The Green SceneIssue 32 The newsletter of the Seacroft Green Residents Association Winter 2015

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E

1 Farewell: Seacroft Christmas Gala:

2 The future of Seacroft Gala: Musicathon:

3 Committee: Christmas Services: Funding thanks:

4 Immobilise property crime: Readers write:

5 Gala AGM: New MP: Quarterly (Christmas) Quiz:

6 Foxwood Remembered: Second Saturday Café:

7 Warm beer: Gogglebooks: Red Hall Nursery: Answers:

8 It’s a cracker! Tel. scams: Do you know who’s calling?

Newsletter 1

Saturday 12th December 20152.30pm to 4.30pm

Unfortunately, Seacroft Village Hall will not be available to participate in this year’s Christmas Gala. Therefore, the event will be spread across the following three venues:

St James Church, Seacroft Methodist Hall, Chapel FM

Due to circumstances beyond the committee’s control, we will have a slightly ‘pared down’ gala this year. However, we still aim to make it a great fun community event for everyone - with the following activities available:

Music and community Carols in St James Church.(We regret there will be no school choirs this year.)

Santa and his helpers in St James Church as usual.

Christmas stalls in Seacroft Methodist Hall - including hand-made crafts, cards, jewellery, bric-a-brac, Avon, baskets, novelties, hand knitted items, tombola and lucky dip.

Face painting in Chapel FM.

Fire pit, chestnuts and music outside the Seacroft Methodist Hall along with the Smoothie Bike.

Tea, coffee, hot-dogs and cakes in St James Church.

Family Christmas craft activities in St James Church.

Music, stories and poetry at Chapel FM from 3.00pm as part of the Musicathon. (More info. on page 2.)

Stilt walking Snow Queen and elves.

Christmas Carols and parade to village green Christmas tree at 4.00pm. Bring your decorations!

Free mince pies and mulled wine throughout.

So do come and join us and celebrate the coming of Christmas with this great community event.

Farewell – Goodbye – Good LuckIt is with a degree of sadness that we bid a fond “Farewell” to the Reverend Fiona Harrison-Smith who will leave the Parish of Seacroft and St James Church in January 2016.

Fiona has been appointed as Vicar of St. Gabriel’s Church in Weoley Castle, South West Birmingham. Our loss will be their gain!

Since arriving in Seacroft, Fiona has worked tirelessly to bring the church community together and it’s fair to say she has certainly helped to improve the church’s links with other groups and agencies.

Fiona has also been a great advocate for children and families within the Parish of Seacroft - from being actively involved in local support groups, organising and taking part in family friendly events, being a willing representative at inter-agency meetings, to assisting local schools and supporting the work of other local organisations; voluntary or otherwise. We will certainly miss Fiona’s enthusiasm, commitment and sense of humour.

A large number of people, not least the members of the Seacroft Green Residents Association, wish the Reverend Fiona and her family all the very best for their new beginning in Birmingham.

Seasonal Greetings to all our readers.

Newsletter 2

The work of the Seacroft Gala Committee starts immediately after the new-year with the paying of bills for the Christmas Gala; auditing the accounts and planning for the AGM in February. Grant applications usually have to be submitted by March and at the same time we have to send our funders, monitoring reports with evidence of how we spent the previous year’s grants.

If we have managed to hold a small reserve of money, we can begin to plan for the summer gala. However, until we know whether our grant applications have been successful or not, and just how much funding we will receive, it is difficult to book activities too far in advance. Then it’s all down to the meetings, planning, organising, negotiating, liaising, booking, securing, confirming and then the actual doing, on the day.

After the summer gala and a short breather in August, it’s all ‘hands to the pump’ once again for the Christmas Gala in December. So the Gala Committee has to be ‘on the ball’ all year long!

It has to be said however, that 2015 has been a very challenging year for the few remaining members of the Gala Committee as the membership diminished to just 6 regular members!

To organise two large community events with so few people has been a major undertaking and with some members leaving and/or standing down at the annual general meeting in February 2016, the future of the galas, as we know them, is in real doubt!

Obviously, without ‘new blood’ coming forward to help plan and organise the galas, it will be impossible to continue to provide these much loved events in the way that we have for the past eight years.

Therefore, the Gala Committee is asking for YOUR help! Consideration is being given to the following alternative - instead of having one large gala in July, maybe having several smaller events throughout the year - similar to the family fun days held in August. This could alleviate some of the pressure from the Gala Committee and help forge more opportunities for joint enterprise.

What do YOU think? What would YOU prefer?PLEASE DO LET US KNOW

Alternatively, you could join our gala committee at the AGM on 25th February 2016 at Chapel FM.

See page 5 for more information.

MUSICATHON at Chapel FMThe 2015 Chapel FM Musicathon

3.00pm Saturday 12th December to 3.00pm Sunday 13th December 2015.

It was way back in 2009 when we first came across Seacroft Methodist Chapel. Barbara and Frank (two of the Methodist stalwarts) were at a meeting and talking about how they were trying to find someone to take over their old chapel before it disintegrated. When we went to have a look, it was definitely a bit worse for wear as it hadn’t been used for about ten years - and it had a tree growing out of the roof!

Of course we loved the idea of saving the building and being able to create something new for the community - but where to start? The first thing we ever did there was a little bit on the ambitious side - a Musicathon, lasting 24 hours, with live music played throughout, by 300 different musicians and singers.

The Methodist congregation took a little bit of convincing, (mainly I suspect, that we weren’t completely bonkers!) but it was a great success and really kick-started the whole process that eventually became Chapel FM. Barbara was there for most of the 24 hours, serving tea and making everyone welcome. Frank brought his choir Concordia, to take part and said one of the most encouraging things at the end of it all “You’ve brought life back into this chapel” and indeed Concordia are back performing in Chapel FM on December 6th.

The musicians were all pretty well behaved (!) and they just loved the place and the acoustics - so really there was no turning back.

With the shiny new building opening in 2014, last year was the first Musicathon in Chapel FM itself. It was great and remarkably easy - no packing everything away at the end of the 24 hours; just a quick tidy and switch the lights out! So we are only too happy to organise the 6th Musicathon in December 2015, timed to coincide with the lovely Seacroft Christmas Gala.

Get in touch if you would like to be part of this year’s Musicathon; come and play, sing, help out on tech, front of house or just come in to watch and listen.

It’s going to be emotional!

Adrian Sinclair - Creative Director.

Chapel FM, Old Seacroft Chapel, York Road, LS14 6JB.Tel: 0113 225 5944

For news on events, training and broadcasts go to:www.chapelfm.co.uk or email info@chapelfm.co.uk

The future of Seacroft Gala.

Newsletter 3

SEACROFT GREEN RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION

Who’s who on the committee?

Keith Nichols Chair 69 The GreenJanet Cordwell Vice Chair 1053 York RoadRita Berry Treasurer 51 The GreenDiane Marsden Secretary 49 The GreenLily Woods 26 The GreenMick Firth 5 Courtenay’sRoger Berry 51 The GreenSean Hennigan 87 The GreenJohn Wheatley 34 Hansby PlaceYvonne Croft 16 Redmire Court

If you wish to contact the committee you can either phone the Chair on: 0756 2367 157

the Contact Coordinator on: 0795 1785 845or alternatively contact the secretary

by email at: marsden858@btinternet.com

You can find out more about us at:www.seacroftgreen.org.uk

We would like to welcome new member Yvonne Croft who was unanimously voted on to the committee at our meeting in October 2015. As Yvonne joins us this takes our numbers up to 10.

However, a full committee stands at 14 and so we continue to look for ‘new recruits’ to join our ranks. We still have four places waiting to be filled and invite any resident interested in helping to support the work we do, to get in touch.

We meet locally every six to eight weeks and members contribute as much or as little as they can - we don’t ‘twist arms’! For more information or an informal chat, you can contact us on any of the details above.

Work recently completed:Following a number of requests from residents we contacted LCC Parks Department to have most of the trees around the village green area trimmed and any base suckers cut back.

As it is LCC policy not to trim trees during the growing season, unless causing a danger to the public, the work was not completed until October.

One resident voiced her appreciation saying: “Thanks to the committee for having the trees trimmed. I’ve got my view back again!”

Christmas Services – Seacroft ParishChristingle for Children

Sunday 6th December @ 4.30pm - St James ChurchA child-friendly service for all.

Community Carol ServiceSunday 20th December @ 6.00pm - St James Church

Everyone welcome.

Children’s Nativity ServiceChristmas Eve @ 3.00pm - St Paul’s ChurchChristmas Eve @ 4.30pm - St James Church

Midnight MassChristmas Eve @ 11.30 - all churches

St James / St Paul’s / St Richard’sTraditional candlelit Carols and Communion.

Christmas Day Communion at St Richard’s Church.

For more information go towww.seacroftparish.org.uk

FUNDING THANKSOnce again we wish to record our thanks for the generous contributions towards the large Christmas tree on the village green, which this year is costing almost £800.

This amount seems expensive but the cost does include the purchase, fitting, removal and disposal of the tree plus fitting, removal and the annual service of the lights, by Leeds City Council.

(It has previously been suggested that we purchase our own tree which would be less expensive, but where would we get the personnel and a cherry picker to lift and install it? Not to mention the six weeks use of the local authority street lighting!)

Therefore, many thanks go to the following: LCC Housing Advisory Board for £400 Seacroft Green Residents Association for £200 Seacroft Village Hall for £100 Seacroft Gala Committee for £100

As a ‘joint’ enterprise’ we certainly would not be able to raise sufficient funds to provide the tree without these grants and local donations. We really do appreciate it.

Newsletter 4

‘Immobilise’ property crime!To protect it, register it.

Immobilise is a free property register - enabling users to create a secure record of personal possessions such as laptops, mobile phones, cameras and various other items.

Protecting personal property is extremely important and registering it on Immobilise can assist the police in reuniting you with your possessions if stolen - or in deterring an offender from stealing them in the first place!

Benefits of property registration on Immobilise include: It’s free of charge and very easy to create your

personal portfolio on-line.

Almost any item of property can be registered within minutes.

You can add specific details relating to items of property eg. serial numbers, photographs or individual features.

If an item of your registered property is stolen you simply inform the police and then log on to your Immobilise account and update the status of the item.

The system is linked to the National Mobile Property Register which enables the police to enter serial numbers of stolen items that they have recovered against the property registered.

This can then result in items of stolen property being returned to their rightful owner and offenders being brought to justice for their crimes.

Using Immobilise and awareness stickers to inform people that your property has been registered on the system can assist in preventing and reducing crime, increasing the chance of an offender being caught. It also helps to protect your property and the important and/or sentimental documents that are sometimes stored on electronic items.

Once you have opened a free account on Immobilise, it is important to keep it up to date, either by notifying the system that an item has been lost or stolen or in registering new items that you have purchased.

To find out more go to www.immobilise.com and sign up now!

Why wouldn’t Cinderella be a good soccer player? Because she lost her shoe, she ran away from the ball and her coach was a pumpkin!

Two TV aerials on a roof fall in love and get married. The ceremony was rubbish but the reception was brilliant!

Dear EditorAs a regular visitor to Seacroft Grange I wanted to let you know I have enjoyed reading the newsletter - whenever there is one left! I particularly enjoyed the article on John Pearson, no longer an ‘Unsung Hero’ with three streets named in his memory! What a lovely Idea. The quizzes are also great for entertaining my grandchildren. Many thanks.

Edna Feenan - by email.

Dear EditorOn the 29th September it was my 95th birthday. On Wednesday 30th I went to South Seacroft Friends and Neighbours in the Methodist Hall for my lunch.

I was just thinking of going home when everyone started singing “Happy Birthday” and I was more than delighted when Yvonne, my helper, came into the room with a large birthday cake with a 95 candle lit up with sparklers for me.

So thank you all, Linda, Kate and all the others who helped make my birthday a great success and for all the birthday cards as well. I hope you all enjoyed the cake! Thank you all.

Stephen Cocker.

Dear EditorI am new to the area and just want to say “thank you” to the Residents Association for such an interesting and informative newsletter.

It doesn’t just keep us informed of the things that are going on in the area but it’s an entertaining read too. Just the thing to sit with over a cuppa! My one query is, why only four times a year?

Pamela Branson - by email.

Thanks for the plaudit Pamela - putting the newsletter together on a quarterly basis is already a very time consuming activity. It includes finding and collecting suitable information, then typing it up whilst trying to fit everything into some sort of interesting and readable order. As much as I love doing it, four times a year is more than enough at the moment! Editor.

READERS

Newsletter 5

Quarterly (Christmas) QuizWhich Christmas Carols do these lines come from?

1. Earth was hard as iron, water like a stone…

2. Where a mother laid her baby, in a manger for his bed…

3. Brightly shone the moon that night, though the frost was cruel…

4. The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes…

5. Bearing gifts we traverse afar…

6. Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay…

7. Round yon virgin mother and child…

8. Come and behold him, born the king of angels…

9. Said the night wind to the little lamb…

10. O tidings of comfort and joy…

11. Joyful all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies…

12. From angels bending near the earth, to touch their harps of gold…

13. Above thy deep and dreamless sleep…

14. “Fear not” said he, for mighty dread had seized their troubled minds…

Here’s one for the children1. Who was it that got stuck up the chimney?

2. In which Christmas song is it fun to ride in a one horse open sleigh?

3. How many of Santa’s reindeers can you name besides Rudolf?

4. Which saint is Santa Clause named after?

5. What gifts did the three kings come bearing?

6. What kind of tree is in the song ‘Twelve days of Christmas’?

7. Where does Santa live?

8. How many sides does a snowflake have?

9. Who wrote the story ‘A Christmas Carol’?

10. Who had a hit with ‘Do they know it’s Christmas’?

You will find all your answers on page 7.

Your New MP - Richard BurgonI don’t believe that your elected MPs should hide themselves away. I believe we are here to help and we are here to speak up in Parliament on behalf of the people in our local area.

That’s why I have organised regular, local MP advice sessions. If you need my help you can just turn up to see me at one of the eight advice sessions I hold every month, you don’t need an appointment.

For session details see below:

The first Friday in the month5.00 - 6.00pm.

Constituency Office, Rosgill Drive, Seacroft.(Former Presbytery of Lady of Good Council)

The first Saturday in the month10.00 - 11.30am. Cross Gates Library.

12.00 - 1.30pm. Compton Centre, Harehills.The third Friday in the month

5.00 - 6.00pm Corpus Christi Club, 6.30 - 7.30pm. Swarcliffe Community Centre.

The third Saturday in the month10.00 - 11.30am. Cross Gates Library.

12.00 - 1.30pm. Compton Centre, Harehills.The last Friday in the month

3.00 - 5.00pm. Bangladesh Community Centre,

Contact details – Telephone: 0113 232 3266

Email at: richard@richardburgon.com

A man in a café ordered a coffee. The waitress arrived and placed it on the table. After a moment the man called the waitress over and complained “There’s dirt in my coffee”.

The waitress replied “Well it was ground a few minutes ago!”

You are invited to attend theAnnual General Meeting

To be held on Thursday 25th February 2016

1.30pm - 2.30pm at Chapel FMOld Seacroft Chapel, York Road, LS14 6JB

Newsletter 6

Foxwood RememberedDo you remember Foxwood School?

The City’s first Comprehensive.

Foxwood in Seacroft was opened as a comprehensive secondary school for boys in September 1956 but building work on the £176,487 project continued for another two years on the 32 acre site off Brooklands Avenue.

In the first year just 300 boys attended the school, the plan being to increase that by around 300 each year until a total of just over 1,500 pupils was reached.

The school began life under the leadership of head-teacher Matthew Rowlands, 38, previously deputy headmaster at Caludon Castle Boys Comprehensive in Coventry.

The comprehensive system of schooling came about as a result of the Education Act 1944 which stated ‘children should receive the type of education most suited to their abilities’ this being determined by the then 11 plus examination.

At this time there were three types of school; secondary grammar, secondary technical and secondary modern. However, some in the field of education argued it was not possible to determine the capabilities of children at age 11 and they therefore backed a more comprehensive system, which would include aspects from all three of the existing types of education.

At Foxwood, during the first two years from 11 to 13 the curriculum included English, maths, the sciences, music, woodwork, arts and crafts, history, geography, religious studies, foreign languages, games and physical education. At the age of 13, boys would then be able to choose various courses more suited to their abilities.

The system had its critics but Foxwood seemed to be working well, producing pupils good enough to enter Cambridge without interview! One such, Howard Buchanan, speaking in January 1965 at the age of 19 said “I was given a chance to improve myself. I was placed in the modern stream and I worked my way up.” At the time Howard was studying English at Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

By 1974, there were some 1,600 pupils at Foxwood - both boys and girls - the school becoming ‘mixed’ in 1970. There were 97 teaching staff and the school drew pupils from across East Leeds but mostly from the 25,000 strong population of Seacroft.Continued…

The history of the school is ultimately entwined with that of the area in which it stood - the ‘manor’ of Seacroft having been purchased in 1934 by Leeds City Corporation, initially to house people made homeless by the huge slum clearance programme.

Leeds City Corporation purchased 1,000 acres of land and would eventually build over 7,000 houses and thus Seacroft became one of the largest ‘Council’ estates in Europe!

Foxwood School had a residential farm in Horton-in-Ribblesdale and in October 1965, the headmaster authorised the purchase of a former ambulance for £25 which he said would be used to transport staff and pupils to the outward bound centre. The farmhouse itself, at Newhouses, was bought by the school’s Parent’s Association.

The Brooklands Avenue school changed its name in September 1992 to become East Leeds High School, although at one point it was destined to become the Denis Healey High School but the idea was dropped because the initials DHHS were a little too synonymous with DHSS - the Department for Housing and Social Security, which some thought would have negative connotations!

East Leeds High School closed in 1996 and the building was then used as a further education / training centre alongside a Family Nursery Centre until it was finally demolished in 2009.

Reproduced by kind permission of the YEP.

Do you remember Foxwood? Did you go to Foxwood?If so - why not share your memories with us? Editor.

‘The Barn’ Mayfield Farm, 69 The GreenThe last café date before the end of the year will be

on Saturday 12th December - 10.00am to 12.00noon.

Why not come along and join us for a cuppa & cake? Any donations will go to the monthly charity chosen.

This year donations from the Café have gone to:Age UK.

Comic ReliefNepal Disaster Fund

CAPMarie Curie x 2

Adam Chadwick Fund 4 SportMacMillan Cancer Support

Children in Need

SECOND SATURDAY CAFÉ

Newsletter 7

Warm BeerWaved off on a lengthy sea journey

Sprayed with a nauseous scentIt’s a prudence when leaving the country

An unpleasant but legal event.

Their contract in Australia completedLooks good on their CV and file

Now I have to get used toPale Poms whingeing a while.

That’s how I knew I was differentWhen they couldn’t leave me behind

So they packed me off stuffed with their luggageRoom for it having been found.

It’s a happy reunion at the docksideI perform like the famous stars do

After clearing my tubes I’m demandingSome refreshment - a litre or two.

Gone are the hot sunny beachesNow the anoraks swarm red and blue

Hiding pale skins and frecklesWarm beer in the pub gets them through.

I once was a courier of surf boardsOn beach parties most of the days

I’m now touring the damp green countryMy top up in the rain and the dales.

My bright red, good-looking bodyTurns heads as I’m seen going by

No worries! Fair dinkum! Gooday mate!I’m the beetle they brought back from Bondi.

This poem by Dot Dillow is taken from her - Little Book of Big Stories - Real Stuff of Real Life - published by the Seacroft Community Literature and Art Society.

This book of quirky short stories costs a mere £2 and is available from SCLAS who meet every Tuesday afternoon at Seacroft Village Hall.

Quarterly (Christmas) Quiz answers.

1. In the bleak mid-winter.2. Once in Royal David’s city.3. Good King Wenceslas.4. Away in a manger.5. We three kings.6. The first Noel.7. Silent night.8. O come, all ye faithful.9. Do you hear what I hear?10. God rest ye merry gentlemen.11. Hark, the herald angels sing.12. It came upon a midnight clear.13. O little town of Bethlehem.14. While shepherds watched their flocks by night.

Children’s quiz answers.

1. It was Santa who got stuck up the chimney.2. Jingle Bells.3. Cupid, Comet, Prancer, Vixen,

Dancer, Donder, Dasher, Blitzen.4. Saint Nicholas.5. Gold, Frankincense, Myrrh.6. A pear tree.7. Santa lives in Lapland.8. A snowflake has six sides.9. Charles Dickens.10. Band Aid.

How well did you do? Well done if you got them all!

Red Hall NurseryRedhall Estate, Redhall Lane, Leeds LS17 8NB

At our 6.5 Acre nursery site we grow over 3 million plants each year to enhance Leeds public Parks, roundabouts, flower-beds, school grounds and the city centre. We also source and procure all the trees and shrubs for many of the landscape and redevelopment projects across the city.

Our plants have provided the stunning backdrop for Leeds City Council’s previous award winning gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show, four of which can be seen at Roundhay Park in the specialist gardens.

Red Hall is open to the public and we have something for every season. We have - bedding plants, fruit trees, shrubs, hanging baskets, edible crops, compost, tools and hardware, bird food, feeders and accessories, gift vouchers.We are open Monday - Sunday from 9am to 3pm every day of the week except for Christmas week and Easter Sunday. There is plenty of free parking and level access for disabled visitors and our staff are on hand to assist if needed.

Why not call in and see our range?

GogglebooksSeacroft Ladies Book Group

We meet on the last Thursday of each month

7.30pm atThe Barn, Mayfield Farm, 69 The Green, Seacroft

We all get together, informally, over a cuppa, to discuss the latest borrowed book. Why not come and join us?

New lady members are always welcome.For more information contact Anna on 07855 322 565

Newsletter 8

What do you call a penguin in the Sahara desert?Lost!

What do you get when you cross Santa with a duck?A Christmas quacker!

What kind of transport gives people colds?Achoo choo train!

What does the Spanish farmer say to his chickens?“Ole”

What athlete is warmest in winter?A long jumper!

Why do bees hum?Because they don’t know the words!

What do you call a cat lost on the beach?Sandy claws!

What do you call newly married spiders?Newly webs!

What does the astronaut do when he gets angry?He blasts off!

What do you get if you cross fish with elephants?Swimming trunks!

How do you spell ‘hungry horse’ in four letters?MTGG

What do you suffer from if you are scared of Santa?Claustrophobia!

Why not send us your favourites for printing next time?

DO YOU KNOW WHO’S CALLING?People are not always who they say they

are!

Every year people fall victim to fraud following an unsolicited phone call.

Fraudsters will call, purporting to be from a legitimate organisation such as a bank, service provider, utilities company, the council or even the police, in an attempt to convince you to reveal financial information or to transfer money into a third party account owned by the fraudster. This type of fraud is called Vishing and it is becoming more sophisticated and widespread.

How it works:- You get a call, claiming to be from your bank or the police for example, saying a fraudulent payment has been spotted on your card or your account - or that someone has been arrested for using your details. If the caller claims they are from your service provider, they may say you are due a rebate, or you have overpaid on your account and they would like to refund you.

You may be asked to call back using the phone number on the back of your bank or store card and this may further convince you that the caller is genuine. However (as highlighted in our last issue) the fraudster keeps the line open at their end so when you make the call, you are connected straight back to them or their accomplice.

They may ask for your PIN or sometimes ask you to key it into your phone. Once the fraudster has your PIN, bank details and/or online banking password, they have access to your account.

The advice to you is:- Hang up straight away and if the call is totally unsolicited, NEVER EVER give your bank account details over the phone.

BE WARNED - thousands of people have been

Just for security, I’ll

need your card details.

I’m calling

from your bank.

Your computer has a

problem.You just need to make a

transfer to a safe account.

Please confirm your account

password.

We’ve detected fraud on your account.

Telephone scams. Have you have been a victim?

It is very distressing to learn that you may have been a victim of this type of crime (see next column) but if you are or it does happen to you then please report it. Action Fraud is the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and internet crime.

You can call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or report via their website at www.actionfraud.police.uk

It’s a Cracker! Love ‘em or hate ‘em?

Here’s advance warning for some of the best (or worst) Christmas cracker

jokes!