Tamworth Blog

Sales - Pic: Tim Parkinson

Staffordshire County Council Trading Standards have offered a number of tips to help Tamworth consumers get the best deal for their money during the January Sales.

During the January Sales, your rights remain the same if you find the product to be faulty or do not match their description, in this case you are entitled to a refund, replacement or repair, whichever is most practical.  However, you cannot return an item if you change your mind, however many shops may offer a refund or exchange as a good will gesture.

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

“If you’re thinking of sale shopping over the next few weeks, it’s worth being prepared and checking out your consumer rights before you hit the high street,

“It’s always worth checking retailers’ refund policies before buying and this is particularly important when sale shopping.”

“There is a popular misconception that retailers will automatically let you return goods if you’ve changed your mind but this isn’t the case,

“It’s worth remembering that while many retailers do this as a goodwill gesture, these may change or be withdrawn altogether during the sales so check before you buy.”

Your rights are:

Sherlock Holmes - Robert Downey Jnr

Christmas has gone now, the TV may be on the downward spiral to Big Brother, so what better than a trip to the flicks…. This weeks competition is a little late and is your last chance to win two tickets to Odeon Tamworth this decade!!! The tickets come courtesy of our friends at Odeon Tamworth and can be used for a film of your choice.

Entering couldn’t be easier, read the short review of the new Guy Ritchie movie and answer a simple question by emailing the answer to Tamworth Blog by midnight this New Years Eve (Thursday Dec 31).

SHERLOCK HOLMES (12A)

Who´s in it?
Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong

What´s the plot?
From director Guy Ritchie, comes the hugely anticipated new portrayal of fiction’s most famous detective, ‘Sherlock Holmes’.Starring Robert Downey Jr as the mercurial Mr Holmes and Jude Law as his formidable ally Dr Watson, ‘Sherlock Holmes’ sees the pair meet a new nemesis, Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong). Revealing physical fighting skills as honed and lethal as his intellect, Holmes must solve a deadly plot that threatens to bring down the entire country.

To win tickets for ODEON Tamworth just answer the following question

Who directed Sherlock Holmes?

To enter the competition, email odeoncompetition@tamworthblog.co.uk the correct answer and your name and address. The competition closes at midnight New Years Eve (Thursday December 31). Winners will be picked out of a hat and announced on the Tamworth Blog website.

Woodhouse High School

Staffordshire County Council have selected the contractors who will build the new Academy on the Woodhouse site as part of the Building Schools for the Future plan for Tamworth (read the original stories here).

Wilmott Dixon Construction Limited have been selected as a panel member who will continue to design and develop plans to build the new campus in Tamworth.

The new Academy which is going to replace the sixth form provision across the town has caused controversy with parents in the town setting up the HOTS group (Hands of Tamworth Schools), believing removing the sixth provision from high schools would be detrimental to their children’s education.  Likewise teachers have held strikes about the changes proposed, worrying about job cuts and changes to their roles.

The Landau Forte run Academy though was approved earlier in the year, likewise the funding was authorised with the academy replacing the Woodhouse Business and Enterprise College in September 2010, moving into new purpose built buildings on site in 2011.

Whilst the academy will be run by Landau Forte, the Council are responsible for the procurement of the new buildings on behalf of the sponsors, with funding of some £35 million provided by central government’s Partnerships for Schools (PfS).  The detailed procurement process begun earlier in the year and the board decided to select Wilmott Dixon Construction Limited.

Ian Parry, Deputy County Council Leader, said:

“Staffordshire County Council has worked closely with colleagues from Landau Forte Charitable Trust during the selection process with both bidding contractors have put an extraordinary amount of effort in throughout the autumn.

“This decision brings us one step closer to increasing the choice and diversity in Tamworth by introducing an Academy and demonstrates a major commitment to future secondary education in the area.”

Gary Church, the bid leader for Wilmott Dixon said:

“Wilmott Dixon Construction is delighted to be working with Staffordshire County Council on this very important project. We look forward to building upon the relationship established with the county council to deliver previous successful projects.”

As part of the BSF project in Tamworth, there will be an open evening at Torc Campus on the evening of January 7 2010 between 6pm and 8pm, members of the public will be able to learn more about the proposals.

Gritter Gritting the Roads - Pic: Ian Britton

Staffordshire County Council have  urged people to act more responsibly after some of its salt bins were stolen for domestic use.

The council said people were also blocking its Highways Hotline with unreasonable demands, including wanting salt for drives.

The Council say that lorries had gritted more than 1,000 miles of roads twice a day.

A spokesman said

“I would call on the few to think before they reach for the phone, or swear at our staff,”

“Thoughtless demands just block the system when priority cases need our attention.

“We routinely grit 43% of the highway network. The national average is 37%.

“Many country lanes don’t get gritted – that’s a fact UK wide.  We can’t grit everywhere and have to focus on the most heavily used routes.

“Our teams get the absolute maximum value from every gram of salt.”

Christmas - Pic: Scott Feldstein

Merry Christmas from all of us at Tamworth Blog.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and making the blog what it is.

We hope Father Christmas is generous and everyone has a great day with the festivities.

We will be taking the weekend off (although we have been quiet all week) but will be posting news next week.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Odeon Tamworth

The Film times for Odeon Tamworth this week. Films running from Saturday December 26 through to Thursday December 31.  The cinema will close early evening on New Years Eve and please remember there will be no showings on Christmas Day.

2012 (12A)
3hr05m Contains sustained moderate threat and one use of strong language
Sat-Wed 20:10

Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)
1hr50m
NO GUEST PASSES
Sat-Wed 10:40 11:45 13:10 14:10 15:30 16:30 17:50 18:50
Thu 11:00 12.20 13:20 15:00 16:00 17:30 18:10
Subtitled Screenings
Sun 13:10
Mon 15:30

Avatar 3D (12A)
3hr10m Contains moderate violence and intense battle scene
NO GUEST PASSES
Sat-Wed 12:30 16:20 20:00
Thu 13:30 17:10

Avatar 2D (12A)
3hr10m Contains moderate violence and intense battle scene
NO GUEST PASSES
Sat-Wed 13:30 17:10 21:00
Thu 12:30 16:10

A Christmas Carol 3D (PG)
2hr00m
Sun-Wed 10:15
Thu 11:15

A Christmas Carol 2D (PG)
2hr00m
Sat-Thu 11:10 13:20 15:40 17:45

Law Abiding Citizen (18)
2hr10m
Sat-Wed 20:40

Nativity (U)
2hr00m
Sat-Thu 11:50 14:20 17:30 (more…)

Gritter Gritting the Roads - Pic: Ian Britton

The Staffordshire Gritters are working around the clock this Christmas to keep the roads in Tamworth and the surrounding region safe and passable.

The cold snap has lasted a little while now and many of us have seen ice on our streets, but the main arteries through the town have been kept clear thanks to the work of these dedicated gritters.  Over the last weekend some 1,500 tonnes were spread throughout Staffordshire.

Councillor Mike Maryon, Cabinet member for Highways, said:

“The weather has really taken a turn for the worse over the last few days and, with temperatures expected to drop to an icy -10 degrees by tomorrow, the highways team is ready to step up to the challenge.

“However, people need to remember that salt treatment is only effective down to about -7 degrees so they need to be aware that even treated roads will be icy when it gets this cold.

“Crews will be on call around the clock but there are roads which will be untreated and even on gritted roads people will still need to exercise extra caution. The message is a clear one to motorists – you must take extra care when driving in winter conditions and avoid travelling if possible when the weather’s really bad.”

So this Christmas, remember the main roads may be clear, but venture onto side roads, be sure to tread careful.  Especially with the temperature not venturing above zero and sleet/snow forecast this weekend.  The latest forecast is below:

Bullit Bar owner Paul Brindley, PC Steve Williams of Trent Valley Police and volunteer Jack Edgington check out the new identity system

A new scheme aimed at enforcing the drinking age across bars in Tamworth is being piloted at Bullit.

The new scheme will see those entering the bar to provide a scan of either their driving licence, passport or a valid form of identification in to a special computer to gain entry to the bar.  The identity is then checked before entry is permitted.

Trent Valley Licensing Officer, PC Steve Williams said:

“The idea behind the scheme is to take away the uncertainly door staff may have around someone’s age, identity or previous behaviour,

“From a single scan, staff can check someone’s age and identity and whether they have caused problems in the past.

“Door staff then know who is on the premises and the system should act as a deterrent to anyone thinking of causing problems,”

The system is also able to recognise identification from over seas.

Owner of Bullit Paul Brindley said:

“The system is also able to spot fake identity cards which will give door staff a real opportunity to reduce the risk of people who are under age or out to cause trouble getting on to premises,”

Tamworth Society of Artists was set up in 2000 by a group of artists, to meet with people interested in art in any form. The membership has grown to about 60 people of all ages, abilities and interests.
 They meet at 7.00pm on the third Wednesday each month at the Central Methodist Church Hall in Aldergate, Tamworth.  Each meeting usually has a demonstration from a professional artist and an opportunity to chat over a cup of tea. In addition to regular meetings, the Society organises exhibitions and occasional workshops and social events.

Annual membership of the Society is just £15.00 per year and includes all the regular meetings and demonstrations. Visitors are welcome at meetings at a cost of £3.

The next special guest will be at the meeting on January 20th 2010 and Robert Hughes, a self taught artist specialising in portraiture. His favourite medium is oil but he is familiar with most other mediums including watercolour, coloured pencils, acrylic and pastel. His new medium is ‘Digital’ painting with the aid of his computer, two monitors, graphics tablet and an A4 printer
His web site is http://web.mac.com/bobhughes_/mydigitalcanvas/Welcome.html

For more information contact Jackie on 01827 284798

Odeon Tamworth

The Film times for Odeon Tamworth this week. Films running from Friday December 18 through to Thursday December 24.  The cinema will close early evening on Christmas Eve.

2012 (12A)
3hr05m Contains sustained moderate threat and one use of strong language
Fri-Wed 20:10

Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)
1hr50m
Advanced Screenings
NO GUEST PASSES
Mon-Wed 10:45 12:10 13:00 14:30 15:10 16:40 17:30 19:10
Thu 12:10 13:00 14:30 15:10 16:40 17:30

Avatar 3D (12A)
3hr10m Contains moderate violence and intense battle scene
NO GUEST PASSES
Fri-Wed 12:30 16:20 20:00
Thu 13:30 17:10

Avatar 2D (12A)
3hr10m Contains moderate violence and intense battle scene
NO GUEST PASSES
Fri-Sun 11:30 13:30 15:20 17:10 19:00 21:00
Mon-Wed 11:30 15:20 1710 19:00 21:00
Thu 11:30 15:20 16:20
Subtitled Screenings
Sun 11:30
Mon 15:20

A Christmas Carol 3D (PG)
2hr00m
Sat-Wed 10:15
Thu 11:15

A Christmas Carol 2D (PG)
2hr00m
Fri-Thu 11:10 13:30 15:50 18:00

Law Abiding Citizen (18)
2hr10m
Fri-Wed 21:10

Nativity (U)
2hr00m
Fri-Thu 11:00 13:20 15:35 17:50

Paranormal Activity (15)
1hr50m
Fri-Sun 19:10 21:20
Mon-Wed 21:20 (more…)