Earl Shilton Community Radio Group
Hilltop Radio is the brand name of the Earl Shilton Community Radio Group, a voluntary organisation with a focus on the community in and around the town of Earl Shilton in Leicestershire.
Our objectives are to develop and provide a media network, delivering information and awareness to a wide diversity of the local community.
To read more about Hilltop Radio click here to go to their website.
Earlshilton
The Earl Shilton Business Forum is delighted to announce their latest initiative in brightening up Earl Shilton Town Centre.
With the help of several local artists and very co-operative landlady, Karen Grewcock, the forum has renovated a former empty shop unit and converted it to a bright and cheerful art gallery where you can browse and buy fine art and other crafts made by local artists.
The 'Art in Earl Shilton' gallery now have their own website.
Earl Shiltonis affiliated to the Auto Cycle Union (A.C.U.)
The main aim of the club is to promote trials to suit young riders and beginners. The Club run numerous training days for every standard of rider from just started to expert.
The contact page is here.
Adverts
Do you want to sell your unwanted items? Are you looking for that special something? Maybe you would like swap your unused items for something you can use?
Sorry, no properties, cars or commercial ads.
To advertise for free in this column please email me with the details.
Items for Sale
Nothing at the moment.
Items wanted
Video Cassette or DVD
of Hinckley as it was years ago. Think it was produced locally.
Phone: 01455 846 587
Exchanges
Nothing at the moment.
16 May 2012
Supermarket proposal
Did you know that there is a proposal to build a supermarket on Wood Street Park? No? Then read on.
From what I can gather the actual supermarket would be built about where the Age Concern Centre is now in Kings Walk and the carpark will take up most of the Wood Street park. Of course this means that the Age Concern building would be demolished to make way for the supermarket.
I have learnt that the access road would be where the carpet shop and the Lord Nelson pub is now. I have not seen any plans as yet, so if I'm wrong then please correct me.
I am not against a supermarket in Shilton, in fact I would welcome it, but NOT on our lovely park. It would mean, for me at least, that I could do all my shopping in one place and not get wet on a rainy, cold day walking around the shops. For instance I could get my fresh meat, bacon, sausages etc and my vegetables and fruit in the same place as I buy my bread.
I know this doesn't bode good for the butchers and greengrocer shops, perhaps not even for the present Co-op. I doubt if any shops in Shilton that are struggling now would survive if most people thought as I did.
Granted, it would bring more shoppers into Shilton, but it would be the supermarket that attracts them.
Petitions and links.
We are trying to save our beautiful park from the retail developers. You can show your support by signing the 'SAVE OUR PARK' petition at:
| Earl Shilton News, Wood Street. | Kettles News Agents, Station Road. | |
| Mill Lane Stores. | I.N. Off Licence, Hinckley Road. | |
| Scalliwaggs, Church Street. | Almeys Stores, Almeys Lane. |
Follow 'Save Wood Street Park' on Facebook.
Email: savewoodstreet_es@hotmail.co.uk
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11 Feb 2012
Bonsai
Last night was probably the coldest night for many years in Shilton. My outside thermometer registered -10.5ºC at 2am.
This morning I checked on my bonsai tree collection to find that the pots were frozen solid. I must admit I hadn't thought to check them for several days. When we had the heavy snowfall last week I brushed the snow off the branches for fear that the weight might snap them, and I moved them into the greenhouse (no heating).
I should have realised that the intense cold would even penetrate the greenhouse. The result was that one of the pots had cracked due to the ice expansion in the pot.
I have moved the most vulnerable ones into the spare room to thaw out so the trees can have a drink. The Japanese azalea on the right I brought into the house on Christmas Day as a table decoration has now started to flower, so I can't put it out again until the weather warms up. Normally this azalea flowers in late April or the begining of May.
If there are any bonsai enthusiasts out there in Shilton I'll give you a tip. Don't water your trees with the local tap water, it has a very high chlorine content and is very 'hard' (lime content). The lime will cause a white build-up on the trunks as the water is used or when the pots dry out in the summer. The quickest way to kill an azalea or rhododendron bonsai is to give it tap water! Similarly the chlorine in the water will kill the moss around the tree that you have so carefully grown.
I always use 'God's Gift from Heaven' to water my trees; rainwater!
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 | 23-Apr-12 Betsy said . . . . |
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Your Japanese Azalea is gorgeous!
08 Jan 2012
Chaos on Church Street!
Church Street seems to have been abandoned by the police and the so-called parking attendants.
The street is nearly always partially blocked by parked cars, and just lately there seems to be more and more accidents. Most of the incidents are usually minor so the police are not involved and therefore no record is kept, but I don't think it will be long before there is a major accident due to the excessive speeds that people drive at along the road.
I live in Church Street and practically every day I see cars and other vehicles travelling at more than 30mph. I've got used to the sound of screeching tyres following a near miss; sometimes they don't miss!
One problem is the fact that cars coming up the hill at speed towards Hill Top swing left into Church Street and then accelerate rapidly into the road without realising that there are parked cars on the left a few yards in. They swerve out onto the wrong side of the road to overtake without reducing speed and are suddenly confronted by a car, also travelling too fast coming straight at them, so they try to pull into the left and crash into the first parked car. In the last three years at least 4 parked cars have been damaged this way; I have given my name as a witness in two of the incidents.
Cars coming out of Clearview Crescent have a problem turning right due to the fact the junction is very close to the Church Street/A47 main junction. Not being able to see if anything is approaching from their right they have to take a chance that they can pull out quickly to avoid cars turning into Church Street from the hill.
The problem is further exacerbated by cars being parked on or near to T-junctions, such as The Beeches and Castle Close
Parents who bring their children to "Scallywags" on Saturdays and during school holidays are the worst offenders for causing problems in and around Castle Close. The whole road becomes a nightmare of parked cars. They even park ON the pavements and completely block the view of cars trying to get out of Castle Close.
Looking to the right as you leave Castle Close. . .
. . and looking to the left.
The day I took these photos the problem wasn't too bad, because normally someone with a mobility scooter. or a child's pushchair would not be able to get by and would have to go along the road and could easily have an accident.
When I was taking the above pictures I actually witnessed a small child, obviously excited by the prospect of a day at "Scallywags", jump out of the passenger door of one of the cars parked opposite and run across the road to the door while the mother was busy getting things out of the boot. The child was lucky. There were no cars speeding by at that time.
This small incident was the reason that prompted me to write this article. I had been meaning to write about this subject for a while, but never seemed to get around to it; now that I have I don't think for one minute anything will change until there is a bad accident in Church Street.
My answer to the problem? Well, the Council could put speed bumps down, or paint double yellow lines both sides of the road from the A47 junction to just past "Scallywags", or even both, but I think this would be dismissed as impractical because of the inconvenience caused to the residents. A second idea would be to make Church Street one way from the A47 to Chapel Street with a Give Way line by the Churchyard at the corner and divert the traffic coming from the east around Almeys Lane.
So in the meantime until this problem is sorted could Mr 'Invisible' Parking Attendant please read up the Traffic Laws and come along and sort out this mess ?
Highway Code:
243. Do not stop or park within 10 metres (32ft) of a junction, except in an authorised parking space, etc. (which see)
244. You MUST NOT park partially or wholly on the pavement in London, and should not do elsewhere unless signs permit it, etc. (which see)
Law GL(GP)A sect 15
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| 10-01-12 John T said . . . . |
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The way you have written the bit from the Highway Code is misleading. Paragraph 243 is NOT law, it is a suggestion; whereas Paragraph 244 IS law.
| 15-01-12 M. Taylor said . . . . |
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I also live in Church St and I'm frightened at the speed the traffic goes at. They seem to go faster when the street is full of parked cars, obviously trying to get past them and beat the oncoming traffic.
We're still waiting. . . with crossed legs?
10 Dec 2011
Exactly a year ago I posted an article here 'At your convenience' about the lack of public toilets in the town. To the best of my knowledge nothing seems to have been done about the matter.
If any member of the Town Council would care to email me and bring me up to date on what is happening, I would greatly appreciate it. My email address is in the right-hand column under "Please note:"
I know that when the new supermarket is built there will be toilet facilities there, but that is still a speck on the horizon so to speak. In the meantime I will continue to do my main shopping at Morrisons and get my meat, greens and fruit in either Hinckley or Leicester where I know that if a need to "go" there are public toilets handy.
After all, being a pensioner with a bus-pass and a weak bladder(?) it doesn't cost me anything to get there!
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| 11-01-12 Anon said . . . . |
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If you are a man and need to go for a p**s and the pubs are closed. no problem. Do what I do, find a queit spot in a jitty of somewhere and use a wall or a fence.
25 Sep 2011
Earl Shilton is dying
Why do I say that? Because I believe that if something isn't done, and quick, we will become just a dormitory town where people live but do their shopping elsewhere.
I think most of the blame can be put on the shopkeepers and businesses. They don't seem to me to want to make the effort to attract shoppers into the town centre.
(My apologies here, but the rest of the article seems to have disappeared! I can't trace it in my files to renew it. Rather than trying to re-write it I will leave it as is now.)
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27 Jul 2011
Big Brother is watching you . . .
. . ..or it's the police and/or the council keeping an electronic eye on you.
As you approached Earl Shilton from Leicester via the A47 to Hilltop you may have noticed a large pole on the left just before Church Street with an assortment of cameras on it.
Then I noticed one day that the pole was bare. The cameras had gone! I wondered if perhaps they had been stolen or just removed because of complaints. Then shortly after that the pole disappeared, so I thought there was some skulduggery going on. Obviously motorists approaching the town at high speed in spite of the 30mph sign saw the cameras and slowed down, thereby avoided a speeding fine and depriving the police of their income!
The top picture shows the new location of the cameras. Hard to spot, eh? Click on the picture to enlarge. They are on the corner of the building, just above the signs.
Click the pic on the right for a better view. The white camera appears to be just an ordinary run-of-the-mill surveillance camera looking along the road into the town, but it's that ominous little black camera that's the dangerous one. It's called an "Automatic Number Plate Recognition" camera.
This one looks down the hill, registering all number plates on vehicles entering or leaving Earl Shilton. It has a range of approximately 45 metres, zoom lens with a high magnification and can read number plates at night by using an infra-red projector. Oncoming headlights, even on main beam, are no problem to it due to the narrow band filters installed in it.
The information captured of the plate alphanumeric, date-time and any other information that is required is completed in somewhere around 250 milliseconds. This information can easily be transmitted to some remote computer, such as at the DVLA in Swansea, for further processing in order to check that the vehicle is taxed, insured and has a current MOT certificate. Some models also have speed detection facilities.
I got all the technical information from an unreliable source (the police) so I can't swear to the accuracy of it; but you get the general picture. Incidentally, I have seen these cameras on three of the roads leading in and out of our town, so if you are approaching or leaving ES, watch your speed!
UPDATE: 30 Jul 2011. Surprise, surprise. Today's Daily Mail carries an article on the same subject. They claim that Royston in Herefordshire is the first town to have these cameras, and they will be switched on in a few days time. Well, I've got news for them . . . .
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Better late than never, or is it?
07 Jun 2011
I received my copy of "The Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Bulletin" yesterday and enclosed was a copy of the "Community House Newsletter".
There is an advert from "Hilltop Radio" in this issue inviting people to go along and see what they are all about. It goes on to say that they are having (had?) an Open Day on the 4th of June at 11am - 7pm! As I stated above, I received my copy of the newsletter on the 6th June. so unfortunately I can't go because my time travel machine broke down next Monday!
Joking aside, I would have liked to see Hilltop Radio, but it was not to be. Being a radio amateur myself I am interested in the technical side of the radio station. Furthermore the advert doesn't state where Hilltop Radio is actually located (No, it's NOT at 'Hilltop'). Obviously if you are reading this article you only have to click on the advert in the left column and go to "Contact" to find the address, but then, not everyone who receives the Newsletter has access to the Internet.
I wonder if many people took advantage of this offer? Is it just that the Newsletter is always delivered late at my end of the town?
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Is it finished?
25 Apr 2011
. . . . and this is how it looks now.
Further to my post on 14 Feb (which see) about the modernisation of The Hollow it would seem that the work is now complete and we can walk along the pavement without risking life and limb by walking on the road, as some people insisted on doing instead of using the pedestrian diversions!
In spite of the gravestones to Earl Shilton's dead industries and the lights let into the pavement I think it all looks rather bland and uninspiring now.
When we had nice sunny warm weather, like it has been these last few days, I used to take a book, sandwiches and a drink and sit on a bench in the shade of the trees and spend an hour or two watching the world go by. Not any more!
I know I can still sit on the benches, but there is no shade now, except from the buildings and I would feel "exposed".
I feel that the development could have been better thought out and made more appealing to the eye than just an expanse of paving to accomodate the Farmers market (once a a month) and the street fair (once a year). I suppose this is a typical example of "progress".
It would be interesting to hear other residents views on the "new look" Hollow, and what could be done to improve the appearance, i.e., planters, hanging baskets, etc. If you have any ideas please use the comment box at the bottom of this page.
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Update on the previous post.
17 Mar 2011
. . . . I received my copy of "The Newsletter of the Town Council" this morning along with my Council Tax demand.
In the newsletter there is an article about the dog mess in Earl Shilton, and I reproduce part of it here.
"The Neighbourhood Wardens at the Borough Council are stepping up their monitoring and patrols around Earl Shilton to try to catch dog owners who fail to clean up after their pets.
Anyone caught allowing their dog to mess in a public place will be issued with a fixed penalty notice for £50. Failure to pay could lead to a fine of up to £1,000.
Well, we'll see wont we. . .
Update on the public toilets situation.
A portaloo HAS been installed in the centre of to town, but it is only for the use of the County Council contractors who are improving (?) the paved areas in front of the Town council office, the Methodist Chapel and the Co-op.
Councillor Janice Richards (Con), who described the previous toilet block as "Dr Who beam me up" loos [actually the art of 'beaming me up' was practiced by the Star Trek team, not Doctor Who -Keith.] told the "Hinckley Times" that "Toilets can be supplied for the workmen in Earl Shilton, but not for residents on a long term basis. I know the Lord Nelson pub said people could could use the ones there, but they were not open all the time, and it would not be a permanent thing. Now the pub has closed again." She added, "We need public toilets in Earl Shilton".
So come on, whoever holds the purse and whoever is responsible to get the work under way. I can't hold it much longer!
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My other pages
| Homepage |
| My Blogpage |
| The 'Oak 'n Ash' tree |
| Ted Ortons Tall Tales |
| Romany Rye |
| Slideshow of France |
| Earl Shilton Bio |
| True things on the telly |
Please note:
This version of "Out and About in Earl Shilton" is still being developed. Please check back regularly as new features are constantly being added.
If you feel that your society, club or organisation should be included on this site please email me.
There is a comment box at the bottom of Page 1 if you want to send feedback about any subject on this site.
Please state which article you are referring to in the 'Subject' box. Thanks.
- Keith.
Location
Local weather
Oak and Ash Tree
In Leicestershire, near to Earl Shilton, is a very special tree. It is in fact two trees that have bonded to-gether. Nothing unusual in that you might think, but these trees are two different species. One is an oak and the other is an ash [Read more]
Ted's Tall Tales.
Earl Shiltons premier storyteller.
From the trypewriter
of Ted Orton.
A page on which Ted relates some of the stories and legends of old Earl Shilton, including "A Requiem for two lambs", and "The Origin of Guinness" and how it all started. Fascinating reading! [See more]
About the "Stute"
The Social Institute was founded at the end of the 19th century to cater for the social needs of the young men of Earl Shilton. Reconstituted in 1977 as a charity, it now serves as a social centre for the whole village and the surrounding area.
Click on the image to go to the webpage or here for more details
Community House
Project
Working together
The Community House was developed through the Crime & Disorder Partnership. The project was launched in September 2001 with the initial funding coming from the Home Office, county and borough council.
The aim of the project is to work with local residents and youth, encouraging them to become involved in community projects and activities, helping to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour and by working together to encourage a sense of pride back into the area.
To read more about the Community House and to find out what is available there click here.