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THE REEL CEILIDH
There will be “The Reel Ceilidh”, an event in the evening following Slyne with Hest May Fair. This traditional and lively event will be suitable for all ages and continue the fun of the May Fair.
Starting at 7.30 p.m. on Saturday, 22 May, the ceilidh will be held at the Hest Bank Memorial Hall and feature live music by “Jump The Gun”, a traditional three piece renowned ceilidh band. They will provide an entertaining evening of live music and dancing that everyone can enjoy. No previous dancing expertise is necessary as a caller will guide dancers through the moves.
The event is suitable for all ages and will be a true family event, so make a date in your diaries. Tickets will be on sale in April, priced £6 for adults and £3 for children. Bring your own liquid refreshment, a delicious pie supper will be available to buy on the night.
This event has been organised as an independent venture from the May Fair by Jo, Jeanette and Moira.

BEAVERS
First Slyne with Hest Beavers are looking for a new leader in September 2010. There are currently 18 Beavers (boys and girls aged 6-8 years) an assistant leader and 3 young leaders. Beavers are part of the Scout Movement and their motto is “Fun and Friends”. Please look at www.scout.org.uk to find out more about Beavers and volunteering. Contact Mary, the Group Secretary, on 01524 8822501 or Joanne (Beaver Leader) on 01524 845009 if you are interested or want to know more.

LENT LUNCHES
Every Monday in Lent from noon to 1:15pm, three varieties of soup, bread & cheese will be served in the Church Hall, with donations to Christian Aid.

CHOIR VESTRY
The building work at St Luke’s Church on the Choir Vestry and disabled access ramp is due to commence on Monday, 1 March and should be completed by 7 May.

MOTHERS’ UNION
St Luke’s Mothers’ Union met on the last Wednesday of February. The Rev. A Crossley returned to complete the account of his journey in Israel and Jerusalem. Afterwards he showed slides of the chapel in the hospital at Barrow-in-Furness.
A vote of thanks was given by Mrs M Martindale.

SPRING BULB SHOW
The extremely long cold weather reduced the entries to the spring bulb show staged by Slyne with Hest Horticultural Society on the last Saturday of February. The hall was full of colour and scent from the exhibits. Daffodil classes were reduced in number but the quality was high and there was a good entry for the class sponsored by the society, a small daffodil named, “Little Witch”.
The pupils of St Luke’s school in the village had been given dwarf narcissi and there was an encouraging entry from them, won by Matthew Wynn.
The Fryers cup, for the most points in the bulb classes, was won by Mrs Eva Steel and the Jackson cup, for the best bowl of hyacinths, was awarded to Mrs Margaret Western. The Hallas cup, for the best exhibit by a child, went to Adam Drake.

MEXICAN EVENING
The Mexican Evening, which was held in mid-February to raise money to fund Katie Craven, Ellie Pearson and Hannah Crossley John to help build houses for the homeless in Mexico, raised £472.86. They have now raised sufficient funds for this project.

Drafted week ending Sunday, 21^st February 2010.

PARISH COUNCIL
At the February meeting of the parish council it was noted that the swings and other play equipment in Manor Lane had been fenced off to inhibit its use. This is because some of the play surfaces throughout the district are not up to standard and the equipment has been fenced off as a precaution until it is inspected to ascertain whether it is safe for use. There was no explanation about why it was not inspected first and only fenced off if it was unsafe. It is believed this would have been a less expensive way of tackling the issue.
The parish council confirmed that it will not pay to keep the public toilets in the village open, as this is a Lancaster city council function. If it did, the maintenance of toilets would become the major item of expenditure of the parish and cause an increase in the parish precept of at least one third. This is against the background when people who live in areas where there are parish councils are effectively paying for some services twice. It is probable that Lancaster city council will close the public toilets and reduce the services it provides in the village.
This year the village will enter the Lancashire best kept village competition but not the North West in bloom competition, though Arden Close will be entered in the North West in bloom competition. It is hoped that with a little more effort by residents the village could have a higher score this year. It is a collection of small things, such as weeds left growing, that have countered against the village in previous years.
The restoration of the surface on the foreshore has been delayed until the weather is less inclement and the work can be undertaken effectively.
The parish council considered the implementation of the a 20mph speed limit, which is an aspiration in the parish plan, but councillors are concerned how it can be enforced.
The council has received many complaints about dog fouling in the village. It is believed that most dog owners are responsible and clean up after their hounds but there are those who leave the scats lying around. It is difficult to know what to do about this minority of dog owners. In the first instance the parish intends to refer the issue to the city council dog warden.
The council agreed that it would be represented at the shoreline management meeting that was scheduled to be held in Carnforth on Wednesday, 17 February.

PACT
The police and community together meeting in February was informed that there had been no reports of anti-social behaviour during the previous month. There were three crimes reported, which comprise one burglary and two thefts from cars. This is down from seven crimes for the same period last year.

PINOCCHIO
Stage Struck will be performing Pinocchio four times at the Dome in Morecambe. There will be evening performances on Thursday, 11; Friday, 12 and Saturday, 13 March plus a matinee on the Saturday. The performance is coming together in rehearsals for both the youngsters and the adults and is looking good. This will probably be the last show at the Dome; there might be some concerts afterwards. This is an opportunity to see the potential thespians of the future in a Morecambe theatre that will soon be little more than a memory. Tickets are available from the Dome and members of Stage Struck.

EASTER CRAFTS
An Easter Craft Group started meeting on Tuesday, 23 February from 3:30pm to 4:15pm in the church hall. It will continue to meet on this day, at this time and in this venue until Easter. It is primarily aimed at children accompanied by an adult and costs £1.50 per child with each additional sibling being charged 50p. This is to cover the cost of art materials and juice and biscuits. All are welcome to be involved, help run the craft group or to socialise.

HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY
Horticultural Society members learned about the important subject of composting and waste reduction at their February meeting.
Julie Heatherhalgh brought her expertise and knowledge to enlighten the audience, many of whom were compost makers, being keen gardeners, but who found new ideas and tips to improve the final product. The speaker explained which materials should be composted, which should be recycled and which should be sent to landfill. She completed the talk with a light hearted quiz, in which members acquitted themselves creditably.
A vote of thanks to the speaker was proposed by David Mowle.
Members were reminded of the forthcoming spring bulb show, on Saturday 27 February, at which details of the summer trip will be revealed.

SCARF
At the September community coffee morning the long scarf, the knitting of which was sponsored to raise funds for the boardwalk in the recreation field, was unveiled. It was displayed in the Memorial Hall during November and early December. It has subsequently been dissembled into its 17 constituent scarves. Five of these have been raffled to raise money for St Luke’s School in Shady Lane. The plain scarves have been set aside for decoration and some have sponsorship for the decoration, which again is raising money for the school.
The longest scarf will be auctioned at the May Fair on Saturday, 22 May. Five scarves will be made into a pet blanket. This leaves one scarf, which was knitted by children, which still has to find a definite home that will use it to the maximum community effect.

OVER SIXTIES
At the second meeting of the Over Sixties Club in February Joan Hunter won the games of dominoes, with Audrey Eaton taking second place, Nan Beattie coming third and Margaret Holland fourth.

EQUIPMENT FUND
Ellen Ezard won the games of dominoes at the first meeting of the Equipment Fund in February. Ruth Staveley took second place and Jean Connor third.

Tasty food, an amusing quiz and vibrant music were enjoyed by those people who were fortunate in attending the Mexican evening in the church hall on the second Friday of February. There was a selection of hot and cold Mexican food vegetarian and meat; plus several different non-Mexican desserts. The quiz was aimed so everyone could answer some questions whilst others were more challenging, so a top scoring team emerged along with teams to take second and third place.
The music making was excellent. For most of the evening there was a quintet comprising singer, bass guitarist who also played the saxophone, drummer, guitarist (of several types) who also played a second set of drums for one number and a saxophonist who also played a clarinet and the piano. They performed some of the songs with interestingly unusual and sometimes challenging arrangements. “The house of the rising sun” was more Billy Holiday rather than the Animals but with some surprising variations.
Whilst people were eating the first course of the meal, three of the musicians formed a jazz triplet comprising saxophonist, clarinettist and guitarist. They were excellent and deserved better billing than merely to provide background music during the meal break.

AUTUMN CLUB
The speaker at the February meeting of the Autumn Club was Mrs Mary Dodds, who after her spectacular entrance, gave a talk entitled, “My life as Queen Victoria”. She described how she came to assume the role, the pleasure it has given her for nearly two decades and the places she has travelled in this role. Mrs Mary Smith gave the vote of thanks.
There are now 68 paid up members of the club, which has a full monthly programme booked until December. New members are welcome. The next meeting will be on Monday, 8 March in St Luke’s church institute starting at 2pm when the speaker, Mr Tony Kimpton, will talk about Galloway’s Society for the Blind.
The treasurer, Mrs Ruth Turner, is collecting money from those who wish to go on the trip to the Grand Theatre in Blackpool to see the matinee performance of “Oliver” on 13 March. She was unable to announce this trip in January, as ice prevented members getting to the meeting, but she hopes that members will phone her if they wish to go by coach on that afternoon.
The club continues to operate without a chairman; members are urged to take on this role for a year at a time.

ROAD SAFETY
Mrs Turner read a letter to the meeting from Patricia Clark, who is ampaigning for a 20mph speed limit in residential areas within the Lancaster District. Members noted that there will be a meeting at the Storey Institute on Thursday, 25 February starting at 7:30pm to which anyone interested is welcome to attend. The club held a vote of members who were present and the majority were in favour of the proposal. However they were against speed humps in the village of Slyne-with-Hest.
Please note that the meeting to discuss a proposed 20mph speed will be in the Storey Institute and not the Friends’ Meeting House, as was reported last week.

HEST BANK LADIES
A fun participative evening was enjoyed by Hest Bank Ladies when they made felt at their February meeting. One of the ladies has the skills to perform this craft and she instructed the other members so they achieved some pleasing results.

BARE AND HEST BANK LADIES LUNCHEON
36 members of the Bare and Hest Bank Ladies Luncheon Club met at the Headway Hotel for their first meeting of 2010. An enjoyable meal was followed by an illustrated talk by Mr B Hudson. His subject, Lancaster Canal, proved to be very interesting and was enjoyed by all. Mrs M Lofthouse gave the vote of thanks.
The president, Mrs H Jackson, requested that any members who are interested in the proposed outing on 6 April to Springfield House, Pilling to contact her as soon as possible as it is necessary to gauge the level of support so plans can be made.

COFFEE
There was a good turnout for the February community coffee morning. In addition to the opportunity to socialise one could use the community library, purchase fresh fruit and vegetables, eggs, greetings cards, valentine cards and books or catch up with the progress of the scarf that was knitted to raise funds for the boardwalk to the children’s play area in the recreation ground. However, it was noticeable that there was a dearth of city and county councillors at the coffee morning at a time when both authorities are proposing significant reductions in the services they provide.
The auction of the “Dr Who” scarf that was postponed at the January coffee morning will be held at the May Fair on Saturday, 22 May.

EVENTS
A Mexican evening will be held in the church hall starting at 7:30pm on Friday, 12 February. Food and drinks are provided with the challenge of a Mexican themed quiz. Tickets cost £5 and can be purchased at the Londis shop in the village.
The parish council meets on Monday, 15 February at 7:30pm in the Memorial Hall. It starts with the police and community together (PACT) meeting, followed by an open forum where villagers can raise issues, after which the council goes into formal session. All villagers are welcome to attend.

PARISH PLAN
An outstanding issue from the parish plan, which was published four years ago, is the introduction of a 20mph speed limit throughout the village. This has always been fiercely resisted by Lancashire county council. Now, based on the evidence from other parts of the country that have introduced such limits, there is a local campaign group called, “20 is plenty for us”. It is holding it inaugural meeting in the Friends Meeting House, in Meeting House Lane, Lancaster at 7:30pm on Thursday, 25 February. Those villagers who would like to see this element of the parish plan implemented are welcome to attend.

STAGE STRUCK
Stage Struck the thespian group that meets in the village and encourages children and adolescents is to perform Pinocchio in the Dome, Morecambe on Thursday 11, Friday 12 and Saturday 13 March. Tickets can be purchased at the Dome or from members of the company.

MEXICAN HOMELESS
Before the Haitian earthquake struck three girls (Katie Craven, Ellie Pearson and Hannah Crossley John) had planned to help build houses for homeless people in Mexico. The plight of these homeless people is not diminished by events in Haiti. Katie, Ellie and Hannah will travel to Mexico on Good Friday for 11 days. They will be travelling in a party with 100 other adolescents from all over the country on a project, organised by the charity Urban Saints, called, “Rebuild: Mexico 2010”, see www.urbansaints.org/pages/11127/ReBuild_2010.htm
The trip is organised in association with Amor Ministries, a USA religious charity. In five days, 20 people can build a house and on the last day they hand the keys for the building to a homeless family. The youngsters will stay in tents, be restricted to 2 ½ litres of water per day, experience the delights of using long drop lavatories and not have access to showers. They have to raise at least £895 towards the cost of their travel, building materials and tools. They are holding several fund raising events, including a Mexican evening on Friday, 12 February in the church hall for which tickets, costing £5, can be bought at the village Londis shop. If anyone is able to make a donation, payable to Urban Saints, please send it to the treasurer of the parochial church council at 2, Orchard Close, Slyne, Lancaster, LA2 6BP.

COMMUNITY COFFEE MORNING
The next community coffee morning is on Saturday, 6 February from 10am until noon. Anticipate an influx of additional books in the community library, some french, some english translations of french works and an eclectic collection of other books. There will be an opportunity to buy locally grown fruit and vegetables and scrumptious home made cakes as well as to socialise, discuss issues of topical interest or even tell counciloors your views about the proposed closure of public toilets, the household waste recycling centre in Carnforth, the closure of swimming pools or any of the other changes that are being mooted for the public realm.

MOTHERS’ UNION
St Luke’s Mothers’ Union met on the last Wednesday of January. The speaker was Mr Paul Wilson, who gave a talk entitled, “The lighter side of funeral directing”. In his business he tried to make the occasion as respectful and easy for the mourners as possible, always within a few days. However, events did not always go to plan. He related many amusing incidents, which had occurred. He was thanked by Mrs Marjory Udall.

OVER SIXTIES
The Over Sixties Club Christmas party was postponed until after the snow and ice had melted. The party was at lunch time and held in Whitewalls Restaurant. Members were extremely grateful that the proprietors open the restaurant on a Monday especially to accommodate them. After a tasty meal after they enjoyed a sociable afternoon playing whist and dominoes. The whist winners were in joint first place Margaret Marcheson and Doreen Spencer, third place George Barker, fourth place Margery Bainbridge and fifth Elsie Bracewell. The domino winners were first place Margaret Holland, second Barbara Wynn, third June Gardner, fourth Hilda Moran and fifth Joyce Kuzniar.

PARISH COUNCIL
At its January meeting the parish council fixed the precept for the coming year. There will be a small increase, as the council strives to main services during the coming year. There was discussion about the parish paying twice for some services. An example of this is play areas. Within the city Lancaster provides them and maintains them. However in the village the parish council buys the equipment for the play area in the recreation field and pays Lancaster city council to maintain it. The parish council also provides litter bins and bins for dog scats whilst in the urban area these are provided by the city council.
The plaque for the foreshore has now been approved by all the necessary parties and is going ahead with some funding from the Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board. Work continues to progress the design to improve access to the burial ground. There has been a discussion with a civil engineer.
The parish council is concerned about the option being considered by Lancaster city council to close the public toilets in the village. The irony of the proposal was not lost on parish councillors. The Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board is contributing to the cost of a plaque on the foreshore describing the panorama yet the tourists who are encourage to visit will nowhere to pay a call of nature. Also the towpath has been promoted as a leisure cycle route yet there is the possibility of those toilets also being closed. Lancaster city council proposed the parish council pay to keep the toilets on the foreshore open. The cost would be £9,000 each year. This is a third of the parish council precept and councillors concluded it would be inappropriate to raise the parish precept by that amount.
The parish council is also concerned about the reliability of the buses; not only those that come through the village but also the 5 and the 555. Although there has been some disruption due to the snow, ice and Peacock Lane being closed buses have been late and sometimes not been running for some months. Councillors undertook to explore what could be done to improve this impoverished state of affairs.

PACT
At the January police and community together (PACT) meeting Jonathan Dawes stated that there were no reports of anti-social behaviour and vehicle nuisance during the last month though there were three minor crimes reported.

STAGE STRUCK
Stage Struck the thespian group that meets in the village and encourages children and adolescents is to perform Pinocchio in the Dome, Morecambe on Thursday 11, Friday 12 and Saturday 13 March. Tickets can be purchased at the Dome or from members of the company.

PARISH PLAN
It is four years since the parish plan was published. It is due for review after five years and if that schedule is to be met the review process will have to start this year. Anyone who would like to be involved in the review or has views on how it should take place are asked to contact the clerk to the parish council, Mrs Doreen Brookes, on 01542 82 54 64.

MEXICAN EVENING
There will be a Mexican evening in the church hall on Friday, 12 February starting at 7pm. There will be a Mexican meal, a Mexican themed quiz with music and entertainment from a local band and members of Urban Saints, the local youth group. Tickets, which cost £5 (children under 10 free with an accompanying adult) are available from St Luke’s School and the Londis shop.
This event is to raise money to fund Katie Craven, Ellie Pearson and Hannah Crossley John, who live in the village and are members of Urban Saints, to build houses for homeless people in Mexico.

MAY FAIR
This year’s May Fair will be on Saturday, 22 May 2010. The procession will leave St Luke's Primary School at 1 p.m. and will arrive in the Memorial Hall field at 1.30pm for start of the May Fair which includes music, entertainment, food and stalls.
The creatively relevant theme for the procession this year is “Space and the Future”. This takes its inspiration from the film "2010 A Space Odyssey." This should allow the imagination a free rein to take in anything to do with space, the future, time travel, the planets, Dr Who, David Bowie! There will be prizes for best individual/family shield and best organisation/group shield. More entries are encouraged to make a great start to the Fair.
There will be an open event on Saturday, 1 May 2010 from 10am at the village Coffee Morning in the Memorial Hall to help people with making something for the procession. There will be cardboard, basic craft material, paint etc. Children under 11 years must be accompanied by an adult.
Anyone who would like to take part in the parade or have a stall at the May Fair or to find out more contact should contact either Hazel on 736877 or Joanne on 845009 leeman4@talktalk.net
A few more people are needed to help on Saturday, 22 May, please get in touch if you can assist. Tell your friends and neighbours!

PEACOCK LANE
There was a bus diversion in the village for two days, Wednesday and Thursday, in mid January. The reason for this was that Peacock Lane was blocked by the team and its equipment who were working on the drains.

HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY
The January meeting of the Horticultural Society, scheduled for the evening of the second Wednesday of January, was cancelled due to the icy conditions. However, the cuppa and a chat during the afternoon of the same day went ahead as planned.

AUTUMN CLUB
Mrs Ruth Turner, treasurer, acted as chairman and welcomed 23 members and seven committee members to the 49^th (forty-ninth) annual general meeting of the Autumn Club on a very cold afternoon. Many members were unable to attend because of the icy pavements. Members observed a minute’s silence in memory of Mr Michael Turner, the late chairman, and Mr Charles Chitty, a long standing member.
Mrs Turner began by declaring the great need for a chairman and vice chairman to keep the club viable. It was proposed that the chairman serve for one year and be replaced by the vice chairman. All committee members were prepared to continue in post for another year and would support members who took on the chairmanship. There were no comments from the floor and this proposal was carried forward to the February meeting when, weather permitting, more members will be present.
Mrs Turner gave a resume of the four outings and the nine speakers planned for 2010, which have been prepared by Mrs Mary Smith. There will be bring and buy sales in March and September, which are being organised by Mrs Ezard. The definitive 2010 programme will be available at the February meeting. The business meeting finished with a reminder that the club will be celebrating its 50^th (fiftieth) anniversary on 26 June 2011.
Afternoon the business meeting members enjoyed a sociable afternoon with quizzes and refreshments.

SKEIN
The relative silence of the village was lost for moments during the middle weekend of January as several skeins of geese flew northwards. They made an impressive sight flying in their V-formations.

EVENTS
In addition to the regular weekly activities, e.g. table tennis, art classes, dance classes and ladies badminton, during the coming week the Mothers’ Union holds its monthly meeting on Wednesday, 27 January at 2pm in the Church Institute when Mr Paul Wilson will give a talk on, "The lighter side of funeral directing”.

LACK OF ACTIVITY
Activity in the village was less than planned during the first week of January due to the snow and ice. The notice outside the Memorial Hall that read, “No toddlers due to the weather” got the message across but did prompt a few wry smiles. The community coffee morning was cancelled and the next will be on Saturday, 6 February. Some good news is that there will probably be an infusion of additional books to the community library.

HEST BANK LADIES
The January meeting of Hest Bank Ladies metamorphosed into a social evening from that originally planned. Activities for the coming months have been rescheduled.

EVENTS
In addition to the regular weekly activities of table tennis, art classes, dance classes and ladies badminton, the parish council meets on Monday, 18 January at 7:30pm in the Memorial Hall, Slyne with Hest Ladies Luncheon Club meets at 11:30am on Tuesday, 19 January in Whitewalls Restaurant and Diabetics UK local support group meets at 7:30pm on Wednesday, 20 January in the Memorial Hall.
The parish council meeting usually starts with a PACT (police and community together) meeting. This is an opportunity to discuss general policing issues in the village. Everyone is welcome to attend and contribute to this part of the meeting. This is usually followed by an open forum where villagers can raise issues of concern with the parish council. Again all are welcome to attend and contribute to this part of the meeting. It is after this that the council moves to its formal agenda.
Slyne with Hest Ladies Luncheon Club will be holding a New Year’s buffet on the Tuesday. Any lady, who is not a member, who is interested in attending should contact the club secretary, Mrs Joyce Fox, on 01524 822779, in advance.

COMMUNITY COFFEE MORNING
The first community coffee morning of the year will be in the Memorial Hall from 10am until noon on Saturday, 9 January. There will be the opportunity to buy fresh fruit and vegetables, scrumptious cakes and use the community library. Additionally there will be an auction of a long scarf to raise funds for the Memorial Hall, which will be held at about 11:30am. Margery Buck, a stalwart in establishing the community coffee morning, died during 2009. Not only is the village grateful to Margery for her initiative but also to her family, who ensure that the coffee morning continues to provide a focus for social activity in the village.

FOOTBALL
The village football team has enjoyed success this season and there is a chance to see the players in action on Saturday, 9 January on the pitch in Bottomdale Road when they kick off at 2pm against Ingleton in the North Lancashire Premier League.

CLUBS AND SOCIETIES
The annual general meeting of the Autumn Club will be on Monday, 11 January at 2pm in the church hall, Slyne with Hest. This club has existed for years. It meets on the second Monday of each month and also organises outings. In doing this it provides regular and varied social occasions for more mature residents of the village.
For more active villagers there will be “table tennis for all” in the church hall from 5:30pm until 7pm on Monday, 11 January. Further details are available from Martin Wakelin on 07740 933 463.
For people who wish to paint and draw there will be Learn to Draw sessions (aimed at beginners with step-by-step tuition) in the Memorial Hall on Tuesday, 12 January starting at 10am until noon; on Wednesday, 13 January there will Creative Watercolour sessions (aimed at improvers with step-by-step tuition) from 10am until noon and an Art Workshop (improvers, all art mediums, one-to-one tuition) from 12:45pm until 2:45pm. Further details of these art sessions are available from Jean Palmer, Telephone, 07913 688825. On Tuesday at 3:30pm there are dance classes in the Memorial Hall. Telephone 413404, 422450 or 822954 for more details.
North Lancashire Bridleways Society meets in the Memorial Hall on Tuesday, 12 January at 7:30pm. Whilst on Wednesday there will be a “Cuppa & a Chat” in the church institute from 2:30pm until 4:30pm and the Horticultural Society will meet in the Memorial Hall at 7:30pm

Drafted Week ending 27th December 2009

SCARF
Any Dr Who fans can reminisce about the old days at the community coffee morning on Saturday, 9 January in the Memorial Hall. At approximately 11:30am there will be a mini-auction for a “Dr Who” style and length scarf. The scarf that will be auctioned is 11ft 3inches long and is a section of the 110ft long village scarf recently
featured in a picture in the Lancaster Guardian. The money raised will help fund the proposed developments of the Memorial Hall.

POLICE SURGERY
There will not be a police surgery in the village on Saturday, 2 January. It is hoped that there will be one on the second Saturday, 9 January to coincide with the first hour of the community coffee
morning that will run from 10am to noon.

PARISH COUNCIL
The parish council is still seeking land that can be used as allotments. Anyone with a suggestion should contact the clerk to the parish council. There is a vacancy for a parish councillor. Anyone who is interested in undertaking this role can contact the clerk to the parish council or any of the councillors to discuss it.
The work to repair the potholes on the foreshore has been postponed until after Christmas. The plaque that will be installed on the plinth on the foreshore and that will help people identify panoramic features is almost ready. It is hoped to complete this during the spring.
The parish council has been consulted about the proposed reduction in the speed limit along the A6 between Lancaster and Slyne. The parish council offered no comment on the proposal to Lancashire. The introduction of such a speed limit might make it easier for motorists to observe the 30mph speed limit along the A6 through Slyne. The closing date for comments to the county council is 8 January. The proposed changes to several speed restrictions can be found on the Lancashire web site.
The parish council has decided to renew the bark chippings under the play tower in the playground in the recreation field.

LUNCHEON
Slyne with Hest Ladies Luncheon Club held its Christmas lunch on the third Tuesday of December at Whitewalls Restaurant. In the absence of the chairman, the vice-chair, Mrs Sheila Brotherton, welcomed members to the luncheon. There was not an after lunch speaker, which gave the ladies sufficient time for a leisurely lunch with social conversation. They even had time to recount some humorous tales!
The next lunch will be a buffet on Tuesday, 19 January starting at 11:45am at Whitewalls Restaurant when the topic will be “Near Year Greetings”. Any lady who is not a member and would like to participate should first contact the secretary, Mrs Joyce Fox on 01524 822779.

FORESHORE
During the last two decades the coastline by the foreshore has undergone dramatic changed. No longer is there the extensive marine grass before the inter-tidal sand and mud. The course of the Hatlex Brook has altered. It no longer wends its way through the marine grass to Teal Bay but flows straight onto the mud and sand.
The proposed shoreline management plan, which can be found at, www.mycoastline.org, gives an idea what is intended to manage any future change. This proposed course of action takes into account that the coastline has always changed and always will, though this will be influenced by global warming.
Over the next two decades it is suggested that the flood risk will be managed by maintaining existing defences. There will be studies to investigate opportunities to set back the defence line in the medium term. Depending on the outcome of these studies, it is proposed to construct set-back defences if necessary, with a timescale between 20 and 50 years in the future. During the second half of the coming century it is advocated that the flood risk will be managed by maintaining the set-back defences to an adequate standard.
The rationale for this is couched in social, environmental and economic considerations. Socially, it allows for the management of risks to infrastructure, including sewage works and West Coast main line railway in long term flood risk area which is presently defended. Environmentally, holding the existing line of the sea defence into the long term is likely to cause coastal squeeze within the international conservation sites. However, managed realignment provides opportunities to create additional inter-tidal habitat. Economically, there is insufficient viability to continue to defend the current alignment therefore other options need to be investigated.
This is all contingency planning. The future is uncertain. The channel could return to the west of the bay and the marine grass re-establish itself along the foreshore and create sufficient natural sea defences provided there is not a large rise in mean sea level. The quay was buried for years and has been visible for the last quinquennium.

LIVING STREETS
The initiative by the Department of Transport to encourage highway authorities to introduce 20 mph zones or limits into streets which are primarily residential in nature and into town or city streets where pedestrian and cyclist movements are high, such as around schools, shops, markets and playgrounds chimes with the four-year old village plan. It also states that highway authorities (Lancashire county council for the village) should review speed limits on rural ‘A’ and ‘B’ class national speed limit single carriageways and adopt lower limits where the risks are relatively high and there is evidence that a lower limit would reduce casualties. Possible contenders for this within the village are Kellett Lane and Bottomdale Road, particularly at the Four Lane Ends junction.

AUTUMN CLUB
51 members of the Autumn Club met at the Headway Hotel for the annual Christmas lunch, when the table layout, menu and service were outstanding. It was followed by entertainment from Mr Martin Webster and Bare Methodist Group. Songs from shows, sketches by some of the group and carols were thoroughly appreciated with many of the members joining in most heartily. The afternoon ended with the raffle, a cup of tea and a mince pie.
It was very sad that the chairman, Mr Michael Turner, had recently died. Ruth, his widow, thanked everyone for the cards that she had received and then bravely commenced the party as Michael would have wished.
The annual general meeting of the Autumn Club will be on Monday, 11 January at 2pm in the church hall, Slyne with Hest.

TABLE TOP SALE
The home-made cake stall at the table top sale in the church hall in mid-December raised £130 for the Cumbrian flood relief. Katie Craven, Ellie Pearson and Hannah Crossley-John members of Urban Saints (the church youth group) raised £90 towards the cost of their ten day trip to Mexico in April. They are going there on a project called “Rebuild”. They will help build a house for a family living in poverty. They each need to raise £985, which is towards their trip expenses and building materials. Donations are being sought. Further information is available from Andy Craven on 824290.

Drafted week ending 13^th December 2009.

WHIST & DOMINOES
The Horticultural Society held a very successful Whist and Domino Drive in the Memorial Hall on the first Friday of December, with Margaret Western acting as master of ceremonies.

The whist winners were:

PARISH PLAN
Is there an opportunity for the parish council to implement another aspiration in the parish plan that was adopted several years ago? A desire was expressed and accepted that there should be a 20mph zone within the village. This was vigorously opposed by Lancashire county council, as the highway authority, both during the formulation of the plan and since its adoption. The effectiveness of that opposition can be seen that the proposal has not been implemented since the publication of the parish plan in January 2006.
The publication in the BMJ of an article by Grundy, C. et al (see http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/339/dec10_3/b4469) provides an opportunity for the parish to press the county both to humanise and to make safer the roads within the village. Grundy and his colleagues found that the introduction of 20mph zones in London was associated witha 41.9% (95% confidence interval 36.0% to 47.8%) reduction inroad casualties, after adjustment for underlying time trends. They did note however that they cannot compare 20mph zones with the effect of other possible forms of traffic controlsystems, including such innovative ideas as redesigning roadlayouts to make the space more shared between pedestrians, cyclists,and motor vehicles.
The parish council next meets on Monday, 21 December at 7:30pm in the Memorial Hall.

BINGO
Bingo is scheduled on two successive evenings in the Memorial Hall. On Friday, 18 December the bowling club will hold its Christmas bingo starting at 7:30pm. On Saturday, 19, December the Lancaster and District canine society will start its bingo at 7:30pm.

BRASS BAND
Some 80 people were present to hear an excellent performance by Morecambe Brass Band in St Luke’s church on the second Sunday in December. Two members of the band were brought to the attention of the audience, Carol Blaylock who played the flugel when that was the featured instrument and Harry Cunningham who lives in Slyne and has recently been accepted for the national youth brass band.
After the music, members of the audience enjoyed a scrumptious supper in the church hall. The evening concluded with the singing of carols.

FOOTBALL
Slyne with Hest Football Club is the highest ranking club in the area (define as between Kendal and Preston) after Morecambe and Lancaster. Spectators are always welcome at matches and the forthcoming home games are:

· 19 December - Slyne with Hest v Thornton Cleveleys (West Lancashire League Div 1)

· 2 January 2 - Slyne with Hest v Burnley United (West Lancashire League Div 1)

· 16January - Slyne with Hest v Crooklands Casuals (Ulverston - (West Lancashire League Div 1)

Drafted week ending Sunday, 6th December 2009.

LUNCHEON
Bare and Hest Bank Ladies Luncheon Club enjoyed a marvellous December meeting from beginning to end at the Headway Hotel on the first Tuesday of the month. The lunch started with a sherry reception, which was followed by a delicious meal before the speaker, Mr Denis Walker from Fisherman’s Friend of Fleetwood told the ladies about the lozenges his company produce. He told the ladies how Fisherman’s Friends have to be named differently in various countries and the propensity of the favourite flavour to vary from country to country. He even took some samples to the meeting, which the ladies could take home and try.
The lunch finished with warm mince pies and a cup of tea or coffee before the President wished members a merry Christmas and a happy New Year and reminded them that the next meeting will be on Tuesday, 2 February, as there is no meeting in January.

CRAFT EVENING
Hest Bank Ladies had a craft evening for their December meeting when they had a choice of two Christmas table decorations they could make. So successful was the evening that they arranged to have a second craft evening the following week when they will make Christmas cards.

COFFEE MORNING
Sections of the long scarf are being raffled and tickets were on sale at the December community coffee morning. There was the opportunity to raise issues with parish and city councillors as well as buy books from the community library, fresh fruit and vegetables, scrumptious cakes and gifts for Christmas. The next community coffee morning will be on the second Saturday in January, which is 9 January, so it does not clash with any extended New Year festivities.

FLOOD RELIEF
There will be a homemade cake stall and a Santa’s Grotto at the table top sale in the church hall on Saturday, 12 December from 10am until 2pm. The proceeds of the cake stall will go to relieve the victims of the Cumbrian Floods. The organisers are appealing for volunteers to bake cakes and for people to support the event.

ART CLASSES
The weekly creative watercolours step-by-step tuition class is due to recommence on Wednesday, 13 January from 10am until noon. The other two art classes on Tuesday mornings from 10am until noon and on Wednesday from 12:45pm until 2:45pm continue.

BRASS BAND
There will be a brass band concert in St Luke’s Church on Sunday, 13 December. Assemble from 7pm with the music starting at 7:30pm. A hot-pot supper will be served in the church hall afterwards to be followed by carol singing. Tickets cost £12 each and are available from Val on 824089.

CAROL SINGING
St Luke’s and the United Reformed Church congregations have been invited to sing carols in the village nursing homes and local pubs. If you are free do join them on both or either night. Children are very welcome.

8pm - The Hest Bank Inn. This is a special family event. All donations will be given to Biblelands, which is a Christian Agency. It supports and resources Christians in the lands of the bible as they serve the needs of the poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged, through education, health care and community development. It works in partnership with local Christians to respond strategically and effectively to the changing needs of the region and its people, regardless of their faith or nationality.

Wednesday, 16 December
6pm - Hill Croft (Slyne House), Throstle Grove.
7pm - The Keys.
8pm - Slyne Lodge

OVER SIXTIES
At the meeting of the Over Sixties Club on the last day of November Margaret Holland won the games of dominoes. Audrey Eaton came second, with Barbara Wynn third, Joan Hunter fourth and June Gardner fifth.

PARISH COUNCIL
The parish council is pursuing, via Lancaster City Council, using the land behind the Londis shop for allotments. It decided at its November meeting to identify other sites. It might approach people, though if there is anyone with some land that could be used for allotments and they are willing to sell or lease it for this purpose, please contact Mrs Doreen Brookes, the clerk to the council on 01524 82 54 64.
The parish council is also ascertaining sites where it could replace trees at the side of the highway. The obvious place is Peacock Lane where mature trees have been removed and there are grass verges. There are probably other suitable locations. If you have any suggestions please inform Mrs Doreen Brookes or any of the tree wardens.
The parish council has decided to fill in the pot holes on the foreshore. It is hoped that this will eliminate further degradation as well as providing a better surface for pedestrians and motor vehicles.
The winter edition of the village newsletter will be published in early December. It will be made available in local shops and the Memorial Hall.
The Memorial Hall will be decorated with Christmas trees and lights this year during the festival season.

COFFEE MORNING
The next community coffee morning will be on Saturday, 5 December in the Memorial Hall from 10am until noon. This is an opportunity to talk to councillors, both parish and city councillors are regularly there, as well as socialise. There is also the provision to purchase books, scrumptious home made cakes, fruit and vegetables, greetings cards and other diverse items.
The next police surgery will be during the first hour of the community coffee morning. You can tell the police what a good job they are doing in the village and let them know if there is anything they could do better.

REMEMBER
On Sunday, 29 November at 4.00pm, St Luke's Church of England & Hest Bank United Reformed Churches will jointly host a service for anyone who has been bereaved and wishes to remember a loved one. Please speak to Rev Yolande Burns or Rev Pauline Bicknell for further details.

FLOODING
The village appears to have been spared floods in the third week of November which is fortunate. There is now an embryo of a solution to the floods that occurred in Hest Bank Lane and Main Road nearly two years ago. It is to increase the bore of the pipe that takes away surface water from that part of the village. There are going to be no physical improvements in the near future, rather there will have to be further reports and assessments. Anything that reduces the risk of future floods will be slow moving, very similar to stagnant flood water.
Any physical improvements are also being tied to the proposed Heysham – M6 link road. There are contrary views about this. The benevolent one is that the link road scheme will bring funding and is a constraint within which officers have to work. The Machiavellian view is that it is a ploy to garner benefits for an unnecessary and unpopular road.

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