Borough Life Spring 2006: Life Lines
Growing group reaches out to lonely people
Sir, – I was pleasantly surprised by the number of phone calls I received asking for information about our dances at Formby Hall, Atherton, which were advertised in issue 12 of Borough Life.
The Leigh Branch of the National Council for the Divorced and Separated is this year celebrating its 25th birthday. Our aim is to bring together divorced, separated and widowed people to reach out for a new beginning and make friends in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. We have gone from strength to strength throughout the years and our membership is some 150+ and growing. We meet each Friday night 8 - 11.30p.m. The dancing includes sequence, ballroom, line dancing and rock n’ roll. The first Friday in each month is an Open Night held at Formby Hall, Alder Street, Atherton and all other Fridays are held at the Miners Welfare, Twist Lane, Leigh.
All our members know what it felt like to be on their own with nowhere to go. For further information please contact the Secretary, Joan Lowe - 01942 674342 or visit our web site at www.leighncds.f9.co.uk
Joan Lowe (Secretary Leigh branch N.C.D.S)
Pensions should be increased
Sir, – In the Winter 2005 edition you seem quite proud to report the fact that more Wigan pensioners receive vital government help than anywhere else in the North West. Four out of five are now receiving Pension Credit.
I am truly amazed. Surely this means that Wigan is one of the poorest towns in the North West and yet another reason why pensions should be greatly increased to avoid the insult of means testing.
V Ashcroft (by email)
Our point was simply that thanks to the efforts of the council’s benefits advisers, more people in our borough are claiming Pension Credit compared to other places - not that more people are eligible for it.
Borough’s pledge to recycle even more waste
Sir, – Further to revelations in the BBC documentary ‘Real Story’ that waste paper left out for recycling by householders in Essex and Islington was mixed with other domestic waste and shipped to non-existent ‘customers’ in Hong Kong and Indonesia, what assurance can be given to Borough Life readers that waste is being recycled in an environmentally-friendly manner?
Anthony Pilgrim, Allscott Way, Ashton
We put the question to Dr Gary Taylor, Wigan Council’s recycling boss. Here’s his reply.
“Paper and magazines are collected and processed at Shotton in North Wales, and the paper is back as newsprint within a fortnight. Glass and jars from the local bottlebanks are processed in Yorkshire. Glass can be recycled over and over again forever. We also have a strong market for our tins and cans: British Alcan processes aluminium and makes new metal products from them. Green waste and brown cardboard are composted on a farm near Standish as a soil improver.
“Most textiles and shoes are sorted locally, although some go overseas to less fortunate people. Timber goes to Liverpool where it is made into chipboard. Fridges go to Birmingham for recycling and our oil is reclaimed in Knowsley. Some other reusable items from the recycling centres are removed and sold locally to keep down disposal costs. We want to thank residents for separating their waste to avoid us landfilling valuable resources locally.”
Don’t ignore past successes
Sir, – I was encouraged to see this fine publication with some interesting topics, right up to the point where I read the article Pride against Prejudice when you spoke of raising the image of Wigan on the world stage, boasting the fact that the town now has a Premiership Football club. I would argue that the town claimed that accolade some years ago with the small rugby club that has been knocking around for over a hundred years and has won no less than four world club crowns. The town should be celebrating its current sucess in the premiership, but let’s not ignore its past successes.
Mr LP Walsh (by email)
We certainly won’t. While it’s true that the success of Wigan Athletic has attracted international media attention, the council is equally proud of the past and present success of all our clubs, not least Wigan Warriors. They all contribute to the reputation of our borough.
Borough Life is grateful to the many readers who take the trouble to write in with questions, compliments and complaints.
All constructive comments are welcome. We can only print a small selection, but everything is read and passed to the relevant department.