Month: <span>March 2018</span>

"Police" Scam Warning, March 2018

West Mercia Police LogoIt’s always important to be on the alert for scams, and particularly vigilant where older people living alone are concerned.
Please be aware that some people in the Loggerheads area have recently received telephone calls from a caller claiming to be “the police”, saying that they are in the person’s area and offering to check out their house for security.
One person said that had she not been warned in advance, she might have followed up the offer as it sounded convincing.
After a similar incident in South Shrops not long ago, police are highlighting the work of Action Fraud, the national agency responsible for tackling fraud. This link will take you to their website for some useful advice.

Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund Coffee Morning

Saturday April 28th – 10am to 12 noon
The Community Room, The Meadows, Hodnet
Admission £3 with Lucky Ticket.
Cake stall, cards and gift wrap, jams and chutneys, Tombola, Raffle, Guess the number of sweets in Jar and others.
Donations of cakes would be greatly appreciated.
Further information from Margaret Taylor 07947-332627 or email Find out more about the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund on their website.

Peplow Community Walk – April 2018

Boy & Girl WalkingThe Wrekin in the spring

Join us for a morning ascent of one of Shropshire’s ionic hills.
Friday 6th April
Please note: This walk was originally planned for the following Sunday, but we have brought it forward to avoid the crowds.

Meet at 10:30am in the car park between The Wrekin and the Ercall – Grid. Ref. SJ638092 – map
All ages welcome.
In case of forecasted bad weather please check here (or phone Randall on 01952-540970) after 7.00pm the previous evening.
See our page for more information about the Peplow Community Group.

Drayton Road Delays 22 to 29 March 2018

BT Openreach is about to start a week of works on Drayton Road which will see traffic lights operational in different locations between Hodnet and the Drayton side of Wollerton.
These are listed here, but the date range needs to extended to ‘Next 3 Months’ to display all the locations.
Details for each location are listed below, click on the map for larger image.

Drayton Road March 2018A: 22 Mar
Location: Drayton Road, Hodnet, Shropshire
Traffic lights, etc: Traffic control (two-way signals)
Information for Operational Teams
Location: From 33m North East of Penfold Cottage to opposite the telephone exchange, DRAYTON ROAD
Description: To route prove existing BT duct and cable works on BT network
Works ref: BC006TI003MW500254790601
Project ref: BC005BDUK
B: 22 Mar
Location: From A53 From Drayton Road End Of To Crossroads Wollerton, Drayton Road, Wollerton, Shropshire
Traffic lights, etc: Traffic control (two-way signals)
Information for Operational Teams
Location: From 78m South West of opposite entrance to Ashcourt to 39m North East of Penfold Cottage, FROM A53 FROM DRAYTON ROAD EN
Description: To route prove existing BT duct and cable works on BT network
Works ref: BC006TI003MW500254790600
Project ref: BC005BDUK
C: 23 Mar
Location: From A53 From Drayton Road End Of To Crossroads Wollerton, Drayton Road, Wollerton, Shropshire
Traffic lights, etc: Traffic control (two-way signals)
Information for Operational Teams
Location: 173M SOUTH WEST OF SIDE OF CATCHEM CORNER HOUSE TO 78M SOUTH WEST OF OPPOSITE ENTRANCE TO ASHCOURT, FROM A53 FROM DRAYTON
Description: To route prove existing BT duct and cable works on BT network
Works ref: BC006TI003MW500254790602
Project ref: BC005BDUK
D: 29 Mar
Location: From A53 From Drayton Road End Of To Crossroads Wollerton, Drayton Road, Wollerton, Shropshire
Traffic lights, etc: Traffic control (multi-way signals)
Information for Operational Teams
Location: From opposite entrance to Holmleigh to 172m South West of side of property named Catchem Corner, FROM A53 FROM DRAYTON R
Description: To route prove existing BT duct and cable works on BT network – no excavation
Permit status: Granted
Works ref: BC006TI003MW500254790607
Project ref: BC005BDUK
D(b): 29 Mar
Location: Stone House Junction With A53 To Pound House Junction, Wollerton, Shropshire
Traffic lights, etc: Traffic control (multi-way signals)
Information for Operational Teams
Location: at junction with from A53 from Drayton road to end of Crossroads Wollerton to outside Heatherstone, STONE HOUSE JUNCT
Description: For traffic management purposes
Works ref: BC006TI003MW500254790608
Project ref: BC005BDUK
E: 26 Mar – 28 Mar
Location: Wollerton Crossroads To Drayton Field, Wollerton, Market Drayton, Shropshire
Traffic lights, etc: Traffic control (two-way signals)
Information for Operational Teams
Location: From outside Drayton Fields to outside Meadow View, WOLLERTON CROSSROADS TO DRAYTON FIELD
Description: To route prove existing BT duct and cable works on BT network – rolling works
Works ref: BC006TI003MW500254790604
Project ref: BC005BDUK

Parish Council’s frustration over Station Road Post Box

Hodnet Parish CouncilSince the post box was removed from Station Road, following the closure of the Post Office, Hodnet Parish Council has been campaigning to get it reinstated.
The Parish Council has repeatedly written to the Post Office pointing out the need for a post box in this area and explaining that, being a residential area with a high percentage of older residents, it is these very people who are more likely to use and require a post box.
A petition was completed and the Parish Council sent to Owen Patterson MP to take forward on behalf of the residents of Station Road and it’s subsidiary roads of The Meadows, The Crescent and Webster Lane.
Unfortunately none of these complaints have prompted an action from the Post Office who maintain that their regulatory requirements are to provide a post-box within half a mile of at least 98% of all ‘delivery points’ (usually a customer’s letter-box) and so they are not required to reinstall the post box which they removed.
After 12 months of campaigning and the matter being referred to the Post Offices’s Senior Public Affairs Manager it seems that this issue will not be resolved in favour of the people in the Station Road area, much to their frustration and that of the Parish Council.

The boy who was evacuated to Hodnet and stayed

Joe Cunningham and his sister arrived in Hodnet during September 1939. Aged just six Joe found rural Shropshire very different to industrial East Manchester where he had lived until the Second World War broke out and, along with hundreds of other children, they were evacuated out of harms way. Unlike most of the children when the war ended Joe did not return home.
Recently, Joe has sent us his memories of the years he lived in Hodnet. Joe left to join the RAF aged 18 and by the time he retired he was a British Airways captain. Now aged 84, Joe lives near Southampton. You can read his memories of the years he lived in Hodnet in our Local History section, just click the link below.

Memories of an Evacuee

Remembering Ken Dodd

How many of our viewers / users remember that ‘Doddy’ visited Wollerton back in Jan 1972 – to present a ‘Perfect Pub’ award to the erstwhile Squirrel Inn?
The picture below was used by the Shropshire Star last week in their ‘Pictures from the Past’ item and is reproduced here courtesy of the Shopshire Star Newspaper.

Do you recognise anyone? maybe the photo includes you? – in either case we’d be pleased to hear from you with any further information / reminiscences. Contact us using this form
In the meantime, the webteam contacted Steve Howell-Jones, the then licensee of The Squirrel, and who is still ‘of this Parish’, and he kindly provided some further information for us:

I was fortunate enough to win the Perfect Pub award for 1971 having taken over the tenancy in 1969. The whole idea was sponsored by the Shropshire Star and promoted by Shirley Tart, one of their reporters (still going strong!). I was told by her there were 104 entries that year, the highest ever.

Ken Dodd was appearing at the Granada Theatre in Shrewsbury that bitterly cold January day and having rehearsed his act in the morning, went on to sign books at a shop in Shrewsbury before coming to The Squirrel to present the award. He spent ¾ hour in the bitter cold, signing autographs for the kids and mums who gathered in great numbers to see him, after which he came inside and did an impromptu ‘stand up comic routine’ from behind the bar.

His entourage included Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson (the British entry singers of the very first Eurovision Song Contest) an ITV television crew (who were filming ‘a day in the life of’ type programme), staff of a woman’s magazine, and others. The pub was packed to the gunwhales and after an hour he went outside again and continued to sign autographs. Truly a real professional.

He then went to appear in an ice cream commercial, before dashing back to the Prince Rupert Hotel in Shrewsbury for a quick kip before his appearance at the Granada Theatre. He told me this was a typical day!

Reminder – Scoop the Poop!

Three years ago we published a post reminding local residents and visitors of the need to clean up after their dogs when they are out and about with them. This Dog Fouling Alert warned of the dangers of the Toxocara canis roundworm and also the law concerning this habitual problem. We encourage all dog owners to read it, because it seems a reminder is required.
The webteam has recently received an email from a regular user of the footpaths in the parish. They said they often go along the old rail line and over the footpaths, through the (brilliant!) new gateways and towards Wollerton.  They then added, “This weekend I was really disappointed by the amount of dog mess left behind all over the paths.”
Can we therefore remind all dog walkers that even in settings like the old railway line, it is important that you clean up after your pets.
We also want to urge other users to be watch out where they tread as we have been told there is a lot of dog mess about at present! If you happen to know someone who regularly walks their pets on our public footpaths, please mention this request to them.
BTW – The brilliant new gates and some new styles are the result of the ongoing work of the Hodnet Footpath Group. If you enjoy the benefits of their labours why not get involved.

Editor Needed to Revamp Parish Magazine

St Lukes ChurchSt. Luke’s Hodnet are totally revamping their church newsletter and hoping to develop it into a community publication, carrying news from the many different organisations which our community benefits from.
To do this successfully they need to recruit a volunteer editor who perhaps has some
experience in the field. Potential editors will need an artistic bent and be familiar with DTP, etc.
The magazine is published monthly and is intended be circulated to all the homes in the parish.
If you think this is something you might enjoy, please contact Noel Fryer  on 01630 684007 or by email.

NEW – Mid-Week Walk (HFG) 21st March

This is to notify you about Hodnet Footpath Group’s next public walk – where we’re experimenting with a mid-week morning start.
Details are as follows:
**Weds 21st March, meet at High Hatton Club ready for an 11am start**
We plan to follow the route of our new [draft] Walk 8 leaflet, pausing to admire the stiles with dog
gates recently fitted by our workparty team !
The meeting point is marked on this map, and there is roadside parking by the club house:
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/idld.srf?X=361195&Y=324528&A=Y&Z=120&lm=1
Please come equipped with suitable footwear and remember that all dogs should be on leads in fields containing livestock, particularly during the lambing season – although this walk is largely expected to be over arable land plus some lanes.
It’s a largely level walk over easy terrain, and should be completed within 1.5 – 2 hrs.
We have designated the following day (Thurs 22nd) as our reserve, just in case the weather is so bad that we can’t go ahead on the Weds, but we hope it won’t be necessary to change the plan.

Any queries on the day, please ring Steve: 01630 685697