HOUSEHOLDS in Central Beds have won praise for their ’magnificent’ recycling record.
Their efforts led to waste representing more than £2.6 million in landfill tax being diverted elsewhere, says Central Beds Council.
Neighbours in the area recycled 51.6 per cent of their waste in 2010/11, putting the area in seventh place for recycling among unitary councils nationwide.
They also produced 50kg less residual waste per person than the UK average.
BOXING: Isaac Roachford lost to unbeaten Repton boxer Tommy Hill at the Schools ABA quarter-finals in Oxford.
The Lewsey Junior had a good first round but the London champion pressured to take the second and third rounds to secure a unanimous decision.
At the Rotary Charity Dinner Tournament last Monday, Lewsey’s Shafqat ‘Shocky’ Khan lost the closest of decisions to Thomas Hopkins, 3rd Para Regiment, as the computer scored it 13-12 for the Army boxer. On Saturday Mo Mustfa boxes for the Home Counties against the Royal Navy at Welwyn.
THE LAUNCH of a new community service means patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) will be able to receive help and support closer to home.
The condition affects more than 8,000 people in the county and requires long term medical input.
Patients will now be able to attend assessment and treatment clinics in their area instead of having to go to hospital.
Respiratory teams will be working in the community to provide personalised and specialist care.
HATTERS: Former Hatters defender Dave Bayliss has taken sole charge at Town’s Blue Square Bet Premier rivals Barrow following the departure of former joint-boss Darren Sheridan.
Bayliss is adamant it won’t affect his position at the club, saying: “I love my job, I put everything into this job, my role won’t change.
“I work extremely hard here, I love this club and I’m going nowhere.
“I want to be here for a long, long time.”
And he added: “I don’t want an assistant manager at this moment in time.”
TINNITUS is a debilitating condition that affects five million people in the UK.
Luton social worker Andrew Fazekas is one of them.
He was first diagnosed in 2004 and admits it was a bleak period in his life. “It affected me terribly and I felt so isolated,” he said.
He even contemplated suicide to end the ‘fish tank sound’ in his head.
But the 51-year-old gradually developed coping strategies.
“I’ve used meditation to help me sleep and breathing exercises to control symptoms,” he explained.
“But I’d like to see more support groups and local help for sufferers.”
National charity Deafness Research UK is hoping to facilitate this through its freephone information line.
It is also dedicated to finding new cures, treatments and technologies for anyone who is deaf or hearing-impaired.
Chief executive Vivienne Michael said: “Tinnitus can have a devastating affect on the quality of life.
“It’s a very complex condition and we are determined to do something about it.
“Along with funding research into cures and treatments, we are committed to supporting and helping sufferers cope with their situation.”
> For more information call 0808 808 2222 or email info@deafnessresearch.org.uk
SWIMMING: Three Dunstable Swimming Club members met the tough qualifying standards to be able to swim at the Level 2 Valentines Open Meet at Hatfield on February 4.
Reese Housden continued his recent success as he won two gold medals in both the nine-10 years 50m freestyle in a time of 32.79secs and the 50m breaststroke in 44.49secs.
The nine-year-old swimmer also took silver in the 50m butterfly, clocking 39.34secs.
Harry Constantine swam both the 50m backstroke and freestyle in the 11-12 years category and, despite only just turning 11, he was the second fastest 11-year-old in the backstroke with an impressive personal best of 39.38secs and was under a second away from his PB in the freestyle.
Chantal Smith was also on good form, achieving PBs in her 11-12 years age group.
She clocked 39.89secs in the 50m backstroke and knocked a second off her 50m butterfly time by clocking 36.73secs.
The club is now preparing for the forthcoming Beds County Championships which start at the end of the month.
A FAMILY were left devastated after their Dunstable home was the scene of a suspected burglary and arson attack while they were out on Sunday.
Police believe that intruders broke into the property in Crabtree Way through a side door before ransacking the kitchen and living room.
A fire broke out in the living room of the four-bedroom detached house and a 999 emergency call was made at 6.52pm.
Two fire engines from Dunstable and one from Toddington attended the incident, using two hoses and a jet to tackle the blaze.
Bedfordshire & Luton Fire & Rescue Service said that “extensive damage” was caused to the living room, while windows throughout the house were blackened with smoke.
It is not clear at this stage what items were taken from the house.
Police at the property on Monday told the Gazette that the family, who were inside assisting the investigation and examining the damage to their home and belongings, were “too upset” to comment or be named.
It is understood that they were outside Bedfordshire when their home was attacked.
A full investigation by the emergency services is still ongoing.
> Anyone with information is asked to call the non-emergency number 101 or Crimestopppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.
HATTERS: Released Luton Town defender Will Antwi has joined Blue Square Bet South club Staines Town.
The centre-half signed a six-month contract with the Hatters in July 2011 following his release from Dagenham & Redbridge and scored twice in 12 appearances for the Town.
Capped once by Ghana, he spent the end of his spell at Kenilworth Road on loan at Grimsby, but turned down a permanent move to the Mariners.
FOOTBALL: Dunstable Town are preparing for their biggest game of the season when they visit Molten Spartan SML Premier Division leaders Royston Town.
Blues director of football John McLoughlin is hopeful that a number of their top players will be back in time for the potential make-or-break encounter.
He said: “We are away to Royston Town, the league leaders, which I would admit is probably the toughest game of the season and one that we are looking forward to.
“We have a had a rest which has given time for injured players to get fit. We have Matt Judge and Nick Leach as doubtful but the rest of the squad are available. I guess it is a must-win game, but we have set our target and we must win all of our remaining games.
“We know Royston and we have had them watched a few times this season so tactically we will make sure we get it right. We win this game and that will put the cat amongst the pigeons.”
CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save Houghton Regis Leisure Centre from the axe are delighted that it will now stay open in 2012/13.
Central Beds Council’s executive committee has decided to appoint a new contractor to run the centre in the coming year.
That followed talks between the council, Houghton Regis Leisure Centre Action Group and Houghton Regis Town Council.
Councillor Brian Spurr said budget pressures meant the unitary council had had to consider whether it was financially viable to keep the centre running.
He said a solution had been found, through working with local people and organisations.
SQUASH: Luton and Dunstable Squash Club’s first team moved to within touching distance of the top five and a chance to compete for the title in the coming month with a 15-7 victory over Flitwick, while their seconds blew a great chance to record only their second win of the season as they lost 14-9 to Open University IIs.
The league splits into two with the top five and bottom five all taking part in a round-robin competition that culminates with a play off-final to determine the winner.
For the full story see the News/Gazette.
DESPITE the recent freezing conditions Luton Town’s academy was able to continue training and playing over the weekend.
Thanks to the hard work by the ground staff at the Baldock Arena and the Akademy Stevenage, Luton were able to train on Saturday and host games from U9-U16 against Crawley Town.
In addition the U9-U12 squads came in to train at the Creasey Park Community Football Centre in Dunstable along with the first team on Tuesday morning.
Youth development officer Gregg Broughton said: “We are incredibly grateful to Mark Burke at Baldock and Rob O’Keefe at Stevenage Akademy for clearing the snow from the pitches.
“We had some great games against Crawley Town and would have been one of the only academies in the country to play this weekend.
“On Tuesday we had a great opportunity to let the youngest squads train alongside the first team and for those youngsters to watch the intensity and passion that our professionals train with.”
KICK-BOXING: Dunstable kick-boxers Curtis Hughes and Bailie Aliriza were both crowned winners at the Night Of Warriors event in Bedford earlier this month.
The evening was an official ISKA event and Hughes, 15, defeated Zeeshan Khan from A1 Lions Club in Derby, in what was his toughest bout to date.
Meanwhile, Bailie saw off Sophie Moore from Hard Nox Gym in Bedford, during what was another tough encounter.
Both students are trained by Andy Pilborough-Skinner at Templar Martial Arts club in Dunstable and are also in full training once again with the ISKA England squad to compete again later this year in Holland, while grading for their black belts takes place on March 31.
SATURDAY
Let’s Dance for Sport Relief (BBC One, 7pm)
Charismatic duo Steve Jones and Alex Jones return to host this dance-competition-with-a-twist, which sees all kinds of familiar faces don too-tight fluorescent lycra, a little too much make-up and put their best foot forward to show off the dance moves that they’re hoping will win over the nation. Plus it is all for a good cause. Saturday night telly with the feel-good factor clearly doesn’t get much better than this.
Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards, Shooting Stars’ Angelos Epithemiou and Ulrika Jonsson, comedians Ava Vidal and Terry Alderton, TOWIE’s Amy Childs and Harry Derbridge and singer Olly Murs are among those performing.
Sunday
Upstairs Downstairs (BBC One, 9.30pm)
Sunday night is clearly period drama night on BBC One – no sooner has Call the Midwife finished, than Upstairs Downstairs returns for a brand new run.
It’s now 1938 and Sir Hallam is worried about Britain’s relationship with Germany, and tries to warn the powers that be about Hitler, but when no one seems prepared to listen, he begins to question his own beliefs.
At home, his wife, Lady Agnes, is extremely fragile after giving birth to their second child, and Rose is out of action too, having contracted a nasty case of TB, poor thing.
Meanwhile the servants welcome spirited new maid Beryl, who catches Harry’s eye.
Monday
The Bleak Old Shop Of Stuff (BBC Two, 8.30pm)
The Dickensian spoof, whose first episode aired at Christmas, returns for three more episodes.
The all-star cast includes Robert Webb, Katharine Parkinson, Derek Griffiths, Kevin Eldon and Adrian Edmondson. The scripts, by Mark Evans, are pretty sharp too.
Tuesday
The Brit Awards 2012 (ITV1, 8pm)
In what looks like a repeat of last year’s music awards ceremony, host James Corden will be fronting the event from the O2 in London, and Adele may dominate proceedings if her standout success at the Grammy ceremony is anything to go by.
Look out for Blur who will be picking up a gong for Outstanding Contribution to Music.
Wednesday
Waterloo Road (BBC One, 8pm)
The award-winning series about life in a troubled northern English school begins a new term, and there’s no shortage of problems for the returning staff and pupils.
Melanie Hill joins the cast as Grantly’s new nemesis, Maggie.
Thursday
Kidnap and Ransom (ITV1, 9pm)
Most people complain about their job from time to time, but when Dominic King tells you he’s had a particularly stressful day, you know he means it.
He’s the hostage negotiator (played by Trevor Eve) at the centre of Kidnap and Ransom, so if he makes a mistake at work, it could result in someone losing their life.
The second series of the drama certainly gets of to a tense start as Dominic finds himself in Kashmir, negotiating for the release of a British Asian family who were in the region to visit their son Mahavir.
Friday
Benidorm (ITV1, 9pm)
If you’ve ever been on a package holiday to Spain, you will know that certain things are guaranteed to happen.
When some of Britain’s biggest comedy talents realised all this, they spotted a gap in the market for a new comedy based around the notion of Brits abroad – and they landed themselves a major success.
This time round the Solana resort gets a new manager and she means business! Joyce Temple Savage (played by Loose Women’s Sherrie Hewson) is on a mission to upgrade the Solana resort into a 4 star hotel - at all costs.
PATIENTS living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) can now receive much of their support and care closer to home, instead of attending appointments at hospital, thanks to a new community service launched by NHS Bedfordshire.
COPD is a long term condition affecting more than 8,000 people a year in Bedfordshire. Often caused by smoking, it affects the lungs, causes breathing difficulties and requires long-term healthcare management.
The service is being provided jointly by Bedford Hospital and Luton and Dunstable Hospital in local community settings across the county. Specialist staff from the service will manage and monitor their patients’ condition, whilst also providing phone and face-to-face support for carers and healthcare professionals.
The aim is to reduce the number of avoidable admissions to hospital, and to reduce the time patients have to stay in hospital if they in-patient treatment.
In 2010 there were more than 2,000 hospital attendances in Bedfordshire relating to chronic respiratory conditions such as COPD.
THE TODDINGTON mum fighting a courageous battle against cancer is now confined to a wheelchair.
Maggie Thomas’s distraught husband David told the Herald&Post: “Things are pretty bad. She’s struggling.
“But she’s incredible – awe-inspiring, very positive and determined to beat it.
“She’s on a high dose of steroids so she’s looking very bloated and doesn’t want anyone to see her.”
The former Cardinal Newman pupil returned home briefly last week before commercial photographer David drove her back to the controversial clinic in Germany which specialises in treating the immune system.
Maggie, 46, is convinced the regime she’s following there will prolong her life and win her precious time with her family.
The couple have six children ranging in age from 10 to five. They are Liam, twins Daniel and Anne, David, Cian and Fintan.
Maggie, whose mum is Dunstable doctor Anne Standen, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009. It rapidly spread to her lungs, liver, ribs and spine. She now has tumours in her brain.
> To make a donation visit www.maggieshope.co.uk
FIT-AGAIN defender Dean Beckwith is hoping he will finally be able to stake a claim for a place in Town’s defence after putting a calf injury behind him, writes Mark Wood.
Having injured the soleus during training he has been a frustrated bystander ever since.
But he impressed in last Tuesday’s 2-1 FA Trophy victory over Kidderminster, getting 90 minutes under his belt, as he now looks to put pressure on the successful centre-half pairing of George Pilkington and Janos Kovacs.
The 28-year-old defender said: “I hadn’t played a competitive game for quite a few months. It was great to get a game under my belt and play a full 90 minutes.
“I had been out for five to six weeks with a calf injury which was annoying. I tried to come back and train after two to three weeks and it didn’t feel right and kept niggling me. It was a good competitive game to come back to. It was good to get 90 minutes and through to the next round.”
This weekend Luton travel to Tamworth and Beckwith is hoping to be in the reckoning.
He said: “Hopefully I will be in and around the team and I’ve trained well the last couple of weeks. We’ll see what happens at the weekend and take it from there.
“There was really no reason for the manager to change things. They’ve been keeping clean sheets and winning games.
“In training I’ve been doing well over the last two to three weeks I’ve been back.
“Hopefully I can get back in the team and it’s then up to me to keep my place.”
And he believes the FA Trophy not only provides a great opportunity of getting to Wembley but also a great chance for everyone to play competitive games.
He added: “I did OK the other night in Kidderminster. It was a good game to play in.
“It’s a home draw against Gateshead. Then the semi and if we get through next it’s Wembley.
“It’s a great opportunity for players to get games, especially players like myself that haven’t played that much.
“It’s going to be another good game against another good team in our division and at home as well.
“It’s not a trophy going nowhere, the final is at Wembley. No-one wants to be dropped.
“The final being at Wembley, everyone wants the opportunity to play there.”
SOUTH West Beds MP Andrew Selous has urgently pressed the case for the A5 Dunstable northern bypass, at the public inquiry into the scheme.
On Friday, February 10, the MP spoke at the inquiry, being held in Dunstable, to show his strong support in person.
Planning inspector David Wildsmith is spearheading the vital inquiry at the Superdrug Stores Conference Centre, in ProLogis Park, Arenson Way.
The MP spoke of the great need for the bypass, which would be a 2.9-mile dual carriageway, running east from the A5 north of Dunstable to link to the M1 at a new junction, 11a.
He had called for a bypass to go ahead in his maiden speech as an MP, in 2001. Former South West Beds MP Sir David Madel had previously campaigned for a bypass for the area for 31 years.
Mr Selous told the inquiry of how he had presented a town petition for the bypass, with 25,000 signatures, to the House of Commons.
He warned that delays were causing the cost of the scheme to spiral, and talked of the many benefits that the bypass was expected to bring.
And he also highlighted the levels of asthma among children living near the heavily congested A5, saying that they were higher than elsewhere in Dunstable or in the surrounding area.
Mr Selous told the Gazette: “I think a very strong case has been made by the Highways Agency, who are promoting the road, by Central Beds Council, by the town council, by myself and by individuals who are going along.
“I made the point that in all my time as an MP I have only had one person write to say they didn’t want the road and everyone else says: ‘Why didn’t we get this road a very long time ago?’”
He added: “Dunstable and Houghton Regis need to be freed from the terrible congestion that they face every day.”
Supporters and objectors are voicing their views at the inquiry, which got under way on February 7 and is expected to last for three weeks.
In the opening statement for the Highways Agency, barrister Christopher Lewsley said: “The Highways Agency believes that the advantages of the scheme very substantially outweigh the disadvantages and that there is a strong case in the public interest for the scheme to be constructed as soon as possible, and that the evidence to the inquiry demonstrates this.”
A NEW group has been formed to help give University of Bedfordshire students an insight into the world of work.
Chamber Futures has been created by Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce purely for students of the University of Bedfordshire.
Chamber Futures includes 12 months of membership to the chamber of commerce, allowing attendance at dedicated seminars and workshops on applied skills including communication, self assertiveness, confidence building and CV writing.
Local employers will be telling students what they want from employees, including networking skills, interview techniques and mock interviews. There are also sector specific workshops to understand how to apply a degree in a chosen career.
For more information, email membership@chamber-business.com or visit http://careers.beds.ac.uk/work/chamber
THE audience gave Save The Last Dance For Me a big thumbs up when it opened at Aylesbury’s Waterside Theatre this week.
If 1960s nostalgia is your thing then you couldn’t do better than catching this feelgood jukebox musical from the pens of TV and stage writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran.
The couple hit the musical high notes when asked to come up with a story for the phenomenal Dreamboats and Petticoats which started off as a compilation album of 1950s hits.
One mega hit later and their back with a second slice of musical whimsy which will strike a familiar chord with local audiences.
Last Dance tells the story of two sisters, one a chirpy factory girl working in the local car plant, the other a grammar school student (Luton High School if we’re being pedantic as the Grammar only took boys) who leave “downtown Luton” (is there an uptown? –ed) to go on a family caravan holiday to none-too-sunny Lowestoft.
It’s not exactly the Costas and the pair are soon bored – until they are chatted up by a handsome American serviceman off the nearby base who invites them to a dance.
Luton circa 1963 wasn’t exactly the cultural heaven it now is and the girls jump at the chance to enjoy everything the Yanks have to offer – including romance.
The big problem is that sweet little Marie falls for a black GI and, at a time when segregation was still very much a part of American life and inter-racial relationships almost unheard of in the UK, this was a huge issue.
The will-they/won’t-they romance takes up much of the show and, being an upbeat musical fairytale, draws to its inevitable conclusion.
Featuring the back catalogue from vintage US hitmakers Pomus and Shuman plus a talented cast of young hopefuls, mostly straight out of drama school and looking for their big breaks in professional theatre, it’s an enjoyable romp through an era which is fondly remembered – certainly judging by the first night audience.
The singing and dancing was uniformly strong with Tosh Wanogho-Maud proving a real mover on the dance floor. A real highlight for me was the cast’s wonderful acapella renditions of the title song and Sweets for My Sweet.
The production received a standing ovation so it would be churlish to nitpick. But I wished the two leading ladies Megan Jones (as Marie) and Hannah Frederick (Jennifer) had taken the time out to visit Luton to hear how its inhabitants really speak.
As far as I was aware Luton hasn’t been shifted into the bowels of Essex, neither, American GI take note, is Lowestoft in Norfolk, or, Maurice and Gran, the Bedford works in Luton – they were in Dunstable.
But as this was a romantic piece of light-hearted entertainment they can be excused the poor geography.
Running until Saturday but if you miss it then catch the show at Milton Keynes Theatre from April 10-14 (for tickets call the box office 0844 871 7652 or go online www.atgtickets.com/miltonkeynes) or at the Royal & Derngate Theatre from June 25-30 (box office 01604 624811 or online www.royalandderngate.co.uk)
ANNE COX
