Mobility Scooter damaged by cemetary potholes

Story as it appeared in the Portsmmouth News


PEOPLE with mobility problems are being forced to dodge dangerous potholes on a popular walkway through Kingston cemetery in Fratton.

Tony Bradshaw, 72 who suffers with a neurological condition known as cerebellar ataxia which affects his mobility and balance, says the potholes caused £200 of damage to his motorised scooter.

“I am always having to swerve around the potholes which is very hard for me,” he said. “The front wheels of my scooter were damaged by the uneven surface of the road. The scooter cost me £600 so it’s really lucky that it was covered by insurance.

“I visit the cemetery every fortnight at least. You can’t get down the side roads to visit the graves because they are too uneven. I really have to watch out.”

Mr Bradshaw also said: “The cemetery toilets have been closed since the summer. It means elderly folk have to walk a long way to find a public convenience.”

A sign on the toilet door which has been defaced by a disgruntled member of the public says they are closed due to drainage problems and that visitors must use the public convenience on neighbouring Clarke’s Road.

Mr Bradshaw’s daughter-in-law who didn’t wish to be named said: “We paid a lot of money for our mother’s grave two years ago. It makes you wonder where all the money is going.”

According to the Portsmouth City Council website there are around 400 burials at Kinston cemetery each year. The Council has raised burial prices by 29% over the past two years and in 2010 the cost of a burial went up from £443 to £483.

The cemetery thoroughfare which is a favourite cut-through for dog walkers and pedestrians is also causing problems for  wheelchair users such as Craig Kelly, 25.

Craig’s mother Mrs Kelly, 46 said: “We come through here each fortnight to visit my mother’s grave and we have to dodge round the potholes. Craig has nearly fallen out of his chair on several occasions so something really needs to be done about this. It’s even worse for mothers with pushchairs and the elderly with buggies.”

Ward councillor Eleanor Scott said: “Residents have told me how much of a problem this is and we are trying to get something done about it, but it would cost 25K to re-surface the road. The annual budget we have to spend is just not enough. Everything changes  at a time when the council is having to make cuts of £10.9 m in 2011-2012. Its going to be even harder to find the money for this kind of work.”

History boys brought back to life

THE HISTORY Boys was a massive success when it first opened at the National Theatre. It enjoyed a sell out stint on Broadway and was transformed into an award winning movie which has become a cult classic.

This latest production at Chichester Festival Theatre hosted  by the West Yorkshire Playhouse will surely only add to the play’s appeal.

It’s a joyous nostalgia trip through the boundless optimism and aspirations of youth, tempered by the wisdom of literature and academic reason.

The action is interspersed with blasts of pumping 1980s disco music which sets the sparsely furnished classroom scenes. Boys tumble into classrooms, joshing and fighting with each other, only to be held rapt in the spotlight once lessons begin. The simplicity of the set means that the focus is firmly on Bennett’s wonderful crafted script.

Philip Franks is compellingly eccentric as aging English tutor Hector, allowing the boys free reign in the classroom to explore the power of words. Thisleads to some hilarious scenes including a moment when the boys re-create a French brothel and are suddenly interrupted by earnest headmaster Thomas Wheatley.

Ben Lambert gives the stiff tight-lipped Irwin a polished sense of gravitas. He appears to have the answers to everything until the contradictions in his character are exposed by the swaggeringly cocky Dakin, George Banks . The pair handle the emotionally chargedscenes when Dakin reveals his love for Irwin superbly.

Harry Waller also shines as Scripps, delivering hilarious one-liners about his ‘romance‘ with God and Penelope Beaumont is equally well cast as the straight-laced school mistress Mrs Lintott, who reveals glimpses of her own youth by telling us: ‘Durham was where I had my first pizza you know.’

Classics form the music hall days are banged out by the classmates joyously on an old upright piano  taking us on a trip through the northern grammar school classrooms of the playwrite’s own youth.

Naomi finds faith at Fratton

FORMER healthcare assistant Naomi Hargreaves was so inspired by the work of the Faith and Football charity that she decided to devote her life to it.

Naomi, 29 who works full-time for the charity at the Pompey Study Centre in Fratton, first became aware of Faith and Football in 2004 when she attended a presentation at Fratton park about a mission trip to India.

“I spoke to a lot of people that evening,” she said, “and then a few weeks later I got a call from Linvoy Primus asking me if I wanted help out.”

Naomi’s work was rewarded in 2005 when she took part in a fundraising trip to the Great Wall of China with Linvoy Primus and fellow faith and football founders Darren Moore ad Wayne Jacobs.

Naomi said: “I remember one particular night when we stayed in a village, there was a really poor man who had a back problem and couldn’t afford medical treatment. We did a wip-round to help him and it turned out we’d raised three months of his wages.”

Naomi raised £2,000 from sponsorship herself.

Since then she has gone on to co-ordinate the ‘Extra Time’ literacy scheme which helps to improve the reading skills of year-two school pupils through bible stories. She also helps to run the charity’s Community Football leagues and is involved in ‘Team Talk,’ a project which teaches life skills to groups of disengaged young males.

But it’s Naomi’s personal faith that drives her: “I made a decision to give my life to God,” she said. “I think in this modern world we need faith to help us to solve the problems we are facing.”

For more information about Faith and Football visit:http://www.faithandfootball.org.uk/

Residents say 140 new homes would ruin their village

Campaign group is set up against plans for development on field

RESIDENTS are outraged that their historic village could be threatened by a major new housing development.

Plans have been proposed for 140 new homes on a piece of land in Wickham known as The Glebe, owned by the Church of England.



St. Nicholas' Church Wickham



A campaign called Hands off The Glebe has been st up amid fears the scheme will have a massive impact on traffic congestion, drainage and wildlife.

Campaign spokeswoman Zoe Kroon said: ‘This is a drastic, hastily prepared and thoughtless proposal.

The Church of England will gain about £10m from the sale of the land and this is just a way of filling the coffers of a cash strapped church.’

She said it contradicted plans to protect The Glebe drawn up by Wickham Parish Council in consultation with villagers and which were subsequently adopted by Winchester City Council.

Mrs Kroon said: ‘We feel a very strong sense of betrayal at the hands of the church. The village church of St Nicholas has played a central role as a social and religious focus for the community. The Glebe field is known as the village field and is used for the village fete and other events. The traffic in the village is already a massive problem and the Southwick Road is a blackspot for accidents. Also there’s a huge amount of wildlife in the field including deer and several beautiful old trees.’

At a public meeting villagers and councillors agreed that The Glebe field should be protected. Former councilor  Michael Saddler-Forster said: ‘If any new homes are built the consensus seems to be that they should be to the north of the village and not to the south or east. ‘Certainly residents and the council are in agreement

that The Glebe field should be protected.’

A spokesman for the Portsmouth Diocese of the Church of England said: ‘We understand that residents were consulted and that it was agreed that 140 new houses need to be built. ‘Our land agents made us aware that the council was looking to build houses so we offered the land for consideration.

‘We believe that houses will be of benefit to the local community and to the diocese and the plans that have been drawn up are for a very attractive development which has a good amount of open and recreational land and plenty of room for the village fete and firework displays.’

Dan promises punters an xmas to remember

DAN TULL, bar manager of the Pelham arms pub in North End is promising punters a Christmas to remember

The builder turned bar manager has organised a Twelve Days of Christmas extravaganza for families, regulars and newcomers which he says will prove the Pelham Arms is the leading city centre pub in Portsmouth.

Punters will be treated to seasonal festivities from Monday 20 December until the Saturday 1January. Events include a live  music night with local band Santa’ s Little Helpers who will be dressed as elves for the occasional and a special edition of popular TV quiz  Deal or no Deal in which contestants will buy raffle tickets to try to  win a cash  prize.

Dan, 32, who is known as the face of the Pelham said: “The Pelham Arms is the comfortable family local. We believe that we offer more than the average city centre pub because we have such a friendly staff and welcome families and newcomers as well as regulars.”

The pub which underwent a major refurbishment six months ago has become famous for its welcoming  atmosphere and varied events schedule and is leading the way for city centre pubs at a time when other locals such as the Blue Anchor have bee forced to close.

Residents war against Best One licence

FRATTON  residents have applauded the decision not to allow the Best One shop on Fratton Road to extend its alcohol license to 3am but are incensed by the decision to allow the shop to serve alcohol first thing in the morning.

Shop owner Sebastiampillai Jeevanayagiam  sought  to extend the licensing hours for the premises from  8am to 3am. after losing his 24 hour license in 2008, but on Wednesday Portsmouth City Council Licensing sub-Committee gave permission for the license to run from 8am-12pm

The decision was reached after a formal representation was made by the Chief Officer of Police due to fears that a late license would create a nuisance for residents and would lead to a resumption of the alcohol related crime that plagued the area before the 24 hour license was revoked.

Fratton Residents Association also lodged petitions against the extended license signed by hundreds of residents, insisting that it would lead to the return of disorder and anti-social behaviour that once plagued the streets around the convenience store.

Residents originally formed the association four years ago to campaign against the 24 hour license  held by the shop which then traded under the name of Brothers.

The group became the only residents association in the UK to successfully have a license revoked when the Licensing Committee ruled in their favour in 2008, slashing the store’s license to the hours of 10am-12pm,.

Marian Stone, chairwoman of the association said; ”we fought tooth and nail for two years to challenge the license because drunks were roaming around the streets all night causing mayhem and criminal damage. There were gangs on the streets the police were called on numerous occasions when cars were vandalised and fights broke out.”

The owners of JW Dance estate agents on Fratton Road said: “It got so bad that on one occasion a drunk male urinated inside the shop.” said Mr Dance.

One unnamed resident complained that the store was serving alcohol to under-age customers and that people would come down from guildhall walk after the clubs closed to carry on partying all night: “Things have been so much quieter the last two years so it would be a disaster if they were granted another late license,” he said.

But Mrs Stone said residents are still worried by the decision to allow the early morning extension of the license: “There is a new nursery opening soon and children will be dropped off there first thing in the morning. The last thing we want is drunks hanging around and putting the children in danger.

“We don’t want the store to go out of business and we respect the fact that the owners have to earn a living,” she said, “but as far as alcohol is concerned the gloves are really off now. We will be watching the store very carefully and will appeal at the first sign of trouble. We have to protect the quality of our lives.”

The shop owner was unavailable for comment but workers at the store who refused to be named said that the shop would not appeal against the decision because it would be too difficult to put the necessary measures in place for late license, such as doormen and CCTV coverage.

Councillor Luke Stubbs defended the committee’s decision saying: “The morning extension was granted in part because of the widespread availability of alcohol after 8am in the Fratton Road area,
whereas the late night extension was refused in part because alcohol is not
generally available there.”

He also said that a CCTV condition was added to the license which the store will now have to abide by.

The news comes at a time when many fear that late night drinking  in the city centre   is getting out of control  because of the controversial  licensing Act of 2003 which allows 24 hour opening and the decision to close down the night strip in Southsea.

Question local residents and shop manager and councillors

Omega Centre helps Stephanie make new start

STEPHANIE Heasman has turned her life around with the help of the Omega Centre in Fratton.

Stephanie, 52 from Surrey, was forced to leave her ten year-old son behind when she sought shelter in a women’s refuge in Portsmouth after separating from her husband.

She suffered from severe depression after her ordeal and did not have the confidence to leave her house, but everything changed when she began to attend arts and crafts sessions at the Omega Centre four times-a-week. The centre hosts classes on a wide range of subjects on behalf of  the Workers’ Educational Association, the UK’s largest voluntary sector provider of adult learning.

“It was a terrible time for me, I knew no-one in Portsmouth and my family were refusing to talk to me,” Stephanie said. 

"But now I’ve met a lot of friends here and I’ve learnt new skills like Mandala art and sign language. The more classes I signed up for, the more reason I had to get up in the morning, she said."

Stephanie’s depression prevented her from working but by attending classes she has found new direction: "I’ve now become reconciled with my son and have begun a relationship with a lovely caring man. It’s been a long road to recovery but I’ve never felt so happy," she said.

Karen Barrett, Tutor Organizer at the centre said: “We pride ourselves on being able to offer a friendly community-based learning environment. Adults of all ages and abilities are given the opportunity to learn, achieve and succeed here.”

More information on the range of classes at the Omega centre can be found at www.omegacentre.org or by calling 02392291346.