Two Brierfield men appeared before Pennine magistrates accused of racing each other down Colne Road in the town.
Rizwan Hussain (21), of Mansfield Crescent, and Sakab Mahmood (20), of William Street, are both charged with dangerous driving on February 7th. They did not indicate pleas.
The Bench decided their case should be heard at the crown court. The defendants were unconditionally bailed until June 3rd.
Revolutions can occur in the most extraordinary places ... and in the most extraordinary ways.
From small acts of defiance to a national uprising, there comes a tipping point when change becomes inevitable.
The Mussel Feast, a German modern classic inspired by the fall of the Berlin Wall, springs from the sophisticated stable at Peirene Press, a London-based publisher which specialises in bringing the best of European fiction to English-speaking audiences.
The first in Peirene’s new 2013 ‘Turning Point’ series, Birgit Vanderbeke’s striking novella, written in the form of a monologue, is a true literary banquet – an extraordinary drama played out over one revolutionary evening in the life of a German family.
First published in 1990, the book has never been out of print and is on all high school curricula in Germany but has never been translated into English... until now.
Our narrator is a nameless teenage girl who sits at the dinner table with her mother and younger brother as they wait for the father to come home, hopefully with a new work promotion in the bag.
The harassed mother has been cooking up a huge bowl of mussels even though no one in the family likes them except her husband. But something’s not right. He’s late, and he always arrives back at 6pm on the dot.
As the three of them contemplate the rapidly cooling mussels and the palpable tension created by father’s no-show, their back story slowly unfolds in ever decreasing circles of throwaway lines and sinister allusions.
Because this absent man is no standard father and husband. Little by little, we learn that he is an intransigent, oppressive and cruel bully who keeps his wife and children subjugated by his disturbing notions of how a ‘proper family’ should look and act.
The family have fled from East to West Germany and he has brought with him deep grievances, a ruthless determination to prosper and an obsession with status.
Small incidents and acts of violence, stirred almost carelessly into the narrative, reveal a chilling, bigger picture. His family are an ‘endless disappointment’ – his mother ‘smells’ of poverty, his wife is too dowdy and likes music which he regards as ‘pure excess,’ his daughter too stubborn and insubordinate, and his son too ‘wimpish.’
So while the girl’s mother reverts to ‘wifey mode’ and stores her violin in a cold wardrobe, his desperate children are left wondering what bones they might break if they jumped from the flat’s first-floor balcony.
But, as the evening wears on, the family become emboldened by the father’s unusual absence and ‘at once everything is different... people who were once stuck together fall apart, all hell breaks loose.’
Translator Jamie Bulloch has done a sterling and sympathetic job to bring us the essence of a highly nuanced story, packed with significant metaphors and colloquialisms, without once losing the flow and meaning of the original text.
Peirene’s Meike Ziervogel reveals that this was the first of her publishing house’s books to make her laugh out loud and it is easy to see why. The inflexible logic of the authoritarian father’s mind leaves him wide open to bizarre and humorous contradictions, now pounced on with glee by his dissenting daughter.
But The Mussel Feast also serves up moments of incredible poignancy and shocking, understated violence, all side dishes to a subtle and yet powerfully affecting portrayal of domestic tyranny.
Vanderbeke’s brilliantly clever sign-off confirms both the family’s turning point and the optimism that springs from revolutionary freedom, whether that is achieved on the home front or the world stage.
Astute, darkly funny, provocative, often uncomfortable in its devastating depiction of patriarchal oppression but ultimately uplifting, The Mussel Feast provides plenty of food for thought.
(Peirene, paperback, £10)
February Half Term fun was had by all the children attending Speedmark’s February Half Term Holiday Club.
The popular holiday course returned at Blessed Trinity’s Spirit of Sport Leisure Centre.
Children experienced participating in various sports, including football, cricket, basketball, dodge ball and athletics.
The course ran in conjunction with local company Sports Vibe, and also included a fun and informative visit from Burnley’s Fire Brigade, who showed the children around one of their fire engines.
Former Burnley youth and current Bradford City footballer Dean Overson also attended on the last day to sign autographs and do a Q&A session with the children.
The popular Holiday Course for boys and girls aged 5-12 will return during the Easter school holidays, again at the Spirit of Sport Leisure Centre.
To book a place, call Nick Palich on 07766 700279 or email {mailto:info@speedmark.org|info@speedmark.org}
A MAN was taken to the Royal Blackburn Hospital on Sunday after being taken ill while climbing Pendle Hill.
The man contacted the ambulance service after feeling faint and the Rossendale and Pendle Mountain Rescue Team was called in to assist.
A spokesman said the casualty made his own way down the hill to Pendle House to be met by a team member and directed to a waiting ambulance, where he was treated by team leader and paramedic Pete Goble.
He said: “It’s good that the Ambulance Service are mindful we are there. There are some very inaccessible areas locally and sometimes it is not practical for an ambulance crew to attend or move a casualty without specialist skills and equipment”.
News that both unemployment is down again in Pendle and there has been a record number of apprenticeships should be welcomed.
Being out of work can be a huge personal tragedy. That is why I have always said helping support our local businesses expand and create well paid jobs is a top priority. I am also dedicated to ensuring every person who wants to work hard and get on in life has the skills they need to compete and thrive.
The latest figures show that, in Pendle, we have more than doubled the number of apprenticeships, bigger than the rise across the North West (89%) or the UK as a whole (86%). In 2011/12, 907 people started an apprenticeship in Pendle – an increase of 106% compared to under the last Government.
The data also has provisional results for the number of apprenticeship starts in the first quarter of 2012/13 – in April to June, 2012, 390 people started apprenticeships in just three months. Most telling however is that there are currently still a large number of apprenticeship vacancies with local employers available via Nelson and Colne College, Training2000 and other providers.
We must continue to strive to ensure our young people have the skills employers are looking for and are ready to take up an apprenticeship or work opportunity. The Government has introduced the Pupil Premium, which puts an additional £2.5 billion into school funding, as a way of addressing the current inequalities between children eligible for free school meals and their wealthier peers. This has meant that the Pendle schools educating the children for the poorest backgrounds have received extra funding to help address the additional challenges and disadvantages these children face.
In addition to this, the Government has supplied over £20m. in funding for four of our primary schools to be totally rebuilt (Barnoldswick CE, Laneshaw Bridge Primary, St Paul’s in Nelson, and Whitefield Infants) and West Craven High School is set to benefit from a multi-million pound investment.
Last week I visited the new £18m. University Technical College in Burnley that I had campaigned for and that Pendle manufacturers such as Rolls-Royce, Graham Engineering and Weston EU said we needed.
It is fantastic to see Victoria Mill being transformed into a hands on learning space for young people who want to go on to work in engineering or manufacturing. However, the most exciting thing is that Visions Learning Trust will be equipping our young people with the skills local employers say they desperately need.
I would strongly encourage local parents and young people to take a look at the website setting out what will be on offer, as I know it will appeal to many in Pendle.
Young people looking for the first step on the career ladder should also look out for news of my next Jobs Fair, due to take place in June. I last hosted a Jobs Fair in February last year that was well attended by employers and job seekers alike and helped a number in to jobs, apprenticeships or training opportunities.
CLARETS leading scorer Charlie Austin has hailed his weekend wonder strike as one of the best and most important goals of his career.
With the Clarets on a six-game winless run, including three successive games without finding the net, and Austin hitting an eight-hour ‘drought’, the 23-year-old hitman was delighted to provide the breakthrough that helped arrest recent form.
Austin’s 25th of the season, making him the fifth most potent striker in England in all competitions, alongside Manchester United’s Robin Van Persie, arrived in the 43rd minute at the Valley when he collected Danny Lafferty’s pass before rifling a spectacular 25-yard drive into the top corner, leaving David Button with no chance of saving.
“It’s the best this season and I’d say one of the best in my career to be honest,” beamed Austin. “I don’t score many outside the box.
“I needed it on a personal note, but it was important for the lads and we got the win. The three points was massive.
“I’m a confident lad. I was a long way out but I thought, I’m just going to hit this and it opened up nicely. Luckily enough the next minute it was in the top corner.
“It’s the most I’ve scored in a season and hopefully I can push on and score many more to the end of the season. As long as I keep scoring it helps the lads and we can win.
“The bonus for me is it’s happened and I was happy to score, but obviously it’s all about the team and we got the three points and it was what we needed.”
Austin, only in his fourth season as a professional, his second full campaign in the Championship, admits to have never felt the pressure during his dry spell, but now he’s even more determined to kick on and challenge Glenn Murray and Jordan Rhodes to become the division’s top scorer.
“As a striker you try to score as many times as you can,” he said. “If you go through a so-called drought, you go on one.
“I came back from injury, I scored straight away then didn’t score for a couple.
“But as a striker I always give myself the maximum opportunity.
“I’ll take a four-game drought and score one like that!”
Austin added: “I’d say I’ve surprised myself, definitely. I had a good run at the start. It stopped but hopefully now I’m just kicking on and I can push on till the end of the season.
“If I keep scoring it helps the team, and that’s the main thing.
“As a striker you hope to score as many goals as you can, but overall performance is the main thing and helping the team and pleasing the manager, and obviously I was doing that for him to keep selecting me.”
Despite lauding the character and performance of his team-mate’s in victory over Chris Powell’s Addicks in the country’s capital, Austin has dispelled talk of achieving a play-off place.
“We put in a good performance in the first half and our backs were against the wall in the second half but we defended really well,” he said.
“The second half we really showed what we can do defensively because it was backs to the wall.
“We defended really well with Shacks, Kevin, Tripps and Laffers – the whole team really was together in that.
“We all came together at the end. We knew we had to defend and it was a big result. Hopefully the pressure’s off us and now we can string a few results together.”
The next task for the Clarets is to register back-to-back wins when Barnsley are the visitors to Turf Moor tonight, kick-off 7-45 p.m. Austin is hoping the Clarets can extinguish memories of the performance against the Terriers, by picking up three points against the Tykes.
“Barnsley’s not going to be an easy game but we under-performed last Tuesday against Huddersfield and we know we’ve got to put that right.
“We did on Saturday and hopefully we can again.”
• The Burnley Express has launched a FREE football app which is now available to download on {http://bit.ly/LkG6ap|iPhone|Download our football app on iPhone} and {http://bit.ly/IdEJgn|Android|Download our football app on Android} devices.
AN elderly man from Colne has been found hanged at home.
Mr Jerry Yurek (88) was found hanging from a banister at his home in Varley Street, Colne, at 8-45am on Wednesday, February 27th. He was taken to Airedale General Hospital but sadly died shortly after arrival.
Pathologist Dr Walid Salman conducted a post-mortem examination and gave the cause of death as hanging.
Mr Yurek was a popular member of Colne Royal British Legion Club for many years.
East Lancashire Coroner Mr Richard Taylor opened and adjourned an inquest for further inquiries to take place. A full inquest is set to take place in June.
A Clitheroe man has died after falling 600 feet while walking in the Lake District.
Cumbria Police said Martin Peel, 35, died after the fall near Pillar, at Ennerdale, at an area known as Walker’s Gully.
Emergency services, including an air ambulance and a mountain rescue team, were called out to the scene at 1.57pm on Monday.
A police spokesman said: “The Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team, RAF Sea King and air ambulance were involved in the rescue.
“Despite the attendance of the emergency services, the man tragically died.
“There are currently no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death, and the case will be passed to the coroner.”
It is thought that the man was part of a group of three.
Walking expert Alfred Wainwright urged caution when writing about the area.
He said: “This is known as Walker’s Gully not because it is a gully for walkers, but because a man of that name fell to his death here.”
A BURNLEY man with nearly 1,500 pornographic pictures of children on his computers has been jailed for 18 months.
Christopher Gallagher (61), of Florence Street, pleaded guilty to 11 counts of having indecent photographs of children when he appeared at Burnley Crown Court. About half the images were of children under 13, and some were infants. He also admitted possessing 172 images of extreme pornography.
Gallagher was given 18 months for the child porn with two months concurrent for the further offence.
Sentencing, Judge Robert Altham said it was necessary to protect the public from Gallagher and made a public order for 10 years. He is disqualified from working with children, will be on the child protection register and his computer and laptop was confiscated.
The court was told Gallagher has served a previous jail sentence for possessing indecent images of children.
He came to the attention of local police following an investigation in Gloucester and initially denied having downloaded or keeping any images.
Judge Altham told him: “You are extremely incorrigible and have a twisted sexual interest in young children.”
Helga Weiss is a remarkable woman... she was also a remarkable child. She endured the privations of Terezín concentration camp, narrowly escaped the clutches of evil Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, survived the horrors of Auschwitz and recorded it all in her diaries.
Through one of the most vivid and comprehensive Holocaust testimonies ever to have been recovered, we can now read her story in all its raw, youthful and harrowing reality.
Helga’s Diary – predictably painful but ultimately inspirational – takes us beyond the life of Anne Frank and into a moving and shocking account of a young girl’s life in the camps where suffering and death were only ever a heartbeat away.
Weiss, an 83-year-old Czech artist who still lives in the Prague flat where she was born and from where the Nazis removed her and her Jewish parents in 1941, rediscovered her childhood diaries in a forgotten drawer several years ago.
The journal included a stack of yellowed paper, written in pencil and barely legible in parts but, page by page, Weiss typed every word into her computer, painstakingly editing it as she went along.
Young Helga began her diary in 1938 when she was just eight years old. She kept up her illustrated diary entries during her three years at Terezín and then handed them to her uncle for safe keeping when she and her parents were deported to Auschwitz in 1944.
He bricked the diaries and paintings into a wall at Magdeburg barracks and when the conflict ended, he returned them to Helga who added to them her experiences of life in the other camps she had passed through and where writing journals had been impossible.
From her first early bewildered observations on the rise of anti-Semitism in Prague – ‘The worst of it has landed on us Jews. They heap everything on our backs... everything is our fault’ – to the deportations, disease and sufferings of camp life, Helga brings us a child’s eye view of four years of living hell.
About 45,000 Jews lived in Prague at the beginning of the war and when the Nazis invaded, Helga’s father was denied work, state schools were closed to her and she and her parents were confined to their flat.
But then the dreaded ‘transports’ began and gradually Helga’s friends and family started to disappear until in December 1941, Helga and her parents were sent to Terezín, a military fortress used as a transit hub where Czech Jews were put to work before being sent on to extermination camps.
Of the 15,000 children taken to Terezín and later deported to Auschwitz, only 100 survived the Holocaust. Helga was one of them.
Helga notes in her diary the terrible noises of the place which still haunt her, the ‘thunderous steps, the roar of the ghetto guards, the banging of doors and hysterical weeping’ which ‘always sound – and foretell – the same.’
The suffering was mitigated by moments of friendship, creativity and hope – a concert in which a simple song and dance show freed thoughts from death and woe to dwell instead on ‘beautiful, unforgettable’ images of home – and Helga met her first love and boyfriend Ota.
But in 1944, Helga and her parents were sent to Auschwitz and her bank worker father was never heard of again...
Helga and her mother miraculously survived and the gruelling transports of the last days of the war, returning to Prague where Helga completed her diary aged just fifteen and a half.
Reconstructed from her original notebooks and from the loose-leaf pages on which Weiss wrote after the war, Helga’s Diary is accompanied by an interview with the author and illustrated with the vivid paintings she made during her time at Terezín.
The young Helga’s ‘half-childish’ account has been greatly rewritten and revised by the more worldly wise adult but the accessibility and expressiveness of what is an essentially youthful narration still speak powerfully and shockingly of man’s inhumanity to man.
(Viking, hardback, £16.99)
WHEN the House was on recess I was able to spend a lot of time in Burnley, although on Wednesday I had to come back down to London to attend a meeting with Total.
As readers of this column will be aware, I am undertaking my own “apprenticeship” with Total and Statoil. Last week I attended an AGM at Total and briefed senior employers on how my fellowship had been developing, along with what I had considered to be the highlights. Later that evening I was a guest of Total at an annual oil and gas dinner. The energy industry is so important and we really need to look at more sustainable and long-term energy solutions, including more government commitments to low carbon energy.
A lot of you have written to me about Tim Yeo’s amendment to the Energy Bill and the need for more green jobs. I totally agree with the recommendations of the energy select committee and hope the Government begins to make firmer commitments in this area as well as making more assurances about renewable energy models such as wind. The UK not only has the perfect conditions to seriously develop offshore wind power, but we also have the means to manufacture turbines. Unfortunately, until the Government makes more long-term commitments to this type of renewable energy, manufacturing firms are unwilling to invest in manufacturing the turbines, and rightly so.
While I was in London I also had a follow-up meeting on careers advice with Ahead Partnership, a social enterprise supporting businesses. Like me, they see the need for vastly improved careers advice. They have introduced a programme called Make the Grade which enables schools to improve educational outcomes through long-term partnerships with business. This is similar to some of the partnerships we have in Burnley and I fully support their initiative.
During the week I had a number of very interesting meetings with constituents and businesses, I spoke at the Rotary Club and also attended a residents’ meeting at the former McBride’s factory. Having the week off from Parliament was really helpful as I feel I have been able to catch up on a lot of important local issues and help constituents with some seriously pressing matters.
On Friday I made a trip to Airbus in Broughton as part of my role as chairman of the backbench committee on business, innovation and skills and my chairmanship of the apprenticeship APPG. The visit was fantastic and it was fascinating to see how the wings were made. The wings are absolutely huge and have to be shipped between factories on specially made boats. Each wing costs millions of pounds and the plane when finished costs £300m. Watching these wings being constructed on the assembly line was just fantastic and a real exhibition of the UK’s manufacturing prowess. I took the opportunity while at Airbus to meet some apprentices. Once again I was blown away by the commitment and enthusiasm of these young people. A group of them are coming to visit Parliament soon to speak at an event and I am looking forward to talking to them some more on their visit. Our young apprentices are excellent role models, not only for the manufacturing sector but also for their generation.
After the street stall on Saturday I travelled to Widnes to speak at the Lib-Dem regional conference “Liberalism Matters.” I was on a panel with Andrew Stunell and we took a number of interesting questions from the audience. Being in coalition with a more right-wing party it is essential that the Liberal Democrats promote liberal ideas and retain our identity.
CHOOSING to study a Degree is a big decision and an important investment in your future.
Studying higher education at Craven College comes with many benefits – quality and affordable courses that lead directly to excellent employment opportunities and you will experience a personalised individual approach. Programmes are taught by highly qualified tutors with a wealth of industry experience who are committed to helping you achieve your career goal. We offer significant savings on university fees on many courses and all our Degrees are awarded through a partner university.
Our diverse range of Degrees and professional courses offer full and part-time options, taught in small groups with support for studies and flexible timetables to suit your lifestyle. Plus studying locally can save £££’s through avoiding transport and accommodation costs.
In 2012 success rates at Craven College improved again; our student satisfaction survey found that 92% of respondents were satisfied with their Degree course - this compared to a national satisfaction rate of 86%. The College had a 92% pass rate and 65% of Honours Degree students gained a 2.1 or over.
“Our reputation for high quality provision has been confirmed by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education awarding the College the highest commendation in the three core themes of academic standards, quality of learning opportunities, and public information.”
Robert Bellfield, Principal
Foundation Degree Study
Foundation Degree study combines both academic and vocational skills and is packaged into 20 credit modules which form the first two years (or 240 credits) of a full Honours Degree. They are studied over a 2 years full-time or 3 year part-time programme. On completing a Foundation Degree you can choose to ‘top-up’ to a full Honours Degree. For the full range of courses visit: www.craven-college.ac.uk
Professional Qualifications
Employers appreciate the value of professional qualifications, for example the Accounting AAT Diploma is recognised and shaped by industry and is a great route into the profession.
NVQs offered by Tyro Training, Craven College’s Services to Industry Division, enable those in employment to use their current and relevant work experiences as evidence towards a higher level qualification. Visit www.tyrotraining.co.uk for more information.
Not quite ready for Degree study yet?
Don’t let anything stand in your way! Craven College offer Access to Higher Education courses specifically designed for mature students with life skills but no formal qualifications or those who wish to return to learn, refresh their skills for progression into employment or on to higher education. Access courses are a great way to get that essential step up allowing time for family commitments and/or part-time work.
Plus new 24+ Advanced Learning Loans are available...
Loan, Qualification, Job - NEW 24+ Advanced Learning Loans
The new 24+ Advanced Learning Loans are not means tested and can be used to help you to get the qualification you need to get back into work, to formalise existing skills or begin the journey towards a new career of your choice. Loans can be applied for from April 2013 and don’t have to be paid back until earnings are over £21,000 per annum. Plus you don’t pay anything back if your loan is for the Access to Higher Education course and you progress to and complete higher education study.
More details about the 24+ Advanced Learning and Higher Education Loans are available from the National Careers Service website. Student Services will be on hand at Craven College’s Higher Education and Adult Learning Open Evening on 24 April, 5.00 to 7.30pm to discuss all options for prospective students aged 19 and over.
For more information about courses, finance and events visit {http://www.craven-college.ac.uk|www.craven-college.ac.uk} or call 01756 791 411.
CRAVEN College situated in Skipton at the gateway to the beautiful Yorkshire Dales with its stunning limestone scenery has a holiday town feel with a great mix of places to visit on and around its award winning High Street and Craven College students make a great contribution to the life of the town.
The College’s historic building on the High Street has undergone major renovation work which includes a new training kitchen, Brasserie Restaurant area and the all new Academy of Hair & Beauty for you to visit.
The College Brasserie Restaurant
The Brasserie is operated by students and offers great quality, locally sourced, fresh food at its themed lunches served at 12 noon and evening meals at 7pm. Choices includes Flavours of Italy, A Festival of Local Produce, A Taste of the Dales and Coast to Coast - prices range from £7.25 (2 course lunch) to £14.25 (3 course evening meal). Call 01756 708 001 for a menu or to book one of the term time dates offered. One of Skipton’s best kept secrets is The Brasserie Deli Shop located next to the restaurant kitchen offering a range of freshly prepared foods for sale from 12 noon ‘till 2.00pm week days in term time.
The Academy of Hair & Beauty
The College’s Academy of Hair & Beauty has relocated to the refurbished High Street building. In the luxurious Hair, Beauty and Nail Salons you can enjoy treatments to reduce the stresses and strains of everyday living. For a list of prices or to book an appointment call 01756 793 057 or {http://www.theacademyskipton.co.uk/index.php/treatments|www.theacademyskipton.co.uk/index.php/treatments}
Now you can benefit from affordable dining experiences at the College Brasserie and treatments at the Academy of Hair & Beauty and at the same time know you, as a client, are helping to facilitate the training of the future generation of chefs, hairdressers, beauty therapists and nail artists.
The Academy of Sports Therapy
The College’s Sports Therapy Clinic, based the Auction Mart Campus, boasts professional modern facilities and offers treatments for muscular aches and pains or preparation for sport. You can book an appointment for a recovery massage, or prepare for your next sporting event. Clinic appointments are available on Wednesdays from 4.30 to 6.00pm and cost around £10.00. To talk through treatment options and make an appointment telephone 01756 793 057.
Visit {http://www.craven-college.ac.uk|www.craven-college.ac.uk} where you will find the full range of A Levels, Apprenticeships, Vocational and Higher Education courses leading to real jobs and enhanced careers and part-time courses to enhance your CV or develop a new skill. There really is something for everyone at Craven College.
THREE pet rabbits which were dumped on a field on the hillside above Nelson have been rescued – and have now been found new homes.
A couple walking their dog spotted somebody abandoning the pets and took action to save them.
It happened on land off Bank Lane on the Pennine Hills between Nelson and Trawden on Thursday last week. And Margaret Harrop, from Lowthwaite Drive, Nelson, spotted the incident along with her husband and then contacted near-neighbour Moira Thwaites in the hope of saving their lives.
Moira, of Kelswick Drive, Nelson, said: “They shouldn’t have dropped pet rabbits off like that. They were dumped. The young man who dumped them in the field then did a runner.”
Margaret called at Moira’s home and they then rang the RSPCA, but there was advice that the rabbits might not be findable by the time an RSCPA officer could get there. So they went to try and rescue them. They were joined by Emma Anderson from Colne, who was walking her dogs up there, but who actually owns 16 rabbits herself. Margaret and Emma made the search and Moira was there with a cat box to put them in.
They found two, but worried about the third one. But they did then find it. They were taken to Stanley House Veterinary Surgery for a check-up, and they were established as a male and two females.
Moira then bought a big cage to keep the females in, and borrowed another for the male. But they have now been collected by people who are going to give them new homes, one of them going to Margaret’s son!
Moira pointed out that the RSCPA had made it clear that, if you abandon rabbits in the countryside, they can die from eating poison plants, and she added: “These rabbits had all been looked after well and were not skinny. You don’t know why somebody who has looked after them like that may have dumped them like that. I’m glad to get new places for them.”
It isn’t her first pet rescue. She rescued a greyhound 10 years ago, and the pet Millie is still with her and has taken interest in the rabbits while they stayed with her in their cages.
IF you see a bright orange flash, almost a vision in lycra, it could well be someone in training for the Pennine Lancashire 10k in June.
That runner will not, however, be me.
If, on the other hand, you see someone hauling their 52-year-old frame around the local countryside while dramatically attired in a bright orange running jacket and luminous orange cross trainers, that runner could indeed be me.
I have always loved running. It can be a soulless and, at times, soul destroying hobby, but I have always loved pounding the pavements and trailing through the countryside.
It has always been my idea of keeping fit. I have never cared much for swimming and always think everyone else it out to get me if I climb aboard a bike.
Gyms are places to use running machines if the weather is just not up to an outside run.
So fresh air and running have always been my thing.
I have been out of the habit for too long, forced out of action by an operation and a series of niggling injuries.
I tried to get back into the running habit last year – but found no inspiration in a year dogged by shocking weather.
So early I the New Year, I decided to join a running club and get back into shape. Totally unbeknown to me at the time, the Express was already in talks about being official media partner for the Jane Tomlinson Pennine Lancashire 10k race in June.
To make any sense of my return to training, I had to have a target and a race right here on my doorstep was perfect.
I signed up instantly and, just last week, went as far as coming up with a training schedule of sorts for the remaining 13 weeks.
I decided to run for Pendleside Hospice, I charity I have supported in various over a number of years.
And I have another challenge as well. Several of my Burnley Express colleagues are already in training of sorts for the June race. They are all at least two decades younger than me and some much younger than that.
But none of them will get round the course quicker than me! That is my new challenge – but if any of them does manage it, I will add an extra tenner to my hospice pot for each one who suddenly develops the ability to run!
DETECTIVES have released CCTV images of a man they would like to speak following an attempted sexual assault in Colne.
Around 8.15pm on Tuesday 8 January, a 17 year old boy was walking along Albert Road when he was approached by another man.
The man engaged the boy in conversation, making suggestive remarks, before pulling him into a side street and attempting to pull the boy’s trousers down. Fortunately, the boy managed to free himself before running off.
Police are now appealing for anybody who recognises a man captured on CCTV to come forward.
PC Samantha Holland said: “This was a very unpleasant experience for the 17 year old and we need to find the person responsible.
“If you think you know the man in the CCTV images then please contact police, I am also keen to hear from anybody who may have been in the area at the time and may have seen anybody acting suspiciously.”
Anybody with any information can contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or on-line at {http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org|Crimestoppers-uk.org}. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.
You can now receive free crime alerts and advice. Sign up here {http://www.lancashire.police.uk/intheknow|www.lancashire.police.uk/intheknow}
SELF check-in kiosks, similar to those used in airports, are being installed at Burnley General Hospital.
The touch screen machines allow patients to check in for their appointments and it is hoped that the machines will help to relieve queues.
The kiosks have also been introduced at the Royal Blackburn Hospital and Rossendale Primary Health Care Centre.
Rosemary Duckworth, patient administration manager at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “This is an exciting move for our patients, and a major step forward in reaching our goal to maximise the use of the most up-to-date technology in the delivery of local health care.
“It means that patients can arrive for their appointment and check themselves in. It will help save them time and in some cases even provide more privacy because details will not have to be discussed at the desk.
“It is important to note that the check-in service is just another option for patients to let us know they have arrived for an appointment and receptionists will still be on hand for any queries or for patients who’d like to confirm their appointment with a member of staff.”
Intouch with Health worked alongside the Trust to launch the self check-in project.
BURNLEY Football Club is delighted to announce an extension of the interest free offer for season tickets purchased in the Jimmy McIlroy Stand lower tier.
The offer of 10 monthly payments for our lowest priced season tickets, without ANY admin charges, has already been a huge success with fans.
And due to excellent feedback, and an unforeseen delay in the delivery of season ticket packs, we are extending this payment plan offer until close of business on Friday, March 15.
Almost 2,500 seats benefit from our entry-priced adult season ticket prices, which involve a £30 deposit for adults and 10 further payments of just £29.90.
(Reduced deposits and payments for senior citizens and juniors).
Full details can be viewed on the Zebra Finance form {http://www.burnleyfootballclub.com/documents/zebra-finance-form-2013-14113-678367.pdf|HERE}.
Please note, this offer is separate to the Early Bird deadline offer for all other season tickets, which remains at close of business on March 30.
Most folk are familiar with someone wearing a cross as an item of jewellery or a symbol of their Christian faith. However, other than thanks to films or TV programmes, few will have seen a man carrying a full-size cross on his shoulders!
That’s unless you live in Brierfield – the town which was once nicknamed “The Holy City” because of the number of churches in the area.
The Rev. Phillip Ingram and Stephen Wells – two of the leaders at Living Hope, one of the existing churches – are the men who you may have seen carrying the cross around the town on recent Sunday afternoons, starting on February 17th.
Phillip said: “Last year, I believe that God challenged me with carrying a cross around Brierfield during Lent – the 40 days leading up to the Easter weekend.
“Why? Three reasons. “Firstly, as a reminder of what Easter is about: about Jesus dying on the cross, and then being raised from the dead by God the Father. Secondly, to offer people the opportunity to come to our church on Easter Sunday, to find out why these events happened. And, thirdly, to encourage people to realise that God loves every single one of them to bits and that, through Jesus’s death and resurrection, he is offering us the gift of his love, forgiveness of sins and eternal life now, simply by inviting Jesus and God to be part of our life.
“Some will think: ‘If God knew what I’m like, no way could He love me.’”
Phillip laughed: “God does know what you’re like; but, believe me, he still truly loves you to bits!”
And he added: “We’ve titled the walk – ‘Hope for All’. Not ‘the cross-your-fingers-and hope-for-the-best’ type of hope, but the type that lies deep within each one of us that we will be truly and deeply loved. Some have been fortunate with that sort of love by our families; however, many have never known that sort of love; but to everyone, God offers that kind of love, through his son, Jesus.
“If you want to know more, find us as we walk round Brierfield on Sunday afternoons on march 10th and 17th and every day between March 20th and 29th. Quite a few people have done that already, and we have had a very positive response from nearly everybody, which has been great.
“Even better, join us at one of our Celebration Services on Easter Sunday (10.30am and 6.30pm). We would love to see you there!”
Living Hope is situated on the corner of Halifax Road and Walter Street in Brierfield.”
PLANS have been submitted to Pendle Council for the demolition of one of Colne’s most famous mill buildings.
Pendle Council planning officers will decide whether or not to grant consent for Spring Gardens Mill in Waterside to be demolished.
The council’s South Valley Masterplan included suggestions for new housing in the South Valley together with a new park along the riverside.
The proposal for the mill was to renovate it for apartments and workshops with new housing at the side. That plan never came to fruition after the financial crash in 2008.
Now the company wants to knock down the building, large parts of which are derelict, along with two neighbouring premises.
Spokesman Geoff Wolfenden said the application to demolish the mill was made as it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep the premises secure and safe.
He added it had not been decided on a future use for the site, but indicated it would used either for a more suitable industrial use or residential purposes.
Lancashire County Council has made a submission that the mill should be kept as a historic and important structure and has contacted English Heritage to see if it thinks the mill is worthy of “spot-listing”.
If this happens, there would then be a longer period to confirm the listing during which the demolition would be on hold.
All three major political groups in Pendle have responded to the demolition application.
l Ian Graham, Labour’s Lancashire County Council candidate for Pendle Central in which the mill stands, said it was a bitter-sweet time for Colne.
Ian Graham says: “Many residents will be pleased to see the end of these ‘dark satanic mills’ but others may regret the loss of architectural heritage.
“Demolition seems a good option and the owner can probably recoup some of the cost by recycling some of the stone and cast iron materials.
Mr Graham said the Labour Party would not like to see industrial units built on the land and would prefer residential use with an extension of the Millennium Green to form a linear Local Nature Reserve along Colne Water.
For the Lib-Dems, Waterside ward councillor Tony Greaves said: “This is a historic mill and the five-storey building is a prominent building in the South Valley.
“It is in poor condition with the top two floors not used at all, and some of the architectural features have long gone. It is surrounded by other buildings, some in a very poor and tatty state.
“My own view is that it will be a pity to see the building go but I can now see little prospect of any improvements to the building for very many years. I very much hope our vision of new housing in the South Valley along with a new park will still come about and this would be a good site along with other land.
“I am calling for a meeting to discuss the future of this site between Colne councillors and planning staff with LBS as soon as the English Heritage decision is known.”
The Conservative leader of Pendle Council, Coun. Joe Cooney, said: “While we must recognise our heritage, we must ensure that it doesn’t stand in the way of economic growth or much needed regeneration of certain areas of Pendle.
“We as a council should be doing all we can to support local businesses and ensure we retain them in Pendle, help them expand and safeguard jobs. Yes, history is important, but so are jobs”.
The mill was built by the England family – central characters in Robert Neill’s novel “Song of Sunrise” – in the 1840s and was a cotton spinning mill for around a century.
It was taken over by Pressed Felts Ltd in 1942 and the carpeting firm operated until 1988 when it was taken over by Yorkshire firm John Cotton Ltd.
Subsequent takeovers saw American businesses Automotive Industries and Lear Corporation based at the five-storey mill before LBS Polythene expanded there from Cotton Tree in the early part of this century.