In October, Sue and Ed Ward made a concerted effort to raise money to buy Christmas presents for children at the school and kindergarten in Thailand that they established close contact with over the years.

You, the villagers of Cropwell Bishop, helped raise over £500 at the Saturday Cafe in the Old School. Sue and Ed are now able to tell you the effect of your generosity .....

Happy New Year and a big thank you for your very generous contributions: you have made 94 children very Happy.

In addition to the presents, we bought some play equipment for the Kindergarten. It had a large room but, apart from a television and a few soft toys, it was empty.

We bought 2 tent tunnels and a pit of soft balls; two mini play kitchens and two trikes.

I will send you photos.

Sue and Ed xx

And here are the photos of the kindergarten and school that they sent.

Tony Jarrow

I was sent the photo below this morning.
As the sender pointed out, a rubbish bin was just 10 metres away.
The problem appears to be, not rubbish, but people.

Tony Jarrow

It was the annual Turkey Trot Half-Marathon in Keyworth yesterday and about a thousand runners trotted along along the lanes of the surrounding villages.

Photos of runners are now available to view on the Flickr photo-website and are free to download, save and print.

Both members of Flickr and non-members can reach the album using the link below (you need to copy and paste it into your browser):

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmJUnr4R

The race was enjoyed by both "serious" and "social" runners and this is clearly reflected in the photos!

Tony Jarrow

The Parish Council would like to say a huge thank you to each and every one of our residents who donated towards the Friary Collection.

Thank you also to the Co-op for hosting a donation point for this year’s collection. The Co-op will be hosting a regular collection point going forward for the Friary.

We received lots of clothing, food and essentials to help with “The Friary Working Locally to End Homelessness Campaign”.

The Friary is a local charity whose aim is to empower homeless and disadvantaged adults to rebuild their lives, by providing practical services, advice and emotional support.

The Parish Council feel sure Cropwell Bishop has, with all these generous donations, made a change to some of these lives.

Find "The Friary" on:
Twitter @theFriary88
www.the-friary.org.uk

Friary Drop-In Ltd – Registered Address:
46 Musters Road
West Bridgford
Nottingham NG2 7PR

Registered in England & Wales No: 3190740
Registered Charity No. 1056825

Colin Bryan is a councillor on Cropwell Bishop Parish Council but he also leads church bell-ringers and has been heavily involved with maintaining and servicing the old clock in the church tower.

This morning Colin gave me a tour of the St Giles church tower and I was able to take photographs of the bells and the clock mechanism. I was also able to onto the top of the tower where much of the village is in view.

Below are a few photographs that I took, but to see (and download) all 54 at full resolution you need to visit the Flickr website. To go straight to the pictures, use this web address;

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmJmqJN7

Tony Jarrow

Have you made use of the buses in Cropwell Bishop?
Are you happy with the service?
Have you encountered any problems?
Do you have any ideas for improving our bus service?

Our Parish Councillors recently met with the two companies that operate the 33 and 833 bus services.

Find out more about the questions asked, the proposals made and the hopes for the future of our bus service by going to the Travel Page where you can download minutes of both meetings.

Tony Jarrow

After the wet, windy weather all over the country these past few days, it was a great relief to experience perfect conditions for this evening's firework display on the Memorial Hall Field.

Parish Councillors and friends were busy serving food and drinks in the Hall while two '1st Galaxy Fireworks' men prepared for the light show.

A clear, dark sky with little wind and not too cold – excellent conditions.

Tony Jarrow

It was the second 'Pop Quiz' this year but it remains as popular as ever: in fact it was "Sold Out".

Richard Turner did not disappoint at the Old School last night with his varied and entertaining range of questions on all types of popular music – mainly pop, but also familiar classical titles.

Every Quiz that he does is different; there is never any repetition so no chance that regular attenders will be at some advantage.

No one could predict what each music round might demand of team members. For example: name the Beatle singing the each of the next 10 songs? (sounds easy, but wasn't); what word follows 'baby' in the following song titles?; who is singing the cover version of the following songs? And so on.

Be aware that music clips are sometimes just 8 seconds long so naming a tune after hearing just the short introduction is impossible (for me, but not for most others in my team!).

Incidentally, it was the most closely fought Quiz I can remember with only 14 points separating the first 5 teams. The winning team happened to be from Cotgrave, but then winning came second to being a fun, socially engaging evening.

A great time for just £4. Thanks to the Entertainment Committee for organising it and, most of all, to the ever-present Richard Turner for all his imaginative hard work.

Tony Jarrow

I have processed and uploaded the photos taken at the Stilton Stumble. I do apologise for failing to capture photos of two runners; I don't know their numbers.

To view photos on the Flickr photo website, click:

Stilton Stumble 2019 Photos

If this link doesn't work properly for you, copy and paste this address into your browser:

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmHFDP2k

To view results of the race, click on:

Stilton Stumble 2019 Results

Tony Jarrow

People across Nottinghamshire are being asked to "take five to stop fraud" and ensure they do not fall victim to a fraudulent attack by phone, text, email or online.

Everyone should always take five minutes to reflect and step back from the situation if a phone call, message or online exchange requests personal or financial information. Even if an individual says they are the bank or other trusted organisation, you still need to take the time to stop and think about what is really going on.

That is the message from the Nottinghamshire Police and The Safer Nottinghamshire Board.

Take a step back take the five minutes and follow these key steps to avoid falling victim to fraud:

• A genuine bank or organisation will never contact you out of the blue to ask for your PIN, full password or to move money to another account. Only give out your personal or financial details to use a service that you have given your consent to; that you trust and are expecting to be contacted by.

• Never automatically click on a link in an unexpected email or text.

• If you’re approached with a request for personal information, don’t provide it. Instead, contact the company directly using a known email or phone number.

• Don’t assume an email or phone call is authentic. Just because someone knows your basic details such as your name and address and even your mother’s maiden name, it doesn’t mean they are genuine.

• Be mindful who you trust – criminals may try and trick you into their confidence by telling you that you’ve been a victim of fraud. They can also make any telephone number appear on your phone handset so even if you recognise it or it seems authentic, do not use it as verification they are genuine.

• Don’t be rushed or pressured into making a decision. Under no circumstances would a genuine bank or some other organisation force you to make a financial decision on the spot. They would never ask you to transfer money into another account for fraud reasons.

• Listen to your instincts. If something feels wrong then it is usually right to question it.

• Stay in control. Have the confidence to refuse unusual requests for personal or financial information. It’s easy to feel embarrassed when faced with unexpected or complex conversations. But it’s okay to stop the discussion if you do not feel in control of it.

Remember to tell friends and family members to be mindful of scams too, especially those who may be vulnerable or elderly.

Increasingly fraud is becoming more complex and deceptive, much of which is targeted at the vulnerable or elderly – you wouldn’t let a burglar into your home so don’t let a fraudster in via their methods of contacting you. That can be via your home phone, the internet, mobile phone, door stopping or through letters. Fraudsters pose as persons in authority, create a sense of urgency to the situation or contact victims when they are expecting something to happen.

So take five minutes, hang up, make a cup of tea and then ring the number known to you and not the one given in the text, email or call.

Janice Towndrow
Parish Clerk

This morning was not too cold - just the right temperature for a 10k run. And most runners find a drop of rain refreshing - better than being hot and sweaty.

Around 500 runners arrived in Cropwell Bishop this morning to take part in the 7th Stilton Stumble Run. The numbers have grown over the years and the organisers have developed ways of making things run smoothly and keeping everyone happy.

It requires the help of over a hundred people to make it all happen and, fortunately, we have many willing volunteers here in Cropwell Bishop and nearby.

I was at one of the course crossroads and it was heart-warming to hear many dozens of runners saying, "thank your marshal", as they passed by. They appreciated the efforts of our volunteers.

But waiting for the start of a run can be "trying". You queue to sign on, queue to go to toilet and then you stand in the rain dressed in a black plastic bin-liner waiting for the start.

The smell of fresh bacon butties must have added to the distress: how tempting it must have been to tell your-self that, "the aching leg muscle you have might become a more serious injury if you run today, and maybe you should just call the whole thing off - and have a bacon butty"! Surely none of the runners did?

Below are a few photos taken before and after the start. I also took many more including every (hopefully) runner 2k before the finish.

Runners should re-visit this site in the next day or so because I will be providing a link to every photograph. You will then be able view and download them freely in a range of file sizes, including full size

Tony Jarrow