not be allowed to happen again. I would point out that this had nothing to do with the parish church of St Mary's who have always tried to consider the welfare of their neighbours. The letter states: "This event, like


many of its type since Trinity took over, has singularly failed to display the Christian neighbourly ethos which Trinity professes." I think that there may be a little


confusion here. Trinity Partnership is not a Christian organisation and would not consider Christian values to be an integral part of their busi­ ness culture. I suspect that some peo­ ple in the town mistakenly think that Trinity Partnership is connected to the Trinity Methodist Church. Trin­ ity Partnership leases a building from the church and there is no other con­ nection. I t is an entirely separate organisation. Any publicity, good or bad, in con­


nection with Trinity Partnership has nothing to do with the church. In recent weeks I have met with Trinity Partnership in order to clarify certain things and I have strongly suggested that they change their name so as to avoid any further confusion caused by association. The Methodist church has always


taken a strong stance as to the need for a responsible attitude to alcohol and to the individual’s personal responsibility to their neighbour. This stance is one that we continue to uphold and seems particularly rele­ vant in our society today. While continuing to sympathise


with those affected by recent events, I hope that we also do not lose sight of the various excellent pieces of community work the Trinity Part­ nership have carried out over the years.


THE REV. T. THORPE, Methodist Supcrinlcndcnl Minister, Clilhcroc


This was just oue


uuhappy iucideut I THINK it is a pity when such a serious issue as the future of Clitheroe’s only large scale hall gets hijacked by an anonymous corre­ spondent who apparently wishes to see the St Mary’s Centre destroyed because of a single incident in Janu­ ary. This appears to be a public order


issue, the domain of the police. This was clearly nothing to do with other functions held in the hall, such as the Cinema Society, the Jazz Club, the Operatic Society, women’s meetings associated with St Mary’s Church, exhibitions of voluntary societies or a myriad of smaller scale and one-off meetings. I have never seen any anti­ social behaviour at any function I


, have attended there, whether of not there was a bar. As I understand the situation, the


purpose of the Grand’s rebuilding was to foster Christian Youth Music and the Lancaster Foundation made a generous offer to match-fund any grants obtained for the refurbish­ ment of St Mary’s. This would allow continuity of the cinema and facili­ ties for other events. I t was never intended to simply patch the current structure and l am sure soundproof­ ing would have been part of the work. I do agree with your anonymous


letter writer that it would have been nice to have the Grand rebuilt for everybody’s use, but this was never planned. The Grand may well be used by some local organisations, but at the fees rumoured, they will be few. What is often forgotten is that any music or theatre promotion requires several hours to be available prior to the concert or show, all of which have to be paid for. If Christ­ ian music groups travel from all over the UK and overseas to use the recording facilities, as hoped, there will obviously be very limited time available for other activities. We have only one chance to contin­


ue entertainment and much of our cultural life in Clitheroe. That is to refurbish St Mary’s Centre for all local people to use, whatever their religious views or none. I t ill-behoves any individual - whatever they think about an incident in January, The Trinity Partnership, Mr Jackson, Mr Sutty or anybody else - to attempt to deny the people of Clitheroe and the Valley of their only practical stage and cinema. The alternative is probably afford­


able housing. As much as this is need­ ed, it will benefit only a few at the expense of many. This provision is not essential to the centre of Clitheroe. I wondered why your correspon­


dent chose to be anonymous. On reflection, if I had the destruction of St Mary’s Centre on my conscience, I might well wish to remain anony­ mous. Instead of such an act of van­ dalism, perhaps he or she might like to make proposals for its rebuilding into something for everybody, well managed and a good neighbour to people who live nearby.


KEN GEDDES, Clilheroe


Follow (he debaie at www.clitheroeadvertiser.co.uk www.clitheroeadvertiser.co.uk Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, Thursday, January 31st, 2008 13 I want a town with


social activities I WOULD like to write in support of Ken'Geddes (January I7th , “We cannot lose this vital asset”). I have only just moved to


Clitheroe and I was looking forward to seeing films every week at St Mary’s Centre and going to live entertainment on a Saturday night. Now all this has been snatched away from us. I don’t want to live in a dormitory


town. I want to live somewhere with its own social activities open and available to all residents. Since we have two councils in


Clitheroe, what are they doing about it? And what are we doing to help them? CHRISTINA HEALEY, Highficid Road, Clilheroe


Pathetic response


to culvert collapse REGARDING the culvert collapse in Sabden, I must congratulate Andrew Collinson on his letter print­ ed in your newspaper last week. He very accurately illustrated the


failure of Ribble Valley Borough Council to deal with a worsening sit­ uation. Most of us in Sabden knew that


when prolonged heavy rain came the village would once again be flooded. The response from the council’s


director of community services, John Heap, was both predictable and pathetic: “The council will do all it can to prevent a future recurrence.” How amusing! So what is going to be done? And


when? Later? Next year? After the next floods? Of course, if the collapsed culvert


was in the centre of Clitheroe instead of the centre of Sabden, no expense would have been spared and the cul­ vert repaired immediately.


LAURIE WISEMAN, Whins Avenue, Sabden


You uiade au exile


feel at home! A HUGE thank you to the Carmen Rose, in Ribchester, for the most amazing Bums Night last Friday. From the moment we were “piped


in” to the last strains of Auld Lang Syne the most perfect night possibe was enjoyed by those lucky enough to be there. Well done Sara and the staff for


making an exiled Scot feel at home. I ’m already looking forward to my next visit.


MEL ELLIS, Ashion-undcr-Lyne


Your letters . . . • The Editor welcomes lelters on any subject, but correspondents are reminded (hat contributions may be edited or condensed. Letters with noms de plume are


only accepted for publication if (he editor agrees (hat there is a valid reason for the writer's identity to be withheld. Letlcrs can he sent by post to the Clithcroc Advertiser and Times, 3 King Street, Ciitheroc BBT 2EW, via e-mail to vivicn.meath@ castlancsnews.co.uk, via fax to 01200 1134B7 or texted lo 07799G9G417.


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