Busy morning at the Old School (29-1-11)
It was so busy at the Saturday Café this morning that there was hardly enough time to capture the crowds on film or, more correctly, on memory card. Never mind, the couple of grabbed shots below catch the atmosphere of Cropwell's monthly meeting place.
Photos by Mel Stanley
Is your cat missing? - Update (24-1-11)
The cat (see below) has been claimed and is now back home. She is quite old and got confused. How strange: now, what was I doing?
A cat, that seems like it might be a stray, has been sited near the centre of the village.
It is a female tabby and has a black and cats-eye design collar and a barrel name-tag (but details are missing).
It has been around for a while and is friendly. It is sleeping rough in a shed that is in pieces (waiting to go to allotment).
Any enquiries, please ring Sarah on 0115 9892889.
Has the Saturday Café stopped? (23-1-11)
No, of course it hasn't! There wasn't one in December because Christmas and New Year celebrations were taking place—but there will be one in January. It is taking place this coming Saturday, the 29th January.
There will be lots happening too; Barbara's Preserves for sale, Peggy Paints Pottery, Pheonix Cards and also Joan's Cakes (whose proceeds go to Breast Cancer Research).
Get yourself down to the Old School between 10am and noon this Saturday morning and all this can be yours—as well as a cup of tea and a slice of cake.
And once you have been, no doubt you will find yourself counting the days to the next Café on February 26th. Is there no end to the good life in Cropwell Bishop?!
If you are interested in having a stall at a future Café, send an email to: suerickells@hotmail.com
No doubts about Quiz winners (23-1-11)
A Quiz, organised by the Memorial Hall Committee, was held in the Hall last night and over 50 people in makeshift teams used their knowledge, intelligence, memory, random ideas, pure guesswork and luck to try and outwit the other eight teams.
Such intense thought needed a break, and the sausages, peas and mashed potatoes gave energy to the flagging brain cells. After a few more rounds of the Quiz, those cells needed reviving again and the serving of apple crumble and custard did the job and put an even bigger smile on everyone's faces. All home cooking and delicious.
All the teams scored highly but there could be only one winner of the coveted shiny trophy. Bob Stanley received the trophy on behalf of the victorious team and in his acceptance speech, he thanked the organisers for putting on a very enjoyable evening. Everyone else showed their agreement.
Whilst only one team won a trophy, three and half hours of fun, food and frivolity for a fiver left everyone a winner.
Tony Jarrow
Is your cat missing? (23-1-11)
A cat, that seems like it might be a stray, has been sited near the centre of the village.
It is a female tabby and has a black and cats-eye design collar and a barrel name-tag (but details are missing).
It has been around for a while and is friendly. It is sleeping rough in a shed that is in pieces (waiting to go to allotment).
Any enquiries, please ring Sarah on 0115 9892889.
Thank you (18-1-11)
The 'Boxing Day footballl match' (actually postponed to a week later) raised over £300 for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation (see match report on 4-1-11 for full details).
As part of the match, the 'Mick Jennings Cup' was decided on penalty kicks by all the players.
Elaine Jennings would like to thank everyone for their support through the buying of raffle tickets, donation of prizes and raising so much money for a charity that means so much to her, Lindsey and Paul.
Tony Jarrow
Join in the fun (17-1-11)
What? Where? When?... It's the Cropwell Quiz Night! (13-1-11)
You are not the type who usually goes to a quiz? Don't worry, neither are most of the others who go to Cropw ell Quiz Nights.
Not sure you will be able to answer any question? Now you will be in good company—most winning answers are pure guesses!
The real reason for going to a Cropwell Quiz Night is to have a good time. You don't need to have joined a team before you arrive: just turn up and you will be slotted into one of the makeshift teams.
The Quiz night is:
Saturday 22nd January
7.30pm start (so arrive before then)
at the Memorial Hall
Get yourself a ticket from the Post Office, just £5 and that will get you a hot supper and a good night out. See poster around the village for more details.
Cropwell Cinema's next film (11-1-11)
Late Boxing Day match: surprise results! (4-1-11)
Toast a local connection (30-12-10)
If you happen to be watching the drama, "Toast", on BBC1 TV at 9pm this evening, you may recognise one of the actors. I am not refering to Helena Bonham Carter, but to the boy who plays the part of a young Nigel Slater, the man who is now a famous TV cook.
My morning newspaper refers to the boy as "the terrific Oscar Kennedy", so look out for him.
So where might you have seen him before? Well look again at pictures taken on the Boxing Day Walk—on the Walks Page. Search for the photo of a boy holding a giant icicle: that is Oscar. The picture was taken by Mel Stanley of Cropwell Bishop.
Mel and Bob Stanley will not be at the Cropwell Cinema this evening; nothing would keep them from watching BBC TV at 9pm and the chance to watch the performance of Oscar Kenndy, their grandson.
You never know who you might meet on our Walks: might Helena Bonham Carter be tempted to join our next one?
Tony Jarrow
Cropwell Cinema showing two films on Thursday (27-12-10)
Have you bought your ticket yet? On Thursday (30th Dec) there is a film in the afternoon (one that the school-kids should enjoy) and in the evening there is a great film for the adults.
See the posters on the village notice boards for full details.
Tony Jarrow
BT Infinity: at infinity? (27-12-10)
The recent article about 'BT Infinity' (bottom article on this page) encouraged one villager to put pen to paper (or should I say, 'punch the keyboard'). Here are his thoughts:
Referring to the article written in the last news issue regarding BT Infinity, the simplest method is to register your vote if your intending to take up the offer, should it come.
Personally I think BT will find itself outstripped by the cost and the approaches of differing competitors, Talk Talk, o2, Virgin who once a fibre optic cable has been sited are by law allowed to use the facility, BT offer a reliable service ? or do they.
In the main all calls to BT depend on luck, volume etc, and are dealt with by India, where BT has large centres and the staff tend to all sing from the same sheet with varying degrees of truth. All the competitors with the exception of o2, have call centres in South Africa, the Phillipines, and others scattered around the planet, so the truth again has varying degrees, customer service suffers but the cost to your provider of maintaining these centres is low.
Sending e-mails is a waste of time, as is writing to BT, however I sympathise fully with the writer of the previous article, told by BT that Infinity was in the pipe-line, I did see Toy Story and Buzz Lightyears claim "To Infinity and beyond" seems to be a fantasy, it will be a long time before Fibre Optic cabling is brought out to us and with it a new breed of faster Internet/Broadband, till then its all down to choice and the most important issue relating to Broadband speed is how far away the exchange is.
Frank McLoughlin
Boxing Day Football Match is OFF (24-12-10)
The Boxing Day football match has been postponed due to a frozen pitch.
Tony Jarrow
Burglars in Cropwell Bishop! (21-12-10)
This morning I received the following message:
"A friend of ours on Hoe View Road had a 'walk-in' burglary last night whilst he was in the kitchen and his partner was upstairs with the kids.
The thieves took car keys and then drove off with both cars that had been parked on their drive. SInce two cars were taken there must have been at least two thieves. All this took place at 6:45pm, tea-time!"
One thing we can learn from this upsetting experience is to ensure that we lock our doors at all times—even when we are inside.
Tony Jarrow
Award for Chris Keast (21-12-10)
Congratulations to Chris Keast.
At the recent Rushcliffe Community Awards Ceremony, he won the award for, 'Supporting Children and Young People'.
Chris helped re-open the Cropwell Bishop Scout Group in 2009, after 15 years. There are 5 different age groups, with members totalling about 125 young people.
Chris has trained 11 team leaders to ensure they are fully qualified. Big fundraising efforts meant that children could be taken on camping trips and a new kitchen has been built and raises money when used at local events.
Over a hundred local children are now benefitting from the voluntary work of Chris and his team. Well-done Chris.
Tony Jarrow
©Tony Jarrow 2009. Contact: tony@cropwellbishopplan.co.uk