Thanks to all who came to the launch of the new facilities at Nightingale Avenue Recreation Ground last Saturday:

• to the Mayor, Cllr Sheila Stuart, who cut the tape of the new games area and also cut the cake
• to the CHYPPS team who ran the games and painted faces
• to Mark Buckton, who ran the Bin Challenge and gave recycling tips
• to Authentic Cakes, who made the cake
• to the City Council’s Active Communities team who managed the series   of improvements to the recreation ground over the past few years
• to James Day, who took this photo.

The games area can be used for a variety of ball games whatever the weather. The other recent enhancements have been:

• a second tennis court
• a revamped playground
• a second tennis court
• a path around the recreation ground that can be used by wheelchairs and pushchairs
• recycling bins for bottles and cans
• new benches

It was great to see a mixture of all ages enjoying the event and the sunshine!

The two organizations bidding to run the new primary school on Gunhild  Way in Queen Edith’s will be presenting their proposals to the public at the Cambridge Professional Development Centre in Trumpington (CB2 9NL) this Thursday 15th July. There will be public displays from 5 to 6 p.m. before the presentations. The meeting is open to everyone.

There are just  two bidders: The Queen Edith Community Federation Group and the Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia.  You can read their full bids here, or see a summary and fill in a questionnaire here. If you can’t make the meeting, you can comment by contacting:

David Clark,  CYPS Infrastructure, Cambridgeshire County Council, Box CC1209, Castle Court, Castle Hill, Cambridge, CB3 0AP.

David.clark@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

The new primary school will be on what is now Netherhall Lower School, off Gunhild Way and it is to cater for the ever rising numbers of children in the south of city. It is intended it will open in September 2011.

The Queen Edith’s bid includes proposals to create a catchment area of children from the existing Queen Edith Primary School catchment area, as well as those of Morley Memorial and Ridgeway. It has broad support, including from local councillors and from the Diocese of Ely.

The Roman Catholic bid covers a broader area, and in their own words, ‘will serve in the first instance, the Catholic community of South Cambridge’.

Cambridge City Council has four area committees, which take decisions on grants and other local matters, s well as planning applications.

Next Thursday (8^th July), the South Area Committee meets at Homerton College, and will be discussing safer neighbourhoods (that’s council-speak for community
policing), licensing policy, a presentation on how people can view planning applications at the Council’s Customer Service Centre in Regent Street, grants and planning applications.

The police will be presenting crime figures and reporting on their activities over the past quarter, and recommending priorities for the next. The public and councillors should be asking questions and commenting on those priorities. See the policing report here.The big change for planning is that people can visit Cambridge City Council’s new Customer Service Centre in Regent Street to view applications on line, or speak to a planning officer if they wish. The Council’s new online facility can be used to view plans and applications, leave comments and set up an alert about new
applications where you live.We will be looking at community development grants for playgroups (a trip), residents’ associations (Christmas fun and a trip to St Ives)  and youth groups (camping kit). Although the committee covers Queen Edith’s, Cherry Hinton and Trumpington, there are no bids from groups in Queen Edith’s this time. If you are involved in a community group hat could use extra funds, please contact one of your councillors and we can explain the sorts of things that can be funded and to whom.

The other decision to take is on environmental improvements. One is a survey for the Wulfstan Way shopping area to progress the already agreed works (see previous post on Wulfstan Way shops); the other is for a traffic calming scheme in Clarendon Road and Shaftesbury Avenue, subject to its getting the thumbs-up from public consultation. See teh details here.

There are two planning applications: a retrospective application for a 2m fence round a house, the other for two new houses on Glebe Road.

Here is the agenda. I look forward to seeing you there!

If you can’t come along but would like me to raise an issue on your behalf, please let me know.

Families in Queen Edith’s are to be invited to party in the park to celebrate the opening of a new games area at the Nightingale Avenue Recreation Ground.

The event is being organised by myself and the other three Lib Dem councillors for the area and there will be games, sports and possibly face painting during the afternoon of Saturday, July 17th.

Cambridge Mayor, Sheila Stuart will open the new multi-use games area for basketball, volleyball, netball and football at the Nightingale Avenue recreation ground, marking the culmination of a series of improvements to the park.

These include an improved children’s playground, extra tennis court and a pushchair and wheelchair friendly path around the edge of the park. New cycle racks and benches have also been added. So there should be something for all ages!

We have been working on making the park better to serve different people’s needs for some years. Many of the ideas have come from residents of the area, notably the path round the outside of the rec, a bright idea that the council was able to make a reality.

I hope local families will come and bring a picnic to enjoy the celebrations and help us officially open the new area.

Please tell your friends!

Midsummer Fair, starting this Wednesday on Midsummer Common, is one of the big dates in Cambridge’s civic calendar.

 King John granted permission for a fair on the Common back in 1211: in those days it was an opportunity for different merchants to meet and trade their wares. For more information see here. These days it is more of a funfair than a trade fair, with rollercoasters, ghost trains and, of course, the ubiquitous dodgem cars.

It is still authorized by Parliament under an Act of 1850. When the City Council wished to alter the time of the opening proclamation from the afternoon to the evening, we had to get government permission!

The tradition is upheld by a procession of the Mayor, council chief executive, macebearers and councillors, often joined by the ‘chain gang’, civic dignitaries from neighbouring councils. There is a civic proclamation of the Fair by the Chief Executive and Town Crier with a warning about good behaviour, then the Mayor, Bailiffs and councillors throw newly minted pennies at the crowd before proceeding to a crazy circuit on the dodgem cars.

The opening ceremony is 6.30pm on Wednesday.

Two more summer events in the community for you to spend your money and have a good time at:

Summer Fair this Saturday afternoon (3-5 p.m. 19th June) at St John the Evangelist on Hills Road. Cakes, plants, tombola, games and cream teas  which are likely to be home-made, scones, jam and all.

Summer Fête at Morley Memorial Primary School on Saturday 26th June, 12 noon - 2.30 p.m. Books, toys, games, hand-made goods and an awesome array of things to eat from the many different countries represented amongst Morley families!

Have you visited the Nightingale Avenue rec’ lately?

The City Council has put lots of extra kit in over the last few years — new climbing frames and spinners in the children’s playground, a second tennis court, a wheel-friendly path round the park, and most recently, a multi-use games area that can be used for basketball, volleyball, netball or football if, like today, it’s raining and the grass is not suitable to play on. The games area is constructed from wood specially chosen to mimimise noise and as the non-wood parts are dark leaf-green, it blends in well with the local environment.

There’s also some new benches and cycle racks. The other things I really like are the recycling bins for bottles and cans – which arrived this morning.

When I first raised this at the Council, the prevailing view was that people wouldn’t bother to recycle when they’re in a public place but if you are recycling at home then why not when you’re out and about too?

Abbey Pool and Romsey Rec have got some bottle and can bins too and I’m hoping we’ll collect more than they do!

I am currently working on arranging a summer party on Nightingale
Avenue, to celebrate all the improvements, as well as publicise leisure activities and events this summer.

I’ll post details when they are settled; in the meantime, if you would
like me to update you by email, drop me a line at amandataylor@cix.co.uk.

The South Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats are holding a Pig Roast on Saturday 3rd July, starting at 5.30 p.m.Tickets are £30 for a family or £13.50 for one, from Susan van der ven — susanvandeven@yahoo.co.uk.

Cambridge workers are being urged to take part in a Cycle Challenge. We are being pitted against The Other Place. We’ve beaten Oxford in the Boat Race and University Challenge already this year, so here’s the next trial of fortitude!

It works like this: you sign up at your place of work, then encourage your colleagues to do the same, then log your journeys (all of them, not just the commuting ones). The campaign aims to get more new cyclists doing short journeys of just 10 minutes (1 or 2 miles for most people).

The list of Cambridge organizations that has already signed up is impressive and I am pleased to say it includes the City and County Councils as well as both universities.

Read all about it here.

Newly elected MP for Cambridge, Julian Huppert, will be speaking to South Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats at a supper club this Saturday night.

The evening starts at 7 p.m. and the venue is Comberton Village Hall. Tickets are £10 each, to include a buffet supper, and can be bought from Cllr Susan van de Ven by emailing susanvandeven@yahoo.co.uk.

The Queen Edith County Primary School (Godwin Way) is holding its summer fete this Saturday, 22nd May. These events are great for their teas and hot dogs as well as other fête fun such as bouncy castles, assaults courses, music-making and games. There’s a car boot sale too, so a chance to pick up a bargain.

This year the community police team will be there from about 12.30, advising on crime prevention, so look out for them if you have any issues to discuss.The fête itself starts at 1 p.m. and I understand there are barbecue lunches on sale so it’s a good idea to get there early! More information from the School PSFA.

Did you know that only one in four women and girls in the UK ever cycles? I was staggered by this statistic, which came out of research carried out by Sustrans last year. It resulted in a 9,000 petition to the Minister for Transport asking for safer cycle routes.

The Cambridge Cycling Campaign (of which I am a member) is working on encouraging more women and girls to take up cycling as an everyday way of getting about.

They are putting on two events:

On Wednesday 10th March they will be showing the film ‘Beauty and the Beast — why British girls don’t cycle’.

‘Ride for Joy’ is a big fashion cycling event on Saturday 20th March. That’s NOT an oxymoron. The idea is to wear your ordinary clothes, but still be as stylish as you please. We’ll be riding around the centre of town, meeting  at Lammas Land at 2 p.m. and fetching up at Parkers Piece for a speaker later. For the latest news, see the Cambridge Cycling Campaign website. b

LOVE CAMBRIDGE, the city centre partnership, has teamed up with Cambridge Nespapers, Park & Ride and Stagecoach to launch ‘Wonderful Wednesdays’, a great deal to encourage people to visit Cambridge for shopping, culture, entertainment or just to enjoy our fine city.

Wonderful Wednesdays runs all through March and offers two Park & Ride bus fares for the price of one every Wednesday afternoon in March, on production of a voucher.

To download the vital voucher, visit Love Cambridge, phone them on 01223 457179, or email helen.hames@love-cambridge.co.uk

Diana Manasseh, a pineapple grower from Ghana, was in Cambridge today telling us all about fair trade pineapple and mango farming and the tangible differences that the fair trade premium makes to the farmers and their families. It was fascinating to hear how the shopping choices we make in Cambridge affects the people who grow and harvest the crops.

Ghana is a poor country, and its challenges include a lack of basic amenities such as access to water and electricity, as well as health care and education. Fair trade offers producers a guaranteed price for their goods, and the money goes back into the community. Several of us listening were amazed at the sheer number of projects that have come about through the fair trade premium. I am probably missing some out, but for example, at Bomarts it has paid for: boreholes to provide clean drinking water, a toilet block, refurbished medical centres, a maternity wing at a clinic, school meals to encourage the children to stay at school longer (Cambridge’s newest restauranteur Jamie Oliver would surely approve!) and nursery equipment for the smaller children.

Bomart starts harvesting pineapples in March and mangos in May. Fair trade pineapples can be found on the shelves of four major supermarkets: Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons. My pineapples will taste all the sweeter now that I’ve glimpsed something of the lives of the people who grow them.

Diana’s a Fair Trade Certification Officer at Bomarts Farms and is here on a tour. It’s her first trip to the UK, and she said she was enjoying it, though it is her first experience of snow. She was speaking today at Emmanuel United Reformed Church in Trumpington Street Cambridge, at the invitation of the Cambridge Fairtrade Steering Group.

There was also an exhibition on 30 years of Traidcraft – I didn’t realize it had been around that long. When I first came across fair trade as a university student in 1980, there was only WDM tea and Campaign coffee, which you had to be . . . errr . . . committed to drink, if you know what I mean.

Nowadays the Traidcraft catalogue is a veritable cornucopia of goods, from tea and coffee (VERY nice, I start the day with two cups of their Indian Ocean) to chocolate, wine, cards and giftwrap, clothes, even holidays! And that’s just one fair trade supplier. I use www.ethicalsuperstore.com to find more sorts of product. My current problem is that although I have lots of fair trade clothes, they are nearly all summery and it’s too cold to wear them without something warmer on top. A shopping trip must be in order . . .

Diana is repeating her talk tomorrow night at King’s College, and on Thursday at Bourn Village Hall.

The South Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats are holding an open meeting on education at St John’ Church, Hills Road, on 18th February.

 Speakers

 Cllr Peter Downes, Liberal Democrat spokesperson on education on Cambridgeshire County Council (former Head of Hinchingbrooke School and President of the Secondary Heads Association)

Cllr Sebastian Kindersley, Cambridgeshire County Councillor and Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for South Cambridgeshire

Come and hear the Lib Dem point of view and have your say!

7 p.m., The Wilkinson Room, St John the Evangelist Church, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 8RN (opposite Homerton College, buses 1, 4, 7 and lots more)

Drinks and snacks available. No ticketing, just come!

Education meeting poster

This Saturday is the eagerly anticipated Mill Road Winter Fair, an eclectic mixture of exciting events and chic commerce, from ale tasting to Yamuna body rolling! See the Fair’s website for details: http://www.mill-road.com/winterfair.aspx

Cambridge Fair Trade City, a coming-together of fair trade merchants and campaigners like me, has a market stall in Ditchburn Gardens and will be displaying goods from Abantu – arts and crafts from all over the world that you can purchase knowing you will be helping people while not hurting the planet, and Traidcraft. We hope to have some samples of fair trade goodies for people to try out.  Here’s a photo of our fair trade stall in Cambridge’s central market during Fair Trade Fortnight this year.

Hope to see you there!

On Saturday 17th October, the Rock Road Library Gardeners will be holding a Celebration of Apples from 11 am to 1 pm, to raise funds for developing the garden. There will also be a plant sale and cake stall.

For more info, see the Rock Road Library Garden website or contact J.Elliott@ioe.ac.uk

Free versus Fair Trade?

Wednesday 4th November, 5.00 p.m. for 5.15 p.m. start
DAV 014 (David Building), Anglia Ruskin University, East Road, Cambridge

Free entry

• What are the relative merits of free and fair trade?
• Is there any common ground?
• Can trade benefit the developing world?

Speakers:
Sir Teddy Taylor, Free Trade League, one-time MP for Southend-on-Sea
Toby Quantrill, Head of Public Policy at the Fairtrade Foundation

There will also be a short account of a visit to a Fairtrade project

• Does Fairtrade benefit the developing communities to a degree consistent with its price premium?
• Would eliminating British, or EU, trade barriers, agricultural subsidies and such like effectively help developing countries?
• And are these two schemes in any way comparable in benefits, ease of introduction, or potential competition as methods?
• Should there be competition among Fairtrade certification schemes?

Queen Edith’s Liberal Democrats are holding a fun general knowledge quiz on Friday 16th October, at St James’s Church, Wulfstan Way. It starts at 7.15 p.m. sharp and is scheduled to finish by 10 p.m.

Tickets are £7 and include light refreshments.

To book, either as a team or an individual, ring 520947 or 211117.

The digging got underway today — loads of people of all ages from 3 upwards, and plenty of sunshine to help things along.

The garden now has its own blog:

http://rockroadlibrarygarden.blogspot.com/