Past 12 months....

I know I haven't posted anything in the past year, and I've been asked why. Well, everything has been going onto Twitter, @TottingtonLife. The account started off as an experiment to see how many people would follow it. I didn't put my name to it for over a year (I started it at Easter 2012), and there are now over 900 followers.

My fetching pumpkin outfit!

Especially for the person who has requested a blog update, here is a little of what has been going on in the past year. I'll try to keep it updated from now on!

In September 2012 Incredible Edible Tottington held a 'Pumpkin Fest'. The weather was great and we had lots of people joining in. We will be holding a similar event, with Tottington Wildlife Watch Group, this year on 20 October.

Alan Fletcher and John Law, Boxing Day.

On Christmas Day we went to Asha restaurant on Tottington Road for a meal. The restaurant had gorgeous food, and we were able to order from the normal menu. It is a 'bring your own' restaurant and it worked out cheaper for me than cooking for the family!

On Boxing Day we went to the Boxing Day Cricket Match in Tottington. I for some reason assumed it would be a dressing up affair and was surprised when I was the only person in fancy dress. I met the Alan Fletcher who bowled the first bowl in the first Boxing Day match. This is a great way to spend a couple of hours on Boxing Day. This year I think it will be held in Summerseat.



Me with Fabrice Muamba



In February 2013 the previous few months hard work paid off. Three defibrillators were put into use in the area. We had one at Helen's Flowers in Tottington, one at The Lamb Inn on Tottington Road and one at The Victoria Hotel in Walshaw. We even had Fabrice Muamba to officially open one. It was all very stressful, as we couldn't be sure he was definitely coming until a couple of hours before, but it was brilliant. I even did two radio interviews, for Tower FM and BBC Radio Manchester, prior to the event.

The gang shifting soil.

Also in February 2013 we had to say goodbye to Anna Cocker, our Park Ranger. The ranger service was unfortunately severely reduced by Bury Council due to the cuts in their budget by central government. Before she went we managed to fill the Incredible Edible Tottington vegetable plots up with 12 tonnes of soil. It took 5 hours and we were on our knees by the end of it, but we got the job done.

In March 2013 we continued the gardening theme. We planted an amazing wildflower garden with Tottington Wildlife Watch Group. When the flowers came up the colours were amazing. It has been entered into the community garden category of Bury In Bloom gardening competition, so we are waiting for the results. Unfortunately the flowers had died when the judges came out.

The litter picking crew

In April 2013 I held a fundraising event. Our family's chosen charity is The MS Society, and we try to raise funds to help those with Multiple Sclerosis when we can. Each year The MS Society have a Cake Break, along the lines of a Macmillan Coffee Morning. I didn't think I would raise much baking cakes, so I changed it slightly to 'MS Wine Time'. I had a party, provided the refreshments, and asked people to make donations to the charity. It raised over £555, and I think I'll be repeating the event next year.

In May 2013 I organised a litter pick along the Kirklees Trail (#tidytotty). I worked with the council and remaining rangers, and managed to find enough volunteers to make a difference. I was amazed by the amount of dog poo, and dog poo bags that people couldn't be bothered finding a bin for. In just a few hours the trail looked much better. All the local councillors were involved too.

Also in May I went to the GMP Crime Commissioner 'Talk to Tony (Lloyd)' event at Bury Town Hall. This was an opportunity for people to ask Tony and Sir Peter Fahy questions about local policing and policing in the wider area.

I saw information about The Big Lunch that was happening in communities all over the country. I

The Big Lunch

sent off for the Big Lunch pack and set to work organising one for our neighbourhood. We have brilliant neighbours and a lot of them joined in the organising. My husband Paul cut the grass on Station Yard, and others posted letters through doors, put bunting up and organised a rounders match. It took place on a Sunday in June 2013 and was really successful. There is talk of another one soon.

Reopening of the dungeon

Also in June I appeared in the GMP Magazine, which I was really pleased about. See page 18.http://issuu.com/gmpolice/docs/briefspringsummer13?e=3819622/2493322

In July 2013 Incredible Edible Tottington joined Incredible Edible Ramsbottom on a stall at Music in the Park. We had willow weaving, clay model making and making elderflower cordial and champagne. It was great to spend the afternoon with such a lovely group.

The old dungeon in Tottington was 'opened' in July. Tottington Civic Society had been trying to locate the key. They couldn't but they did acquire 'a' key. I went along and got shut inside it. It wasn't pleasant!



Although I had been 'live' on BBC Radio Manchester in February I was delighted to be invited onto the breakfast show with Allan Beswick, reviewing the morning papers. I really enjoyed going to Media City and think I'll be booking onto one of the tours soon. I'm hoping I can go on again - they said I could.

July was busy. I was also invited to the Homewatch Conference in Manchester. This was an interesting day. I was able to learn more about restorative justice and the victim support scheme as well as hearing about what was happening with policing in general. Tony Lloyd (Crime Commissioner) and DCC Ian Hopkins were there too.

So, it has been a busy year, and I can't see that changing any time soon. I'll keep people informed of what is going on in the area (what I can find out about of course) but follow @TottingtonLife on Twitter for regular updates.