Bury Sculpture Centre

I've just returned from the opening of the Bury Sculpture Centre.

Sculpture Centre Floor

I can honestly say, it is stunning. It is a large white space with spectacular flooring. I heard tonight that the under lit glass tiled floor, set into a parquet floor, had been discovered when the carpet had been taken up. It was covered in 10mm of screed that had to be carefully removed. The underside had been painted so it was quite a restoration job.


There has been a lot of controversy about the Sculpture Centre, as the floor space was part of the library. Changes to services had to be made due to Government cuts, and Arts Council England gave Bury a huge grant towards setting up the centre. Bury was seen to be ideally placed for such a project, not least because of its proximity to The Irwell Sculpture Trail. Tonight there were protesters outside, but I would say "give it a chance". The space was being changed anyway and I truly believe it will attract more visitors, which has to be good for the town.

Text Festival

The opening exhibition is The Text Festival. Along side this is The Drawing Shed, where visitors can use a variety of old  typewriters, with their writing later being incorporated into the exhibition space.

I listened to speakers from Arts Council England and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park (one of my favourite places) speak about how they were working with The Sculpture Centre, and how the people of Bury should be proud to have such a centre on their doorstep. It may take a while, and I'm sure critics will be doubtful about the opening exhibition. However, I visited Musee du Quai Branly in Paris last October and I found The River, which was a moving display of text, amazing.

I love art and sculpture, even though I know nothing about it! For years I took Mr Tottington Life

The Drawing Shed

around fabulous art galleries wherever we visited. A turning point in our relationship came when we were coming down the steps after visiting a gallery in the centre of Cologne (I think it was Museum Ludwig). I had been in awe of the huge Andy Warhols. He declared he actually hated being taken to places like that, he always had done, and only tagged along to keep me happy! Since then I've tried to limit art gallery visits (we still go) but sculpture tends to keep us all happy because such a lot of it is outdoors.

I really hope The Sculpture Centre is a huge success. People don't realise that this isn't the first innovative art idea for Bury. For over a year art has been taken to exhibitions as far away as China. The people at tonight's opening show that there is interest and Bury is being taken seriously. This is this week's article in the Manchester Evening News.

I Will If You Will

In January, during a visit to the new Children's Centre in Tottington, I saw a poster for an I Will If You Will Burlesque class.

In May 2013, Bury was named by Sport England as the location for an intensive year-long sporting experiment to get more women and girls active and tackle the gender gap in sport. £2,383,778 of National Lottery funding was secured, with the council beating competition from other towns. I'd seen a few changes being made throughout the borough. Outdoor gyms were being built in some areas, but unfortunately not in Tottington. However, Tottington did have an outdoor table tennis table constructed in Town Meadow playground.

I thought it was all a great idea, but I never thought to give any of it a go. Seeing the burlesque class advertised though changed all that, and I turned up for the first lesson in January, dragging a neighbour along with me! It was brilliant. Great fun, good company, and good exercise thrown in too. The Bury Times even came along and wrote an article on the class (here is the article). I publicised the classes on Twitter and more people did start to turn up. I was delighted when I was asked to be an I Will If You Will Champion, to encourage others to join in and become more active. Here is a link to my webpage on the I Will If You Will website.

Unfortunately I haven't been to burlesque for a few weeks as my job changed, meaning I wasn't at home as much during the day when the class was on. I already had the bug by then though. I can honestly say that whoever does the I Will If You Will PR is doing an amazing job. I invested in a super duper pedometer that I always have with me. If I've had a particularly sedate day I'm much more likely to go out for a walk later on to get my steps up. I get a big thrill from hitting the sought after 10,000 steps during a day.

The biggest change was that I re-joined the gym. It took me a few weeks to take the plunge, but I haven't looked back. I haven't lost even a pound, but I have re-discovered cross trainers and exercise bikes. I have also progressed from the small, lovely and warm leisure pool to the 23 metre proper pool and regularly have 25 minutes in there. The gym has better showers than my home one so that is an extra reason for me to go!

I'd encourage anyone to give it a go and attend one of the I Will If You Will sessions. There is something for everyone, from walks, jogs, pilates, boxercise, yoga; all levels of fitness are catered for. A mobile pool has even opened at Broad Oak Sports College, with women-only sessions and swimming lessons.

On the 12th and 13th April, there was a fitness party at the Castle Leisure Centre. There were free events for people to try, and even a crèche to give people the chance to join in. For more information click here.

The next Fitness Party is at the Longfield Suite on Fairfax Road, Prestwich on Sunday 11th May 1pm-3pm.

Have a look and see what you fancy. It can't do any harm, and I can assure you it is great fun!

Fuerteventura sculptures

I'm just back from a week in Fuerteventura. We always have our family holiday in February as that is when Paul (a gardener) has his quietest time and can relax. Unfortunately we can't have a fortnight though as we have to fit in with the half term holiday. When I say 'we' I mean 'we' as a family. This year Paul had a week in Lanzarote first, staying with a neighbour in their apartment. He then caught the ferry to meet us.

We booked the hotel and flights separately. The hotel had a few
rough reviews, but it was such an absolute bargain we couldn't resist it! We had a great apartment in the hotel; a quiet spot, with a sunny balcony as requested. H and I arrived just in time to catch dinner, and I can honestly say it was the worst hotel food I have ever had, both for choice and quality. It was edible, but it wasn't a good mealtime experience!

The two pools were lovely. We avoided the pool where the 'animation team' spent the day. We could still hear them though and they were quite funny (I don't think intentionally). They had a really bad bingo caller. There were no 'quack quacks' or 'two fat ladies', just the number. That was except for one number that got smutty comments each time. They had a quiz one day and we heard the 'quiz master' asking where Lake BarLar was. I went to Lake Bala in Wales at east once a year for the first 20+ years of my life, but I had no idea he was speaking about the same lake.

There was a bar with 'entertainment' at night, but we didn't bother with that. We had a good walk each day, called in the supermarket for wine (at €1.09 a litre it was cheaper than the €1.29 milk), and spent lots of time catching up on reading and relaxing.

Trips were quite expensive so we had the 'Judith Kelly Special Mystery Tours'. These were great, and we got to see the sculptures of the island. I absolutely love anything like that. As well as a few we found around the place I found the Puerto del Rosario sculpture park/trail. I found it on an overcast day so it wasn't too hot walking round. They were quite spread out too so it was a good day out with a great walk, all on the coast.

Tribute to Suso Machin

We had a great time. We got back about noon on Sunday, and by 1pm I was out in Ramsbottom campaigning for the by-election on 6 March. I've been out in Tottington today on the Labour Doorstep. I didn't expect such a good response on a weekday but we were lucky and spoke with lots of people. Some I recognised and some recognised me, so it was good to have a bit of a catch up. There were lots of positive comments and I cam home quite pleased. I then had to whizz of to the I Will If You Will burlesque class! I'm loving it, and the instructor is starting 'bellrobic' classes. These are a cross between belly dancing and aerobics, and my sneaky preview made me want to go!

Miguel de Umamuno

I'm busy busy again now but still very pleased I got my week away somewhere nice and warm.

Monument to the unity



The Water Carrier

The Lookout Man

Viejas fisherman
 

It's all go

As usual there seems to be a lot going on.

At the beginning of January I saw a poster for Bury's I Will If You Will initiative (see here). It was for a burlesque dancing class, and I couldn't resist finding out what that was all about. It was brilliant, a good laugh and a place to meet other women who liked trying new things. The best thing about it is it gives go lots of confidence, which I lack, and makes you feel fabulous about yourself. I'd highly recommend it. We were also featured in a Bury Times article (see article here).

Following on from the success of The Big Tidy I organised last year, I have organised the second Big Tidy in Tottington. The rangers were more than happy to help out, and they are spreading the word in surrounding areas too. I've registered the event with Keep Britain Tidy and their new initiative 'Love Where You Live', and they have sent me tabards, posters, stickers etc. This year The Big Tidy will be on Sunday 30th March. We haven't a definite time or place yet but it is likely to be around 10am on the Kirklees Trail end of Laurel Street in Tottington. Further information will be posted on Twitter @TottingtonLife using the hashtag #tidytotty, and hopefully the Bury Times will publicise it too.

In other news a date has been set for my MS Cake Break Wine Time. MS MS Cake Break is a way of

raising money for the MS Society by getting a group together to buy cakes while socialising. I did the cake thing one and raised about £60. Knowing my friends and family I knew there must be a way of raising more. I didn't have to think for long; they quite like a sociable glass of wine/beer or three. My first Wine Time was last year and £555 was raised. This year's date has been set so fingers crossed we raise if not quite such a staggering amount a good contribution to the MS Society funds. This year I was delighted to be asked if my 'handy hint' could be used in the Cake Break magazine. No publicity is bad publicity etc.

I haven't done too well keeping this up to date, but I'll try! If I haven't worked myself into an early grave between now and 22nd May I'll enjoy relaxing with friends while raising money for a great cause while having a quite drink.

Paris on a budget

Every so often I get the chance to do a bit of overtime at work. I don't particularly like to do it, as I have enough to do outside work, but I see it as 'free money' and can't say no. The agreement at home is that I do the work, but any extra I earn goes straight into the 'having fun' pot so we all see the benefit. Last year the extra went on finishing off the kitchen we'd wanted to change for the past seven years. There was just a little bit left over, and I decided I wanted to see Paris again. I didn't just want a weekend though; I wanted time to mooch about and relax.

Paris perhaps isn't the best place to choose for a cheap break! However, I was sure it could be done. I decided the whole of October half term was a good time to put my elastic purse to the test.First thing to do was book flights. Working on the basis that the earlier you book the cheaper the fare I booked flights months and months ago. Unfortunately at the time I booked only the budget airlines outgoing flights were available. That wasn't a problem at all as surely they couldn't change too much when making the move from summer to winter schedules. Our flights, from Liverpool, were an absolute bargain. I don't think we could have caught a train as far as Birmingham, for the same price. 

Next on the list, accommodation. The last time we went to Paris we stayed in a Novotel hotel. It was lovely, and we got a great deal on it. This time however we wanted to stay for eight nights. We could afford bunk beds in a hostel but certainly not a nice hotel, so I had to get my thinking cap on. I looked into apartments in Paris and made a few enquiries. I found a one bedroomed apartment in the 5th arrondissement, just next to the Jardin Des Plantes. It appeared to have everything we needed, including a comfortable sofa bed, and was within walking distance of most attractions. The apartment was booked, but I was a bit worried about what it would be like as it cost a fraction of the cost of even a cheap hotel. Finally the return flights were released. Of course the schedules had changed, quite a lot. Booking flights on the day they were released meant we got a great price again.....but we had to fly back to Manchester, not Liverpool. Luckily we have a great neighbour who didn't mind transporting us to Merseyside (I normally park at the airport, but couldn't do that this time). 

We had a list of places we wanted to visit, but the most important thing on our list was to have relaxing family time. Again, Paris possibly isn't the first place you'd associate with that. Harrison wanted to see the Mona Lisa, I wanted to visit Les Invalides, and Paul wanted to go to the outside of Musée du quai Branly, where grass and shrubs grow all over the walls of surrounding buildings. Apart from that we were going to take each day as it came.

The apartment was absolutely brilliant. It had everything we needed and was in a great spot. Having an apartment meant we didn't have to eat out all the time, or at all. Harrison was quite happy eating in, and it saved us a fortune. We took some food with us and visited the local supermarket to buy our other meals. Each morning we went along to the boulangerie on the corner of our street for fresh baguette and pain au chocolat. We only actually ate out once during the eight nights we were there. Wine in the supermarket was incredibly cheap. I'd say that as far as food and drink went, we spent less than we did during the same time at home!

We knew we wanted to see some attractions that had a cost involved. After sussing out all the alternatives we bought a four day Paris Museum Pass for  €54. Harrison had free entrance to everything we wanted to see. That was easily the biggest expense of the holiday. However that  €54 got us entrance into Musee du Louvre (normally  €12), Musee Rodin (normally  €9), Arc de Triomphe (normally  €8), Hotel National des Invalides, with Napolean's Tomb (normally  €9.50), Centre Pompidou (normally  €13),  Musée du quai Branly (normally €8.50), La Conciergerie (normally €8.50), Musee de l'Orangerie (normally €10), and the Pantheon (normally €7). I couldn't choose which was best, we saw some terrific sights.

An awful lot of what we saw, and enjoyed, was completely free though. We walked absolutely everywhere. We never caught a bus or Metro all the time we were there. We estimated that throughout the week we walked almost 50 miles. One day we did over 12 miles, and a normal trip out would be six. With walking, as well as being able to justify eating the baguettes and cheese, it meant we saw much more. The 'much more' were things perhaps not on the ordinary tourist route. Paris is full of sculptures and street art (graffiti?). One highlight was the pest control shop we stumbled across, with a window display full of dead rats!

So, we did it, and for a lot less than even I imagined we could do it for. Things like this just need a bit of planning and lateral thinking, and you need to take a chance!

Here are some of the many photos I took, but all these sights were free. They were the things outside the museums we saw while we were wandering around.

Kirklees Coalmites!

Sunday 20 October was Incredible Edible Tottington's annual Pumpkin Fest. By the end of the day I never wanted to see another pumpkin again! The days before were filled with pumpkin scooping and pumpkin food making. The day before Paul cut he grass on Station Yard and sent my dad and I out litter picking to make he area nice. Several people stopped us to see what we were doing (I think they thought we were on community service). It was surprising what a difference was made in an hour. The amount of bottles we found in such a small area was surprising, especially empty wine bottles. It amazes me how people can think it is OK to leave these items in such a lovely bit of countryside. We also found a full wheel. After the litter was picked the leaves were blown from the area around Station Yard. The end result was really satisfying! It looked great.

Sunday went better than we could have hoped. The weather forecast was grim, but incorrect. We did have the odd shower but that didn't stop the fun. We had people coming from as soon as we set up, and they were still coming when we were tidying up. We had lots of families and the children loved it; campfires, pumpkin carving and messy clay model making area a favourite. The food went down a treat too. Next year someone else will have to wear the pumpkin outfit though. I wasn't much help, other than directing people, as I couldn't get near any of the tables or pick things up off the floor! It was feet up weigh a well deserved Asha curry and a bottle of red on Sunday night.

Incredible Edible Tottington had more positive news in the week. We were short listed for a Made in Bury environmental impact award. The awards ceremony is on November 22nd. Competition was stiff so it is a big well done to the group! Incredible edible also got a commended certificated from the Bury in Bloom community garden competition for the sensory garden. Tottington Wildlife Watch Group got one for their wildflower garden. I think that would have been a higher certificate if the judging hadn't been delayed until after the flowers had started to die!

Last night was the Bury and Districts Homewatch Confernce at the Elizabethan Suite at the town hall. This was very well attended and we had talks from the divisional Commander in Bury, Tim Forber, and Jim Battle, the deputy police and crime commissioner. Crime in the area is down, and he police have to make millions of pounds of cuts, but they still think prevention is the key. They are doing fabulous work recruiting police cadets at Broadoak High School. They also run a couple of 'youth clubs' (they didn't call them that) which have been very successful reducing anti-social behaviour in some areas.

Yesterday I noticed something odd had happened in Tottington. Miss Tootsie T (AKA The Lady in the bath or he belter by the Shelter) changed and new flowers were planted. My research (on Twitter, where else?) tells me that creatures called Kirklees Coalmites are also living in the bath. These started life a lumps of coal that ended up in Island lodge when a steam train spilt its load in the 1950s. In 2013 a wicked witch brought them back to life to do her chores, but they plan to escape! Apparently one of them (Iggy) has already managed it. I'm not sure what to make of it but watch this space!

I have booked some time off work for half term so I intend to have a good rest. Even @TottingtonLife might be quiet!

Pumpkins and lighting

My 'appearance' on the BBC Radio Manchester Breakfast Show was earlier than I expected. Someone let them down so I got to go on at short notice. I loved it, again, and found out that the Breakfast TV studio was just next door. It was great seeing guests go in and out.

The story of our 'Animal World First Date' was covered by the Bolton Evening News and then the Bury Times. I'm still upset that it had to be closed, the end of another era. Here is a link to the article.

The AGM of the Tottington Community Defibrillator Appeal took place last week. Although the three defibrillators have been up and running in the area since February 2013, the work isn't finished. I have to check them every two weeks, to make sure they are ready for use. This information is then sent to AED Locator who keep the database. The batteries and pads have a limited life so will have to be replaced from time to time, and these can be costly. The defibrillators themselves should last for several years. We have enough in the bank to take care of all this for now. Ideally we would like to also have a unit in Affetside. Affetside is the most rural part of Tottington District and could be difficult to reach quickly by ambulance. We have enough for half the unit (not much use) and we are looking at ideas to raise the remaining £1000. If anyone has any bright ideas please do let me know.

The pile of pumpkins in my house!

Immediately after that AGM I held the a final planning meeting for the Incredible Edible Tottington Pumpkin Fest (it saved me booking the room twice and leaving home twice). This will be held on Sunday 20 October 2013 from 2pm at Station Yard field, off Kirklees Street in Bury. This year leaders from Tottington Wildlife Watch Group (TWIGs) will be there to run the pumpkin carving, clay and vegetable modelling and apple bobbing. There will be plenty of food to taste! I'm really hoping for a dry day. The event was a great success last year as the sun was out. Please come along and say hello. My pumpkin outfit will be having another airing.

Another night last week (I had meetings every night!) I went to the of the Friends of Parks and Open Spaces meeting at Bury Adult Learning Centre. These have been difficult meetings lately while the Ranger Service was being severely cut due to the government cuts. Bury now has three rangers covering the Borough. This has had a detrimental effect on the groups attending the meeting. Two of the rangers attended the meeting and they were able to tell us how they could help us in the future. I had attended particularly to find out how voluntary groups, such as Incredible Edible Tottington, could be insured. Although the process will not be straightforward, there are ways for groups like ours to be insured while carrying out tasks such as community gardening. I was over the moon. The cuts have affected everyone, and for a solution to this problem to be found was more than I expected. Our group might not be able to carry out our tasks for a few weeks while we sort out the details, but the group will be able to continue. Without the solution we would not have been able to keep going for longer than a couple of years due to the cost of public liability insurance.

Last Friday was the spectacular Bury Light Night. This was a huge hit and the town centre seemed to be full

Bury Art Gallery

of families spending time together enjoying themselves. I preferred the Parish Church side of the town. The outside of the church was lit with lanterns, and there was harp playing in the
grounds. I particularly liked the Briar Rose projection onto Castle Armoury, and the art museum was great too. This event was a big plus for Bury.

Bury Light Night

I'm writing this while watching the Bury Council meeting streamed live onto my TV (how rock and roll am I?). It is a bit unnerving at times; when one of the Councillors looks me in the eye my first thought is that they can see me too! Some good news has come out in the meeting. Bury Council has won a gold award in Britain in Bloom (its first) and they have also been awarded a special discretionary award for recycling. I love the displays in Bury town centre. My favourite is the display on the 'roundabout' at the end of Peel Way and Bolton Street. The large wheelbarrow, tools and 'grow your own' plot are brilliant.

I'm still busy next week. At the moment I have a pile of 40+ pumpkins to scoop out, and make food with the flesh! Come along to Pumpkin Fest for my pumpkin pie.

When Pumpkin Fest is over I have The Bury and Districts Homewatch Association Conference to think about. This will be held on Thursday 24 October 2013 at the Elizabethan Suite in the town hall. Doors open at 6.30pm so people can browse the various information stands, and the conference starts at 7pm. These are really interesting events; a couple of years ago there was a fascinating talk about cannabis farming. This year the Chief Superintendent of Bury, Tim Forber, will be speaking, along with the deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, Jim Battle. The event is free and open to all. Information about starting Homewatch groups will be available, but people who are interested in looking after their communities and keeping them safe will find it interesting. Please come along on Thursday. I'll be there, and there will be a raffle too. Yesterday I was at a meeting at the GMP Headquarters at Central Park in Manchester. This was to discuss the forming of a Greater Manchester Homewatch Association, something that would benefit the small local groups. More on that in the next few months.

Bury Metro station

I'm only an hour and a half into the live stream of the council
meeting, but I always like to see the end too! We are on to the temporary closure of Victoria Metrolink Station in Manchester....