Remembrance Service

The annual Remembrance Day parade and service at Saltburn Cenotaph on Sunday November 12 will be changed a little this year to reflect the age of ex-servicemen and women taking part. Instead of marching from Somerfield's car park to Emmanuel Church and then on to the cenotaph in Glenside, the parade will march from the church after a service there. As well as ex-service members, many of whom are now in their eighties, the marchers include Army cadets, members of the local Scout and Guide groups and community members. The parade will assemble outside Emmanuel Church at 9.45am. The 10.00 am service will then be followed by the 300yd march to the War Memorial for the wreath laying ceremony. The parade will disperse after the open-air service at the cenotaph.
Armistice Day itself on Saturday November 11 will be marked by two minutes' silence in Saltburn town centre. A whistle will be blown just before the hour by Ned Atkinson, of Saltburn and District Royal British Legion, to invite passers-by to pause for the traditional two minutes.

Redcar's Day of Atonement

The summer of 2006 will long be remembered as a time when Redcar returned to the 1940's and turned into Hollywood by the Sea. It is anticipated that 12 minutes of stunning wartime action will be included when the blockbuster film 'Atonement' hits the screens next year following weeks of preparation and three hectic days of filming.
The Regent Cinema is planning to order a red carpet of a regional premier and the prospect of the movie's stars - Keira Knightly and James McAvoy - coming to town.
The scale of the set took everyone's breath away and the preparation work to turn Redcar into 1940s Dunkirk involved the removal of street lighting, street furniture, litter bins, road signs, and the Esplanades famous penguins. It is estimated that 70,000 visitors came to view the set.
There were 300 crew, 1000 extras, all recruited locally and earning £50 a day and 40 assorted vehicles, a bandstand, a carousel, and a massive boat.
Location manager Adam Richards was full of praise for the help and support from everyone, including Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, which ensured that filming was a positive experience.(Photos © Dennis Weller)

An Epic Read. You've seen the film set now read the book! On the hottest day of the summer of 1935, 13 year old Briony Tallis sees her sister Cecilia strip off her clothes and plunge into the fountain in the garden of their country house. Watching her is Robbie Turner, her childhood friend who, like Cecilia, has recently come down from Cambridge.
By the end of the day the lives of all three of them will have been changed forever. Robbie and Cecilia will have crossed a boundary they had not even imagined at its start and will have become the victims of the younger girl's imagination. Briony will have witnessed mysteries and committed a crime for which she will spend the rest of her life trying to atone.

Reserve a copy of Ian McKewan's 'Atonement' in the library or buy a copy from Amazon.

Pageant of Light

Hundreds of school children took part in craft workshops organised by Saltburn Valley during half Term bafore taking part in it's procession of music and light to mark the end of British Summer Time. Work began with the creation of banners for the Pageant of Light, followed by workshops on making mini-beast lanterns, percussion instruments and bee head-dresses. Neil Thirkell, Countryside Ranger, said: "The workshops have been successful and proved very popular as we have had around 200 children per day making it worthwhile." All proceeds from the donation boxes on the night have been given to the Friends of the Valley

Photo Competition for Pageant of Light

Amatuer photographers are invited to submit entries to a competition to find the best images of Saltburn’s ‘Pageant of Light’, which will be held this Sunday (29 October). All entries will be displayed in Saltburn Library. The winner will receive a large framed print of their winning entry and the picture will be published on the front page of the next edition of the Council’s magazine for residents ‘River Coast and Country’.The event is being organised in conjunction with Friends of the Valley Community Group who will also judge the competition. Entries should be submitted to: Dawn Raw, Countryside Section, Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council, Fairway House, Limerick Road, Redcar, TS10 5JU, by Friday 10 November, please include name and address. The competition is open to all ages, entries cannot be returned. The ‘Pageant of Light’ marks the end of British Summer Time with a procession of music and light. The procession will start at 5.30pm from Cat Nab car park and finish at Saltburn Woodland Centre. (In taking photographs, the Council would request that you respect the privacy of individuals, families and/ or children and do not take photographs identifying these persons or gain written permission. By sending photographs of yourself/ your child(ren) into the Council, you give consent to the Council to the free use of these photographs in various publications and promotional material.)

Pool - ing of resources?

Residents were today preparing to fight to save three East Cleveland swimming pools amid fears they could be replaced with a single super-pool. The controversial proposals, which could see the closure of pools at Guisborough, Loftus and Saltburn, could also see the amalgamation of some leisure centres across Redcar and East Cleveland. They form part of a new tendering process to find the firm to run the borough's leisure centres. But Peter Clifford, a founder of Loftus Athletic Club, who has been involved in local sport for 30 years, said: "This is a public outrage. Thousands of people use the pools at Loftus, Saltburn and Guisborough. It appears that consideration is being made to close these baths and put a super-pool in their place. The obvious place to put that would be Redcar. It seems the only way the borough council has of dealing with public services is to close them. Amalgamation, in users' eyes, will mean closure. This could mean the number of baths in the borough being reduced from five down to two. I will be lobbying for all-party support against this and to bring it further out into the open. All users will be horrified by these proposals. Dave Fitzpatrick, Redcar and Cleveland Council's lead member for culture, leisure and tourism, confirmed that suggestions had been put forward but said further details could not be disclosed for legal reasons. He said: "Currently, these centres are run by Tees Valley Leisure, but their contract is coming to an end. Four companies, including TVL, are in the running. Some have suggested that some leisure centres be amalgamated. But amalgamation doesn't necessarily mean closure - it could mean relocation of resources. There is also a suggestion for a big swimming pool for East Cleveland, instead of having three others at Guisborough, Loftus and Saltburn." He added, "There has been a series of suggestions and a lot of these firms are looking at East Cleveland where some of the facilities are dilapidated. They want to improve services to the public and the structures of the buildings. The council will consider all options and there will be a two-year period before a final decision is made."

Helping out in Harmony

Ukrainian children still living under the cloud of Chernobyl are being invited to Saltburn. Funds are being raised to organise a visit by a group of 20 youngsters whose lives remain blighted by the nuclear power accident of August, 1986. Martin Bell, of Saltburn, is helping to organise the trip through his links with Ukraine charity The Leleka Fund. Martin has regularly played host to two Ukrainian children with leukaemia. He has now joined forces with Saltburn scout group to invite a group to the town next summer. All aged 11 to 17, they will stay with families of Saltburn scouts, beavers and cubs - and a week-long campsite trip is planned. A classical concert featuring harpist Sarah Paterson will be held at Saltburn Community Theatre on October 27 to raise funds. "We've raised around £2,000 so far, but we need to raise a total of around £5,000," said Martin. To help the fundraising, call 01287 623673.

Saltburn Valley prepares for Pageant of Light

Saltburn Valley has begun preparations to celebrate the end of British Summer Time with a spectacular Pageant of Light on Sunday, October 29. The first in a series of workshops will take place at the Valley's Woodland Centre on Sunday, October 15, from noon til 3pm to make the pageant's illuminated banners. Countryside warden Neil Thirkell explained, "In conjunction with the Friends of the Valley, we're hoping to build on the success of last year's Pageant, which was a real spectacular, with over 600 people joining in the procession creating a wonderful atmosphere. We're planning to produce some banners for the procession with a 'minibeast' theme as part of the National Big Draw event, so come along and discover your creative side." There will be more workshops planned during the schools' half term holiday week, with a minibeasts theme, building up to the procession of music and light on Sunday, October 29, starting at 5.30pm from the Cat Nab car park to the Woodland Centre. The night’s entertainment is free, but a donations box will give proceeds to the Friends of the Valley.
Workshop times:

• Tuesday, October 24, 10am-noon, 1pm-3pm: Making minibeast lanterns.
• Wednesday, October 25, 1pm-3pm: Making percussion instruments.
• Thursday, October 26, 1pm-3pm: Making a bee headdress. £1.

Walking to America?

Students in Saltburn are walking to America.... without even leaving the seaside. The pupils, from Huntcliffe School, have been set the challenge of walking the 3,000 miles they would need to cover to reach a school in Maine. The miles are being clocked up during International Walk To School Month. Head of Year 7, Peter Wright explained, "We are being linked with a school in Maine. We're still waiting to find out the name of the school , but it's sure to be at least 3,000 miles away. We've got 104 students in Year 7 and I'm expecting half to be walking to school. Maybe more when they realise what we're doing, so I'm confident we'll get to 3,000 miles." Redcar and Cleveland Council is co-ordinating work among the borough's primary and secondary schools, linked to individual School Travel Plans, which are geared to reducing car use on the school journey. Councillor Eric Empson, commented, "We're delighted that for the first time all our 11 secondary schools are taking part in the campaign and also pleased that seven of those schools now have Travel Plans in place."

Litter fine dodge proves costly.

A Saltburn woman, who refused to pay fixed penalty fines for dumping black rubbish bags in a back alley in Saltburn, has now been ordered to pay four times the original fine after being taken to court by Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council. The woman was prosecuted for leaving black rubbish bags in the alley at the back of her flat in the town's Pearl Street, an area that has recently suffered problems with fly tipping. She was offered the opportunity to pay the £50 fine, accepted it at the time, but never paid. Now Langbaurgh East Magistrates Court in Guisborough has ordered her to pay a £100 fine and £100 costs. The Council's Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Councillor Joyce Benbow, said: "These are strict laws which we are determined to enforce whenever we can. We have given these powers, and our responsibilities, extensive publicity, and no-one can have any excuse for not being aware of the consequences if they choose to drop any form of litter." The Council's Community Safety Warden Service Manager Van Niekerk underlined the determination of the service to fine people under Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 or Section 3 (1) of the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996. He explained, "Depending on the severity of the offence, our Community Safety Wardens will take action, either by offering a fixed penalty notice or the person could be taken straight to court and prosecuted. And if people do not accept the fixed penalty, we will also prosecute to enforce our powers."

The future is bright

Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council is organising an ambitious multi-thousand pound programme of work to light up Saltburn. The work is in addition to a major lighting and illumination project which resulted in spotlighting the pier, the amusement arcade, the cliff lift – lighting the track and the cars – and the chalets from dusk to midnight. Following the success of this phase of the sceme the council is now looking at lighting features in the town centre. Planning permission is being sought to light up the 130 year old station portico and town clock, which is fifty years old. In addition the council is aiming to light steps leading from the top of the cliff-lift to the lower promenade, as well as lighting along the prom itself - at a suggestion from seafront traders.
The eventual aim of the council is to install lighting schemes across the borough but initial concentration is on Saltburn. A council spokesman said funding agencies wanted to see the benefit of lighting features being concentrated in one area and the focus was on Saltburn because of it's architecture. Other parts of Saltburn being looked at for inclusion in the scheme are the Zetland (former hotel and now apartments) and the Community Theatre.
The proposal for the foreshore building opposite the pier is to have white, green and blue lighting to represent waves. The lighting columns proposed for the Lower Promenade would be six metres high to provide a 'dramatic' effect with a minimum of lighting intensity rather than floodlighting. The Smuggler's Centre would feature a lit-up mermaid at the Ship Inn. At the Community Theatre, the effect would include a "gentle colour change". The Station portico scheme would offer an "attractive and safe environment for people entering the area" and there would be anti-pigeon spikes to avoid problems.


previous articles:- 'Illuminating' and 'Lighting our Culture -Phase 2'

Fresh Appeal by S.A.R.A charity

Saltburn Animal Rescue Association (Sara), is making a fresh appeal for financial help to bring their hopes of building an animal sanctuary to fruition. The charity has raised £407,000 towards establishing a home for strays, since it first launched it's sanctuary appeal in August 1999. While that money means the charity will be able to buy a site, volunteers now face the daunting task of raising a further £100,000 a year, to pay for the sanctuary's running costs. Feeding and maintaining between 50 and 60 abandoned dogs already costs Sara between £2,000 and £3,000 a month. The charity has just printed fresh appeal posters to be displayed in shop windows and veterinary surgeries appealing for help with running costs. Anne Prosser, Sara's chairwoman, said, "We are now seriously looking for a site and hope to find one before the end of this year, but with it being public money we have to make sure we find the right place. It is essential money is raised to help with anticipated running costs. Being able to raise £400,000, in the face of other demands on people's money, demonstrates backing for a sanctuary. However, we need to raise funds for running costs quickly, so the sanctuary can be set up quickly." The charity's second hand shop, which opened in Guisborough just over a year ago, has raised £29,000. "Everything is a step out in faith and we are just waiting to make the last jump," said Mrs Prosser.

Pet dog in 400ft cliff fall!

A pet Labrador had a lucky escape when it fell 400ft from the cliffs on Monday. The owners were walking the animal, called Jake, along the cliff top paths at Saltburn when he lost his footing and fell 400ft, sparking a rescue operation involving the coastguard and police. Skinningrove and Staithes Coastguard rescue teams were sent to the scene, as well as an emergency vet. The dog was found on the beach at the foot of the cliffs relatively safe and well. However, on the walk back up to the cliff top, his owner experienced severe pain in his chest and plans had to be put into place to airlift him to hospital. This very unusual state of events meant that the rescue team had to ensure the owner of the dog received appropriate medical attention as quickly as possible, while the dog received attention from the vet.

addendum: Sadly Jake, a collie cross, who initially appeared to have only minor injuries when he was recovered from the bottom of HuntCliff, by the coastguards and emergency vet James Haddow, has died. Mr Haddow said, "I carried the dog all the way back. It had chest injuries and was having breathing difficulties." At the surgery Jake was put on a drip and a duty vet kept a check on it. Mr Haddow added: "His clot must have moved, he had problems breathing and he slipped away about 11pm. We were all very sorry." The dog's owner was airlifted by an RAF Sea King search and rescue helicopter from Leconfield to the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough and is said to be recovering today and is in a "comfortable" condition.

A Humber coastguard spokesperson said: "We would like to remind the public when walking their dogs along a cliff to always put their animals on a lead and if they do find themselves in any difficulty with the dog having gone over the cliff to ring 999 and ask for the coastguard."