Tamworth Blog

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!!!

The new blue bins

The Christmas period falls kindly this year so disruption to the refuse and recycling collections throughout Tamworth won’t be adversly effected.

Next week (Week commencing Monday Dec 21) recycling will be collected as normal with the exception of properties whose collections usually fall on a Friday, which of course is Christmas Day.  These properties will have their recycling collected on Christmas Eve (Thursday December 24).

The week between Christmas and New Year will see Refuse collections (and recycling if you still have the boxes) take place from Monday (Dec 28) even though it is a bank holiday.  If your collection is due to take place on Friday (New Years Day), it will be collected on Saturday January 2, 2010.

A Sheep - Pic: Warchild

Christmas is a very special time on Ash End House Children´s farm. Included in the normal admission price the children are invited to dress up in costumes and join in a delightful Nativity Story in there old stables and with a real donkey, sheep and goats.

Then go and WAKE UP Father Christmas by singing “Jingle Bells”.  They can find him when he is usually snoozing by the wood burning stove in the barn.

Father Christmas can be found on the farm every day from 11.30am until 3.30pm from the 28th November until 2.30 Christmas Eve.

Ash End House Childrens Farm, is a family owned farm which has been operating as a Childrens Farm for nearly 30 years.  Their aim is to provide an enjoyable and educational hands on experience for children of all ages.  They are open to the general public and specialize in guided tours for school parties and play groups.

Opening Tiimes – are 10am to 5pm Spring, Summer and Autumn, 10am to 4pm in Winter (3:30pm Christmas Eve).
Last admission is 1 hour before closing.   The farm is closed from Christmas Day to New Years Day inclusive, reopening the next weekend in January. (2nd January 2010).

Prices – for children is just £5.90 including food for the animals, chick chatting and other activities. Adult admission price is just £5.50.

Children visiting the farm, either with their family or in a group booking, are given food to feed the animals, can have a newly hatched chick or duckling on their lap in a basket, collect an egg from the hen house to take home and have a farm badge of their choice. During Spring Summer season the children are also invited to help bottle feed the lambs and kids.

They can touch, see, smell, feel and hear lots of friendly farm animals and have fun seeing the variety of poultry in our ‘Funny Fowl’ farm yard.

Christmas - Pic: Scott Feldstein

Tamworth Police are setting up in St Editha’s Square the end of this week all in the Christmas Spirit.  This Friday (December 18), Santa Clause will be a guest of Tamworth Police in his grotto.

St Editha’s Square will turn into a Christmas wonderland with a choir, face painting, free mince pies, chocolates, a Jester and Balloon makers will all be in the square, bringing the Tamworth community together.

The Police Officers will be joined with PCSO’s, Street Wardens, Tamworth Borough Council and the Fire Brigade will also be in the town centre.

The Christmas event will coincide with a high visibility operation throughout the town centre and Ventura park where officers will be targeting theft from the shops with a host of undercover officers patrolling the towns stores.

PC Venus Wakley said:

“St Editha’s Square will see a Santa’s Grotto as well as other festive treats, but we will also be around to talk about crime in the town centre.

“There will also be a high-visibility police operation throughout the town, targeting town centre crime.  We want to make the town safe.”

The town centre will see events over the weekend as well, although Santa is in town for one day only.

Sunday December 20 will also see a special event at St Francis Church in the Leyfields.  This Christmas is a great time to pop along and meet the Police officers who police the town centre area.

Christmas - Pic: Scott Feldstein

Atherstone Choral Society are a 65 strong mixed voice (SATB) choir based in Atherstone.

There music spans Bach to Beatles and they enjoy performing Concerts that range from summer showtime fun to more serious Classical music. The Society had quite a traditonal beginning when a group of people decided that they wanted to sing the Messiah and organised themselves to do so. 35 years later some of those people are still active Members of the Society.

They now have a new musical director and are planning there 2010 programme, building on there enjoyment of a wide range of music.

There next concert will be held at the Memorial Hall in Atherstone. FREE parking is available

Tickets are FREE to under 12’s if accompanying with an adult otherwise there £10 each and can be obtained by calling Pat Jay on 01827 713 079

”Christmas Joy”, music for voices and brass from the Arden Hill School Choir concert is Sunday December 13th at 4pm

An early Christmas present for Tamworth motorists may be in store with Tamworth Borough Council cabinet members discussing free parking in the town centre for the two Saturdays before Christmas, making getting those final gifts that little bit easier.

The suspension of parking charges on the next two Saturdays (December 12 and 19) will be discussed at the next cabinet meeting this Thursday (December 10).

Leader of the Council, Councillor Bruce Boughton said:

“The idea behind the change is so that people can get real value from the free parking.

“Saturday is usually the busiest shopping day and we want to give our local businesses a boost as well. Traditionally we choose the two days before Christmas but I know that most people have already finished their Christmas shopping by then and we want people to really feel the benefits of this gift from the council.”

It’s not all great news though, at the same meeting the cabinet will be discussing the rise of parking charges across the town, which happens every 2 years and this year will see a rise in the charges to use the Council run off-street car parks.

Councillor Boughton commented:

“Given the current economic climate, the increase in parking charge is unfortunately inevitable.

“We have delayed the increase for as long as possible as we did not want the increase to hit people before Christmas. Every two years the parking charges are assessed to make sure that we are covering any costs and the recession has had a knock on effect causing many organisations to face difficult financial decisions. Although the prices look set to rise we are still offering value for money and keeping prices down as low a possible compared to other councils in the region and privately run car parks.”

We will publish information on whether parking at the Borough Council run car parks will be free the next two weekends as well as information about next years increases.

Computer Keyboard - Pic: Ian Britton

Residents of Tamworth are being urged to shop safe online this Christmas to help you to avoid disappointment this Christmas.

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

“There are so many websites selling goods and so called Christmas bargains.

“It is important that consumers are aware of what they are buying and where they are buying from. Just as they would if they were purchasing goods from a shop in person.”

The advice includes and tips to avoid disappointment are:

• Know your product – read reviews, make comparisons.
• Shop around – the first price you see is rarely the cheapest. Include delivery charges and think of import duty if ordering from overseas.
• Shop early – allow plenty of time for goods to be delivered. Check products are in stock.
• Know your seller – avoid websites that don’t display the seller’s full details.
• Know your rights – for most goods ordered online, buyers have a statutory cooling off period of seven working days following the day of delivery to change their mind about the purchase. Avoid websites that fail to make this clear.
• Shop securely – only order from websites that make use of secure web pages where the customer is required to supply personal or financial information. Secure web pages have a padlock symbol at the bottom of the web browser and by the use of https:// at the start of the web address. Never disclose payment card information via email.
• Get organised – keep records of transactions.
• Be smart with passwords – don’t use the same usernames and passwords that you use for other online services. Use passwords that are difficult to guess and make use of uppercase letters, numbers and permitted symbols.
• Be sceptical – if an offer is too good to be true then you should assume that it is.
• Be fair – be realistic about delivery times and ensure that someone is available to receive your items in your absence.

County Councillor Adams added:

“These guidelines are designed to help consumers make wise decisions and get the most out of buying online as it can be a great way to buy goods and services. Purchasing online can also help consumers to stay within their budget and learn to shop around for the best buys.”

For more information on safety whilst shopping online, visit the Consumer Direct website.

Santa Clause getting his gifts from Thomas Lands Shop

The largest Thomas the Tank Engine shop in the UK is stay open late today (Thursday December 3) and next Thursday (December 10) giving families the chance to buy the perfect gift for any fan of the famous little blue engine and his friends.

Drayton Manor Park is opening the store till 8pm on both nights allowing visitors already in the park to finish their day at Thomas Land with a Christmas shop after the rides close.  For those who aren’t in the park for Drayton’s Magical Christmas  openings can enter the park for free after 5pm.

Colin Bryan, Managing Director of Drayton Manor said:

“The late closing times are in response to an expected demand for Thomas the Tank Engine merchandise. The Thomas Land Shop is full to the brim of toys, so I’m confident that it will have the ideal gift for every Thomas fan, regardless of their age.”

Thomas Land has proved a massive success as has the parks new Magical Christmas openings which see the park and selected rides (including Thomas Land) opening especially for Christmas.

The shop has the largest selection of Thomas the Tank Engine merchandise in the UK and is stocked to the brim with toys and collectables.

So were you in Tamworth Town Centre last night for the big Christmas Light Switch On? If you were? Are you in the photos below?

The Christmas Lights were switched on by Joshua Reeve who won a competition in local newspaper Tamworth Herald. Joshua was joined on the stage by Mayor of Tamworth, Cllr Gerry Pinner and special guest, Father Christmas who had come all the way to Tamworth especially for the lights switch on.

The town centre was packed with numerous events on at the same time, including a Christmas Fayre in both the Castle and Assembly Rooms, live entertainment under the canopy in St Editha’s Square and the Christmas Tree Festival in St Editha’s chruch proved a hit with people browsing the tree’s and getting out the cold.

Wherever you was in Tamworth there was something going on, George Street saw Street Dynamix entertain the teenagers who were in town, this roving reporter got caught at the cash point as they setup.

What was good was that many of the shops remained open, Co-Op, The Works, Costa Coffee, and Interflora to name a few remained open for the waves of people.

At 8pm, Santa Clause appeared as if by magic to join Joshua and the Mayor on stage, ready to light up Tamworth. The lights came on then Tamworth Ladies Choir led the crowd in a selection of Carols, accompanied by the Amington Band.

More feedback and stories from the event will be on the blog tomorrow. If you would like any photos please contact us.

You can also view the photos on our Facebook Fan Page, click here.

We are slowly uploading all the photos from last nights Christmas Lights Switch on in Tamworth.  We will have these posted shortly. In the meantime, here are a small selection of photos from last night.

Christmas Pudding Making in the Castle

Pupils from Millfields Primary School with their Tree in St Editha's Church

The Christmas Lights are Switched on

The Christmas Lights up George Street

Keep an eye on Tamworth Blog for more photos from last nights festivities which will be posted this afternoon.