Neighbourhood Watch
There have been many changes to the community since our last article, mainly due to
the financial constraints placed by central government on the police, councils
and other public bodies; many of these changes directly affect us all. This is
particularly true about the policing in our area.
As a result, the role of the Neighbourhood Watch
is more important and the whole community must be alert and responsive to any
suspicious activities. It is even more important now that we all keep our wits
about us and be vigilant to beat the burglars and criminals. If you see
something suspicious, call the police, it is better to be wary than being a victim.
We have a selection of literature available that
gives advice on how to keep safe under a range of situations and these can be
obtained through your local coordinator or by calling the chairman. We can also
direct you to professionals who can give free advice such as the Fire service.
New Signs around Wellesbourne
In an effort to raise our profile we have put up
additional Neighbourhood Watch signs around the village specifically on all the
roads into the village and at other selected sites.
The Annual General Meeting was held in May at the
Connie Club and was well attended. The evening started with a very interesting
talk by Leanne Town from Severn Trent Water, talking about the services and
advice provided in our area and the actions being taken to resolve issues.
This was followed by a brief talk by Julie Dale
from Warwick Police on preventing theft.
Julie Dale and Liz Clark
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Julie was accompanied by
Liz Clark from South Leamington who brought a range of security devices
including Prikka Strips, alarmed padlocks and personnel alarms. The Fire
Service provided a wide range of Fire and Security literature.
The AGM
The AGM followed with
reports from the chairman and treasurer and the election of the committee for the next 12 months.
One of our long standing members has decided to
retire from the committee after 20 years service: it is with regret that we say
goodbye to David Hale and wish him well with his allotment and his many other
commitments. David has been a very active member of the committee and has been
responsible for the Dovehouse volunteers/ coordinators for many years.
David's contributions, cheerful demeanour and
witty humour will be sadly missed from the committee meetings. His role as
Dovehouse Coordinator will be taken over by Mike Homer.
This year there was no summer fête in the village
and as an alternative we attended the Walton Fête on 14th August. The
Fête was well attended, as usual, and we had a useful and busy afternoon.
Setting Up the stand
Looking to the next few months, we have already noticed that the nights are drawing in yet
again, and it is time to be wary when out at night not only from criminals but
also be very aware of obstructions on the pathways and cars parked on the
pavements restricting the way for wheelchairs and buggies. Remember to keep
doors locked, have a good outside light and be vigilant. If you see or suspect
any problems, call the police immediately.
Once again I would like to make an appeal for volunteers to
distribute newsletters etc in some specific areas of the village. It is our aim
to get 100% coverage of the village. If you have a few hours free and would like
to help, please call me.
Frankie Stuart 841819
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BAGS! Old bags, new bags, big bags – no, it's Charity Bags I want to tell you about. We
all find these bags on our doorstep and it seems to be getting more regular so
it made me think there must be a good reason, so I decided to investigate and
all is not what it seems! The bags look harmless enough, a sort of
familiar name and logo makes us think it is OK to fill,
but... without a genuine charity number, fraudulent. Dealers simply have
thousands of bags printed, mass distribution and if only a couple of people in
the street fill them, worth while. Well I can hear you say, we
all know about these, and only fill the well known Charity Bags.
However... think about this. Charities do not employ a lot of staff, in fact
we would be worried if they did: those lovely guys (and gals) in yellow
flying suits do not spend their spare time calling on us. So in order to
distribute, collect and sort bags they contract out and surprise, surprise,
these people want paying! So there goes a large proportion of the money your
goods might raise. In fact even with the bona fide familiar charities only a
very, very small proportion of the proceeds actually go to your favourite
charity. It's as simple as that! So what should we do? Well, if you are like me,
unless I am having a big ‘spring clean’ I don't actually have bags of goods to
donate. so why not pop what you have down to our own charity shop in
Wellesbourne, for Myton Hospice, who are always very grateful, probably best
to see what they are allowed to re-sell (electrical goods etc a no go). I know
children's clothes and toys are always in demand. If you prefer to go further
afield, Oxfam, Age Concern and many local Churches are always grateful and even
if you have clothes past their best, put them in a bag marked 'RAGS' and
Oxfam will be more than happy to send them for recycling. Finally to deter
anyone leaving a bag in the first place we have produced a small label that simply
says ‘NO CHARITY BAGS’ to be put in the porch. These are available FOC
at ‘Home Supplies’ in the precinct, thank you John.
Frankie Stuart, Chairman, Neighbourhood Watch, 01789 841819
frankiestuart @virginmedia.com
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