What You Say #158
Beatrix’s charity haircut
📷 Jodie getting her haircut
Beatrix Tanner has had 18 inches of her hair cut off for the Little Princess Trust and has raised £1,150 for the charity.
When she was in hospital getting her tonsils out, she met a little girl on the ward with no hair.
She was curious so I explained how some children can lose their hair. I told her about the Little Princess Trust and how I’d donated three times, and straight away she said that she wanted to do the same to help other little girls.
She had her hair cut at Bayside Hair Studio, Amble by her auntie Amanda. We are all so proud of her and would like to thank all of our family and friends for sponsoring her.
Jodie Tanner, Amble
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NCC are not listening to the community
I was saddened to hear that NCC decided against the asset transfer of the Sports Hall.
The current sports hall has a climbing wall. This is a costly item. An item the Coast Guard would have liked to train on as it is local, rather than travelling elsewhere.
The climbing wall can be used as a therapeutic tool by those with social communication issues. It develops social skills of listening, working together, improving eye-hand coordination, body schema and strength. It creates further opportunities of transferring those skills out in the community.
This is just one element of how the current sports hall would have benefitted the community. It is disappointing that those at NCC are not listening to the residents of Amble. NCC is negligent in not enabling and facilitating improved physical wellbeing and/or scaffolding better mental health opportunities.
For NCC and the school to say they are addressing these needs is an outright fallacy. There is no climbing wall in the proposed new build. The new sports hall is not a full-size sports hall for basketball, netball or 5-aside.
It will not be available for use during exams or when the school itself needs it for their PE sessions. It will therefore NOT be a community resource.
I would like to congratulate ADT and ATC for all their hard work in trying to get NCC to listen to the residents of Amble.
A disappointed Amble resident
Name and address supplied
Update on the Christmas Lights team
Following on from a recent letter to the Ambler, (Issue #155) the Christmas lights committee thought we would update you on the team. The team now consists of 10 men, three of whom have been involved since Amble Christmas Lights started, we think this was around the year 2000, but we could be wrong. This means, yes you’ve guessed, some members of the team are over 70 with most over 60, but not all, as there are one or two youngsters (in their 50s) who have recently joined the team.
The team has one qualified electrician who signs off the work, which is carried out all year round. The work entails designing, making and maintaining all the Christmas lights. If you would like to join them, email amblexmaslights@gmail.com
This year’s Light Parade will be held on the 22 November with the Jack Drum Band and Dancers leading the way. If you would like to join in the parade please contact julia@ambledevelopmenttrust.org.uk To make sure Amble is ready, the lads will be seen on the street putting them up from around the 21 October.
Mandy Bond, Amble Christmas Lights Committee
Remembering Airship 101
When my granddaughter Lucy rang me from London to see how I was coping with being aged 101, it set me back remembering a story from years ago.
One Sunday afternoon when I was about five years old, I set off to visit my grandparents, then living in Gordon Street. Nearby I noticed people looking up to the sky. I turned and looked up too, and saw the huge airship R101 flying over Amble harbour, not very high and not very fast.
My granddaughter then said “I’ll Google it.” After a few minutes she had the following information.
On 17 November 1929 R101 slipped the mast and flew up the coast of England to Edinburgh. Her moorings were at Cardington in Bedfordshire.
Later, a large envelope arrived from Lucy, it contained information about the airship.
R101 was a British government programme to develop civil airships capable of service on long-distance routes within the Empire, to South Africa, India, Singapore, Australia and Canada. to transport passengers and mail.
Its length was 770 feet (about 230 meters). It had a crew of 42 working in two watches. Passenger accommodation was spread over two decks – up to 100 passengers and a dining room for 60 people.
After trial flights and subsequent modifications to increase lifting capacity, they added another hydrogen lifting bag.
During its maiden voyage on 5 October 1930, enroute to India, the R101 crashed in France killing 45 of the 54 people on board including Air Minister Lord Christopher Thomson. This crash ended airship development in Britain. In 1937 the German Hindenburg airship crashed in America with the loss of 32 lives.
George Young
Amble
Tiff’s Big Dip
In December my beautiful daughter Tiffany took her own life after struggling with mental health for two years. She was 20 years old and lived in supported accommodation at The Corn Exchange at Alnwick.
A celebration will be held for Tiffany Jones
Tiff grew up in Amble and Warkworth and she loved the little shore. She was a talented swimmer representing her County all over England. When she could no longer compete she loved to go in the sea and said it regulated her moods. She was a keen surfer who loved to be out on the waves.
30 June would have been her 21st birthday and we’d like people who knew her to join us for a dip in the sea to support us in remembering her.
We ask you to wear something pink as it was her favourite colour. We want it to be a fun event. Trained dippers will be there to support anyone venturing into the sea for the first time and we have sought permissions from the harbor master and informed the coastguard.
Claire Jones
via email
Volunteer litter pickers making a difference
We recently organised a litter pick on Amble Braid in March. 15 volunteers showed up and between us we collected 19 bags of rubbish along with an old bike! We are continuing to lobby town and county councils to help resolve the rubbish dumped (piano, large bins etc) on Turner Street behind the shops that residents flagged to us when we were out picking. In April, we did a pick around Warkworth. Our 13 volunteers picked four bags, a child’s bike and several car parts!
Individual Litter Picking
If you sign up with us as an environmental volunteer, you will be covered by Northumberland County Council (NCC) insurance while you are out litter picking. For safety reasons, volunteers should not pick litter alongside roads where the speed limit is in excess of 30mph, as insurance cover does not apply in these locations.
We can provide all the equipment you need, including: litter pickers, Hi visibility vests, gloves, litter bags
This is a flexible, informal volunteering opportunity that you can fit around your own time, helping to make a positive difference to your local environment.
For more information, or to pre-register for a litter pick, please email Julia G at litterfree@icloud.com
Julia G
via email
