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

'The Friary' in West Bridgford exists to help homeless and disadvantaged adults rebuild their lives.

It provides practical services, advice and emotional support – and you too can help it make a difference for people who are at a difficult time in their lives.

Last winter hundreds of Cropwell Bishop householders filled bags with useful items for the Friary and they were collected by the Recycling Team on a Friday.

This year, instead, you will be able to hand in donations at the Old School.

Find out all the details by looking at the poster on the Events page.

Tony Jarrow

Ever wondered where all the millions of documents recording the history of Nottinghamshire over more than a thousand years are kept?

Well, the Cropwell Bishop Heritage Group found out and they visited it – and you can go there too.

Read about their visit by clicking on the Heritage tab.

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

Bumblebees are the wild cousin of the honey bee and are responsible for pollinating a range of British fruits, vegetables and flowers — some of which cannot be pollinated by other insects.

Telling children (or grandchildren) some facts about bumblebees is a dangerous business: it can result in being bombarded by questions that you have no idea how to answer!

That is what I discovered when I showed my granddaughters a nest of bees (tree bumblebees I later found out) in my garden this summer. How long do they live? Where do they go in winter? and so on.

I decided that a friendly worksheet was needed (for me as much as them) and after searching the internet and books, drew one up.

If you have faced the same problem then feel free to copy/print/share it in any way you like. If you spot any errors, please tell me. I am afraid you will have to live with the quality of the drawings: I am no artist!

The image of the worksheet appears small here, but if you are using a computer and, say, right click it and then open the image in a new window (or download it), it should appear detailed enough to produce an A4 print.

Tony Jarrow

The Rushcliffe Local Plan Part 2 has recently been through a process of examination by a Planning Inspector, which included public hearings in November and December 2018.

The Inspector has now issued his report and he has reached the view that, subject to a number of modifications, the Plan is fit for purpose. This means it is now in a position to be adopted by the Borough Council for use in taking planning decisions.

A copy of the Inspector’s report and a list of his recommended modifications can be viewed on the Council’s website at: www.rushcliffe.gov.uk/planningpolicy.

A paper copy of these documents will be available to view at:

* Rushcliffe Community Contact Centre, Rectory Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham, NG2 6BU (during normal opening hours); and

* Local libraries in Rushcliffe Borough (during normal opening hours)

The Council is not inviting further comments on the Plan.

The next step is for the Borough Councillors to consider the Inspector’s report and adoption of the Plan at a meeting of the Council on Tuesday 8 October 2019 (at 7pm, with doors opening at 6:30pm).

If you would like to atttend the meeting, email: democraticservices@rushcliffe.gov.uk or telephone 0115 914 8481. This will enable us to make adequate provision for those wishing to attend.

If you have any questions, please call Planning Policy on 0115 981 9911, or email us at localdevelopment@rushcliffe.gov.uk

Richard Mapletoft
Planning Policy Manager
Rushcliffe Borough Council