DISTRICT NEWS: Tickhill

CARING FOR THE COUNTRYSIDE: Stuart Allen, chairman of Tickhill Countryside Group (TCG), has produced his annual report for 2021-2022. Stuart writes: “TCG is a small group of local people with the aim of conserving and enhancing Tickhill’s countryside. We have now reached our thirtieth birthday and my nineteenth year as chairman. As last year the pandemic has slowed us down a little but unlike last year we could at least have a few meetings and get a few things done. We spent a lot of time litter picking last winter with hundreds of litter sacks filled on roadside verges around Tickhill and the odd wood too. We also got together with Tickhill and District Lions Club, of which I am also a member, and other volunteers on more than one occasion for a couple of large community litter picking events which proved to be very successful. I would like to thank Tickhill’s DMBC Cllr Nigel Cannings and Tickhill Town’s Council’s Steve Gillott for all their ongoing help. We continue to maintain Jubilee Wood as every year by trimming trees and strimming footpaths. We had the Electricity Board come into the wood last winter to pollard the trees under the electricity cables, which initially looked dreadful. We set about clearing up all the cut back wood to stop it becoming a fire hazard and gradually by mid summer the fresh growth had softened the look. Turning a negative into a positive it let in a lot of light, which resulted in lots more wild flowers. Unfortunately as last year we have had to cut down more Ash trees in Jubilee Wood due to Ash Die Back disease (chalara fraxinea) but we have replaced most of these with other species. We also monitor and maintain Tickhill Wildwood (The Raffs) as well as strimming the footpaths to keep them open for walkers. We spent a January morning working at St Mary’s Church of England Primary School again trimming the Willow Arch before moving to the new St Mary’s churchyard to trim the Beech hedge that we planted several years ago. We followed that by putting six nest boxes dotted about the old churchyard and removed a small area of trees that were too close to the stone wall. As last year the social side of the group such as trips out and about has been put on hold due to the pandemic but hopefully that side of things should start to get better. Our Facebook page Wild About Tickhill is continuing to grow and we have almost five hundred members who enjoy the page and post information and photographs and videos and on a regular basis. Anyone with an interest in our local flora a fauna are welcome to join the site. The group has continued its affiliations with bodies such as Doncaster Biodiversity Action Partnership and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), and is contributing to a Yorkshire Wildlife Trust project to improve the watercourses leading to the river Torne. We also have a great relationship with Tickhill and District Lions Club and with Lound Bird Club. I would like to thank the following people: Don Gill Rotherham Advertiser Tickhill district news correspondent and one of the original TCG members, for his continued press coverage of our activities and farmer David Smith for the use of the small barn in which we store our equipment. Financially we are in a healthy state, which allows us to meet our commitment to Waste Recycling Development (WREN) to maintain Jubilee Wood and to fund any projects in the future. I would like to conclude by thanking all members of our group be they old or new for their hard work and their support over the past twelve months. If you are interested in joining us please contact me at my [email protected] email address. Or come to one of our meetings at the Scarbrough Arms, Sunderland Street on the first Wednesday of every second month at 7.30pm. We welcome new members of all ages to keep the group moving forward. So if you have an interest in caring for our Tickhill countryside please do get in touch.”   

COAL QUEEN PAGEANT RETURNING: It was pleasure for me to meet the reigning Miss South Yorkshire title holder Jasmine Womack who was running a fundraising stall at the recent Mayflower Animal Sanctuary Scruffs fun dog show that was held at Tickhill’s Tithes Lane recreation ground. Rossington resident Jasmine (27) is organising the new South Yorkshire Coal Queen 2022 pageant and she is inviting ladies to take part in the event. Anyone like me that worked in the long departed coal industry will remember just what a big event the original annual National Coal Board (NCB) Coal Queen contest was that selected a winner in every geographical area of the industry before each one of the girls competed for the prestigious NCB Queen title. The contestants enjoyed a great deal of publicity that was given to competitors by the monthly Coal News publication that was freely distributed around every coalfield. Jasmine said: “The South Yorkshire Coal Queen pageant is a brand new event that is aimed at bringing confidence and excitement to the region whilst fundraising for Zoë’s Place Children’s Hospice. I am the pageant director and I am the current Miss South Yorkshire, which was the first pageant that I entered. As part of the contest I raised more than £1500 for Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice. I am a finalist in Supermodel England 2022 in which each contestant must compete to raise most money for Zoë’s Place so I am organising my own pageant to help me achieve that goal. I have always enjoyed fundraising and supporting those in need. Applications for South Yorkshire Coal Queen are now open for those over the age of 12. If you are interested in applying please email [email protected] with your name, age, local area, three photographs of yourself and a paragraph about yourself. No experience is required as this is a fun and friendly pageant. We welcome beginners and total newbies. There are no height or size restrictions and no swimwear categories. The 2022 South Yorkshire Coal Queen pageant is being held at the Holiday Inn, Warmsworth, Doncaster on Saturday, October 8 2022.”

ROB’S MARATHON FUNDRAISING RUN: Rob Atkinson, boss of the town’s Zuvu Fresh Fish and Seafood shop in Market Place was successful in a gruelling 24-hour physical challenge event. Rob said: “I was joined by a friend who I have known since nursery school in running for 24 hours in an event called Endure24 around Bramham Park at Leeds. The course was a five-mile circuit that you had to run round as many times as possible. We aimed to each run 50 miles and only one of us could be on the course at any one time as we tried to reach 100 miles. The charity for which we were raising money was Create A Dream Foundation (CADF) which is a local charity based in Sheffield that supports South Yorkshire families by giving seriously ill children by making dreams and lasting memories come true.” On his return from the big event Rob was absolutely delighted to be able to tell his Zuvu customers that had financially supported him of the result of the duo’s 24-hour exertions. Rob said: “We won 1st Male Pairs at Endure24. We did a total of 120 miles (60 miles each) and we covered 24 laps in 24 hours and it was enough to beat everyone else. Thank you to all those customers who donated in the shop and through the JustGiving page we raised over £1300 for the CADF charity. It was a great amount for a great charity. The legs are on recovery and ready to be back in the shop.”

CHARGING POINTS GO LIVE: The town’s four electric vehicle-charging points officially went live on Tuesday, JULY 26 when Mayor of Tickhill Cllr Peter Walker and a representative of the ZEST company turned on the power. Prior to the unveiling of the four bays a Tickhill Town Council spokesperson said: “The bay markings are now complete and the chargers were tested by operatives from the Leeds based company ZEST who brought the equipment into commission. Due to the exceptional heat wave there have been a couple of delays that affected the official opening but now they are up and running and ready for electric vehicle drivers to use.” There are 50 spaces in the car park for non-electric vehicles.

PARK LIFE: Townsfolk visiting Tickhill Community Library that is located the Henry Shaw building, Castlegate can pick up an interesting publication that tells you all about the summer season at Rotherham’s free entry Clifton Park museum. Rotherham Council’s Cabinet member for social Inclusion Cllr Dave Sheppard has written the forward to the booklet and has said that he is delighted to see the work of the Museums, Arts and Heritage service continuing to develop and become more inclusive and putting diversity at its heart.

NOTEABLE SUCCESS: John Marsden the choirmaster at St Mary’s Parish Church was delighted with the success of the newly formed Tickhill Community Choir that performed in church at the special service that celebrated the 70-year Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth 11. John said: “Many thanks to all who contributed towards the success of the choir that sang at the Jubilee Concert. A great time was had by all of the members of the choir. For anyone who would like to do some more singing, all are welcome in church on Friday evenings during August when we will be singing a wide range of music.”

FIELD WALKING: Anne Peat and Cherry Coddington lead their fellow members of Tickhill and District Footpath Group on their weekly walk on Monday, August 8. The party meets opposite the Buttercross monument at 7pm before exploring the Castle Fields area of the town adjacent to Tickhill Castle and the Mill Dam.

BAWTRY GARDEN CLUB: Bawtry Garden Club (BGC) members thoroughly enjoyed their July visit to Morton Nurseries at Babworth near Retford. A BGC spokesperson said: “We were not disappointed. It is a small retail nursery that specialises in the more unusual and hard to find shrubs, perennials and flowering bulbs. Gill and Gayle have developed the gardens and nursery over the last 14 years and have over 50 years gardening experience between them. We were given a tour of the stunning gardens and Gill and Gayle were on hand to answer any questions. Refreshments followed and we then had time to browse the plants and shrubs for sale in the garden centre. All enjoyed a really relaxing sunny afternoon. In June members visited the new Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Garden at Bridgewater near Manchester. Again it was another very successful trip. Some members are hoping for a return visit next year to see how the gardens have matured and flourished. A very big thank you to our chairperson Sylvia for planning and running the trips. Her hard work is greatly appreciated by the members. Please note there is no meeting in August. At our next meeting on Tuesday, September 6 we are holding our in-house Garden Show. Members are welcome to bring along family and friends to this event. Sylvia will be emailing entry forms and further details regarding timings etc in the near future. Anyone requiring further details regarding Bawtry Garden Club please contact Sylvia on 01302 719015.”