Thursday, 31 May 2012

My week in Reddish



I thought that, as I have that Thursday feeling, and I’m waiting for various articles to turn up that I’d post about a few things that had crossed my path this week. This is what I love about Reddish, scratch away at the surface and you find some excellent stuff.

Reddish North End

I met John from the club at the Reddish Business Forum event and was completely bowled over by his enthusiasm for the club despite him not being a football fan. In my mind, the kind of person that Reddish should be proud to have as part of their community.

The club operates 22 youth teams and has big expansion plans afoot.  I can’t wait to write a full article on what they do and what they’re planning.

This week they’re running a football camp and, upon my visit to see him, I was roped into having a quick game. The attitude of the staff, the kids and the coaches was exemplary. Just a shame that it was throwing it down and the rain soaked into my jeans. Next time I’ll go prepared. Whilst it’s a bit late to get onto this week’s camp, they’re running a 3 day one from Weds-Fri next week at a cost of £15 total and runs from 9:30-3:30. A total bargain. More info can be found here.

They are also running a golf day at Houldsworth Golf Club on Friday 16th June. £40 will get you a round of golf, a bacon sarnie and tea/coffee on arrival and a 2 course dinner.

It’s a Con

Marie has sent me through a list of events going on at the Reddish Conservative Club throughout June. These are open to both members and non-members. I’ll be popping in to their Jubilee party and I’m informed that Abbey Roadz is particularly good. Sadly, it seems that the Lee Martin performing isn’t the scorer of the 1990 FA cup winning goal v Crystal Palace.

The Grey Horse

Now, I’ve only ever been in once but my pint was £2.21 and that’s not to be sniffed at. However, did you know that they have poker every Thursday from 8pm? Did you know that they have a disco and karaoke every Friday and that you get a free shot if you perform? There are 30 shots in a bottle of vodka, Take That have had 30 singles. I’ll be performing all of them, chronologically, one terribly drunken night in the future.

They’re also looking for ladies to join their darts team. Apparently they play on a log end board. No, me either.

Competition Time

So, I’ve been thinking, what is someone from Reddish actually known as?  I’m really hopeful that it’s not a Reddishite but I’ve really no idea. Therefore, I thought I’d run a little competition. The person who mails us here with the best and most inventive name wins a cake of their choice from Classic Cakes (up to the value of £1 – this is coming from my own pocket!)

The competition will close by the time the post next Thursday goes out and the winner will be announced then.

Good luck and have a fantastic Jubilee weekend.

By Jez Myers

Monday, 28 May 2012

Jubilee Partee

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Yes, after half an hour of staring at a blank screen, that was actually the best title I could come up with for this article.

That aside, you might be thinking what can I do this weekend to celebrate Her Majesty’s reign for the last six decades? Well, for those of us that didn’t get the invite to the party at the palace and still don’t know who Lang Lang* is, Reddish isn’t without its parties.

Sunday 3rd June

As we’ve previously mentioned, there’s a party over on the second floor of Houldsworth Mill. They’re having an indoor street party from 10-4pm with traditional games, a re-enactment of the Queen’s coronation and all the shops will be open for you to peruse.

If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, then there’s also a big jubilee lunch on at St. Elizabeth’s Church from 1-4pm. There’s a lunch (but please bring some savoury food along and contribute), brass band, children’s games and even a royal quiz.  They’re encouraging people to dress up as a member of the Royal family, red white and blue or in a 50’s outfit. That’ll be my Dad attending in his normal clothing then.

Sunday 4th June

Reddish Conservative club are holding a big party. From 2pm until the evening, non-members are welcome. There’s a children’s entertainer from 3pm, George and Peppa Pig and Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Activities include a lucky dip, tombola and a cake stall. At 6:30pm there’s live entertainment followed by an adult disco.

Houldsworth Working Men's Club will be holding a disco from 6pm. This will feature live music and karaoke disco with music from the 50's-90's

If you know of anything else going on, please let us know. If you’re having a BBQ and want the Reddish News team to attend, eat your food and drink your beer, we’ll be there!

*Lang Lang is apparently a Chinese pianist.

by Jez Myers

Thursday, 24 May 2012

Kingfisher Health Club

I'm not a natural gym goer. In fact I kind of hate the gym with a deep, heartlfelt passion. But the thing is, I love McDonalds with that same passion and something had to give. So, after living in Reddish for about four months with 3 McDonalds in a 2 mile radius, I reluctantly looked for a gym to join to work off the excess fat that was beginning to clog up my arteries.

Cue the Kingfisher Health Club. After a quick Google I came across the KHC and was excited at just how close to my house it was. Bonus. So I headed down after work and was shown around by a nice sporty looking guy who was friendly and informative and didn't make me feel like the intruder I was. The KHC is based in Houldsworth Mill so it's all high ceilings and big industrial steel things. It feels luxurious, calm, clean and almost like you're going to give yourself a treat, which is ideal for someone like me who needs to be tricked into going.



I agreed to an induction the following week, which was thorough (full-on health check with blood pressure and weigh-in - gulp). I was then shown how all of the equipment worked and was even given a little personalised workout plan. The gym is fully equipped with all the latest gear, including those Vibration Plate things, which scare me a bit. There is also a separate part of the gym with a huge screen which has sound and usually a football match going on. Safe to say this part is usually taken up with men on running machines but I thought it was a pretty cool touch if you wanted a break from listening to your iPod or lip-reading the TV screens.



There are a huge range of classes available at loads of different times of day, which is another plus point for me as I work from home and can join the nanas for a bit of aerobics at 11am, but my favourite part is the pool. It's just lovely. Small enough to make you feel like an Olympic swimmer when you've done 10 lengths in record time, but big enough to accommodate during a busy period. I would say not to go on a Saturday afternoon though as KHC allows free swimming for members children (obviously is you have children this would be an ideal time to go). Alongside the swimming pool is a jacuzzi, steam room and sauna. Total relaxation.

Membership to the Kingfisher Health Club is £36.50 a month - this includes full use of the gym, pool and spa and all classes. Plus you are given two free swim passes so you can drag along someone else for the fun.

Kingfisher Health Club, Houldsworth Mill, Broadstone Road, Reddish, Stockport, SK5 6DD

Tel: 0161 975 5152

Twitter: @kingfisherhc

by Ana Hernandez

Monday, 21 May 2012

What's happening in Reddish



The more I look, the more I seem to find and, with that in mind, here are some of the upcoming events over the next week in the Reddish area.

Police surgeries

Want to know about what’s going on? Want to get involved? Want to complain about the person who broke into my mate’s car and didn’t actually steal anything a couple of weeks ago? Well, the local officers are kind enough to allow you that opportunity. You can do so here;

North Reddish Library: -

Wednesday 23 May from 19:00-19:30

Reddish St. Mary’s Church: -

Thursday 24 May from 18:00-19:00

Reddish Triangle Church: -

Friday 25 May from 18:00-19:00

Mo’ money, Mo’ problems

Are you aged 16-19 and not in education, employment or training? Well, If you’d like to be in one of those three things then Stockport Council are holding an opportunities and jobs fair at Reddish Vale Young People’s Centre on Thursday 24th May, from 11.00am to 3.00pm.

There will be information and guidance on apprenticeships, college courses and current job vacancies. Local employers including Michael John and the Army, will be on hand to give advice to young people who are currently looking for employment.

Stockport colleges and apprenticeship providers will also advise on training opportunities and routes into employment through further education and training.

Reddish Vale Young People’s Centre is located on Dalkeith Road, SK5 7EY opposite Reddish Vale Technology College.

Yes, the army is a ‘local’ employer. Have you never heard of the battle of Lancashire Hill?

No Money, Mo’ Problems
If you’re a voluntary community group like ourselves then you’ll find that you don’t have a pot to …err.. you get the idea. However, if you’d like to try and raise some funding for your idea then there’s this
Stockport Council is urging community and voluntary groups to come along to a funding event.
The funding event is being held on Monday 28th May, from 1.00pm to 4.30pm at the Salvation Army on Short Street in Heaton Norris.

Community and voluntary groups will get the chance to meet funders and funding experts, take part in workshops on funding and fundraising, plus discuss their project ideas.

I know we’re Reddish News and this isn’t in Reddish but the local community groups could really benefit from getting some expert tuition on applying for funding or, like we were a month ago, just have a really awesome idea.

If you need more info, drop Elizabeth.madge@stockport.gov.uk a line.

Car Booty

I love Houldsworth Shopping Village. There, I said it. I know that some of you will be reading this and thinking  “where’s that?”.  Well, you go past the main mill on Houldsworth Street and turn into the car park. Test your nerve by travelling up to the second floor in the lift and you’re presented with, well, just go and see it to believe it. I can’t think of any other place that could have a magician’s shop next to a taxidermist next to an upholsterers.

Either way, they’re now holding an indoor car boot sale every Saturday there. It’s free to visit and, for a limited time, free to run a table from. The car boot is on from 10-2 and if you’d like a table there then drop Colin a line on 07729 328496.

It’s also the place that’s holding the 3rd June Jubilee parade as mentioned here

Bake off

Despite upsetting us with the increase of 20p on the price of Rocky Roads, we’re huge fans of Classic Cakes.  We’ve briefly covered this before but now have the full details.

Two children can win their cake designed to be displayed at the shop in Reddish. PLUS, you win a £50 voucher towards your next birthday cake as a prize.

Base your design either on a 20cm round or square cake and make it age appropriate (4-7 or 8-11) and the closing date is on Saturday 2nd June.

Either give the entry to your school or drop it in at the shop. Please be sure to include your full name, age and the school you attend.

The winner will be announced at Reddfest on the 9th June.

Gonna Make You Sweat

We're currently doing reviews of local gyms. We haven't been yet, but have heard great things about Sweat Shed.

£40 will get you and a mate 4 weeks of punishment at their boot camp starting on the 4th June. They claim that recent customers have lost between 4 and 10 inches. If I do so, my panto career in Snow White is looking more and more likely.

We'll be doing a full review of the place in the very near future.

go here for more info
By Jez Myers

Wednesday, 16 May 2012

Food Review - Dragon Palace

Dragon Palace is one of those places that, frankly, you’d walk past if you were on a night out in Reddish. Not in a bad way – it just looks a bit like one of those buildings you'd see in a bandit tow. But I’m not here for Grand Designs – I’m here for a food review.

Jez, Ana and I were lucky enough to eat at there a couple of Sundays ago, and we managed to get stuck into what they called their £8.50 meal deal (drinks not included, obviously – I had a diet coke).

The £8.50 meal deal consists of  a starter (which can be either chicken and sweetcorn soup, or chicken and sweetcorn soup), a follow-up dish and a main course. I decided to go with the standard chicken and sweetcorn soup - which wasn’t without it’s charms.

Chicken & Sweetcorn Soup

The interim course was either a couple of spare ribs in a sweet chilli sauce, or some vegetable spring rolls. Both were cooked really well, and the ribs were particularly tender, which impressed me.

Ribs and Spring Rolls

The mains were served pretty quickly. I have to say that the service in Dragon Palace is particularly speedy, but not in a bad way. The food was served promptly, was cooked right through, and you didn’t have to wait long for a refill.

For mains, Jez had some beef in chilli & black pepper sauce, Ana had satay chicken, and I had the chicken with pineapple and ginger. All of us had the egg fried rice.

Main Courses

The chicken was pretty standard. I’m not going to go overboard – it tasted like the standard Chinese chicken that you have in restaurants all over the country. I was particularly impressed by the slithers of ginger in my dish – it really added a punch to the dish. Ana’s chicken satay was also more than passable. I’m not going to say we haven’t had better, but I was especially happy that they didn’t offer us chips at the first opportunity to go with our meals. Personally, from the couple of mouthfuls I had of Jez’s dish, I found the chilli & black pepper sauce to be a bit too heavy, but that’s just me nit-picking

With drinks and tip, the meals came to about £15 each, a price that reflected the value of the meals and the standard of service. The Dragon Palace can cater for large parties, and looks bigger on the inside than it does on the outside, thanks to extension at the rear.

Overall, I’d recommend the Dragon Palace as somewhere to stop in for a quick meal on a night out – standard Chinese fare, but with great service and decent value thrown in for good measure.

Dragon Palace, 26-28 Gorton Road, Reddish, Stockport, SK5 6AE

by Ben Stroud

Monday, 14 May 2012

Life Leisure

Having been an avid gym goer for many years, and leaving behind a family of gym buddies in Birmingham, finding a decent gym up north was very important to me. I spent a long time researching my options and seeing as it was unlikely that I could stay with my chain of club the search began for a replacement. After a bit of googleing and a quick phone call I went down to Life Leisure, Houldsworth village and after being tempted by a student friendly monthly fee I joined up.



For those that don’t know, Life Leisure is the face of Stockport Sports Trust and the facilities in Reddish seem to be very new and modern. For me there are a number of things I look for in a good gym: cleanliness, decent opening hours, good facilities and staff attitude. The last may seem a little odd but I find it really important to be in a positive, motivating environment. At Life Leisure the staff are friendly but some of the trainers and instructors seem fairly young and at the start of their fitness careers which can limit their knowledge and confidence.

The atmosphere can vary but is normally positive. A wide range of people are members and so working out is not intimidating in the slightest.  During classes there is normally a sense of team morale with members encouraging each other.



All of the facilities are cleaned to a very high standard and most of the equipment is top of the range with iPod docks and if you don’t want to listen to music you can watch one of the wall-mounted televisions. The gym itself is fairly small with limited equipment. They have everything you would expect as well as keeping up to date with the latest freestyle training trend offering ViPR and kettlebell classes; I would like to see more Freestyle equipment such as TRX or core bags but there is simply not the space. Unusually Life Leisure has two X-Dream bikes – exercise bikes that are more like videogames and take your mind off the exercise. Recently one of the indoor football pitches has been transformed into a basketball/badminton court which I am excited to try out.

If you don’t fancy hitting the gym there are a wide variety of classes to try out, although these often become very busy so booking ahead is a must. This can be very frustrating, especially when people do not turn up.

A class only membership is available, and a discounted full membership is also currently on offer at a very reasonable £17.99 per month. Pop into the club for more information and hopefully I’ll see you in there soon.

By Liz Edwards

Thursday, 10 May 2012

At The Car Wash

If your car hasn't seen the inside of a car wash in a while then get yourself down to St Mary's Primary School this Saturday!

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£2.50? At that price it doesn't even matter if it rains the next day! (Let's face it, it will). 

Friends of St Mary's Car Wash

St Mary's Primary School, Broomfield Drive, Reddish, Stockport

Saturday 12th May, 10am - 1pm

 

Tuesday, 8 May 2012

Snooker Loopy

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With the snooker world championships just finishing, you might fancy yourself as the next Ronnie O'Sullivan or Chas Hodges (look, he's holding a cue in the picture above. I don't care if he doesn't actually play snooker or how his actual profession is singing about rabbits), Reddish Conservative Club have launched their summer league for members.

The cost is £1 per week, it's every Tuesday at 8pm. There's a handicap for all players, mine is the fact I need to stand on a box to see over the table, and the top eight get to share a prize fund.

For more information, click on the link below or contact the Conservative Club on 432-1530

Reddish Conservative Club

Twitter

Facebook

 

By Jez Myers

Monday, 7 May 2012

Dog Messing Me Around



One of the major problems in Reddish is, in my opinion, the sheer volume of dog mess that seems to be clogging up the streets - in particular on Gorton Road.

Now before I start this, can I please point something out? I am not the sort of person to take my grievances to the local newspaper at the first opportunity. I am not the sort of person that writes a letter that is sub-edited by the paper with a witty title - written under a pseudonym. I, dear reader, am simply one man. One man that's trod in a lot of dog mess on Gorton Road.

I've called Stockport Council twice so far about the mess that's being left on the road, only to be told that they have 'signs' up telling people they could be fined £50 if their dog vents it's bowels on the street. These signs amount to little more than glorfied window stickers stuck to a lamp post - very similar in style to the one below:

Dog mess sign


Firstly, the lady on the phone was apologetic - Stockport, she said 'has a problem' with dog mess in the streets (depressing, no?). She promised to send a clean-up team to the stretch of Gorton Road that was affected. She then passed me through to the local dog warden department, who promptly sent some people out to make sure that the stickers were stuck to the right lamp posts. They were, yet the dog's mess still remains.

This is incredibly frustrating to me, as I have to walk up Gorton Road to Reddish North train station every morning, and I am constantly having to dodge the mess. I can only image the problem that parents and the less able-bodied members of our community have with dodging this. If it's a nightmare getting out of my shoes, then I can only imagine how hard it is to get it out of the wheels of a pram or wheelchair.

If you own a dog, then if it takes a massive, Mr. Whippy-style crap on the ground whilst you're out walking it, PICK IT UP. If you can't bend down to pick up your dog's mess, then you shouldn't own a dog. I don't care how old you are, there are plenty of tools and utensils on the market to help cope with the stuff coming out of your dog.

And if you are concerned about the amount of dog mess that is in your area of Reddish, then please contact the council. They receive over 700 complaints about fouling in the Stockport area a year, so they've  put together an online form to help you organise a street cleansing. Street cleansing sounds like quite a dodgy term, but trust me, it's a Good Thing.

I would imagine that a good 98% of dog owners in the Reddish area are conscientious, and clean up after their furry friends. But, as always, the 2% of people that cannot be bothered to pick up after themselves are making the streets of Reddish a lot less appealing to residents and visitors.

I'd like the council to lead from the front on this, and not leave it to the residents. I've seen some great signage up in Wigan, which is clear, hard to tamper with, and stands out.

Wigan dog mess sign


What do you think? Do you have a problem with dog fouling in your area? Do you have any examples of a community catching persistent foulers in the act? If so, share your story below...

By Ben Stroud

Reddish Business Forum - The Reddfest Launch Event



When we set up Reddish news, one of the main aims was to let people know about what was going on in the community. That's not just for the general public but also for local businesses too. I've attended several of these events and they're great for looking at how businesses can interact with each other.

The event is being held at

Reddish Conservative Club
1 Westbourne Grove
SK5 6UD


it's on

Wednesday, 9 May 2012 from 17:30 to 19:30


There will be a an opportunity to meet ReddFest stakeholders, discover what the festival organisers have planned for this year and discuss ways the business community can make the most of the event.

It will also be attended by the new Mayor of Stockport and there will be a buffet and wine or soft drinks available. Yes, wine!!!!

If you want to attend,  you can get a free e-ticket from here RBFevent

For more information on Reddish Business Forum, you can follow them on twitter here or visit their website here

 

By Jez Myers

Saturday, 5 May 2012

Why We Love Reddish Councillors

Now, irrespective of your political leanings (and as a blog we try very hard to not favour one party over any other) you can't help but be touched by this heartwarming twitter based story.

Whilst waiting for the election results to come through a few nights ago, an interesting tweet popped up.

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This immediately pushed various comical images into my head of a person in a big rosette frantically running around, shouting and flailing their arms in the Stockport Town Hall. Who would be responsible for such an act though?

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For this reason alone, Paul Moss, we salute you!

By Jez Myers

Friday, 4 May 2012

Labour hold Reddish

The country is waking up to a shift in the political landscape and I'm sure that over the coming days we will hear numerous expert opinions and excuses over why some seats were won and why some were lost. Most importantly what has happened in Reddish and what does this mean for us?

In Reddish North, Labour candidate Kate Butler received 2027 votes, took 69% of the vote and was declared the winner. Meanwhile, in Reddish South, some scarily similar results were seen as Labour candidate Andy Verdeille won with 2028 votes, 70% of the vote.

In total Labour took 8 out of the 21 available seats on Stockport council. The Lib Dems did not escape the national backlash and although they managed to win 10 seats they suffered the loss of council leader Dave Goddard, who lost by just 45 votes, whilst two other members scraped through with majorities in double figures. The Tories won just 2 seats.

What happens to the council leadership is unclear at this point, but we understand that Labour will not go into a coalition with the Lib Dems.

Congratulations Kate and Andy, we look forward to seeing what you achieve in Reddish over the next few years!

Thursday, 3 May 2012

Jubilee Fun Times!

Make sure you keep a space in your diary for the Houldsworth Mill - Shopping Village  Indoor (wise - we live in Manchester) Street Party on the Sunday 3rd of June!