Tamworth Blog

Christmas Toys at Market - Pic: Patrick Lauke

St Elizabeths RC Primary School, Claremont Road, Coton Green is holding it’s annual Christmas Fayre on Friday 4 December from 3.30pm-5.30pm in the school hall.

This promises to be a great event and there will be many stalls available to help you find those Christmas gifts for all the family.

Refreshments of cakes, waffles, mulled wine and Irish coffees will also be available for you throughout the afternoon and if you take part in the raffle, you could win one of the many superb prizes including a Christmas Hamper, Family Tickets to see Cinderella at the Tamworth Arts Centre, Hair Products donated by Envy and a Free Haircut in the salon by Sheer Success at Coton Green.

The stalls will include; Tink & Stink (educational toys), Usborne Books, Partylite, Jewellery, Pigs 4 U, the Brownie Stall, Bric-a-Brac, Books, Toys and Games, Mandies Mysteries (cards, candles and Christmas gifts), Body Shop, Novelty Cakes, Greetings Cards, Face Painting, Nail Painting, Bottle Lucky Dip and a Tombola.
Of course, Santa will be there in his Grotto just waiting for you to come and see him for a chat.

Come and enjoy the festivities; everyone is welcome.

Tamworth Library - Pic: Paulette Francessca Sedgwick

Tamworth Library is offering readers over the age of 16  the oppotunity of winning fantastic prizes during Staffordshire County Councils Winter Reading Challenge.

The competition will be launched on Saturday December 12 with a special coffee morning.

Those taking part in the challenge will be challenged to read five books of their choice.  To enter the competition, they will then have to fill an entry form and write a short review of the books they have read.  All participants will then be entered into a prize draw to win lots of free books and a years subscription to New Books Magazine.

The closing date for all entries will be Friday February 12 2010.

Cabinet Member for Communities and Culture, Ben Adams said:

“This is a great opportunity for Staffordshire residents to share their enthusiasm for books while giving them the chance to win some wonderful prizes.”

Polling Station Sign - Photo: Adam Tinworth

The Young People of Tamworth are being encouraged to have their voices heard by signing up as candidates in the forthcoming UK Youth Parliament Elections.

Those who are interested in becoming a MYP (Member of Youth Parliament) can attend an information evening at Tamyouth on Thursday November 26 between 5 and 7pm.

The UK Youth Parliament is a national charity that gives young people (11-18 year olds) a voice which will be heard by local and national government as well as those who provide services to youngsters.  The group holds a three-day national conference every summer and monthly regional assemblies.

Those who have been elected in previous years have made a huge difference to the lives of youngsters across Tamworth and Staffordshire.   They have organised events like outh conferences, education seminars, volunteering projects and campaigning against bullying. MYPs are also actively involved in decision making at the highest levels of the county council. Many of the current MYPs took part in the recent Speak Out conference, which gave 200 young people the chance to have their views heard by top decision makers in the county.

County Councillor Ben Adams, Cabinet Member for Communities and Culture, said:

“The deadline for applications is approaching quickly, so any young person interested in making a difference to their local area, and their county, needs to apply soon. In Staffordshire, our MYPs are extremely active, and have a fantastic track record of being involved in some of the big issues affecting young people. I am sure there are many young people out there who want to make their voices heard, and this is a fantastic opportunity to do so.”

If you would like more information you can visit the Speak Out Online website or visit Tamyouth on Spinning School Lane for an application pack.

Christopher Pincher and David Willetts MP with motor engineering students in their custom racing car

Tamworth College welcomed the Shadow Secretary of State for Universities and Skills, David Willetts, as he visited the Tamworth campus with Tamworth’s Conservative Parliamentary Spokesman, Christopher Pincher.

During the visit the pair met both college staff and students including Charlotte Burford who won a bronze medal at the World Skills final in Calgary, Canada, hair stylist students and the builders of the colleges race car in the garage.

David Willetts said:

“I was delighted to visit the college in Croft Street and talk to staff and students and see what the college has to offer.  We want to support colleges like this to be more flexible in the way they provide their services so that the staff at the sharp end and not the bureaucrats in the QUANGOs make the decisions.”

The Shadow Secretary was invited by the Tamworth Conservatives to show what Tamworth has to offer, especially as unemployment in the town has doubled in the last year.

Christopher Pincher said:

“David Willetts visited Tamworth at our invitation so he could see the talent our town has to offer.  Tamworth’s unemployment doubled between 2008 and 2009 so we desperately need to use education as a means of helping people find good jobs.  There was a real enthusiasm amongst the students, particularly amongst the motor engineering students, which was tremendous to see.  I really enjoyed meeting them and getting to sit in their customised racing car.”

Marmion House, Tamworth Borough Council

Tamworth Borough Council are inviting voluntary and community groups the opportunity to provide services to the council and gain vital funding.

The Council currently gives out £164,000 a year of direct support to community groups through grants.  An additional £80,000 a year  is given in-kind through rents and building subsidies.  However, through the tender process, allowing organisations to bid for funding from the council, they can ensure they are getting value for money and getting the right services from the right provider.

Councillor Jeremy Oates portfolio holder for Economic Development and Enterprise.

“We conducted a review of the current Commissioning Framework process and procedures for awarding grants to voluntary and community sector organisations and carried out consultation with a number of partners and organisations.

“The new Commissioning Framework went through unanimously at Full Council in September and will allow us to work more closely with the voluntary and community sector as well as bringing consistency and clarity to the way we work with partner organisations. We have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for the services that the voluntary and community sector continue to provide locally, joining up and pooling resources is definitely the way forward to strengthen the sector locally.”

The services the council are inviting tenders for are:

• Financial Inclusion
• Parenting Support for families
• Generalist and debt advice
• Voluntary and Community Sector Capacity Building
• Increasing Volunteering
• Environment

If you are an organisation and interested in finding out more about any of the services outlined above you can find out more information by clicking the advert in the top left of Tamworth Blog or by clicking here.

Closing date for applications is January 11 2010.  To help you with your application, there are two commissioning surgeries on December 8 at the Town Hall between 6.30 and 8.30pm and December 10 at Carnegie Centre between 1.30 and 3.30pm.

Latest Dog Foul Graffiti with a Response (blurred out)

At the beginning of November the Tamworth Blog reported on incidents of graffiti on pavements in the area. The culprit leaves the same message each time ‘Dog Foul Report Owner’.

Rather than deter the person responsible it would appear that this graffiti has spread further and is now appearing all over the town. There are several more of these messages sprayed in luminous yellow paint all around the Castle Grounds.

Furthermore, there are now additional messages appearing next to this graffiti criticising the perpetrator! Does this mean that people are now turning to graffiti to air their views and address their personal problems rather than taking their grievances to the authorities?

The council were reported to be encouraging this Tamworth resident kindly to report dog fouling incidents to the council rather than painting the pavements. Wouldn’t it make more sense to report this act of graffiti also to the police or Crimestoppers, the latest of which is in full view of our town centre CCTV?

It is without a doubt extremely frustrating to find dog mess that has been left on our streets by irresponsible pet owners. The council have assured us of their commitment to education and prevention around this problem, tackling incidents and identifying culprits. However, are these recent acts of graffiti not as serious as the dog fouling and therefore should they also be dealt with accordingly?

If you see a dog fouling incident in your area you are asked to report it by contacting the council online at www.tamworth.gov.uk or phoning 01827 709709 or you can notify your local area Street Warden.

If you see an act of graffiti you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111