Attached is a warning e-mail from East Midlands Ambulance Service regarding the above bracelets

Alert Jequirity Bean Bracelets

Alstonefield Parish Council has a vacancy for a part-time Parish Clerk. For details and a job description, please see the Parish Council page by clicking here.  Applications should be made to Dorothy Griffin by Friay 17th February 2012.

Blue-black skies alive with winter’s fire-flies
Snowflakes,
caught in street-lamps’ glow,
floating blobs feigning bog-cotton blooms.
Gentle as a mother’s first kiss,
touching, resting, on skeletal branches,chimney pots, roof-tops, ivy-clad walls;
nudging, gathering,
silently weaving downy layers
turning emerald grass, grey asphalt
white
as a virgin canvas.
Still, serene,
waiting,
for waking eyes to wonder at a crystal-dusted world.

E J

A big thank you from Jani & I and the Alstonefield Arts & Craft Group to everyone who contributed in a whole ‘host’ of ways to make our Festival a great success and a hugely enjoyable experience for the community and visitors alike. You helped to hang banners in Church, put up road signs, organised the kitchen, baked & made cakes & soup, made sandwiches, washed up, did the food shopping, donated produce for the hampers, sold the produce for us, lit candles at night along the Church path, cleared up the Village Hall & Church afterwards, and many other little tasks too numerous to mention.  Our gross takings from Donations, Craft & Produce Sales and Refreshments were almost £5500, leaving a net profit of £4500 after food shopping and craft material expenses.  £1500 will be donated to each of the following: Katharine House Hospice, Stafford; Village Hall Extension Project; St. Peter’s Church Water Project. Thank you again!

Following a recent reorganisation Inspector Claire Francis and Sergeant Lee Crowther have organised a drop-in session at St. Peter’s Church from 3.00 pm. to 6.00 pm. on Monday 5th December. They would like to hear what we think of the Police and any issues that individuals have. They will tell us about their new structure and how it can support our community. Tea & coffee will be available.

The Trading Standards Office are making people aware of the following scam: A card is posted through your door from a company called PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel and that you need to contact them on 0906 6611911 (a premium rate number). DO NOT call this number, as this is a mail scam originating from Belize. If you call the number and you start to hear a recorded message you will already have been billed £315 for the phone call. If you receive a card with these details, then please contact Royal Mail Fraud on 020 7239 6655.

I am looking for old walking/working boots – the tattier the better – for use in a fund raising idea supporting a Leaden Boot Challenge stall at the New Year Market in the Village Hall on 7th January.

How is the first day of the digital switchover going? Milldale doesn’t appear to be receiving BBC2 despite re-tuning. Your comments would be very helpful

A blue bin has gone missing from outside the village hall between 9pm on Wednesday 31 August and 8am on Thursday 1 September. If you have any idea why or how a bin full of Yew Tree farm rubbish could have disappeared in this way please reply to this message.

We would like to form a small informal ‘committee’ to help plan activities to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee next year. If you would like to be involved, or have ideas as to how we should mark this occasion as a community, please contact Dot Griffin, Cathy Reavy or Maureen Binfield, or alternatively post a comment here