Simple Simon

The Cycle Oswestry Gently (COG) rides have been going now for well over a year, and I've been on roughly half of them. As the name suggests, these are reasonably slow, social rides of between 12 and 20 miles that include a pub or cafe stop mid way through. Ages range from kids with their parents to OAPs. The trips usually start from the Wilfred Owen Green in Oswestry from 11 am on the last Sunday of the month, all year round. Routes vary, but are kept wherever possible to quiet country lanes. Some journeys include the occasional up hill, but for the most part the rides are mainly flat. Numbers vary depending on the time of year, but the average is about 15. Bikes also vary, but are mainly road or mountain (no carbon-fibre here). If you're just starting out in the saddle and want to network with people, this is the kind of ride for you.

The Gobowen I.T. Learning Project has been holding 2 hour sessions on Thursday mornings during term time since September 2012. We've just stopped for the summer holiday but will restart sessions sometime in September. We're made up of a team of 4 volunteers giving individual help and support to learners rather than delivering structured, formal lessons. In many ways it acts as an informal social gathering with an emphasis by individuals on how certain objectives are acheived...and there's free tea and biscuits too. We average out at about 4 or 5 learners per session, some that have been to almost every one of them. We're more than happy to help new people, especially if you're not I.T. literate and you struggle alone infront of a computer. Off the top of my head, we've covered aspects of emailing such as attachments, Cardon Copies, Blind Carbon Copies, Forwarding, creating a new folder for emails, stationary, Skype and we've even added a new thread to CO (I've probably missed out loads of other stuff). Having recently got confirmation of an Award from UnLtd (a big THANK YOU to Andy and the team), we're looking at buying some new laptops and software with the intention of marketing our facilities to jobseekers needing guidance on setting up a Univeral Jobsearch account. We would also be very interested in attracting more volunteers, whatever your specialist area (on a personal note, I'd love some help in getting my head around www.blender.org).

Doh! I thought the extra on my mobile was a stopwatch, but it does operate as a timer with an alarm. Ta for pointing that out.

Good grief! There appears to be a problem with the RSPCA.

Has anyone got a digital timer that I can borrow over the next few months? It needs to be small, easy to use, set to 2 minutes and have an alarm or vibration. I require it for an outdoor audit. PM me asap if you can help as I need to have the timer by August. Many thanks.

And to kick off, it's Monday 22nd July 2013, and just 2 months after the drive-thru was opened on the outskirts of Oswestry, a large KFC bag is discarded on the playing field in Gobowen. Finger linkin' good!

It's a bit like SpringWatch and AutumnWatch but without the hidden cameras. You don't need to go stalking into the undergrowth because it's there, in your face.

Let's just cool down here. This is a private man we're talking about on a public network. We don't know the full story. I would agree that it appeared to be heavy handed. Having seen both dogs on a regular basis I know the older of the two could hardly walk, and I know what it feels like to take the decision to have a dog put down....and it's not easy.

FREE Basketball session for young people at the Sports Court, Gobowen Playing Field, St. Martins Road, Gobowen for four days during August (20th, 22nd, 27th and 29th) All equipment provided. No need to book, just wear suitable clothes and footwear. Soft drinks provided. Everyone Welcome! For more details go to the August sesction of the Calendar or see the posters on the village notice boards. Organised by the Green Room Youth Club in association with Awards for All and supported by Selattyn & Gobowen Parish Council.

Gobowen Play Day @ The Playing Field, St. Martins Road, Gobowen on Wednesday 7th August 2013 from 1 pm to 4 pm. A FREE event open to children of all ages and their families. Grand opening by professional Basketball player Shawn Myers! Face Painting Giant Games Sports Arts & Crafts And much, much more! For more information contact Leisure Services T: 01743 255071 E: leisure@shropshire.gov.uk www.shropshire.gov.uk/leisure Leisure Services working in partnership with Green Room Youth Project and Selattyn & Gobowen Parish Council :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D Gobowen Poster Play Day 7.8.13.pdf

A reporter from the Tizer has contacted me in the mistaken belief that I'm a retired policeman. I've corrected her, but she did want to quote from Community Online (I guess there's more going on here than Os21).

I get the feeling that, as usual, one department wasn't talking to another and it was a bit of a kok up...that, or cut backs.

Done (Blimey!!!! Look at the views)

Yes, I saw a Fire Engine parked at the bottom of the road and wondered what was going on. Later on I saw the van and 2 police cars parked outside John's house. Very sad... I saw John earlier in the day. It looked as if he'd been shopping because he'd left some bags outside his front door and was carrying his old dog (which was in a very poor state) across the road from the Working Men's Club yard. I'm guessing he was warned by the authorities about the conditions he was letting his dogs live in and he resisted, but that doesn't excuse this apparent heavy handed approach.

This from Henry Thomas: The SAMDev plan includes an appraisal of the former coal yard at Gobowen (site GOB024), and concludes that it is a realistic site for housing subject to dealing with flood risk, but not a preferred site. Despite this it seems likely that developers will seek to build high-density housing there. The SAMdev options appraisal rightly takes account of access to sustainable modes of transport by potential residents of each development site. Extraordinarily, though, it does not seem to consider which areas of land are necessary for improvements to sustainable transport networks. In this case: · The station car park (on the east side of the railway) is already full on most days, and additional capacity is urgently needed as rail passenger numbers continue to increase. The car park cannot be extended southwards because Network Rail use the area for track maintenance, and the coal yard is the only other land available close to the station. · The proposed Oswestry to Gobowen cycle track/footpath alongside the branch railway will need to cross the coal yard site (or be diverted to a longer on-road route). · Cambrian Heritage Railways propose to build an additional platform in order to run steam trains as a visitor attraction (as well as shuttle trains to Oswestry), which will lead to yet more demand for car parking. Any sensible planning process would ensure that adequate land in the coal yard is allocated for these uses, and protected from other development (although parts of the site could probably still be used for housing). The Council’s “Core Strategy 7” states that “A sustainable pattern of development requires the maintenance and improvement of integrated, accessible, attractive, safe and reliable communication and transport”. It mentions the need to encourage improved rail services, rail-related development, cycle networks, etc., but at Gobowen there is a failure to translate this to detailed policies. If this issue concerns you, make sure you take this opportunity to tell the Council. Otherwise we will have to continue cycling up the main road to Gobowen, or finding somewhere to park in the side streets around the station, or driving to a distant railhead!