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Nantwich community news and events Feb/Mar 2016 Free

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ALL THAT JAZZMusic festival returns to Nantwich with a host of top actsTHE Nantwich Jazz, Blues & Music Festival marks its 20th year in the town this Easter from Thursday March 24 to Monday March 28. This year’s headliners include Big Country, The Revolutionaires, Aynsley Lister, Red Butler, Kyla Brox, FM, The Jive Aces, Bad Manners, Nearly Dan, The Swing Commanders, and The Long Lost Blues Brothers. Festival organiser Phillip Martin said: “When I first started The Nantwich Jazz Festival I could never have imagined that it would be so

successful, but here we are announcing the 20th event for Easter 2016!” Planning is now a year round exercise and the organisers are pleased to be bringing new acts to Nantwich as well as some old favourites. Big Country, the iconic Scottish band with a stirring repertoire, open at The Civic on the Thursday. At the Crown Hotel on Friday the festival welcomes Kyla Brox (pictured) a blues and soul singer accompanied by her own band. Kyla makes a scond appearance at St Mary’s

Church on Easter Monday when she presents a special gospel show. Saturday sees the return of FM featuring local guitarist

Jim Kirkpatrick. The gig was a sell out in 2015 and they are back by popular demand. Sunday welcomes The Jive (cont. p6)

On the move - p2

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Sport p8

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Five tweets on Nantwich@nantwichfoodies Hot news! @BongosRockNRoll will be back to add a chilli kick to Nantwich Food Fest 2nd - 4th Sept

@cheshirepolice Back Lane, Nantwich - Patrols won’t be fleeced by these sheep, as they have been rounded up and put in their place; a field #wolleyjumpers

@Mr_Pie @ArrivaTW Ticket machine at Nantwich isn’t printing #Justsaying Hope it hasn’t taken the money - (it took 5 months to reclaim last 3 times)

@PoliceCrewe Nantwich’s very own PCSO double act - #reevesandmortimer are patrolling the town centre today! #CopsNotComedy

@wordsnmusicfest Have you got your @nantwichjazz tickets yet? Great line-up!

NANTWICH Signal Box has been moved overnight to its new home in Crewe where it will help to train the next generation of railway engineers. The wooden structure on Wellington Road began its journey by road at 1am on January 31 and arrived at a rail site on Weston Road in Crewe hours later. It will now be refurbished before being put to use by railway apprentices as part

of the Railway Exchange Training Academy. The structure’s rehoming follows a campaign by The Friends of Nantwich Signal Box group to save it after Network Rail’s announcement in 2014 that it intended to demolish it as part of a nationwide scheme to centralise level crossing activation to 12 regional branches. • Pic courtesy of Nantwich Events Photography

On the road

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A NEW disabled stand at the Nantwich Town ground has been officially opened by town Mayor Andrew Martin. Funded by the Nantwich Town Independent Supporters Association, the facility was opened ahead of the Dabber’s clash against Halesowen Town. By utilising unused dugout shelters on a raised concrete base, disabled supporters will now have a prime view of the action on the pitch as well as being protected from the elements. Work was started just before Christmas and the project complted last month with the fitting of handrails and permanent seating. The facility will will be used by both Nantwich and visiting supporters. Project manager Kevin Hammersley said: “I’m

delighted to see the mayor for Nantwich officially open the disabled stand. “It will mean that the supporters of both Nantwich and whoever we play can have excellent views of the action and shelter from the weather conditions. “I would like to thank everyone involved in helping to build the stand and get it up and running in quick timing.” Nantwich Town chairman Tony Davison added “The NTISA have always had a fantastic relationship with the club since they were formed in 2011. “Nantwich Town is a community club and this is the latest project to help bring the Dabbers closer to the community allowing people with disabilities being able to watch the action with great views.”

CHESHIRE East’s Alzheimer’s Society is running courses to support the carers of people affected by dementia. Carers Information and Support Programmes are being held at Brookfield Hall in Nantwich during March. This is a practical course, led by trained Alzheimer’s Society staff, which provides carers with practical knowledge about dementia. Local Alzheimer’s Society operations manager Jo Hawkins said: “The courses for carers of people with any type of dementia provide a wide range of information, details of coping strategies and how to look after yourself as well as planning for the future. “Carers get to meet others in a similar situation and build supportive friendships.” Courses are available at Brookfield Hall starting on March 7 and 14. For further information about the courses please contact Ceri Edwards on 01625 503302.

NANTWICH Museum will continue to fuel the town’s fascination with the English Civil War this summer. More than 600 people visited the museum during last month’s Holly Holy Day event. Now the museum’s research group is busy preparing for Nantwich Besieged 1642-1646, a major summer exhibition concerned with the local events of the Civil War and exploring what life was like within the garrisoned town. The siege was ultimately lifted by the Battle of Nantwich, now commemorated each January in the town. The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of events beginning on Friday July 29 with a Talk & Walk on the site of the battle led by Julian Humphrys of the Battlefields Trust. The venue has also just announced a series of Saturday Spring talks. Subjects range from various aspects of the town’s historyand, to celebrate World Circus Day, the story of local man Philip Astley the father of the circus. The talks include on March 5 Nantwich - the History of a Cheshire Town by Jane Stevenson and on April 9 Britain’s Railways and the First World War by Jeremy Nichols. Professor Ray Johnson of the Staffordshire Film Archive presents an illustrated talk Philip Astley - Circus Comes Full Circle on April 16. The talk will be illustrated with historical visual documents, archive film footage and a virtual cavalcade of circus memorabilia. April 30 will see a talk by Malcolm Bird, focussing on Nantwich and its place in the Roman Empire. It will outline the chain of political and military eventsthat brought the Romans to the area, founding the settlement at Nantwich at abround 120 AD. All the talks begin at 2.30pm. Tickets are £3.50. Visit www.nantwichmuseum.org.uk for more details.

POLICE are appealing for information following a serious assault in Nantwich town centre. The incident happened between 3am and 3.15am on Saturday January 30 on Swine Market in the town centre. The victim, a 20-year-old man, was walking between Hays Travel and Harrisons bar, when he was approached by three men who were walking in the opposite direction. As the men approached the victim stepped out into the road to avoid them, but was subsequently assaulted; resulting in a broken nose and fractures to the cheek and eye

socket. The offender is described as a white man, approximately 25-years-old, 5ft 10 inches tall, of stocky build with blonde slicked back hair. At the time of the incident he was wearing a white top. Investigating Officer Calum O’Toole said: “We are currently following a number of lines of enquiry and as part of the investigation I am keen to speak to anyone that was in the area at the incident occurred. “I ask anyone who believes that they have any information that could assist our investigation to contact us on 101 quoting incident number 123 of 30/1/2016.”

Standing room

Street attack

Local historyNANTWICH aqueduct has been nominated for a heritage award following its £235,000 restoration. The Institution of Civil Engineers North West launched the award this year to celebrate historic civil engineering features that people and communities know and love. The award is a part of group’s annual awards which are already held to showcase the best of the region’s new civil engineering work. Known as the ‘Gateway to Nantwich’, the aqueduct is an iconic grade II* structure, designed by Thomas Telford in 1826. It still carries the Shropshire Union Canal over the A534 Nantwich to Chester Road. The aqueduct, at the end of Welsh Row, comprises a cast iron trough, supported on six arches. It was constructed during Telford’s lifetime and is recorded in the great engineer’s biography The Life of Thomas Telford.

Proud heritage

Caring courses

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The Dabber 01270 730115 info@thedabber.co.uk NEWS 5

NANTWICH Players’ Youth Theatre are busy preparing their latest production. This year’s chosen play is The Witches by Roald Dahl, a well-loved book that has been adapted for the stage by David Wood. Chris Ridge, a member of the players seen regularly on stage and in the director’s seat, chose this play with the group and is having great fun with his cast. He said: “This play is a big

stretch for us, as the text is meant to relate to a much bigger scale production than we can manage here. “However, that has led to a lot of ingenuity as to how to tell the story, and the young people are rising to the challenge.” This is a play suitable for all ages, not just children. Tickets for the play are on sale from March 1 and the play runs from March 16 to 19 at 7.45pm.

Stage craft

A NANTWICH councillor has been fighting plans to close children’s centres in Nantwich and Sandbach. Cheshire East Council has been consulting on plans to ‘de-designate’ four of its 11 children’s centres across the borough, including those based at Nantwich Primary Academy and Sandbach Primary Academy, and replace them with mobile services. Cllr Arthur Moran said he was totally against this closure of the local centre. He said: “It’s a great facility we’ve got in Nantwich, doing some wonderful work.” Cheshire East said the plans are not about closure but about providing a mobile service which can reach people who otherwise could

not attend. The Sandbach Children’s Centre, which is also facing closure, runs similar services. Sandbach councillor Sam Corcoran said: “I believe that children’s centres were originally set up to help, not the most deprived children, but those in danger of falling into that category. “Cheshire East Council is planning to do exactly what the research says damages outcomes – cutting funding and changing management. “I would also like to make a subtle but important point. Children’s Centres support families. “There is a danger that we talk too much about children and not enough about the families and communities in which they live.”

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(cont. from front)Aces who share the bill with The Swing Commanders, Europe’s top western swing band. Friday features a triple bill comprising The Revolutionaires with their 50’s rhythm and blues, Aynsley Lister whose guitar playing has been describes by MOJO magazine as ‘a fire hazard’ and young yet accomplished blues rockers Red Butler. Bad Manners, the iconic ska band who had enormous chart success in the eighties, bring their fabulous show to The Civic on Monday. The festival also welcomes Nearly Dan back to Nantwich. Less of a tribute and more of an homage to Steely Dan, the band (pictured) will be doing an afternoon show at The Studio on Easter Monday. Coming up to the bands

20th anniversary the nine-piece band promises all of the Steely Dan favourites in an energetic two hour-plus show. The stage in Nantwich square will feature bands on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. On Saturday afternoon the festival features The Red Stripe Band. On Easter Sunday the CAT Radio will host an

acoustic session and on Easter Monday afternoon the live entertainment continues with a three- band line-up. There will of course be a packed ‘round the town’ programme featuring over a hundred acts all accessible by wristband, this year preiced at £7. For tickets and more details visit www.nantwichjazz.com.

Festival returns

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DABBERS boss Phil Parkinson expressed his delight at his team’s victory against Stourbridge in the FA Trophy 3rd round game at the Weaver Stadium. Nantwch progressed to the last eight of the competition through Steve Jones, who sealed the 1-0 win on 89 minutes after Parkinson’s side had been knocking on Stourbridge’s door all game. Parkinson said: “I think one or two were anxious, but the group as a whole were saying it’s for the taking if we wanted to take it. “It was a similar game to when we met them here in the league – where there was nothing between us, but we dictated it more than them. “Obviously, we were at home so that should be the case in

my opinion. “There is so much belief in these lads and they are so positive, they are such a great group and a confident group. “They have bags of ability and for some of those boys, the sky is the limit. “Each week they are proving it, especially in the big games, by showing they can step up to the mark. “Elliott Osborne is 19, Jon Moran is 18 and Matt Bell is 23, it’s frightening – the average age must be 22 or 23. “The ground was buzzing with a great attendance of 510 and I think if we did play on the Saturday we would have broken 1,000 attendance I’m sure. “But 510 is excellent on a cold night in South Cheshire.” As we go to press Nantwich face Dover Athletic at home

in the next round on Saturday February 27, knowing that a win will put Parkinson and his side just two games away from the final, the semi-final being over two legs. Dover currently sit 5th

in the National League but Parkinson believes the Dabbers have nothing to fear.

IN CONTROLDabbers progress in the FA Trophy after home win