Friday, 10 August 2012

Summer activities

The South Derbyshire District Council have put on some free activities on the rec this summer.  What it doesn't say on the leaflet is that the Parish council also pay a donation to have them come to the village. 

The different mobiles come at various times according to a timetable, but they came to Aston every Tuesday,  often 2 a day.  This seems to be a lot more than other places get so it very generous of the Parish Council to fund these.  These are a really great way of amusing kids for zero money, and during the summer holidays amusing children can get rather expensive, so these are really helpful.  Some kids did enjoy putting on sumo suits to wrestle, play laser shooting games or go up the climbing wall, but I was quite surprised at the amount of parents I heard trying to persuade children to have a go on these things when all they wanted to do was throw and catch a ball or run around with their friends.  They had these special nets which the child throws the ball at and it bounces back.  When I was a kid we just chucked a ball at the wall.  It had the same effect.  Anyway the nets were really popular.  But whatever the children did they seemed to enjoy themselves and that's what's important.  It also gets them away from the telly or computer.  So big thanks to the organisers/ staff for these events.

Friday, 3 August 2012

More about the speed detecters...

Well it seems they have moved the speed detecter thing to the road where you come into the village from Shardlow.  I wonder if it is getting any different results there.  I read in the Acorn (a free magazine about the village that come through the letter box) that the thing also collects stats about peoples speeds as they pass and apparently there are an awful lot of people breaking the speed limit.  I'd like details about this like what percentage of people are breaking the speed limit and by how much.  For instance, it's hardly a scandal if several people are going through the village at 31 mph.

I read the acorn from front to back and I have to admit it gives a much more thorough coverage of village like than I do.  I particularly enjoyed the neighbourhood watch page which gives crime stats for the area (we seem to get on average 1 burgulary a month) and the info about the speed detecter.