Chatbox

Please can anyone tell me which way to drive to Leighton at the moment. The Cheshire East website is totally confusing.

Not sure if anyone remembers a TV series back in the late 60's called the flower of Gloster it starred Richard O'callaghan and Annette Robertson who are travelling by narrow boat from Llangollen to London made by Granada television Audlem is featured on it and also Market Drayton have seen it on YouTube if anyone is interested

Hi , we need to have our oil tank moved , can anyone recommend a local business ?
Many thanks

My Mother had an enormous hornets nest in her garden compost bin (apparently a favourite target if dry) in Coxbank last year. These proved very difficult to deter, but did eventually leave. However, they were a dangerous nuisance to her (92 years old and allergic to bee stings !) and her near neighbours. However, I'm reliably informed they don't come back to a previous nest site. but please be advised to check your garden compost area, and keep it well hydrated, to avoid attracting them in the first place. They have a very nasty sting as unfortunately, one of her neighbours can testify.

A talk on Audlem's history sounds a great idea Celia if this can be arranged at some point. It would certainly benefit newcomers coming to live in Audlem and may even open the eyes of longstanding locals. I'm still learning about the buildings, shops and who lived where and I have known Audlem since 1971! Still a newcomer! There are people in the village that have an absolute wealth of knowledge who may contribute to the talk.

I have also seen 2 hornets this year (luckily not in the house) having never seen one before and have had a couple of similar reports from friends

Up until last year I had never seen a hornet in this country. So far this year we have had two in the house, Bagley Lane. Any one else noticed any?

Can anyone recommend a reliable person to empty my septic tank.

A couple of acres of grazing for sheep available for a couple of months. Grass a bit long for horses/ponies. Hatherton.

I see that Cheshire East have seen fit to leave all the closure signs up despite the road actually being open today. I wonder how many unnecessary detours with associated time and fuel wastage have resulted.

Tools for self reliance in Africa.

A charity based in Crickhowell aims to improve the lives of African artisans by providing them with quality refurbished, recycled hand tools and training.
I am collecting unwanted or damaged hand tools and sewing machines, which will be repaired and reconditioned for onward transmission to grass roots community groups in several African countries. Local men and women are trained in skills as carpenters, blacksmiths, and seamstresses; on completion of their training they are provided with an appropriate tool kit or sewing machine, which enables them to support their future needs. (ref: www.tfsrcymru.org.uk)
If you are able to help this cause, by offering tools which are no longer required please contact John Marcheselli on 01630 655289 and we will arrange to collect your donation – very many thanks.

As residents on Mill Lane affected by yesterday's chaos, we can report the highlights of one lorry caught on the bridge on the lane and a video with drivers out of their vehicles swearing and gesturing at each other captured by my daughter (we won't share to spare the blushes of the participants). I did speak to CE Highways who said they would send someone out, but the lack of planning is embarrassing as this was always going to happen

So many thank you's to David Scott and Jody Jennings, plus their team of volunteers. I thought the festival was a massive success and everyone I saw seemed to enjoy it hugely. The musical variety in the three locations was excellent, and the art displays and craft stalls both interesting and tempting. Never stop thinking how lucky I am to live in this village.

We're having a little problem with our landline phone. Some of the press-down buttons tend to stick, particularly the Hand Free button which is used constantly as Sue, my wife, cannot have the handset next to her head.
I wonder if there is a telephone engineer, expert, or enthusiast around who could help fix the problem? The hand set is about 2-3 years old.
Please contact number – 01276 812 158, or email – geraintd6@gmail.com
Thanks.

We were thrilled to see how many people supported this year Music And Arts Festival, after several hundred hours of voluntary work over the past 9 months by the team, having the event so well attended was a welcome relief, and we are hugely grateful to everyone who came and supported us, both at the music venues and the Public Hall.

Unfortunately, due to the logistics of hosting two stages in fairly close proximity to one another, and the laws of physics, there would have been times where the music could be heard from both stages in a handful of locations, and this was a consideration to the timings we ran with and the sound system we used, which both utilised a cardioid sub array, meaning that the low frequencies were more manageable and the audio crossover from both stages was mitigated to a degree.

A single stage solution would unfortunately not be practical, as this reduces equity between the pubs, who both offer financial support to the event, and we have been meticulous in the organisation of the festival to ensure that each pub had a great lineup, with the timings between acts ensuring that anyone attending could watch every single band appearing over the weekend.

We take all feedback on the event seriously and every single issue raised will be discussed, but please bear in mind that the team who produced this years event are a new collection of people, that this year was our first event in the village, and we always knew that this years festival would be something of a learning curve that will no doubt help us hone our skills for next years festival, which will be even better.

We will be publishing our official thank yous over the coming days.

I totally agree with Lynne Smith and her comments. We could sit in our garden and listen to BOTH bands playing at the same time but do not agree with it being awful. Some artists were louder than others, depending which way the wind was blowing! We still went down to the pubs and supported the event which was , as Lynne said, FREE. We are so lucky to live in such a vibrant village with all of the free entertainment we have. This event happens once a year, your garden will be quiet for you the rest of the year or does the Party on the Park disturb you also? Just to finish with a big Thank You to all involved for putting on yet another fabulous event in the village. Well Done.

Well said Lynne, totally agree with everything.

What a fabulous event! Such a lot of organising and hard work from a group of volunteers. Bar staff, market stall holders, shops, food outlets...everyone was so welcoming and cheerful throughout the very busy weekend.. It was great to see the village so busy.

The bands were amazing,.
Long may it continue. Well done all.

The Turnpike Field proved to be very popular with campers and visitors over a busy May bank holiday weekend with probably hundreds of vehicular movements through the enhanced entrance onto the field. A safety feature long overdue for both road and field users. Just a plea to the organizers to remember the importance of maintaining clear lines of visibility when placing those large Car Park signs for any future events. The one on the Cox Bank side of the entrance impeded visibility down Green Lane.

I would just like to say a huge thank you to Music Festival Team for a wonderful weekend. All your hard work, planning and stress really paid off. It was wonderful to see so many people enjoying themselves and Turnpike Field full of camper vans and caravans. We are so lucky to have people living here who voluntarily put their heart and soul into organising such a wonderful and well organised event for the village. I would also like to thank the village pubs for providing financial backing and working so hard over the weekend – you and your staff were amazing! It is disappointing however when someone feels the need to moan on Chatbox because the music was not co-ordinated for them to enjoy from their own garden. The different stages are there to give people a choice of music to listen to at this FREE event so it beggars belief that they expect the whole festival to be arranged differently in the future to accommodate them. Perhaps next time they will join the rest of the village and visitors in supporting this event and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere. Once again thank you to the organisers and financial backers for an amazing Music Festival. I feel blessed to live here.

Claire Douglas one stage = half the bands. Having 2 stages means more variety and each pub supported equally. There have been 3 stages in previous years. I don't think the sound can be described as awful. If you actually came down and sat at one stage you could enjoy some fantastic music and not hear the other stage. Expect it to get bigger in future years!!

Calling all community groups or causes in Audlem. The deadline to apply to be a coop local community cause for next year has been extended to 11 June so follow the link coop.co.uk/causes and let Audlem coop and it's customers help you raise money for your group.

Hi

What a brilliant festival, for our local business and I hope they have gained a much needed cash injection.
However! living nearby to The Shroppie and The Bridge we were looking forward to enjoying a musical four days also from our homes, but with two bands playing at the same time you could not enjoy the individual music and the noise was awful, can the two pubs not share a stage with one band playing at one time to enable us to enjoy the four day festival.

I hope the next Music festival will be improved upon and I and my family will really look forward to this annual event.

Claire

This morning a very kind gentleman found my phone and house key whilst walking along the canal towards the Marina. Thank you for this kindness

Phone was found! It had fallen out of her pocket on the path up from the Shroppie car park to the park.
Thank you to anyone who looked.