uttoxeter & cheadle voice, issue 72

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This year seems to be flyingby doesn’t it and May willsoon be upon us! Where

does the time go?My family has held so many

events during April that we seem tobe meeting every weekend. Can someone tell me who makesthe decision to keep moving Easter Bank Holiday Weekendto different dates each year. Why can’t it be the same periodevery year? We held birthdays for two of our grandchildren on

consecutive days and as a special birthday present to oureldest who reached double figures of ten years, my wife and Iand her other grandparents Mike and Christine booked heras mascot at Stoke City’s home match against Hull City whichshe absolutely loved. Mind you, the way The Potters havebeen performing I thought she may have an outside chance ofplaying!!When I launched The Voice ten years ago my aim was to

create a feelgood community magazine celebrating all whatis good in our local area.It is with this ethos in mind, that in my article this month

I am going to mention two of our wonderful local sportinglegends who passed away a few weeks ago. Leon Hibberd and Pete Chell Jnr were outstanding

sportsmen and superb chaps too. They brought their ownpersonalities into local sport with Leon being a terrificfootballer and Pete one of the county’s best darts players.Both men have brought happy memories to lots of people

and I have decided to include two tributes in this issue of TheVoice to them – I do hope you will read them and celebratethe lives of two genuine local men.I hope you enjoy reading this issue of The Voice colour

magazineNigel TittertonEditor & Publisher

Dear Reader,

Publisher and Editor: Nigel Titterton The Uttoxeter & Cheadle Voice is published by Community Voice Publications Ltd

Telephone 01538 751629 e-mail [email protected] views expressed in this publication are those of our contributors and are not necessarily those of the publishers, nor

indeed their responsibility. All Rights Reserved. Copyright Community Voice Publications Ltd.Designed and Produced by [email protected]

The Uttoxeter &Cheadle Voice is whollyindependent and ispublished at 3 SpodeClose, Cheadle, StaffsST10 1DT15,000 copies aredistributed free tohomes and businessesin Uttoxeter, Cheadle,Ashbourne, Rocester,Denstone, Bramshall,Stramshall, Alton,Oakamoor, Tean, LowerTean, Checkley, Leigh,Church Leigh, Crakemarsh, Combridge, Kingsley, Mayfield, Draycott, Cresswell, SaverleyGreen & Fulford, Doveridge and Abbots Bromley, Sudbury, Kingstone, Marchington,Ellastone, Froghall, Hollington, Dilhorne, Marston Montgomery, Meir Park areas. Clients are welcome to view the printing matrix.

ADVERTISEMENT SALES AND EDITORIALTel: 01538 751629 or 07733 466 970 Email: [email protected]

NEXT ISSUETHE NEXT VOICE WILL BE OUT ON MAY 26TH 2017News Deadline: May 14th Advertising Deadline: May 18th

BOOK YOUR ADVERT NOW - Email [email protected] or Call 01538 751629You can also contact us via social media:

@uttoxeter_voice search for Uttoxeter Voice search for Uttoxeter Voice

HOW TO GET IN TOUCH

4 If you are responding to an advertisement in The Uttoxeter & Cheadle Voice, please let the advertiser know. Thank you for your support.

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Defibrillators for Bramshall &Loxley Parish Hall and StramshallVillage Halls - help needed

The Uttoxeter RuralParish Council isappealing for funds in

order to install twodefibrillators for Bramshalland Stramshall Villages, canyou help?AEDdonate, who are

supplying the 2 machinesand the vital training forlocal residents, have set up afund raising page and allyou have to do is log on andmake a donation, we needany amount, however largeor small to help completethis project.The defibrillators will be

located on the village/parishhalls in Stramshall, atVicarage Drive, StramshallST14 5DL and Bramshall &Loxley Parish Hall, offChurch Croft, Bramshall, ST14 5BE and the cost of supplying both will be£3998, so every £1 that you donate will help. To find the fund raising page for each village please use the links below:http://aeddonate.org.uk/projects/bramshall-village-hall-defibrillator-

campaign/http://aeddonate.org.uk/projects/stramshall-defibrillator-campaign/If any Resident or Business, is able to make a donation then either go

onto the AEDdonate website or if you have no access to the website, thensend a cheque, made payable to: Uttoxeter Rural Parish Council and send itto The Parish Clerk, Uttoxeter Rural Parish Council, c/o 6 AlexandraCrescent, Uttoxeter, ST14 7LQThank you in advance for any help that you can give, the benefits of a

defibrillator cannot be underestimated.

5Let The Uttoxeter & Cheadle Voice take your business to 15,000 local homes. To advertise, call 01538 751629 or 07733 466 970.

Everyoneloves TheVoice

Taekwon-doWe train at The Parkwood CommunityLeisure Centre In Cheadle on Tuesday Night6.00pm to 6.30pm 4yrs to 6yrs6.30pm to 7.30pm Junior/Beginers Grades7.30pm to 8.30pm Senior/Advanced GradesCall John on 07854 806581www.nctkd.co.uk

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Partners at Waitrose Uttoxeter are celebrating their first John Lewis Partnership Bonus.This year the Bonus is 6% which equates to approximately three weeks pay for eachmember of staff. The John Lewis Partnership is the largest employee-owned business in

the UK where all the 86,700 staff are Partners in the business. There are 104 Partners at theUttoxeter store and there was much excitement ahead of the recent announcement. Thetraditional secret brown envelope, containing the bonus figure, one of which is sent to eachstore, was opened by local partner Deb Robinson. When the envelope was opened it generateda huge cheer from the team. Megan Whittaker tweeted “Bonus day!! 6% Best day Ever” The announcement came just one week before the first anniversary of Waitrose opening in

Uttoxeter. Peter Gibbs Branch Manager said “the partners have worked extremely hard this past year

as we’ve successfully established our new Waitrose in Uttoxeter. It’s wonderful to be part ofa company where the profits are shared back with all the people who work in the business”


Uttoxeter has become a Fairtrade Townthanks to the dedicated work of members ofthe Fairtrade Uttoxeter Steering Group, and

the support and commitment of the Town Council,local Businesses and Uttoxeter residents. TheNational Fairtrade Foundation approved theTown’s application to become a Fairtrade Town atthe end of February. The success was announced bythe Mayor of Uttoxeter at a Fairtrade Coffeemorning held at the Town Hall on 10 March whichbecame a celebration of the town’s success, and thehigh point of a series of events held to markFairtrade Fortnight.The Chair of the Steering Group Mrs Janet Dean

said: “The Steering Group was set up in November2015 and has worked really hard to make sure thatthe town achieves the five goals necessary forUttoxeter to qualify for the Fairtrade Townaccolade. These goals involve securing formalsupport for Fairtrade from the Town Council,making sure that a range of Fairtrade products areavailable in shops and cafes, engaging schools,places of worship and businesses in the Fairtrade

campaign, gaining publicity to promote publicunderstanding of Fairtrade and establishing aneffective steering group.“We have succeeded in achieving all five goals.

Uttoxeter Town Council passed a formal resolutionbacking Fairtrade on 13 December 2016, andUttoxeter has now exceeded the targets required interms of availability of Fairtrade products. SeveralChurches (St. Mary’s RC Church, the MethodistChurch, Society of Friends) have become FairtradePlaces of worship. The campaign has embracedschools in the area, and involved voluntaryorganisations such as the Uttoxeter Choral Society.Uttoxeter Tesco and Waitrose have providedtremendous support for the campaign and othershops such as the Bear Coffee Shop and Boutitchhave also backed a Fairtrade Uttoxeter. Local pressand radio have also played a key part in promotingthe campaign, and we are grateful to the hundredsof local people who have backed Fairtrade inUttoxeter. I also want to pay tribute to the hardwork of Councillor Dave Trenery who has been adriving force behind this campaign.”

The Mayor of Uttoxeter, Councillor Alan Noyessaid: “I am delighted that Uttoxeter has achievedFairtrade Town Status. It is a tribute to the open-hearted nature of Uttoxeter people who have shownthat they care about the welfare of people who livein the poorer parts of the world. It is also a tributeto the dedication and commitment of the FairtradeUttoxeter Steering Group and the Town Councilwho have driven this campaign. This success is ademonstration of what can be achieved when thepeople of Uttoxeter work together as a community.” Adam Gardner, the Communities Campaign

Manager for the Fairtrade Foundationcongratulated Uttoxeter on achieving FairtradeTown status. “This is a fantastic achievement. It isnot often that a town’s initial application is asstrong and comprehensive as Uttoxeter’sapplication. It’s great that the Steering Group haslaid out comprehensive and specific plans to takeFairtrade further in the area. It has been a greatpleasure to learn about all that has been achievedand the obvious impact your hard work has made.”

Fairtrade Uttoxeter Steering Group

Uttoxeter becomes aFairtrade Town!

Members of the steering group and supporterscelebrate Uttoxeter becoming a Fairtrade Townon the steps of the Town Hall

Janet Dean, Chair of Fairtrade Uttoxeter SteeringGroup and some of the delicious cakes served atthe coffee morning.

Dave Trenery Secretary of the FairtradeUttoxeter Steering Group displays the certificatethat makes Uttoxeter a Fairtrade town

Mayor of Uttoxeter Alan Noyes with Tesco Representative Hannah Eadie atthe Coffee Morning

Dave Trenery Secretary of the Fairtrade Uttoxeter Steering Group withTown Crier outside Uttoxeter Town Hall.


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JCB hasanswered theprayers of a

local parish churchby donating £6,000 to help provide a car park forworshippers and visitors. The contribution from the Bamford Charitable

Foundation is towards a £20,000 project for off-road parking for 24 vehicles at St Giles’ Church inCroxden near JCB’s World HQ at Rocester. The 19th Century Grade 2 listed church is

situated off a narrow country lane close to a tightbend with no provision for off-road parking. Thishas meant churchgoers - and local groups using thecommunity room within the church – having topark on the road or in nearby gateways, which wasunsafe and caused congestion, especially withpassing farm traffic. Stephanie Shevlin, from Winnothdale said: “I

come to services at St Giles’ Church every Sunday.The new car park will make things much easier,particularly for families and older parishioners. Asit’s a small church, finances are always tight, sowe’re very grateful for JCB’s donation.” Alf Hawksworth, who co-ordinated the

construction project on behalf of St Giles’ Churchsaid: “I have lived in Croxden for over ten yearsand have seen many times how difficult it can befor parishioners to park safely outside the churchwithout causing a hazard or congestion. The newcar park adjacent to the churchyard will make ahuge difference to churchgoers and visitors.” The construction of the car park was initially

made possible following the generous donation of

a 620 square metre plot of land by local farmerDavid Rowley, who acquired the field to the northof the churchyard two years ago. Michael Gent, of Great Gate, near Hollington,

said: “The donation of a plot of land adjacent toSt Giles’ Church was a turning point. It meant thatwe could get the project underway after many

years of looking for a solution. JCB’s generousdonation goes a long way towards meeting the costof the project.” The local community has also made ‘in kind’

donations (e.g. site clearance, weed killer, fencing)and the project’s main contractor is a local firm,Whitley Groundworks Ltd, based in Hollington.

JCB answers church’s prayers with£6,000 car park donation

JCB Attachments Director and General Manager Peter Jowett (left) presents the £6,000 cheque to MichaelGent, Stephanie Shevlin and Alf Hawksworth. Watching from the cab of a JCB 8026 mini excavator beingused on the project by Hollington-based Whitley Groundworks Ltd is The Venerable John B Hall.


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Let The Voice Be With Youby Les Humphries of Rocester

What a country we now live in! The PrimeMinister is trying to get the best deal outof Europe for Great Britain during Brexit

negotiations, North of the border we have apolitician doing her best to break up the UnitedKingdom, without a thought of the consequencesfor her own people, let alone the rest us. You knowsomething? Even in the aftermath of World WarTwo, but before all the Political Correctness andHuman Rights went haywire, life was so muchsimpler when my generation were young!Speaking of the young, who was it who said

“The children now love luxury. They have badmanners, contempt for authority; they showdisrespect for elders and love chatter in place ofexercise”? Sound familiar - well it was Socrateswriting about 2,500 years ago - no change therethen!As one who is organised by ladies both at home

and in my part time job, I have noticed howleading roles in Police series on the tele have nowswitched genders with the boys taking a bit of aback seat to the lasses. The prequel to PrimeSuspect set in 1973, the young Tennison is aprobationer PC but is much cleverer than all the

Sergeants and other senior officers with years ofexperience. The fantastic Line of Duty which has returned

for a fourth series, has always depicted the ladiesgetting one over on their male colleagues andalthough I really enjoy the series, men areportrayed as being a bit chauvinistic. Broadchurchhas a lady DS who has a meatier role than her DIand their senior officer is also female. Then wehave Vera who looks as though she would be moreat home on a farm than solving a crime! I’m notcomplaining, just making a point after growing upwith Dixon of Dock Green, ‘Z’ Cars and theSweeney, maybe I should get out more.....Uttoxeter Rugby Club’s season has now come

to an end, resulting in their highest ever finish inthe Midlands League. The boys have producedmagnificent home performances this season,beating highfliers Ludlow and more recently onPresident’s Day Burntwood. Unfortunately theiraway form was not as strong and this is where theclub will, I am sure, look at improving next seasonwhich promises to be one of the most exciting inthe club’s history. The 2nd XV have suffered through match

cancellations but it is great to see some of the greatformer players having a run out, providingexperience with the exciting young crop of playersat Uttoxeter Rugby Club.The Denstone Players are having a short break

before their AGM on Sunday the 21st of May,when amongst other things further productionsalready in the pipeline will be discussed.Meanwhile The Churnet Valley Male Voice Choirhave two Concerts arranged in June.The first one is in Wetley Rocks Church on the

20th of June, where they will be joining theyoungsters of St. Johns Community Choir who’sMusical Director is Justin Clarke, who is the sonof the Churnet Valley accompianist John Clarke. Iflast years concert is anything to go by it will be ahuge success.The following week the Choir are in Cheadle

where the pensioners will be providing theaudience with the Concert usually combining witha Bingo session.St Michaels Church Rocester raised a fantastic

£1000 from their Spring Fling on the 1st April, welldone to all concerned.

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There’s a distinctly family-friendly flavour tothe Acoustic Festival of Great Britain, whichreturns to Uttoxeter Racecourse on the first

weekend in June, writes Gary Hudson.The festival brings a bohemian vibe to the town

every year, its colourful camp followers brighteningthe byways around the racecourse. It’s as if thestragglers from the hippy generation havestaggered back to their spiritual home.It’s convenient, cosy and cheap, on a compact

site that’s easy to explore. You can dip a toe intoalternative lifestyles, without the embarrassmentof Woodstock-style skinny-dipping or the squalorof Glastonbury mud. And when the sun shines,there is no finer place to be.At a time when many small festivals have

decided to limit their event to once every two yearsor even gone bust, it’s a survivor, and many of uswould say it deserves the support of people in thetown for that reason alone. Use it or lose it.Stadium-filling veteransThe Friday evening schedule is one of the

strongest in years with an emphasis on 80s pop –just right to appeal to mums and dads, followedby a Saturday that features legends of acousticrock – targeting all the family. Friday’s headliner is Howard Jones, who is best

remembered in the UK for a string of 80s hits thatincluded What is Love and Like To Get To KnowYou Well, which has since appeared in Hollywoodmovies and in the best-selling video game seriesGrand Theft Auto.Indie-chart-topping, folk-punk band The Men

They Couldn’t Hang, whose political pop was afavourite of DJ John Peel in the eighties, provideraucous support on the main stage.A more modern political folk outfit, Seize the

Day, are on the main stage the following evening,before Saturday’s main attraction, FairportConvention. Folk-rock pioneersFairport are arguably the most influential folk

band in history. They pioneered English folk-rock,launched the illustrious careers of Sandy Denny,Richard Thompson and Ian Matthews ofMatthews Southern Comfort, and individualmembers played on classic albums by Al Stewartand Cat Stevens. They had hit albums and singlesin the 60s and 70s, including Denny’s Who KnowsWhere The Time Goes and Bob Dylan’s Si Tu DoisPartir. A suitable appetiser for Fairport is the revival

of Irish folk-rock pioneers Tir na nOg, whoeverybody seemed to have heard of in the 70s, evenif nobody knew how to spell their name. Pioneering guitar rock band Wishbone Ash

perform in one of the tents on Friday evening.Lovers of guitar playing should also enjoy ChantelMcGregor on the Saturday. She will also do a spotin the festival’s blues tent. Nell Bryden, who is aBBC Radio 2 presenter these days as well as asuccessful singer-songwriter, steps up to the mainstage after last year’s acclaimed performance in thereal ale tent.Personal favouritesSunday’s acts have a more recent pedigree, with

Anglo-American trio The Hoosiers and Sheffield’sBoy on a Dolphin likely to be the most popularattractions. I expect an enthusiastic cult followingfor the set by TV Smith, the gritty and charismaticformer frontman of punk band The Adverts. Saveme a place centre stage for that one, please. As apassionate performer, he rivals the eccentric JohnOtway and Ed Tudorpole, who also both appearthis year. But perhaps the biggest treat for most

occasional strummers like myself is a rare festivalappearance by 15-year-old Billy Watman, whoreached the final of Sky Arts’ Guitar Starcompetition. His stunning playing should inspireyoungsters and amaze their parents.

There are more comedians this year, with adedicated comedy tent each afternoon, and morechildren’s attractions too - a sign that theorganisers are doing their best to bring more localsinto the event. There are music workshops,including melodeon and ukulele sessions, story-telling tents and children’s fairground rides. Festival promoter Mike Stephens said: “I think

we are a cut above most other festivals. The site iscleaner and tidier than anywhere else. You simplydon’t see a lot of rubbish around.“I hope local people get that message, and for

those coming from further afield, camping for theweekend is really good value and you can parkright next to your tent. Where else can you dothat?”On the value for money question, the Acoustic

Festival’s day tickets cost less than a provincialtheatre show, and at under a hundred pounds, aweekend ticket is cheaper than a single concert bymost of today’s so-called superstars. It beatsdriving to London, paying £20 to park at the 02and then finding out the show does not evenfeature TV Smith.

Family focus for Acoustic FestivalBy Gary Hudson

Guitar prodigy Billy Watman – 15 years old andawesome

Beautiful Sound

The main stage at last year’s Acoustic Festival

Howard Jones, veteran of sellout shows worldwide, headlines on Friday night. Did someone sayacoustic?


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C.A.T.S. (Cheadle Amateur TheatricalSociety) is thrilled to be representing theNorth Staffs region at the Brewhouse

Theatre, Burton-on-Trent, on the 29th April, asrunners up in the preliminary rounds of the AllEngland Theatre Festival for One Act Plays,(AETF.)“Prison of the Mind” an original play in one

act, written and directed by C.A.T.S. memberCharlie Brown, will go forward to the Central AreaCentral Division Quarter Final and Charlie and allof C.A.T.S. are hoping that the play will progresseven further to the final in June.Charlie and “Prison of the Mind” won a host

of awards and was nominated in other categoriesat the Mitchell Arts Centre during the preliminarystages of the Festival and outshone other amateurdrama groups in the area last month.

The play, a psychological drama set in themind, starred Charlie and co-actor EmilyBosworth and featured Samantha Hughes-Johnson, Chloe Cheadle and George Bowyer as theoff stage voices. Emily won the Mr & Mrs G AJones Trophy for best actress under 21, whilstCharlie was nominated for best actress over 21.Emily, aged 17, was thrilled with her award. Emilyhas been with C.A.T.S. since her first performancein the chorus of “Dick Whittington” in 2011 andsince then she has blossomed in theatre techniqueand confidence.“Prison of the Mind” won the Charles Raine

Trophy for best original play and also the DavidLodge Memorial Trophy for originality andimagination. Charlie was also nominated for bestdirector, only narrowly missing out on thisaccolade. The play also received a Certificate ofMerit for 75 marks and over.There was only one mark between the overall

winner, “Green” performed by the Mow CopPlayers and C.A.T.S. as runners up. Charlie wasemotional after receiving the awards and wasextremely proud of everyone involved “I had afantastic cast and crew and I couldn’t have done itwithout them. I’m shell shocked, but highlyhonoured that I get to bring my play to the stageagain and hopefully raise the bar the next time we

perform it. The whole experience has beenfantastic and it’s not every day you get to bring adream to reality and learn a lot from it. It has givenme the final push of confidence to pursue a careerin theatre.”Last year, Charlie won the Scriptwriting

Festival with “Prison of the Mind” organized bythe North Staffs Festival Committee and wasdelighted when C.A.T.S. gave her the opportunityto showcase her writing, directing and actingtalents at the One Act Festival. Charlie was evenmore surprised when the adjudicator quoted herplay being as “A true piece of art.” It will also bethe first ever original play to progress from theNorth Staffordshire preliminaries to the quarterfinals.

Marge Stanley was equally proud of hertalented cast who performed the comedy “Jekyll inHiding” by Jim Sperink at the Festival. Dan EdeSmith was nominated for best supportingperformance as Major Bennington- Smythe andJack Doyle, a newcomer to C.A.T.S. wasnominated for best actor under 16 for his dual roleas Monkey and boy.C.A.T.S. third entry in the Festival was

“Typecast” an original play written and directedby Rick Hermolle for C.A.T.S. Youth. All the

actors in this entry were under 21 years. Althoughno nominations were given for the play, Rick wasvery proud of all the actors, all of whom had beenin the recent successful pantomime “Peter Pan.”“With only just over three weeks to learn theirlines from the last performance of the panto, toperforming at the Mitchell Arts Centre, everyonegave 100% effort and commitment to theperformance.”C.A.T.S. is proud of its history of nurturing new

and young talent both on and offstage. This roundof the One Act Play Festival, held over six days,included 19 plays from 10 different amateurtheatre groups. Of the 144 actors involved, only54 were over 21.Pauline Keates, chairperson of C.A.T.S., was

equally full of praise for everyone involved inC.A.T.S. “I am so proud of our Society and howdiverse and successful we have been over our lastperformances. I was extremely impressed with allthree entries in the Festival, especially with the verylimited time they have had between productions.We have such a great team and I know that we willall look forward to supporting, Charlie, Emily andthe rest of the cast and crew in the next stage ofthis very prestigious competition. Well done to outgreat team.”For further details about forthcoming

productions or joining C.A.T.S. visit the website atwww.cheadle.-cats.org.uk or call Stephen on01538 752138.

C.A.T.S. One Act Play Festival SuccessBy Carolyn Wood

Samantha Hughes-Johnson, Charlie Brown, Emily Bosworth and George Bowyer

Emily Bosworth with her award

Dan Ede and Marge Stanley


Local District and County Councillor Mark Deaville has shown hissupport for Cheadle Allotment Association by kindly allocating £500from his Staffordshire Local Community Fund towards projects at the

allotment site.The funds have been used to install drainage, create and surface paths and

complete the surfacing of the roadway which runs down the centre of the site.The association is very grateful for the support of Councillor Deaville in

helping to improve access around the site with all main paths now allowingaccess to all users including people with limited mobility.Future plans for the site include the creation of a community orchard and

a scheme to harvest and store rainwater from the roof of the community shed.Sustainability is one of the main aims of the site and these schemes will helptowards that.All of the projects at the site are completed through the hard work of its

members with monthly work parties as well as work being done day to dayby individual members. The progress made at the site over the past two yearshas been considerable and is testament to the strong community spirit thatexists between the allotment holders.

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RCM Recruitment Ltd are celebrating their 2nd anniversary on the8th April 2017. ey would like to thank local businesses for theircontinuous support and hope to gain more clients in the local areaover the next year.

is year has seen them add another member to the team, JoshGraham from Cheadle who previously worked withinmanufacturing. Josh’s knowledge will help to grow themanufacturing and engineering specialisms.

Ellia Hutchins celebrated her 1st year anniversary with thebusiness back in February and looks forward to many more aheadas she progresses further with RCM.

RCM Recruitment want to build long lasting relationships withlocal businesses by offering a quality and honest service. RCM offercompetitive fixed rates fees so that companies can afford to come tothem instead of placing their own adverts and having to spend thetime siing through CV’s and interviewing candidates themselves.ey offer a tailored recruitmentservice that involves writing adverts,sourcing candidates, arranginginterviews and providing feedback.is makes the clients recruitmentprocess much more time efficient.

e team at RCM have been overwhelmed with the amount oflocal businesses approaching them and welcome any further newenquiries from either businesses looking to use their services orcandidates looking for new opportunities.

Recruitment Director Emma Tideswell has said that “some ofour biggest clients have worked with me for over 5 years now andcontinue to give us more vacancies across various areas of theirbusiness. ey are happy with the quality and price of our service,we aim to place candidates that will stay and make a career with thebusinesses that we work with. e quality of our service andhonesty with our clients is key to our success and these are strongmorals of my own”

RCM plan to continue to recruit a further staff member later thisyear, to support the growth of the business and the repeat demandfrom clients. ey are keen for local candidates to get in touch ifthey are looking for a long -term rewarding career in recruitment.

e doors are always open foranyone to come in and find out moreabout our services or feel free to get intouch on the following contact details:

01538 528787/[email protected]

19 Chapel Street, Cheadle ST10 1DU • T: 01538 528787 • W: www.rcmrecruitment.co.uk

RCM Recruitment Ltd celebrates 2nd year of business.


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It sounded good to Owd Grandad Piggott. Perce Locketthad told him about a new group of people which hadopened in Dresden at The Church of the Good Shepherd.

The group was called ‘Dresden Good Companions’ andPerce had been to the first meeting and said that it wasworth going to.

‘It’s owrate!’, said Perce. ‘It goes from afe past ten tilltill afe past twelve…. Thee play bingo, thee ‘ave tea an’biscuits, thee sing a hymn, then thee ‘ave another game o’bingo…..its owrate ar tell thee!.... an’ it dunner cost nowt.’

‘Ar wouldner mind gooin’ ter that’, said Owd GrandadPiggott finding the prospect of free entry, free tea andbiscuits and free bingo extremely attractive.

‘Ar’ll put thee name dine next week’, said Perce. Butwhen Perce went the following week, he hit an obstacle.Owd Grandad Piggott’s reputation preceeded him and awail of protest went up at Dresden Good Companions,

‘Ar anna comin’ if ay’s comin’!’ shouted one venerablegentleman.

‘Nor may!’, shouted another, ‘Ay’s trouble that owd tupis... wherever ‘ee goes thees trouble…’ee threw WalterMellenship through a pub winder a fortnight ago…’

‘Sorry feyth’, apologised Perce. ‘It seems as a lot o’ folksin Dresden dunner lark thee’.

‘That’s nice inner it!’ flared Owd Grandad Piggott,‘Ev’rybody bloody ‘ates may... well ar’m gooin’ next weekan’ that’s ow thee is to it!

For the next week, Perce Lockett lived on pins andwhen Tuesday came round, the day the group met, hebottled it and stayed away. But Owd Grandad Piggottdidn’t. Quite a few of the group knew Owd GrandadPiggott by sight but when eveyone went into the meeting,no-one there looked remotely like him. One person though,was somewhat different than the rest. He was a scruffylooking individual whose head and face were completelyencased in bandages apart from a hole at the top, twoeyeholes at the front and a hideous gash where the fellow’smouth was. People gave him curious glances as he rammedbiscuits in the gap between the bandages and slurped loudlyas gulps of tea followed them down while a beady eyeglared out from the eyeholes. The kindly vicar looked on inconcern.

‘Er - Are you alright sir?’, he ventured which was arather stupid question because Owd Grandad Piggott’sappearance denoted that he was far from ‘alright’.

‘Eh - oh ar… Ar’ve gorrer disease - but ar’ll bay owratein a couple o’wick... it inner confectious’, yapped OwdGrandad Piggott.

Across the room, a man named Frank Deakin lookedon scornfully.

‘Ah know who that is!’, he growled. ‘That’s OwdPiggott that is! Ah con tell be th’shape on ‘im. Thees ony ‘imas ud ‘ave the brass neck fer do that!

‘What thee goin’ do abite it?’ventured someone.

‘Ah’ll show thee!’ said Frank Deakin. He rose from hischair and as the figure in the bandages chomped andslurped and glared, he slipped into the kitchen and withina few minutes, came back holding a basin full of water, thenhe crept silently behind the bandaged man and fired thebasin of water through the hole in the top of his head. Therewas a sudden wild gargle, two jets of water shot out of theeyeholes, followed by one from the mouth hole and thefigure erupted into a maelstrom of arms, legs and filthylanguage. As word went round as to the identity of thebandage clad individual, great howls of mirth broke out andOwd Grandad Piggott feverishly tore the bandages off hisgrizzled face. As he did so, droplets of water dripped off thewild spikes of hair that surrounded his countenance.

‘Whoooosh…. wurrrrrgh…. grooooogh…’, hespluttered, then he turned to face rhe perpetrator of the act.

‘Start runnin’ Deakin!’, growled Owd Grandad Piggottand Frank Deakin moved fairly rapidly for an ageing man,but he didn’t move as fast as Owd Grandad Piggott. Hefloored Frank Deakin with a rugby tackle by the exit doorand the two of them rolled over in the vestibule, FrankDeakin yelling wildly as Owd Grandad Piggott belabouredhim.

‘Oh dear me!’ howled the vicar ‘Whatever!! ... come -come you chaps... this is a church…. I say - stop hitting MrDeakin with that chair leg… Oh, you absolute hooligan!’

Pandemonium reigned for half an hour as OwdGrandad Piggott was wrestled off Frank Deakin andthrown out into the street, shouting and yelling what he wasgoing to do to Frank Deakin who was desperately trying toextract the chair leg from his shirt neck. Eventually, a policecar stopped and Owd Grandad Piggott and Frank Deakinwere both arrested and charged with aggravated violenceand causing a breach of the peace.

Dresden Good Companions disbanded for a few weeksto let things settle down then it re-opened with a provisothat members had to live within a one mile radius whichexcluded Owd Grandad Piggott and, unfortunately, PerceLockett.

Owd Grandad Piggott’s pride was severely dented bythe episode and he made no mention about going again.The vicar at the Church of the Good Shepherd was carefulto vet anyone turning up at a meeting wearing facialbandages.

Povey’s PeopleBy Radio Stoke’s Owd Grandad Piggott

Each month Radio Stoke’s Owd Grandad Piggott (Alan Povey) will write a unique insight into ourlocal life and its many characters.His infectious, humorous slant on people provides a different and unusual mix which hopefully willbring a warm smile to the faces of our readers.

This month: Dresden Good Companions

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As we approach the twelve month run-up to the return of Cheadle Carnival,various events are planned to raise much-needed funds to bring back thecarnival with the kind of popularity it had in its heyday, with the emphasis

on spectacle. We intend to bring back the procession which was at the heart ofthe festivities, with its society floats, marching bands and dance troupes. This willrequire a large budget, and so we are launching a series of charity events with thatin mind.

First up will be the inaugural Cheadle Carnival Karting Cup, to be held atFastlane Karting, one of the UK’s premiere indoor kart tracks, on the 14th May.Teams of four will race 200cc karts for 2.5 hours, non-stop. Contact Jason07886930886 or Tim 07812356934 for more details.

A Motown Night will be held at Cheadle Guild Hall on Saturday 20th May from7:30 until 1:00 am, featuring DJ Chris Williams, formerly resident DJ at theHighwayman and Top Rank. Tickets are available from The Huntsman in Cheadle,Wrights and Airfawn Garage. 07919164404 for more information.

Future planned events include a clay pigeon shooting competition, and adownhill Soapbox challenge, to be held in Cheadle in the summer. Many otherevents are in the early planning stages, many local businesses have pledged theirsupport, and we are also running our own lottery, the 500 club, which is growingin popularity. The Carnival Committee members can be seen at all public showcaseevents over the next few months, where we will be happy to chat about what weare trying to do or just sign you up for the 500, or sell tickets for our forthcomingevents. We are always looking for new members, so if you feel you have talentsthat would be useful to us, come and speak to us or find us on Facebook (Searchfor Cheadle Carnival) or follow us on Twitter @cheadlecarnival

Cheadle Carnival will be held on the 6th, 7th and 8th July 2018, with live musicon Friday and Saturday nights. The procession will be held, as it always was, fromSaturday lunchtime, with the main activities on the Rec from Saturday afternoonand on into Sunday.

Cheadle Carnival 2018 Diary

The Friends OfCheckley ChurchInvite you to our

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Betfred Midlands

Chase The Spud smashed his rivals to scoop the BetfredMidlands Grand National at a packed UttoxeterRacecourse.

The gruelling 4 miles 2 furlongs steeplechase brought thebest out of the Fergal O’Brien trained gelding but halfwaythrough the prestigious race jockey Paddy Brennan admittedhe thought his mount had had his chips!

“For three-quarters of the way I didn’t think I was going owin but I kept it in my mind there might only be a fewfinishers and I saved the race to the end.”

Thousands of horse racing enthusiasts flocked toUttoxeter Racecourse which looked resplendent and in tip-top condition.

The Betfred Midlands Grand National is now one of thecountry’s premier horse races with a £125,000 prize fund andit is tremendous credit to Uttoxeter Racecourse ExecutiveDirector David MacDonald and his team for creating an eventour local community can be so proud of.

Photography: Nigel Kirby


National Day at

UttoxeterRacecourse

By Nigel Titterton

Celebrations rang out around Uttoxeter Racecourse on Betfred MidlandsNational Day after a local owner and trainer won the Betfred MaresHandicap Hurdle.

9 year old Flobury, owned and bred by John Cresswell, of Oakamoor, andtrained by Barry Leavy, of Forsbrook, looked to be cruising to victory withconsumate ease under Champion National Hunt jockey Richard Johnson, butcoming to the last hurdle the mare thought about snatching defeat from thejaws of victory!

A few strides from the hurdle, Flobury slowed right down and came to avirtual stop until the master jockey made her mind up for her and helped hischarge jump the hurdle before he galvanised the partnership to get back intogear to win the race.

There were emotional scenes in the winning enclosure as Mr Cresswell’sfamily and friends accepted the victor’s trophy with Flobury receiving muchdeserved pats on the back.

The crowd warmed to the local owner and trainer’s success and it wasgreat to see the smiling faces of winning connections – it signified just howfantastic horse racing is and that any winner is so so special.

Barry Leavy has proved to be an excellent local trainer and anyone thinkingabout getting into racehorse ownership should contact him on 07540 806915– you won’t be disappointed.

As for owner John Cresswell, he has spent a lifetime involved with NationalHunt racing, enjoying many years throughout that time. It is extra special thata horse which John bred won at his local track and it couldn’t have happenedto a nicer chap – many congratulations Barry and John!

Keep your eye out for American, trained by Harry Fry - he won the BetfredTV Novices Handicap Chase in good style!

Flobury in full flight

Flobury jumps the last hurdle, thanks to the urgings of Champion JockeyRichard Johnson!

Celebration time for our local winning connections of Flobury.

Flobury’s winning owner/breeder John Cresswell of Oakamoor andForsbrook trainer Barry Leavy.

With three different rooms we can accommodate small,medium and larger type events, with catering services asrequired including buffets, dinners, etc. We also cater forbusiness meetings with refreshments to suit. Projectionequipment is also available for hire if required.We also have three full size snooker tables, two pooltables, Sky Sports, children’s play area, sports courts andother sub-section activities. Check out our website -www.jcb-lakeside-club.co.ukWhy not give us a call, or better still, visit the LakesideClub and see what we have to offer.Associate membership is also available for those who wishto use the Lakeside facilities on a regular basis. Contactthe club for details.

JCB Lakeside Club, Hollington Road, Rocester, Staffs ST14 5HY

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Your home is your castle. You should keepit clean and safe by only allowing over yourthreshold, a tradesman that you can trust

& has a background to be proud of. It is common knowledge that the Royal

Marines, proud wearers of the coveted GreenBerets, are a force to be reckoned with whichmeans the days of dirty carpets and upholstery arenumbered. The Commando ethos, held close toevery Commando’s heart are: courage,determination, unselfishness, cheerfulness in theface of adversity. This means that you can callZero Dry Time safe in the knowledge that the jobwill be done well, cost effectively and with theminimum of fuss. ‘I am rightly proud of my military background

and I put to work the Commando ethos.’ said Ian55 years from Barlaston near Stone. ‘ My work issecond to none, and each time I take a job on, I’llnot leave until it can’t get any cleaner,’ continuesIan. ‘I am acutely aware of the notion of being in

someone’s home and treat it accordingly. I focuson the job in hand until it is completed. My resultsare constant and exceptional with no drying time,it is walk dry almost immediately.’ Insists IanSo let the draw bridge down and call a carpet

cleaner you can trust. Ian, the Commando CarpetCleaner from Barlaston for a clean castle.

Attenshun!! Why you shouldinsist on a retiredRoyal MarinesCommando to cleanyour carpets

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Down on the Farmby Angela Sargent

April brings lots of work, sowing ofspring crops (and the ground prep thatgoes with it), turn out, if not already

done, of cattle and lambs and the fertilizingof grass and crops.The longer daylight hours are more

helpful if carrying out jobs in the fields andhedge-laying and ditch work is finished fornow and doing their jobs.Ditches contribute to ecosystems as well

as regulating water flow- they provide foodresources in what might be dry, crop areas,help retain nutrients and form a networkwithin the wider landscape. Often tallvegetation grows on the banks, such asmeadowsweet and Rosebay Willowherb andit provides food and habitation for farmlandbirds and insects.

Some ditches may contain water all thetime, others only during winter or after heavyrainfall and under the current CAP rules,special care has to be taken near ditches andwatercourses, especially if the field is largerthan 2 hectares, when spraying.One of the farming issues at the moment

is the threat of banning Glyphosate- a verysuccessful herbicide. This has been classed inthe same risk group as burning wood, hightemperature frying (look out, you chipaddicts) or working as a hairdresser, however,don’t seem to see these banned.If farmer aren’t allowed to use it, it maybe

means mechanical tillage/hoeing will have tobe used to kill weeds or stronger/riskierchemicals in crops- a more definite risk toground nesting birds and mammals.Farmers are under very strong regulation

when it comes to spraying and 98% of what

you see coming out of the sprayer is water-again ditches must be avoided!Moths particularly like to fly along these

generally straight highways, out of sight andreach of predators and this month there maybe a few of the day-flying moths about, suchas the ‘powdered quaker’.Small mammals also use ditches to

commute to other areas and ours will containfrogspawn in certain places this month.Field drains, subsurface clay or tile pipes,

or more modern plastic varieties, empty intoditches, which helps to keep the field fromgetting boggy. Drains remove excess waterand can be used to control the water tableand this helps the productivity of the field.Sometimes they need rodding to keep clear. Grass is so important to dairy/ livestock

farmers- it is the food for the present and thefuture, it needs to be looked after. The betterthe soil, the better plants grow and the moreabundant the soil fauna and this all helpsproduction. Heavy, sodden soil does not growplants easily.Hopefully the weather is warm and our

later lambs can go straight out into the fields,making life much easier, but we will bemoving our sheep around to take advantageof the fast growing grass. This will give Tedthe exercise and work he needs, allowing himto stretch his legs (but he will have to becareful when moving ewes with their lambs-they will turn on him if he gets too close!).

Angela Sargent www.baldfields-farm.co.uk and follow uson twitter (@bythebarn)andfacebook(baldfields farm) too!

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Have I got news for youby Uttoxeter’s Gary Hudson, Former BBC Chief News Reporter

Gary Hudson is a member of Uttoxeter LionsClub and a former BBC Chief News Reporter.

Support local live music – now here’syour chance

Support local live music. That’s been a recurrenttheme for all the years I’ve been writing thiscolumn. That and appeals for you to supportUttoxeter Lions’ charitable events. Plus a fewstories about encounters with famous people andthe occasional rant. But for now let’s return to my top topic, as

determined by an automated count of all the keywords in all the thousands I’ve written over theyears. Or more accurately, an imaginary count asdetermined in my rather fanciful imagination.Today I’m saying look at the value for money

represented by two local festivals just a week apart.The first is the Acoustic Festival of Great Britainat the racecourse, which I’ve written aboutpreviously in these pages. Suffice to say that youwon’t get a better variety of live musicians andfamily friendly entertainment at a similar priceanywhere within a hundred miles of here. The second is the Uttoxeter Beer and Cider

Festival at Oldfields Sports and Social Club on thesecond weekend in June. Apart from dozens of realales, a range of ciders (and - if you absolutely must- the odd lager or two) there’s music throughoutthe day on Saturday and a music night on theFriday evening, 9th June.I don’t know anybody who has ever

complained about the music mix on the Saturdayat the beer festival and once again we have thesame crowd-pleasing covers band Upfrontheadlining and bringing the event to an all singingand dancing climax. The Friday night should be even better this year

and represents phenomenal value for money at just£2.50 admission. But of course the smart thing todo is to buy a £7.50 beer festival ticket and get inon the Friday for free.

Simply the best – by invitation only

The last few years we’ve called the Friday anopen mic event, and because of the number ofpeople it attracts and the size of the marquee, we’vebeen confident in calling it Staffordshire’s BiggestOpen Mic Night. That’s undoubtedly true, but theidea that anyone can perform and therefore that

it’s somehow all about the performers might putone or two of you off.So this year performances are by invitation

only, with a view to giving audiences a thoroughlyentertaining night. If you want to see a selection ofsome of the best, mostly acoustic, talent aroundthis area – and enjoy a drink at the same time – it’sthe place to be. I’ve already been promised by a number of very

fine professional and semi-professional musiciansthat they’ll be there. Reputations will be left at thedoor, because the aim of the event is to entertainthe crowd and raise money for charity –specifically the successful prostate cancer screeningprogramme that we run annually at the racecourse.Past experience suggests that singers who are

used to performing at larger festivals enjoy playingin the intimacy of a beer tent, while those whomostly play pub gigs revel in the opportunity tostep up onto the bigger stage with a larger crowd.One thing is for certain. There will be a wide

variety of musical styles on show, even if it doestend to reflect my own taste. If I have to defend myjudgement, I’ll just claim that I’ve got to have someperks for going around asking people to donatetheir valuable services. And anyway, I think thatapart from my unnatural (or perhaps perfectly

understandable) obsession with Bruce Springsteen- who I can guarantee will not be performing - mytaste is pretty eclectic.

An award winning choir - withoutauditions

Indeed, some of the best music I’ve enjoyed livein recent weeks has been performances byUttoxeter’s own Heath Chorus. They recently camesecond by just one point earning an honours-classmark (in other words they were really bloodygood) in the adult choir category at the Newcastleunder Lyme Festival of Music, Speech and Drama.Marshalled into shape by the only professional

musician amongst them, Helen Clayton, they are anon-audition choir. That means none of the dozensof women who produce such exquisite harmonieshave been chosen for their singing voices. Anyonecan join, and yet the result is often comparable toanything you would see on TV or in the kind ofconcert hall where grubby little oiks like me are notusually welcome.I’m considering asking Ms Clayton to bring

along a few of the women to the Beer Festival. Twoor three numbers from them should shake thingsup a little bit. Watch this space.

Friday night at Uttoxeter Beer and Cider Festival. This is what happens when you have a big stage.


Brooklyn Blackout Cake

My three children and their partners all cameto see me for Mothers Day which was a real treat.With life being so busy for everyone, theseoccasions are few and far between. So I had tomake a special cake for the occasion. The BrooklynBlackout cake is an American classic. It is a typeof Devils Food chocolate cake which was createdby Ebinger Baking Company in Brooklyn, NewYork. I made it a little different by filling the cakewith a white chocolate custard. It is a little bitmore complicated to make, but well worth it.

You will need:-175g unsalted butter100g golden caster sugar300g light muscovado sugar1 tsp vanilla extract275g plain flour1 tbsp baking powder50g cocoa powder1/4 tsp salt150ml strong coffee150ml milk5 egg whites

White chocolate custard -5 egg yolks75g caster sugar25g cornflour250ml milk75g white chocolate

Chocolate Frosting -100g unsalted butter150g good quality dark chocolate 70% cocoa1 tbsp honey120ml double cream

First thing you will need to make is the custardfilling. Put the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour intoa bowl and whisk until light and creamy. Next ina pan, heat the milk until just coming to asimmering point, then remove from the heat andpour onto the egg yolk mix, whisking to combine.Pour the custard back into the pan and whiskconstantly until it has thickened and has a smoothconsistency. Add the finely chopped whitechocolate and blend together. Pour into a bowland cover with clingfilm then chill for at least acouple of hours.Grease and line 3 x 20cm cake tins and heat

your oven to 160˚C fan. In a large bowl creamtogether the sugar and butter until light and fluffy,then add the vanilla. In a separate bowl, sievetogether the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder.Pour together the coffee and milk in a jug. Lightlybeat together your egg whites and add to the butterand sugar mixture a little at a time until fullycombined. Add the flour mixture to the cakebatter in three additions, alternating with thecoffee mixture. Divide the cake batter equallybetween the three tins and bake for approximately30 - 35 mins, until the cakes spring back to thetouch. Allow to cool in the tins for 10 mins before

turning out onto a wire rack.To make the frosting, put the chocolate, butter

and honey into a heatproof bowl set over a pan ofsimmering water, stirring until fully melted.Remove from the heat and pour in the cream.Cool until the mixture has thickened to aspreadable consistency.To assemble your cake, use a serrated knife to

slice a thin layer of sponge from the top of eachcake, giving flat even layers. Crumble the offcutsinto crumbs. Put one cake onto a serving plate andtop with half of the white chocolate custard, thenrepeat with the second cake and custard, toppingwith the final cake layer. To finish, spread thefrosting over the top and sides of the cake andpress the cake crumbs over the whole cake, topand sides.This cake is beautifully moist and one of my

favourite chocolate cakes. It was a great success!

Karen’s Cake Cornerby Karen Hill

Tean Road, Cheadle, Stoke-On-Trent ST10 1LW Call 01538 753196

Hungry Horse Master Potter


Lank’s LoreBy Steve ‘Lank’ LavinGolden Memories from one of Uttoxeter’s Favourite Characters

For the benefit of the readers of my column inthis fine community magazine who run theirown businesses I must recall this month a

little tale that was told to me only last week whilstit is fresh in my mind which you might findamusing. It concerns the service industry. As youpossibly all know especially if you are in themanufacturing industry that the upkeep andservicing of equipment needed to run your businesssuccessfully can be very, very expensive, butunfortunately it is a necessity.During a visit to my premises a few days ago

by an engineer to do a urgent repair to one of mypresses I happen to enquire as to, whether or nothe was busy or not. “Busy he said, I am rushed offmy feet, but I would cope better if I did not gethassled by nutcases”. “What do you mean exactlyI inquired”.Well he said last week I had a phone call from

an irate client who had purchased some equipmentfrom me who informed me that the computer thatran it would not operate. I explained to him thatrather than come down to his premises and workon site to save him an expensive call out fee that Iwould talk him through a list of repair operationsover the phone to try and rectify the problemwhich he gladly agreed to.I started the list of diagnostic questions firstly

asking him if he could see if a small, green flashinglight at the rear of the machine was working towhich his client replied, it is to dark behind themachine to see. I then and asked him if he couldget hold of a torch to assist him. After a fewmoments leaving me hanging on the phone hecame back on and informed that me that he hadfound a torch but could not detect any sign of aflashing green light. After a series of furtherinvestigative operations which all drew a totalblank and because of the urgency to get hismachine back up and running I informed him thatI would have no alternative but to come down atgreat expense and survey the matter on site.Under duress because of the cost of such a visit

he hummed and hawed but eventually agreed thatit was really the only option to get up and runningagain.My engineer friend dropped everything he was

doing, re-scheduled his calls for the day and startedoff travelling for the best part of an hour to hisclients premises to find them on arrival in totaldarkness. His client was standing at the door withhis head in his hands moaning as to when he couldget his equipment back in action as the breakdownhad caused him untold cost and aggravation to hiscustomers.He asked him why his premises were in

darkness and he repied that local contractors hadbeen working in the vicinity and severed a cablewhich was causing, until it was repaired, atemporary power cut. “Would that be anything todo with my computer not working” he enquired.I will not tell you what my engineer friend said

to him!!You couldn’t make it up could you?Still stopping with the service industry I had an

experience a few years ago that I have neverforgotten in a hurry.On one occasion I was thumbing through one

of the trade magazines I purchase regularly andespied a bit of equipment for sale that I was reallyinterested in.I contacted the seller and discussed the matter

with him, negotiated a price that was quiteagreeable to us both and he invited me down to hisworks based in Hackney in London to do a dealwith him.

I duly hired a suitable vehicle and 2 mates ofmine to assist me in bringing the equipment backup to Uttoxeter to install it in my premises.On arriving down London we were greeted by

the seller who was a perfect host and gentleman.He demonstrated and explained the capabilities ofthe equipment and answered any of my delvingquestions in full about it with ease.I didn’t even doubt the chaps integrity at all,

even though I noticed that he was wearing a firearm underneath his suit jacket. Even when Iquizzed him about that he said that in that area ofLondon it was the normal thing to do with all thethieves, gangsters, ruffians and rogues about andhe carried it only only for his own personalprotection and also as a deterrent if ever the needarose.After I had finished shaking and managed to

close my mouth I loaded up the equipment, settledup with him in cash, shook his hand, said mygoodbyes, wished him all the best and set off backto the serenity of Uttoxeter.The equipment I purchased was a snip in price

and it worked a treat and did everything I requiredof it until a few weeks later it broke down. Icontacted the seller who apologisedmost profusely for my problems butimmediately put me in touch with anengineer who was an expert in this typeof kit who was based south of the riverThames in London. On contacting thisengineer and discussing my problem heinformed me that he could repair it buthe would require £1000 to come up tofix it because of the travelling anddistance time from his premises.I said to him that that kind of fee

was beyond my budget and did heknow of anyone else nearer to mylocation that might be able to assist meand possibly be able to bring the feedown to more of a level that I couldafford.Luckily he did and he put me touch

with a colleague of his who covered theMidlands area who was based only 30miles away from me who was quitecapable of doing the same job.I contacted this engineer, explained

my dilemma and he informed me thathe knew exactly what was causing mybreakdown trouble and agreed a figureof £500 pounds to come down and fixit for me.This sum was more affordable to me

than the price of £1000 I was quotedearlier so I gave him the task.

He arrived at my premises in no time at all, hetook off his jacket, put on his overall on andstarted to look over the machine. After taking offa side panel he reached inside his jacket pocket andproduced a little booklet and suddenly stoppedstill, I asked him what the problem was. He askedme from where I had purchased it from, I told himand he then informed me that the he used to workfor the company that manufactured this equipmentand the little handbook contained all the serialnumbers of the machines manufactured and thiswas one on the hot list, it had been stolen from acompany in Switzerland.After coming out with a stream of expletives

and considering all the consequences of receivingstolen property I said ok but can you still fix it?Yes I can he replied but it will cost you £700.00

which will include keeping my mouth shut.I deliberated and finally after considering all the

implications of reporting it coupled with the hugemonetary losses which would be incurred I agreedhis terms and he duly repaired it and went on hisway.I do admit though whether or not my decision

was right or wrong I kept to an old maxim quotedto me by and old friend of mine who used to say“A man with moral courage does what he believesto be right, regardless of personal consequencesand the opinion of others” .I did try and contact the seller of the equipment

after the event but to no avail and I rememberedhim carrying a firearm so decided not to pursue thematter any further and let it drop.The engineer who repaired it for me apart from

his downright cheek was a top man so I kept intouch with him and he serviced the equipment forme for many years after until I replaced it andactually he became a good friend.I hope you have enjoyed my small insight into

my experiences of the service industry and willhopefully be with you all next month.Till then, all the best to you all.Lank


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Cheadle Arts Festival drew to a close with anEvening of Nostalgia staged by Cheadle U3A.The Festival has been excellent, all events well

supported and a wealth of talent displayed.The Cre-8 Day and The Showcase really showed

the diversity and range of art and craft in the townand surrounding area.The High Street Gallery – a display unique to

Cheadle was as ever well worth a wander along theHigh Street. The shops and retailers had pulled outall the stops and accommodated the artists’ paintingsin their windows in an imaginative way and thewinners of the Shop window Competition, judged bythe Town Mayor Phil Routledge and his wife, wereReborn Interiors and The New Window shop.Certificates were presented and our thanks go to allthe shops for their support.

The Tea Dance staged by the Cheadle FlowerClub was well attended and in the capable hands (orshould it be “feet”) of Mr Brian Stoddard. It was amost enjoyable occasion.The Jazz Night on Saturday 11th March was

excellent. Not one band but two bands entertainedus. Lee and Friends and the Wabash Jazzmen filledthe Guild Hall with foot-tapping joy. Together withthe refreshments on both Saturday events the DonnaLouise Hospice was supported to the tune of £800 !The Cheadle Community Band entertained on

both Saturday mornings whilst the crafters and theartists displayed their work. The Reading Cafe was interesting and worth

building on. People came forward with their poemsand stories to read for the audience. This could wellgrow !

Sunday 19th March saw the Alton Handbellringers and the U3A Ukelele band produce anexcellent concert for a very appreciative audience.Again the Donna Louise Hospice wasThe beneficiary and cheques for the amounts

raised will be presented to a representative of theHospice shortly.Unfortunately the “Cheadle’s Got Talent” event

on Saturday evening 18th March had to be cancelledthrough lack of support, but all the rest more thanmade up for it.Next Year Cheadle Arts Festival will be held over

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My Monthly Musingsby Cecily Cowans of Cheadle

If you are a regular reader, you will know thatone of my favourite pastimes is walking my dog.On some days, like yesterday, it is a real pleasure.

The sun was shining and giving off considerablewarmth. The crocuses were in full bloom in theirvarious shades of lilac, purple and yellow. Myfavourite golden daffodils were trumpeting theseason of Spring in defiance of the disappointingperformance of Wales in the Six NationsChampionship. However, it is not such a pleasureon days, like today, when it was wet and cold. TheSpring flowers looked as bedraggled as yours trulyand my canine best friend. Since I have been walking my four-legged

companion around the highways and byways (okay,too much poetic license) the pavements and pathsof Cheadle, I have learned that people fall into twocategories: walkers and dog walkers. The former,

always well dressed in sturdy boots, waterproofjackets and often with a rucksack on his or herback. The latter in any old jacket or pair of shoesgrabbed at the back door such is the enthusiasm ofthe household pet for yet another walk. Never thefront door as no one wants to trail mud or any otherunmentionable brown substance through the house.The walkers rarely acknowledge me and never mydog. They are intent in their pursuit of eating up themiles and reaching the carefully mapped outdestination. The dog walkers always stop to chat. Usually the chat is to or about the dogs and,

even though I know the names of most of theanimals, I rarely know the name of the humans. Ioften do not recognise the owners unless they areattached to a lead. To use an expression used by thewinners of radio competitions, I would like to givea ‘shout out’ to Charlie, Archie, Marley, Harley,

Bobby and Barney. This reads like a list of the namesof the children of the lead singer of The RollingStones! Also, Bentley, Cassie, Ruby, Max, Ben, Kiwi,Dora and Rosie. And to anyone else, or, in this case,any other dog, who knows me, to use yet anotherquote from radio competition contestants. I finish by highlighting an activity in which a

small percentage of the dog walking population ofour town engage. These people buy small blackplastic bags. They fill them once their dog has ‘donehis/her business’. Then they drop the bags on theground or hang them over the branch of a tree orleave them dangling from a stile or hedge. Why? Ifyou make the effort to buy the bags in the firstplace, why not deposit them in one of the many binsin and around Cheadle? No wonder the walkersignore us dog walkers. Enjoy the Spring.

Ginny’s Community Cornerby Ginny Gibson of Uttoxeter

Have you ever sat in your home and wishedthe phone would ring, cos you fancy a chatwith someone who cares about you?

Tonight my husband is away on business and I satwatching the TV and thought, go on phone ring, Ifancy hearing from someone, but it didn’t and thesense of loneliness was overwhelming for a fewmoments, but he will be back tomorrow and lifewill go on. But how about if that feeling of isolation was

life, you are in your home and no one calls and theloneliness is not a fleeting moment, but hours andhours. Loneliness is the silent issue in our modernhigh tech life, research tells us that loneliness anda lack of social interaction can be as bad for yourhealth as smoking 15 cigarettes a day; in additionmore than half (51%) of all people aged 75+ livealone in the UK and nearly a fifth of those peoplespend zero hours with other people on a typicalday. Years ago people used to write letters and

telephone friends for a catch up, but nowFacebook and Snap Chat have taken over so realcommunication has been lost. Because I movedhere from another town, most of my friends are inother places and the telephone is a vital tool for meto keep in touch and still feel a part of a socialscheme, my husband and I also do voluntary workand that has allowed us to feel part of a socialnetwork, but that all takes time. They say that ifyou move to a new place then it can take up to 10years to feel accepted and part of the community. But what happens if you are getting older and

your friends are not in another town, but in facthave died, because let’s face it, that will happen toall of us at some point. What do you do then, doyou sit in your home knowing that the phone willnot ring or do you look forward to a call fromCareline.Careline is a charity that calls people to find out

how they are. They call as regularly as someonewould like and have a chat about their week. It issuch a simple solution to isolation, but extremelyeffective one.The service was set up 1st September 1997 and

now has a team of 80 volunteers who call their

members, daily or as regularly as they wish to becalled. Calls take place every day of the yearincluding weekends and bank holidays. Careline currently makes around 400 calls a

week, which equates to over 19,000 calls a year.They call the people that they speak to on the

telephone, Members, as they are a member of theCareline community once they join and they canbe an individual or couples who experiencedifficulty going out without help, feel lonely orisolated. Calls are also made to the recentlybereaved or recently discharged from hospital orto a carer who needs someone else to talk to. Thecalls offer them friendship and greater socialinteraction.Jane Fulham, the Manager explains that “The

calls also have another important role, in that theyact as a safety net for our members ensuring thatall is well and raising awareness of problems thatmay be occurring before a situation reaches crisispoint. Follow up telephone calls are made to familymembers or other contacts should we not be ableto reach someone during a calling session.”The calls are made to members during three

time slots sessions; they can choose when to receivethe call, either in the morning between 10am andnoon or at mid-day between noon and 2pm or inthe afternoon, between 2pm-4pm.If you know someone who would benefit from

getting a weekly call, then youcan refer them via the Carelinewebsitewww.carelinecalling.org.uk orby calling 01335 210353.But what about volunteering

for the charity, Jo Bradley toldme, “We are always looking fornew people of all ages to joinour team of volunteers! We havea loyal group of over 80volunteers, many of whom havebeen supporting Careline foryears. The majority ofbefriending calls are made fromour office in St Oswald’sHospital, Ashbourne, although

some volunteers make calls from their own homes.So if someone is less mobile but feels that theywould like to become a volunteer please do get intouch.”“Their involvement can be as little as 2 hours

per month or on a weekly or fortnightly basis,whatever best fits with their diary. Individualtraining is provided and they will receive on-goingsupport from the Careline Manager. Volunteershave the opportunity to get together at a variety ofsocial, fundraising and training events throughoutthe year too, so they feel supported and caredabout.”As Careline will be 20 years old this year, a

celebration will be taking place for all the ex-members and volunteers in June 2017, watch outfor further details on the website. As with any organisation, they always need

funding and have a special Virgin Money Givingpage that if you can make a donation, then pleasedo at uk.virginmoneygiving.com/giving/My telephone has just rung; a friend was just

checking up that I was ok on my own, because myhusband is away. It was only a 5 min call, but itmade all the difference to my evening. So if youeither want to receive the calls or become avolunteer to make the calls, do get in touch withCareline on 01335 210353 and break free of theisolation, it will change your life, I promise.

The good old daysCan you identify the faces and locations?

See Page 50 for some of the names to the faces.

URGENTLY REQUIRED

If you have any photos that you think may be of interest to ourreaders of this page please feel free to drop them in to Lavinsprinters in High Street, Uttoxeter who will scan them while you waitand let you have them straight back or email them in jpg format tothem at:[email protected]

Please describe the people or event featured and approx year whenthe picture was taken along with your name and location so that wecan give you the recognition for supplying them.

Thank you.

3

2

1


5

Photo Credits - 1: Dawn French, Uttoxeter. 2: Steve Lavin, Uttoxeter. 3: Michael Smith, Uttoxeter. 4: Marcia Titterton, Cheadle. 5: Phil Overton, Uttoxeter.

4



By Nigel Titterton

Awhole community has beenrocked by the death of one ofCheadle’s favourite sons,

Peter Chell Junior, at the age of 45years old.One of the nicest and hard

working men you would ever wantto meet, Peter lost his life to cancerafter being diagnosed with theterminal disease a month earlier.The news has shocked not only

Cheadle but all parts ofStaffordshire as ‘Chelly,’ as he wasaffectionately known, was one of thefinest darts players in the county,throwing arrows in hundreds ofpubs throughout a huge area.It was even more devastating

because Peter had met the dream girlof his life, Clare Lovatt, only 18months ago and the couple werehead over heels in love before his shatteringpassing away.Peter’s Mum Beryl and Dad Peter Senior,

along with brother Shaun and sistersMargaret and Caroline and Clare were byPeter’s side throughout his illness. They werethere for him all the way and were rocks untilthe final moments of his life.Peter was born and bred in Cheadle,

attending Cheadle Primary School and theHigh School and hundreds of local peoplewill have come into contact with him as apainter and decorator, and a damn good onetoo.After leaving school he served a two year

apprenticeship with Longton-based AlanPoxon before passing his City & Guilds inPainting and Decorating and starting his ownbusiness which realised many years ofhappiness and hard work.

Beryl said: “Peter never stopped working,he would work seven days a week some of thetime and was very conscientious in his work.He really loved it and he was proud of thework he did.”Throughout his work, Peter was massively

respected by all his customers and manyregarded him as a friend and by some as apart of their families. He carried out his workin astonishing speed and excellence whichwas at times remarkable.Known throughout the darts circuit as

‘Chelly,’ Peter played 70 times forStaffordshire after picking up the darts bugfrom dad Peter Snr who was also a top notchthrower.Peter Snr said: “I took him to Cheadle

Social Club as a youngster and he loved dartsso I took him under my wing and to the teamI played for. The first team we played for in

The Super League was The Anchor,Tean, where we lost the first 8matches but once he won his firstmatch things looked up and he gainedconfidence and he never lookedback.”The last team Peter Jnr played

darts for was The Lamplighter inCheadle and on the following night ofPeter’s death, a minute’s silence wasemotionally held which was a fittinggesture for their team-mate andfriend.Peter was buried with his darts,

wearing his Staffordshire dartingkit...As I write this tribute to Pete, as I

call him, I can’t get my head aroundwhy he has been taken from us soyoung, it just doesn’t make sense. Hewas not only a gentle man but a truegentleman - I never heard him sayanything bad about any other human-

being and I never heard him raise his voice forany reason.We used to chat about horse racing which

he loved and he would completely bamboozleme with how he could work out fixed oddsfootball matches on the coupon. He was avery intelligent person whose brain couldwork out prices in a flash.His demeanour was one of kindness and

calm and it is so tragic that his death comesjust 18 months after meeting and lovingClare, the two of them were made for eachother....So I’d like to say a big thanks to you Pete

from myself, your family, customers, friendsand all the local darting community for givingus so much personally and on the sportingfront – and never asking for anything inreturn...

Your mate Nige

A Tribute to Peter Chell

On behalf of Staffordshire Darts can we send our condolences to thefamily of Peter Chell Junior. It’s a sad, sad loss to them but also we havelost a very special person from our Squad. Peter was an asset to

Staffordshire, making 70 appearances. He was such a lovely person and alwaysgave 150% and he will be missed by many.God Rest in Peace Peter, till we meet again.Keep them darts flying high. Love from us all at Staffordshire County Darts

& Staffordshire Super League Darts. Michelle Colclough, General SecretaryStaffordshire County Darts Organisation

Passed Away onApril 5th 2017Aged 45


By Alan Smith

Afew weeks ago I heard the bad newsthat Leon Hibberd was suffering withlung cancer and the really devastating

news that it was terminal. Not then realisingterminal in Leon’s case was just a fewweeks...And sadly that has happened as we lost

Leon, and I say we, because he was afabulous guy and everyone’s friend.For years now you would see Leon and

his little dog walking miles around the localareas.I was asked by Nigel to compile a tribute

to Leon which was quite a challenge. Thatchallenge being not to fill the entire Voice ashe was so popular. But here are a few memories of Leon both

socially and on his silky football skills frommyself and some of his dear friends...

I start with someone who goes back toinfants school with Leon and then allthrough school, this being Peter Swanwick.Peter says I played with Leon in various

teams and even at primary school Leon wasthe best, with good football skills andprogressed to interest league clubs.He decided to play locally, to the area’s

benefit, but I had great times with Leon. We as teenagers used to go to local dance

halls, a Cheadle Guild Hall memory springsto mind. Shane Fenton was booked on thisparticular Saturday night, he changed hisname to Alvin Stardust but sadly he didn’tturn up! Well we needed to get back home,Cheadle to Rocester, but there were three ofus and a friend of Leon and myself had comealong on his BSA motorbike!Well there was the answer, the three of us

piled on the bike and returned safely toRocester. I don’t think we’d get away with ittoday!My memories will all be good ones, a dear

friend and fabulous chap who will leave a bighole in lots of hearts. Goodbye my friend..

Mick Goodwin, or as Leon called himGoodin. Mick started playing with Leon intheir teenage days at Alton Athletic. Theother players at the time were to become verywell known local players – Barry Wain, AlfieBlood, Kenny Coates, Billy Hughes, IkeNadin, Mick Ratcliffe, and Leon’s late

brother Keith, a really good young side. Iplayed later with Leon at Boltons and tofinish our playing days The Ropey orTravellers Rest, Cheadle.In that time I was fortunate to play with

this fantastic footballer and fantastic guy butI also had many, many, funny social timeswith Leon. Here are just a few...Sadly, Leon lost his right eye in a car crash

with the late George Blood. But he would usethis as a source of fun for example we wenton holiday to Majorca with two other guysand lay in the sun, basking in it with a beeror two. It was really hot and the pool lookedinviting so in we went.Then panic, Leon jumped out and said

“I’ve lost my eye” – well back in we all divedlike pearl divers but after quite a whilesearching we could not find the eye so wedecided to go to the reception and notifythem in the event of someone handing it in!Frustratingly we could not speak Spanish

and the young female receptionist could notunderstand English! After ten minutes Leoncame up with a bright idea and pointed to thehole where his eye should be and said“Vamoose” – the receptionist fainted...And another memory whilst playing out

our final days for The Ropey we were up infront of the League Committee for turningup late for a league game. And our defencewas one of our lads (driver) Leon, had lostan eye in the bedroom and took over half anhour to find it! The committee weresympathetic and no fine or point deduction,Leon just passed a wink at them inappreciation. I will never, ever forget my mateand will laugh on my own or with his manymates at the times I was lucky enough toshare with him.

Bob Bassett. I will always think of Leonas probably one of the best footballers I everplayed with, so gifted, a winner, reliable. AndI will also think of the skinny rib tank tops,and flared trousers, and stacker shoes, alwaysThe Mod. The area has lost a great guy andcharacter. Rest in peace Leon, you will besadly missed.

Curly Johnson. Forty years a neighbourto Leon and cound’t have had a better one. Itravelled abroad holidaying with Leon andhis late wife Fran and well remember a funnyincident of the non-closing case. Leon had

tried and tried to close his case but with nosuccess and gave up.Frances though worked it out and at her

first attempt closed the case, something to dowith the keys no doubt but it meant a silentjourney home for the two! We laughed aboutit many times.Leon though played his last footballing

days in The Ropey side and even then in his40’s he was still a really really good player.Yes I will miss my good neighbour. God blessyou Leon.

Barry Hulton. My first meeting with Leoncame in opposition to him as he played for agood young Alton Athletic side with whatturned out to be a crop of great local talentincluding players named in Mick Goodwin’stribute. We were 2-0 up and ended losing 4-3. He looked a star in the making and hadopportunities to join The Vale but preferredto play with his mates. We got to play in thesame team for Rocester, Boltons, Caverswallbut also have great memories socially withLeon.Leon was always a lover of smart cars

therefore when he had his new gold 1600ECortina we were soon out and The Place wasa great club to go to around that time. Sobooted and suited we arrived and parked theimmaculate Cortina just down from the club.A few hours later we decided it was time togo and returned to his pride and joy. We gotin and turned the key only to realise thewheels – all four of them – had been nickedand the car put on house bricks!!! Gutted,heart-broken, that was Leon that night.My last thoughts for my old dear friend

are I miss you for our walks, talks, laughsand everything else you brought into ourlives.

Alan Smith. I’ve wrote all the tributesfrom these close friends of Leon, and I mustsay I’ve laughed and cried to think about thetimes Leon has given to us. You were a rarebreed Leon, everyone I know liked you, youlit up the room with your fabulous choice ofgear to wear. Our Rod Stewart, Our BeauBrummell, Our Dedicated Fashion Man. Wewill definitely be a sadder world without thelikes of you my friend.Until we meet againCheers

A Tribute to Leon Hibberd

Leon Hibberd, far right onfront row. Brother Keith, whodied aged 71, is back row 2ndleft, Peter Swanwick 3rd left,Barry Hulton 4th left.

Passed Away onMarch 27th 2017Aged 70


The Performance Physio by Paul Williamson, Chartered Physiotherapist

With 25 years’ experience in elite &professional sports Paul has dedicated hiscareers as both a professional athlete & a

clinician to achieving excellence. Paul competed forGreat Britain for over 11 years in athletics thenturned his attention to a career in physiotherapy. Paul was Physio to the Great Britain Senior Men’s

Basketball Team & Lead Physiotherapist at theNational Football Centre working with professionalfootballers, the England Senior Women’s players anda wide variety of other professional & Olympicathletes. He also works with celebrities & the generalpublic particularly those with complex issues and isa consultant physiotherapist to the premiershipreferee’s. Paul has now set up ‘The Performance Physio’ a

specialist private physiotherapy practice based locallyin lower Tean. He uses all his experience of workingwith elite sports & brings this philosophy to theeveryday champion, whether they are a weekendwarrior, a recreational athlete or those who want tocontinue with normal daily activities.Paul will be writing regular articles on general

and sports injuries, rehabilitation principles andexercise; he will offer key tips on how to self-manageor when to go to the expert for advice. The first willfocus on the upcoming London Marathon.

London Marathon

This month’s London Marathon will see over36,000 runners of all ages and abilities and includeworld record holders, celebrities, fund raisers andthose who just want to soak up the experience.Perhaps you are one of those fortunate few to gain agolden ticket and undertake this superhuman event.Average times for a first Marathon are roughly

between four and five hours depending on your pastand current fitness levels, this is a mammoth task foranyone and just finishing is a fantastic andworthwhile achievement. Running for this length of time is no easy task

and will take months of hard training through thosecold, dark winter nights. One of the biggestchallenges whilst preparing for the marathon is

avoiding illness and injury. Statistics show that over30% of entrants never make it to the start line. We can change much now for those ready to run

the London Marathon but we can give tips oninjuries and training for those who may be runningMarathons, half Marathons or 10k’s later in the year.

Injury explained:

An overuse injury can be caused by repetitivemovements such as too much running, this createsmicro-traumas which over time build up andoverload your joints and tendons. This may lead topain in your back, hips, knees or Achilles. Causesmay relate to intrinsic or extrinsic factors, but usuallythere is a combination of both.Intrinsic causes may originate from muscular

imbalance, strength deficits, poor flexibility andabnormalities of ‘gait’; all of these can alter the wayyou run. Extrinsic causes may lie with the surfacesyou are training upon, your footwear, weatherconditions or the training programme you have set.Trauma can be caused by an accident such as a

trip or fall whilst running and can be more difficultto prevent. There are many controllable factorsduring the preparation phase which can reduce yourrisk of pre-event injury.

Muscular imbalances:

Muscular imbalance should be addressed toensure correct movement patterns are formedallowing the individual to run efficiently. Irecommend a weekly pre-habilitation programmewhich focuses on specific deficiencies. These mayinclude gluteal activation; slow heavy strengtheningof hamstrings, calves, and trunk stabilisation ‘core’.

Strength deficits:

A big mistake many runners make is thinking thattheir running takes care of leg strength; unfortunatelythis is not the case which is why many whoparticipate endure injury as a consequence. Regularresistance exercise has been shown to develop

strength and capacity in muscle, tendon, ligamentand bone; thus it provides a certain degree ofprotection against injury. Even body weight exercisessuch as squats and lunges can be effective.

Flexibility/Sports Massage:

Ensure you make time to stretch or use a foamroller; these should be separate sessions of 20-30minutes and not just quick stretches before yourun. Take your time and make it count, attention todetail will serve you well. Common areas of tightnessare low back, adductors, hamstrings, hip flexors, ITBand, quadriceps and calves. Additionally a regularsports massage can assist in recovering from thoselong training runs.

Cross-train:

Don’t just run to improve your cardio-vascularfitness, try completing interval sessions on a staticbike, rower or x-trainer. Vary your pace, intensity andrecovery to develop your overall fitness. You maywant to use a heart-rate monitor to allow you totrain at different intensities. Variety in training willkeep you interested whilst lowering those impactmiles. Monitoring your heart rate will ensure you aretraining within limits and not pushing too hard.

Top 10 Tips - Preparing for a Marathon

1 Plan for the event2 Start a progressive training plan in plenty oftime

3 Address muscular imbalances4 Don’t just run do strength training5 Improve flexibility6 Cross-train7 Get medical advice if you take regularmedication

8 Fuel and Re-Fuel using low glycaemic Indexfoods

9 Hydration is vital – drink before you feel thirsty10 Soak up the Atmosphere and enjoy!

By Les Humphries

Uttoxeter RFC 46 - Burntwood RFC 15

At a sun-drenched Oldfields, Uttoxeter’s 1st XV put on a scintillating display of runningrugby for their final home fixture of the campaign as they lowered the colours ofvisiting title contenders Burntwood, which was also President’s Day at the Club

To gain promotion to Midlands West 2 North, the visitors needed at least a win and abonus point for scoring four tries. They did neither and when Cleobury Mortimer beatHarborne on the same day, it put Burntwood out of contention. Uttoxeter Rugby Club arenow achieving their highest finishing position in the league in the club’s history.The Burntwood game was a fast running encounter, the best of which coming from

Uttoxeter who crossed the try line eight times, securing a bonus point after four, the scorersbeing Tom Sherratt with a brace, with Si Francis, Josh Gwilliam, Aaron Lakin, Dan Meads,Lewis Bain and Mark Springall all getting one apiece. Francis also kicked three conversions. Although they tried hard, the visitors were unable to match the town side in speed and

agility around the park, despite this, they did manage to breech the Uttoxeter defence on threeoccasions with tries from Luke Rookyard, Ben Holt and Graham Shelley, none wereconverted.The match received two local sponsors, ‘The Voice’ whose Man of the Match was Pete

Allen chosen by Columnist Les Humphries, with John Gordon presenting his Man of theMatch award to Lewis Bain.It is now to become a tradition that the final home game of the season is also to be the

George Harper Memorial game, with the Cup awarded to the winner. George’s grandson andCaptain on the day Jake Batista Cabrera was presented with the Trophy by Club PresidentNigel Titterton who also put on a Curry and Karaoke Night to round off the evening. Sincerethanks to Tracey Sherratt, Stephanie and everyone for the fantastic curry and buffet and toGinger’s Karaoke for a wonderful night - it was Just The Perfect Day!.

Uttoxeter team sizzle on President’s Day!

Uttoxeter Rugby Club President Nigel Titterton presentsacting captain Jake Batista-Cabrera with The GeorgeHarper Memorial Cup.

Doveridge Juniors under 9’sentered the Burton JuniorFootball Leagues Spring Cup at

the start of March with the hopes tomake it to the final, but with sometough games to win first! First to take on the mighty

Doveridge were Hilton HarriersLighting, where the only goal of thematch came from the Doveridge strikerBruce Pell giving Doveridge a 1-0victory. Next up were OutwoodsKestrels where goals from AlfieBointon and Bruce Pell saw Doveridgetake the match 2-1. The third and final match was

against Barton Rovers Spartons, wheregoals from Louis Cheetham and AlfieBointon saw the team take a 2-1victory! Top of the table Doveridge were in thefinal against Hilton Harriers Lighting.The team and their supporters gathered early

for the 9am kick off at Etwall Lesiure centre.The first half was a tense affair, with end to

end action, but Doveridge had the most chanceshitting the post and having several shotsdeflected off target leaving both sets ofsupporters wondering where the opening goalwould come from. Half time came and it wasstill a nail biting 0-0. Jon Dreher gathered thelads for a team talk and Doveridge took the fieldfor the second half determined to get the openinggoal.Some excellent passing moves between Lewis

Atherton (captain), Alfie Bointon and Fin Basset,saw the ball move forward to Bruce Pell whobroke the deadlock with a fantastic strike pastthe Hilton Lightning keeper. This gave Doveridgethe extra confidence and they continued to applythe pressure with Louis Cheetham driving up thewing and more great passing moves from theteam to drive the ball to Bruce Pell who fired hissecond past the Hilton keeper, Doveridge wereon a roll now.

Doveridge carried on applying the pressure,firing the ball into the Hilton Harriers Lightiningbox from all angles, resulting in a hand ball inthe penalty area, Captain Lewis Athertonstepped up to the mark, remained cool placingthe ball on the spot and firing the penalty pastthe goalkeeper! 3-0 and Doveridge werecounting down the minutes!Tyler Priestley stood his ground in defence,

with support from Lewis Atherton and makingsome great tackles keeping Hilton out of the box,and Alfie Bointon using his head to defend aHilton Corner.The lads rallied as a team and didn’t give up,

with Corey Stafford driving forward and TedBeaumont and George Mycock holding firm inmidfield, tackling and driving the ball forward. Hilton tried one final break but Izaak Dreher

came off his goal line to collect the ball in hissafe hands. The final whistle went 3-0 toDoveridge! Captain and player of the matchLewis Atherton went up and raised the trophy toloud cheers from all the players and supporters.A fantastic result for a great bunch of lads,

and one happy Coach!

Exciting times arearound the cornerfor Uttoxeter

Cricket Club. GavinHall has beenappointed as theyoungest 1st XI skipperin the history of theclub at the age of 22.Club stalwart DaveWhitehead will onceagain lead the 2nd XIand both teams are setto challenge forpromotion in theirrespective divisions.The club has also

been chosen to host aWayne Madsentestimonial game at6pm on Tuesday 20thJune. This will seeUttoxeter CC andfriends play againstWayne Madsen’sDerbyshire XI in aTwenty20 fixture attheir Racecourseground. Theopportunity to competeagainst professionalplayers fromDerbyshire countycricket club is a veryexciting prospect.Former captain,

Madsen is known as atrue gentleman of thegame and is one of the best players around who has yet toplay international cricket. A fantastic evening ofentertainment is anticipated with cricket, junior coaching,BBQ, cash bar, raffle, memorabilia auction and anopportunity to meet Derbyshire’s players in store.Sponsorship enquiries are most welcome for this event andplease do contact James Burton via [email protected] do let me know your thoughts.


Alan’s Football Autobiography by Alan Beaman, a local sporting legend

Muirfield Golf Club’s decision to allowLady Members after losing the Open.

Their self-centred members are a disgrace toSport, changing their minds to improve theirbank balance is a measure of their integrity,

let’s hope the heirarchy dont cave in to such adesperate attempt to pretend they have changed inany way. They need to show some true leadershipand not consider it a venue for at least 20 years.The Masters was full of top quality golf, but the

back nine between Justin Rose and Sergio Garciaoozed class in every department. To see two guysunder the ultimate pressure conduct themselveswith so much respect for the game and each other.It was special for Garcia who has battled with thedemons of professional sport, lost and regained hislove for the game, showing pure emotion - it wastouching and lovely in every way, I am so pleasedfor him and his family and his staff around him,and then the response from Justin after losing inthe playoff was so classy, showing what a qualityguy he is. I don’t believe sport can be any better

than their example to the world - just marvellous!!Mark Hughes is under pressure at Stoke now

with poor results recently, he needs a good rightback, a centre half with Shawcross lookingvulnerable since his back injury as cover, Imbula,Adam, Whelan, Muniesa, Ireland, Johnson,Bardsley, Shaqiri, Wollscheild and Wilson all underconsideration for the future for different reasons.Too many players on the books who don’t

influence games enough. I think the Board have abig decision to make - is Mark Hughes the manor has he hit the wall with the players, either theygo and he rebuilds or Mark goes and a new gaffacomes in, tough business football.Now these are just my opinions I think

Guadiola has made some massive errors thisseason, Joe Hart being the main one, Bravo andCaballero the other two keepers have shown theyare no better with thier feet, and more importantlynowhere near Hart as a shot stopper or around thearea.Also Otamendi and Stones have had poor

seasons, their natural sense of danger as defendershas been poor, Otamendi rushes in and sells himselfand shows no composure and Stones has beencaught in two minds so many times his confidencehas been affected - he has to make quick decisionswhen to play and when to clear.Mourinho has struggled for goals at Utd,

players have fallen short with lack of goals, noother players near double figures which for Utd isdreadful. Zlatan has shown his class on and of thepitch, his interviews are superb, playing aroundwith the press like putty in his hands.Spurs have played some excellent football in the

Premier League, but their European campaign wasan embarrassment to the club, and they need to domuch better to earn respect around Europe.I like to watch Barcelona and Real Madrid as

much as possible, with contrasting styles - theClassico game is set up for a fantastic finish, Messihas be the best player I have ever seen technically,absolute magic, a joy to watch with Neymar andSuarez very close to him.

Uttoxeter Cricket Club -promotion tilts and date againstDerbyshire stars in store

Uttoxeter CC 2nd XI captain, David Whitehead pictured withDerbyshire CCC’s Wayne Madsen

Uttoxeter 1st XI captain, GavinHall pictured in action at GraceRoad, home of Leicestershire CCC

Doveridge Juniors under 9’s Spring Cup 6By John Dreher

Back row: Bruce Pell, Alfie Bointon, Izaak Dreher,Corey Stafford, Tyler Priestley. Front row: GeorgeMycock, Ted Beaumont, Lewis Atherton, FinlayBasset, Louis Cheetham, Jon Dreher (coach)


All-time local soccerHall of Fame TeamBy Roy ‘Razzer’ Astbury

Each month Uttoxeter’s best known character Roy ‘Razzer’Astbury will compile his very own ‘All-Time LocalFootball Team’ which in his opinion is the verybest of players past and present.

‘Razzer’ will create a team in each issueof The Uttoxeter & Cheadle Voice whichhe believes incorporates all theingredients of a football outfit whichcould be unbeatable!

He will be delving into histhoughts to remember all theterrific players in years gone bywhilst selecting those who areexceptional in our presentday.

It should be afantastic talking pointin our community andno doubt you all willhave your viewson ‘Razzer’s Hallof Fame team.

LEN HARVEYKingsley Holt FC

Great player who could slotinto any position in the team.

MELVIN HOWESBamfords FC

Great tackler and a realfierce competitor, Melvin

always gave his all.

KYLE WADSWORTHRocester FC

Superb player whopossesses lots ofnatural ability.

DOUG OAKESCroxden FC

Top notch defender who couldalso play in the midfield.

Good distributor of the ball.

VIC BEARDMORECheadle Town FC

Terrific player who couldspray the ball about for fun.Loved to put in the odd hardtackle on the opposition too!

WALTER ASTBURYCheadle Town FC

Talented player who usedto be one of the Town’s

best performers.

DAVE ‘ZICO’ CLARKSONLeigh United FC

Dave had a touch of class,passed the ball beautifully

and had real vision.

NICK NAYLORUttoxeter Amateurs FCPacey and trickey player who

used to give opposingdefenders a torrid time.

MITCH FINNEYCheadle Town FC

Improving all the time, Mitch is aproven goalscorer and could be one of

Cheadle’s top forwards.

TONY IRELANDBamfords FC

Tony knew where the backof the net was, great header

of the ball.

JOHN BAILEYAlton FC

Brave, athletic keeper who usedto dominate the penalty area.

We have inserted one football club eachplayer has performed for. Obviously, many have played for severalclubs in their careers.

Cheadle United FC continued their risefrom the ashes by lifting the Staffs TBWilliamson Cup, beating Seighford

FC 2-1 at Wellbeing Park, home of StoneDominoes FC.Magnificent local support galvanised

Cheadle to new heights after the dark dayswhen the club was forced to call it a day.But two years ago United were back in

business under a truly wonderful committeewho have given their lives to the Cheadleteam, decades of raising funds and behind thescenes efforts, which has led to the goodtimes returning.United were much the better team in the

first half with Matt Nutt and Ben Carrscoring vital goals as the half time whistlewas blown.However, Seighford showed great

character and surged towards the United goal

in numbers and it was only steadfastdefending which protected their 2-0advantage.Johnson and Dovey produced outstanding

performances in the United defence but eventhey could not prevent Seighford reducing thearrears to 2-1 when Adam McMahon scored.United were forced to pull out all the

stops during the last 20 minutes of this cupfinal with Paul Donnelly outstanding in thecentre of midfield and the final whistle wasgreeted by huge celebrations amongst theUnited players, committee members andsupporters.Cheadle United have also clinched a place

in the Potteries & District Sunday LeagueDivision 2 Cup Final.Good times are back again – Cheadle’s

oldest club are now here to stay...

Magnificentwin for CheadleUnited FC


Sport is in my blood...by Jeff Wood of Cheadle, dedicated to local sport for a lifetime...

Imust first remark upon the untimely passing ofLeon Hibberd, a local footballing icon. I playedagainst Leon when he was a teenager with the

all conquering Alton Athletic team of the earlysixties and it was clear then that his skills wouldtake him further in the game. Sadly this was notto be the case as when he was still in his youth andon the verge of better things, he was unfortunateenough to lose the sight of an eye in a car accident.Whilst the accident prevented him reaching his

full potential, such was Leon’s ability that it didnot deter him from becoming a more than decentplayer at a good standard in the game. Leon lost his wife Fran some years ago. I often

had a word with him more recently whenever I sawhim walking round Cheadle with his dog and hisfamiliar Rod Stewart hair style.Life perhaps did not treat Leon as kindly as it

has treated some of us and we will miss himaround the town. May he rest in peace.Following Leon’s passing, I exchanged a few

emails with his old footballing mate AlaisterMaclennon, who has lived in the USA for manyyears and whom I have mentioned before in thiscolumn as he is an old footballing mate of minealso. Aga told me he has kept in touch with Leonover the years and, whenever he came over from

the States, they would meet up for a drink together.I’m not sure how that particular activity would panout but from what I remember of him, Aga knewno moderation in anything he did, which not onlyincluded football but also drinking (I know hereads The Voice and he won’t mind me sayingthat).Continuing on the footballing front, Cheadle

United are to be congratulated on bringing the TBWilliamson Cup back to then town. Tony Websterand the committee deserve some success after a fewlean seasons of tireless work in keeping the clubafloat.Readers will know by now that Cheadle Town

FC (pictured) were beaten by the narrowest ofmargins in the Staffs County Premier LeagueChallenge Cup final by a strong Wolstanton Unitedteam. The score was one-nil to Wolstanton but itcould so easily have gone the other way as therewas nothing to choose between the two teams.Mark Alcock and Alan Beaman have built a verygood young squad together which is very near toachieving major success. Unfortunately they havebeen somewhat hampered this season by theinconsistency of availability of players but, thanksto astute management, the team still does well withwhatever eleven takes the field.

Speaking of managers, Alan was absolutelycorrect in his article a couple of editions ago whenhe wrote about interviewing managers immediatelyafter a game in order to provoke a reaction whichthey could regret later. The female interviewercertainly got a reaction from David Moyes in arecent well publicised interview. I’m no particularfan of David Moyes but in my opinion the wholeincident has been blown completely out ofproportion and the subsequent publicity has beenas daft as Cadburys and the National Trust tryingto abolish any mention of Easter.

Bake’s Memoirsby Neil Baker, local sporting legend

With the football season nearing the endbut plenty riding on the next few weeksI thought it was a good time to reflect on

the fortunes of our local teams and how they willevaluate their season.I’ll start with Stoke City. I don’t get a lot of

opportunities to watch the Potters now but I didget down to the Everton game. I enjoyed the nightbeing wined and dined in The Waddington Suitecourtesy of a local sponsor. It was a decent game Ithought with Stoke dominating the early stagesand taking the lead through Peter Crouch, his100th Premiership goal as you will recall. Evertonequalized through a controversial own goal andthe honours were shared in an entertainingencounter.For me Stoke’s best players on the night were

Crouch and Charlie Adam. Crouch was a realhandful and Adam was instrumental in most oftheir attacking play. Neither are spring chickensnow and didn’t cost the club a lot of money intransfer fees.I have just been away for a week in Cyprus

(missus’s 60th birthday) with some friends and wemanaged to watch the Burnley and Liverpoolgames on TV over there. Mark Hughes changedthe formation in the away game going with threecentre backs, two wing backs, three midfieldplayers which allowed him to play with twostrikers. Despite a disappointing result I thought we

were the better side and deserved more from thegame. The Liverpool game finished the same way,another defeat. Stoke were the better team first halfbut when Liverpool bought on Coutinho and

Firmino the game changed with Liverpooldominating possession and the inevitable happenedwith the visitors going on to win the game.As I said I don’t see as many games as I would

like to but do keep an eye on the results and havemany friends and family that are season ticketholders and keep me informed. We all have ouropinions on team selection and tactics andconversations in the pub over the weekend andcoverage in the local press alongside social mediaand forums allows us all to voice those opinions. Iget the impression that the natives are gettingrestless!Both results and form have been patchy this

season. We haven’t been consistent in either. Playerof the year, Grant? Allen? maybe Martins Indi?Has the recruitment been good? Who would haveimagined Stoke spending 18 million on a playerthat doesn’t always figure in the squad? 12m for astriker that it seems nobody else wanted and WBAcouldn’t wait to offload, looks unfit and to datehasn’t scored a first team goal. Shaqiri, on his daya real talent but hasn’t played a lot of football thisseason. Produced a bit of real skill for the goal atthe weekend but have you really had value formoney? Arnie is a real enigma, torments his full back

some games and can have a real impact on gamesbut can be equally frustrating in others. Still for meour most important player and personally I wouldlike to see him play down the middle.This summer is going to be an important period

for the club. It is the first season for a while thatprogress has come to a halt. Possible revolutionrather than evolution is needed. Big decisions to be

made on player’s contracts. Certainly moreinvestment will be needed to push the club onagain. How far can the club move on? Well, wecan’t compete with the top 6. Everton will be hardto peg back as will Southampton who are a goodmodel for ourselves.Ninth is about right, a position we have

finished in the last three seasons. Tenth looks thebest Stoke can finish this season but with a goodsummer let’s hope the club pushes on. Onto Port Vale, after a terrific start to the

season our neighbours have a real scrap on theirhands to stay in division one. Who would havethought this would have been the case after abright start and from what I was told someentertaining football. Only two league wins inOctober and November saw that good start falterand the manager being replaced. The reins werehanded to Michael Brown who to be fair has foundit hard work. He has been busy in the loan marketbringing in some experience and hopefully (for youValiants) this will be enough to ensure safety. Their Achilles heel has obviously been away

form. One league win away from Vale Parkcontrasts dramatically with home form. I alwaysthought this would guarantee survival but withchampions Sheffield Utd and Bolton still to visitand trips to Oxford and Fleetwood there will besome sweaty palms in and around Burslem.Well good luck to both over the coming weeks

and also to our local clubs both semi pro andamateur who have something to play for, whetherthat be at the top or bottom end of the table or cupcompetitions.

All the best, Bake.


The Good Old Days photographs onpages 42-43 have been identified as:

1 Uttoxeter Dairy Workers, 1970’sBack Row: Brian Williams & DickStearneFront Row: Sam Whittingham, LesWillets, Phil ? & Tony Hollins

2 Interesting old photo from the1930’sRegulars of the Coach & Horsespub which was in Carter Street,Uttoxeter, later the White HartTavern which is now annexed to theWhite Hart Hotel awaitingrefurbishment into a new ale house(hopefully).The lads were about to embark onan outing (Booze up) to CannockChase. Some of their names wereBack Row: ?, Arthur Finch, StanGaines, ?, ?, Reg Wilne, Bert Finch& ? Lads in middle: ?, Mr Prince, FrankCowley, ?, Albert Smith, Bill Gaines,

Bill Baggley, ?, Arthur Smith ?, FredLocker, in front of him, ?, Mr.Hoptroff, ?, Les Crutchley in frontof him, Jimmy Ball, Tommy Foster& Bill Smith (Licensee), Chap withaccordian Ron Foster.

3 JCB Rugby Club, 1970’sBack Row: Les Humphries, IanDapper, Ray Price, GrahamSargeant, Charles Ingram, DaveCroft, Miller Howieson, GrahamStubbs, Dave Sherratt & JimHarrisonFront Row: Ian Harvey, RichardHarrison, Paul Cullen, MickReynolds, John Atkinson, PeteHollins & Geoff Roffey

4 Pupils at Painsley School, Cheadlein 1977

5 Uttoxeter Licensed Victuallersvisiting Guiness’s Park RoyalBrewery 1962

The good old days

On the OcheBy Dave Jones of UttoxeterLife President of the Uttoxeter and District Darts League.

Firstly may I say a big thank you toeverybody for turning out the otherFriday night to donate your hard-

earned cash for Dementia UK, playing for theCharlie Cope Memorial Shield which waswon by Clint Young with Jim Malkin therunner up.A big thank you to Mrs Nola cope and

Elliott for their generous donation, alsothanks to those who were unable to attendon the night but still sent a donation anyway– The Shant, Roston, Craig Hampson andTony Dronzek, Pat and Derek for their help.The sum of £350 was raised.Recently The Uttoxeter and District Mens

League held the semi finals at Doveridge Cluband The Black Swan. I am not going tomention the other venue because of the factof not wanting to advertise the charity event.The doubles at Doveridge saw brothers

Tim and Joe Roobottom, Andy Graham andCraig Hampson win through to the finals,then Danny Key and Andy Graham wonthrough to the Singles Final which will takeplace at Bradley House Club later thismonth.On the night some of the darts was indeed

outstanding, to say I am proud to be yourPresident is an understatement, you are acredit to the town and area.But on the other hand there is the

shameful behaviour of the youngsters of ourtown, They gather outside the supermarkets,

Town Hall, Market Place intimidating thepeople, so much so the local choir had tomove elsewhere!They swear at the public, show no respect

for householders and more importantly ThePolice!On top of that they leave litter everywhere

and leave the town looking like a pig stay...So all you parents out there take a look at

where your kids are at night when they goout with their mates and you will see foryourselves what a disgrace they are.On top of all that we have the E.U. with

their bullying tactics, demands for money,insults and threats to our territory, but theywill not win. Did you see the coming togetherof all the people on Westminster Bridge aweek after all what had happened? What awonderful sight to see, that is what outcountry is about, a United Kingdom and nowis the time for us all to stand strong, back ourPrime Minister and pout the Great back intoGreat Britain. Are you listening NicolaSturgeon and Scotland.....In ending today we at The Voice have had

some very sad news indeed – our friend andextremely outstanding dart player Peter ChellJnr has passed away. God Bless you Peter, restin peace, our best wishes go out to all yourfamily.Take care alwaysDave

@uttoxeter_voice



Send your articles, photographs, features, sports reportsetc into The Voice for insertion into our next issue.The Voice is here to publicise what’s happening in ourcommunityGet in touch now via [email protected] or by social media


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BOOK YOUR SPECIAL OCCASION EVENT NOW!For Enquiries and Bookings Telephone Mrs Tracey Degg on 01538 750356 or 07971 668 608email [email protected]

Choose The Fully Refurbished CHEADLE CRICKETCLUB FUNCTION ROOM


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Chimney SweepVacuum and Brush

Tel 01889 564900

A Bostock

Mini, Midi & Large SkipsMini Digger Hire24-7 ServiceTel: 01889 566262Mob: 07971 566 383www.boultonsskiphire.co.uk

A Local

Family-Run

Business

For all your Plumbing & Heating needsContact Pete on

07971 641 [email protected]

PLUMBERWT Hagan & Sons

32 Years ExperienceNo call out charge

Locally basedCall 07513 975664or 01889 589264

AR PLASTERING & TILING

For all yourplastering & tiling needs

Contact Adam on 07817 199674

Oddjob Property Maintenance For all the odd jobs & big jobs - inside & outside your home

Electrical, Plumbing, Joinery, Tiling, Fencing, Bathrooms, Kitchens & Gardens

No job too small or too big

Contact Mitch Shirley on: 01538 750491/07860670407

Tel 07743 649 586www.tbs-stoke.co.uk

T.B.S.

• All aspects of Brickwork• Groundwork

• Re-pointing• Extensions & Alterations

• Landscaping• Plastering

• City &GuildsQualified

ThompsonBuilding Services

L & SDecoratingServices

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Fully insured • Est 1991 Tel: 07582 809 759or 01538 752 589

For all your domestic plumbing andheating needs contact Carl on

07779 990572

MOWTIME Garden ServicesLAWN MOWING, HEDGE CUTTING, tree work, shrub

pruning, strimming, borders sorted,

weed control, etc. Established 10 years

Tel Phil on 07967 586502

uttoxeter & cheadle voice, issue 72

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