Village news from Helen Price – 21st March 2019

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Village news from Helen Price – 21st March 2019

Published 18 March 2019

Spring Fete, Saturday 13th April 2019

Kings Bromley Nursing Home hold their Spring Fete on Saturday 13th April from 3.00 – 5.00 pm. Amongst the attractions will be a tombola, craft stalls, raffle and BBQ. There’s entertainment in the form of Sounds Familiar.

Entrance is free: do come along and support this local event to raise much-needed funds for activities within our local nursing home. Anybody wishing to volunteer their time and help at the Home, e.g. with activities such as knitting etc. or our garden project, would be warmly welcomed. Please ring Emma on 01283 576145 for further information.

Kings Bromley WI

The Women’s Institute celebrated their AGM on 7th March with a fabulous cheese and wine buffet.

Sue Penfold was voted in for her 4th year as our president and we gained a new committee member in Sarah. Ladies enjoyed the buffet and wine celebration whilst taking part in a Fair Trade Quiz hosted by Teresa from the Co-op. The Co-op donated some Fair Trade wine for the raffle and displayed a stall with home made Fair Trade banana bread and coffee cakes for members to enjoy. The three winning teams all had Fair Trade chocolate as a prize. The members learnt a lot about the Fair Trade movement which incidentally was a cause originally supported by the WI in 1992, and continues to be a focus of their work.

We have grown in numbers this year and had several new members join us for our AGM. We shall meet again in April when we will hear from the Blood Delivery services, who will be our Charity for 2019.

Wednesday Club

Our March meeting saw us “Behind Bars” with Steve Geale. Steve an IT and Advanced Maths teacher had spent a total of 11 years “inside” – teaching first at HMP Stafford from 2002 – 2006 and then at HMP Featherstone from 2007 – 2014.
Steve began by explaining the different prison categories and the purpose behind custodial sentencing. He then outlined the many underlying reasons why people find themselves in prison including mental health issues, drink, drugs, greed and accident. The latter often related to Health and Safety regulations. He also outlined the high rates of re-offending with some 84% of prisoners re-offending within 4 years of leaving prison.
Steve went on to describe prisons as small towns with each cell being a residence. These “towns” have healthcare facilities, a shop, library, gym, workshops and an education centre providing inmates with opportunities for work, recreation and education.
Steve concluded by telling us of some of the people he had met during his career. Among others was the Oldbury forger who at his most prolific was producing £110,000 worth of counterfeit £20.00 notes per day. After serving a 7-year sentence he was employed by De La Rue makers of our paper money. The 26 -year old convicted for the production and supply of drugs. On his release he obtained a gardening job at a National Trust property where he cultivated the perfect conditions for growing cannabis! The prisoner convicted of GBH who used his 6-year sentence to gain a First-Class Honours degree in Maths and now works as a statistician. Finally, the prisoner who following his escape in December 2004 sent the prison governor a Christmas card! A tradition he continued until his recapture in 2008!
Next Meeting: Our next meeting will be on Wednesday April 3rd at 2.30pm at The Royal Oak when Kevin Reynolds will talk about Dragonflies.