Maggie

Wow, first day of Digital Past very intensive and interesting. Does anyone know about editing and writing new articles for Wikipedia? Feel really small-town; so we have QR codes in Chirk Bank, you should see what Monmouth are doing! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:GLAM/MonmouthpediA Good idea ladies of Chirk Bank, print QR codes on the icing on top of fairy cakes.

Am off tomorrow to a conference on new media and heritage interpretation. But I thought that a few of the geeks and historians who read this site might also be interested, and, as the conference has a hot new blog site with all talks on it and tweets and all I am posting the link. Last year we got to play with 3D scanners which was very exciting so expect there will be lots of interesting things this year. http://digitalpast2012.blogspot.com/ and now all the papers are available on this site; lots of nice pictures in powerpoints.

WE have been awarded £200 from LJC, for room hire and some materials. Should be enough to get us going. When I have the museum out of the way next month will organise a get together to discuss what we all want to do and when and where.

Do we know who is dealing with this in the council? I think they should be made aware of the discussion on this site, there are some very well argued points of view. Someone send them a link!

I specifically asked this question and was assured by Cllr Lloyd that it had been considered by highways people who thought that it would work fine,

Joy Durrant spoke about Olympic Torch stuff at LJC last night. There is a lot of fine tuning still to be announced but the Torch will be running through Oswestry on Wednesday 30th May in the morning. All organisation,facilitation, security etc is being run centrally by something called LOCOG and details are posted on the London 2012 site as they are confirmed. It was confirmed that runners will carry the torch through the designated venues where children will be encouraged to come out and wave flags and do what children do (!) and Olympic goody stuff will be chucked at them. Between venues the torches (and all the LOCOG staff) will be carried in a convoy of sponsors wagons which will process across the country at '10 miles below the speed limit'. This convoy will be what we will see in the area as it follows the old A5 from Pontcysyllte on its way to Oswestry. On March 19th there will be a big announcement about places, times and named torch bearers. So if you want to see runners and torches, go to Pontcysyllte or Oswestry, if you want to see a convoy of wagons painted with sponsors logos stand along the A5. (Sounds awfully like a medieval king processing out through the countryside from castle to castle and throwing largesse at the peasants).

This came up at LJC last night. A discussion ensued. It was pointed out that a zebra crossing would reduce the amount of car parking space available outside the Coop and that people parking there anyway would then be obscuring the zebra crossing; a question was asked about how this would be policed.. Cllr David Lloyd stated that safety advisors had looked at options and determined that there would be no problems with putting the crossing here, and that they saw no worries about traffic backing up across the railway crossing because there was enough space to cope.

Tried that few years ago, when highways had all the old pipes up in our garden and we could prove that all our surface drainage went into the canal, but they still wouldn't buy it! We were in dispute for a few years but lost.

So what are these spammers trying to do?

what is the story behind the weird member names that pop up, (?overnight), then disappear again? Who are they and where do they come from. I'm intrigued.

The 3 parishes water forum was set up a couple of years ago by LJC as a place where issues in our area could be discussed and brought to the attention of the water boards. Weston Rhyn and half of St Martins are uniquely paying to 2 water boards, Severn Trent for their water and Welsh Water (Dwr Cymru) for their sewerage, meaning that most people are paying higher rates for sewerage than those paying to Severn Trent. This was discussed at Weston Rhyn Parish Council last night. Anyhow, the information about this group is posted on St Martins Online, so I think more people would like to read it. Here is the link: http://another st.martins website/32.html There are other problems regularly suffered by the villages caused by what would seem to be an overloaded sewerage system which causes smells and spills. Floods have also occurred in the area. The water boards are putting rainfall monitors and sewerage monitors around the area and there is an application for planning permission to install a monitoring kiosk in Gledrid. I would suggest that all of this activity is a response to the good work done so far by the water forum. Maybe we could open up the discussion on this forum?

Entirely born from Community Online, from people saying they were interested to suggestion we apply for LJC funding.

Looks like Community Development Foundation are bringing out newsletters every month now so thought I'd start a new topic to put these in. Here is February's, I've pasted it this time because there are so many links within it. (Again, please note if you live just outside the Big Local area, you are still eligible to attend the free visits and meetings because you all have an interest in the Big Local defined area; and transport costs are paid too so anyone can afford to attend) 10 February 2012 Contents Welcome to the February newsletter Message from Debbie Ladds What is happening in Big Local areas? Upcoming learning and networking events Keep in touch Welcome to the February newsletter February may have brought snow to lots of areas, but it hasn’t slowed us down and there’s still plenty going on this month at Big Local. Read on for the latest update on activities and news. Message from Debbie Ladds February’s shaping up to be an exciting month for Big Local. Behind the scenes, we’re busy working on creating press interest in Big Local, nationally and locally; getting ready to unveil the Local Trust website and organising an event to celebrate Big Local and to mark the announcement of the next 50 Big Local areas that are set to benefit from at least £1million. All this is timed for 29 February. The celebration event is being hosted by South Bermondsey (London) Big Local area; and two other Big Local areas – Warwick Estate (Wakefield) and Wormholt and White City (London) will be sharing their experiences too. The event will be in London, as we hope to get MPs, key national organisations and some media to come along. We are also working with another nine Big Local areas to prepare case studies that the Big Lottery Fund will use for regional and local media promotion at the end of February. If they get any interest we will be in touch with the relevant Big Local areas to brief you. We know that some Big Local areas are already working with their local press to publicise their activities. Following requests for advice on this, every Big Local area will shortly receive a media pack, to help you if you want to do more with the media. This will also be available on the Big Local page of CDF’s website too. Work on our new website for Local Trust/Big Local is going well. The website will be packed with information and support for Big Local areas. The site will have a page for every area, which eventually you will be able to update yourselves. So we’ve been in touch with areas more than usual, asking for photos and extra information – but bear with us, it’s going to be worth the effort when it’s all ready. Meanwhile, we’ve started the recruitment process for Local Trust’s staff, which will be ongoing over the next couple of months. Information is available on the website of Tank Consulting who are helping me with this. Debbie Ladds, chief executive, Local Trust What is happening in Big Local areas? Dragon's Den for Allenton, Derby? Residents are starting to express their ideas for Allenton through social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. They can also text or call through their proposals, or fill in Freepost leaflets available at community events. Meanwhile, Allenton-based charity Enthusiasm will gather thoughts from youngsters aboard its neighbourhood bus, which doubles up as a youth centre. Joe Russo, founder and chief executive of Enthusiasm, says: "The £1 million could be used for loans. Personally, I would like to see it be invested in individuals. We could hold some kind of Dragons' Den event and use the cash to invest in sustainable business models put forward by young people." Getting online with Lumbertubs, Lings and Blackthorn Estates, Northampton This Big Local area has developed a website which highlights the range of activities on offer locally. It includes videos of residents talking about what they do and what they like about the area, pictures of recent community events, and ideas for improvements including a new community garden. Learning from graffiti in Winterton, North Lincolnshire Voluntary Action North Lincolnshire has produced a report highlighting their activities to get people involved in Big Local. Activities include a street party, radio broadcasts, press releases, and a graffiti wall. Also, to engage people who might not normally take part in research, they’ve fixed large posters to walls to gather comments from people passing. Upcoming learning and networking events In the next few months, people in the Big Local areas have the opportunity to participate in more learning and networking events to link and share knowledge and learning. The principle audience for the learning events is residents of Big Local areas, but places are also available to others involved in Big Local work. The events are FREE to attend – see below for two events in March. Limited resources are available to help cover travel and childcare/carer expenses. Please email sarah@neighbourhoodmanagement.net for more information. Big inclusion, local equalities 9 March, Yorkshire and Humber People involved in Big Local need to be trusted, listened to, and guided by all parts of society. This includes involving those who have felt invisible or who have been overlooked in the past. By working with the right people, in the right way, we can make a big difference to our success. This workshop looks at how to involve the broadest mix of people from your local area. It will help you gain a wider understanding of the environment you are working in and the diverse communities it contains. Making local networks work, as well as increasing the reach and effectiveness of activities, will be a key focus of the day. People coming along will have the opportunity to: See how other groups have involved people in the past Talk face-to-face with people who have experience of bringing together different members of a community to change their areas for the better Talk through some of the issues that are important for the area People, place and environment 20 March, North East The streets, shops and green spaces around us make a world of difference to our experience of the local areas we work and live in. Through Big Local there is an opportunity to build on what’s positive in your environment and work on things that need improving. From allotments to avenues, local parks to public parking, this workshop will look at the physical and social benefits your areas can offer. The aim will be to help local areas build their vision for happier and healthier environments now and in the future. This workshop will also look at how concerns over safety, environmental challenges, and use of green space can be turned into advantages for an area. There will also be discussions about how people can get the most out of government, businesses and other groups when working to improve shared spaces in their local areas. People coming along will have the opportunity to: See how other groups have made their surroundings better Talk face-to-face with people who have experience of improving the environment for the community Talk through some of the issues that are important for the area Spring study tours in the North West and Yorkshire A series of free one-day study tours are being organised this spring by national charity, The Glass-House, in three northern locations - Sheffield, Manchester and Liverpool. The themed tours are free to community groups and will visit a range of community led projects. They aim to provide inspiration to groups for their own buildings, spaces, homes, or neighbourhoods. Neighbourhoods Study Tour - Sheffield 28 February 2012 This tour offers inspiring design ideas for your own neighbourhood and examples of how good partnership between councils and community can change a neighbourhood. More information Homes Study Tour - Manchester 6 March 2012 Visit two contrasting housing schemes, the first an example of local people taking action and leading a housing scheme. The other is more traditional in approach but with meaningful resident involvement in the design. More information Buildings Study Tour - Liverpool 22 March 2012 This tour showcases community-based buildings with a variety of scales, budgets and uses in Liverpool and around the North West, including the National Wildflower Centre. More information Keep in touch Please send us your news about Big Local activities and let us know if you have questions for us or other areas. Email: biglocal@cdf.org.uk and we will do our best to include questions, news, or ideas in future newsletters. If you have enquiries about Big Local please email: biglocal@cdf.org.uk or call 020 7812 1573. You can also use these contact details to tell us about other people in your area who might like to receive this newsletter on a regular basis. If you do not want to receive this newsletter please let us know and we will remove you from our mailing list. You can ask to be removed by emailing: biglocal@cdf.org.uk. Disclaimer: The content and views expressed in any external links do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Big Local.

Yes usually get quite a few people, but depends a bit on the weather! here is a link to the list of activities for 2012. http://another st.martins website/resources/Task+Prog+2012.pdf Ther are some pictures of activities on St martins Online

OK fellow knitters, The final decision about whether we get any money for this group will be made at the LJC meeting on Tuesday 14th :wub: , 7 pm All Saints Church Hall, Gobowen. I shall attend and take some knitting to do during the meeting! Its now time for everyone who is interested to get in touch with me so that we can set this thing up. (Did anyone see BBC Breakfast News this morning about how knitting is increasing in popularity again. I really liked the idea of guerilla knitting, but not really new..once upon a time when I was a student, on a cold frosty night I climbed up onto a large naked statue and put a very large cardigan on it. ) :)

Mmmmmmm Cake!

Have a look at the new exhibition in the Qube which has lots of old photos from Oswestry. We have run a couple of 'Show and Tells' in Chirk Bank, and Helen East has done similar things in Weston Rhyn, Selattyn, Bronygartth and Chirk Bank for the After Offa project. These are a day or afternoon, advertised widely, where local people come in, have access to some material you have already collected, and are encouraged to bring in some of their local things and photographs. You need access to a decent voice recorder and scanner for documents and photographs, but this is usually better done later when you have more time. However this is best method to 'flush out' old photos that I know! The Chirk Bank Memories slide film and our podcasts came from Show and Tells in Chirk Bank as part of project on World Heritage Site. (They are linked in the Weston Rhyn section somewhere). The Qube exhibition is based on material gathered at Show and Tells. Most importantly Show and Tells are great fun. Copyright is a very difficult issue. Some web sites state what the copyright is for photographs, (e.g. peoplscollectionwales has creative commons on most that they own which means you can use them, anything from Shropshire Archives needs permision from them to use ). Copyright of photos rests with the owner of the original, so in practice when someone brings in photographs to a Show and Tell when you scan them you need for the owner to sign that you can use the image. In Chirk Bank, Aqueducks received a pile of old photos of the canal which someone had found in a rubbish skip. They have been given to us. We are doing everything REASONABLY possible to trace any prior ownership of image (and they appear to be previously unused photos, not copies), after which we will assume ownership and they will be listed online as creative commons. But it is a minefield and that word 'reasonably' is used a lot! (This would be the sort of project for which you could get funding; let me know if you want some help with that)

Once a month its a chance for everyone to get together on Ifton Meadows and do some of the work that is necessary at that time. Healthy outdoor activity. It can be clearing scrub, pulling ragwort, chopping back brambles to make sunny niches for butterflies, putting up bat boxes.....All tools, gloves etc are provided. Just turn up. (don't know exactly what is planned for this weekend maybe someone can post?)

Suggest they should have a backrow for the meeting so people can take their other halves and hold hands... I, on the other hand, shall take my knitting (as Stitch and Bitch grant will be decided)

LJC meeting in Gobowen on Feb 14th includes a session about the Olympic Torch in Oswestry. (see calendar for details)

Yeah, and Oswestry Town Council have been looking to redraw boundaries so that they can have the hillfort and develop visitor facilities. The boundary goes around the side of the hillfort along the lowest rampart.