Gardner

I did notice something in the latest issue of the parish clippings on this subject.

I saw a youth riding a mini bike without crash helmet up St. Martins Road in the dark this evening. No lights either! What a disgrace!!! Why do these young people deserve any kind of help. All they do is break the rules.

Have either of you lost some keys? I found a novelty keyring outside the main doors to the pavilion a couple of days ago. It has a "Yale" style multi-coloured house key and a smaller key with a black plastic handle. Please private message me if they belong to you.

Local Council Housing rents could be set to rise as Oswestry Council transfer the management of their properties to "Arm's Length Organisations" or a "Community Ownership Body". This is a large scale transfer of council run homes to private Housing Associations. Council tenants have produced a petition in an attempt to force the council to rethink the scheme. If you live in a council owned property and don't want the control of it given away to a housing association, please sign one of the petitions. They can be found dotted around our 3 villages for the next 3 weeks. You can find them in Gobowen Post Office and Co-Op, Len's Plaice in St. Martins and the General Store in Weston Rhyn.

I see from reading my paper that the council office will not now be moved into Oswestry library. If I remember correctly, the original (first) part of the library is council owned. The new section is rented from a private individual. So, if Shropshire Council are looking at reducing costs by moving services out of the existing council owned property you have to ask, who benefits from the services being in properties not owned by the council, and will they be profiting from leasing buildings to the council? Once you've sorted that out, the next question is, do the individuals that lease buildings to the council have any connections to individual councillors?

When you're on the internet you cannot shop around to get the lowest price for electric and gas, especially as the various suppliers keep changing their charges. A village has organised a system where they all (every household) buy their energy from the same (lowest) provider. Someone keeps an eye on energy prices for the whole community. I don't know how the system actually works (perhaps a block subscription, but at least it would help all of us struggling to pay our bills.

On the news last week I saw a feature on a village in the south that had got together to arrange a lower fuel tarif. Perhaps this would be a good idea as some of us are not on the internet and cannot do price comparisons.

Would this new pathway be alright for people using mobility chairs?

The quality of the main road surface through St. Martins is terrible and seems to be worsening. I'm guessing that it's because many heavy lorries use the route down to the industrial estate, but it's time to improve the situation. If anyone from Shropshire Council is reading this, please take a look at this stretch of road.

My friend contacted the police and they looked into it for her. The response was that the dog belonged to the people living on the traveller's site. They were very apologetic and assured the policeman that the dog was usually tethered and that on this occasion children had untied it so it was free to roam. I've bought it to the attention of this site to see if other people have had the same experience.

Just recently a friend of mine was attacked by a small dog whilst walking past the entrance to Henlle Park Golf Club. Although blood wasn't drawn, the dog managed to tear a hole in her jeans near the ankle. Has anyone else walking around the Henlle area had a bad experience with a stray dog?

It would be lovely to see a proper launderette in the village. I have terrible trouble getting the stains out of my bed linen. It would also be nice to see a knick-knack shop selling postcards and tea towels.

I thought I'd start a thread listing all the things Gobowen has. These are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. Please feel free to add any that I've forgotten. A Co-op, a convenience store in West Place, a pub, a working mens club, 2 hairdressers, a barbers, a sandwich shop, a Chinese takeaway, an Indian takeawy, a Fish & Chip shop, a Post Office, a Scouts Hut, a Railway Station with links to Chester and Shrewsbury, an accountant, an architect, 2 churches and a chapel, a pavilion with playing field, a MUGA pitch, a river, a hospital, a college for students with learning difficulties, a dentist, a pharmacy, 2 care homes, allotments, a primary school...

The reason so many people have to cross Station Road is that almost all of the main shops in Gobowen are located there! Many years ago the local grocers was on the corner of Bypass Road. Today the building is unused and in a terrible state. It should be torn down and a new Co-op should be built on the site. There's so much more room for the store, parking and space for deliveries. It's also very close to the existing zebra crossing. The existing Co-op building could be split into individual business units or small shops.

I sometimes go around to Wat's Meadow when taking my dog, Tricky-Woo for a walk. I don't think any of those new properties are occupied. The footpath leading down to the estate is also covered in broken glass. Someone should clear it up. Perhaps our local council should get that lazy playing field litter picker to do it!

Surely money would be better spent elsewhere!!? I understand that some years ago a wooden track was built at the far end of the field and that was burnt down! Young people are already well catered for: The muga, football, the playground, scouts/cubs and the shelter. I also understand that there's a regular youth club.

I notice the rail charges went up earlier this week! This is hardly encouraging people to use their cars less.

What is this all about? They look like mostly female names.