OBSTRUCTED PAVEMENT CLEAR AT LAST

I am pleased to say at long last I have managed to get the Council to cut back the overgrowth at the corner of Dyas Road and Old Oscott Lane. After months of indecision the Housing department accepted it was their responsibility and the offending bushes have been cut back to allow better access for pedestrians.

SEASONS GREETINGS

I would like to wish readers of this blog

 A Happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year

DON'T FORGET THE ELDERLY DURING THE FESTIVE SEASON

Don’t forget to keep an eye on elderly friends and neighbours over the festive season. This can be a lonely time for some of them.

Why not pop in and say hello and offer to fetch them a bit of shopping when you go for yours. Or simply give an elderly resident or friend a ring to see how they are. A few words may well break up the day for an elderly resident living on their own.

WATCH THIS BLOG FOR POSTS BY THE FRIENDS OF THE QUESLETT NATURE RESERVE.

The Friends of the Queslett Nature Reserve are having problems with their blog at the moment and have asked me to request all FQNR memberS check on this blog for details of the FQNR activities for the for TIME BEING

IN THE MEAN TIME ON BEHALF OT THE FQNR COMMITTEE MAY I WISH EVERYONE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

THE ELIM CHURCH FOOD BANK CHRISTMAS DINNER WAS JUST WHAT WAS NEEDED.

It was an honour to be asked to go along with Councillor Des Hughes (Kingstanding) to the Elim Church to day to meet with a number of local residents enjoying there Food Bank members Christmas dinner.
Elim Church working with the Hawthorn Traders with funding from Oscott and Kingstanding Wards Community Chests, as well as money raised from others, put on a well attended event for some of the needier families in the area.
Those using the Food Bank service (nominated by organisations like the Social Services and doctors) where invited to pop in for a Christmas lunch and to listen to Christmas music.

There were crackers, turkey and Christmas puddings all round for everyone to enjoy.
 Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, however it is very sad to think that in Oscott, this sort of event is needed, as for some children it will be the only taste of Christmas they get.
 It is a very sad sign of the times when so many need so much.

Well done to the Elim Church and Hawthorn Road Traders, volunteers for all their hard work.

THE LAST OSCOTT ELDERLY GROUP RESIDENTS MEETING OF THE YEAR

I attended the Oscott Elderly Residents group finale Tea and Coffee morning of the year and was pleased to see so many there.
However I was sad to learN of the Death of Margaret Walsh yesterday, as although she was a comparatively new member of the group she was an active one who was well liked. She will be missed by all.

The session its self went very well with with plenty of mince pies and light refreshments to go round. There was also a raffle for a large food hamper and plenty of friendly chats going on which Councillor Tristan Chatfield and I enjoyed.
Well done to Maureen and her team of organisers who have done so well for the group this year ensuring many elderly Oscott residents have some where to go too keep active to make new friends .

BUS SERVICES OVER THE FESTIVE SEASON

·         23^rd December – Saturday Service

·         24^th December – Saturday Service

·         25^th December – No Service

·         26^th December – Sunday Service between 07:00-20:00

·         27^th December – Saturday Service

·         28^th December – Normal Saturday Service

·         29^th December – Normal Sunday Service

·         30^th December – Saturday service

·         31^st December – Saturday Service

·         1^st January – Mostly Sunday Service

·         2^nd January – Normal Services Resume

NB. There are local variations to some of this information and start/finish times maybe slightly different to normal, 


For further details
http://jp.networkwestmidlands.com/centro/XSLT_SELTT_REQUEST?language=en
 

MARY VALE ELDERLY GROUP PROJECT HAD A GOOD CHRISTMAS "DO"

I managed to Pop in and say hello and Happy Christmas to the members of the Mary Vale Elderly project who were enjoying their Christmas "do".
The food looked good and the excellent Cardinal Wiseman choir sounded really good.
It was nice to see the elderly members mixing so well with young people and every one was enjoying them selves.
Well done to all those involved in organising and helping out on the day.

REMINDER CHRISTMAS PERIOD WASTE COLLECTION DATES

Reminder: Christmas period waste collection dates

• Christmas Day - Wednesday 25 December – no collection
• Boxing day - Thursday 26 December – no collection
• New Year’s Day - Wednesday 1 January – normal scheduled collections

For those residents who normally receive a refuse collection on a Wednesday or Thursday (falling on 25 and 26 December) will receive a collection on Wednesday (1 January) or Thursday (2 January).

Residents who have a recycling collection service due on Wednesday or Thursday (falling on 25 and 26 December) will receive a collection on Wednesday (8 January) or Thursday (9 January).

The city’s five Household Recycling Centres will be open as normal each day, except on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, for any residents with large quantities of waste or recycling that they wish to dispose of between their scheduled collections.

There is also a wide variety of recycling banks around the city for those who may be unable to get to any of the recycling centres.

A SPECTACULAR, SPECTACULAR CHRISTMAS EVENT WELL DONE TO THOSE INVOLVED

The Elim Church in association with the Hawthorn Traders Association put on a truly spectacular event on Saturday 14th Dec. The event is growing every year with more and more local residents attending.
Sadly I only managed to attend for about an hour but there were queues all along the road waiting to get in. These queues were marshaled well by the organisers and the extra car parking (re the land at the side of the Elim Church) was well used.
As usual the refreshments went down well and Father Christmas and his busy elves were there to make sure the younger children have a say about Christmas. In fact they informed me when I met them that the children there would receive a gift.
 It was also pleasant to here the Carol singers in action.

Well Done to all those concerned in helping at this event and also well done to the team who helped at the recent sleigh ride which was seen out and about recently distributing gifts to a number of needy families in the area.

GREEN BAGS ARE NO LONGER COLLECTED

A number of residents are still leaving bags of green waste out for collection. These bags are no longer collected.
(Where they have been genuinely missed as part of the last collection of the year i am trying to get them removed.

If you want to be part of the new green waste collection scheme there is a fee of £35 which is payable to the Birmingham City Council. The collections from those using this scheme will start in the early spring.

DONT FOR GET SICK ANIMALS AT CHRISTMAS

Birmingham, Kingstanding PDSA Charity Shop

 With all the excitement of Christmas coming up it can be easy to forget the continued plight of sick animals and there is often the added problem of animals being given as pets for Christmas only in some cases to be not wanted and neglected  at a later date. Also  during tough times like this when a number of households are facing cuts in their budgets, animal welfare can sometimes become an after thought.
Help sick animals by supporting the Peoples Dispensary for Sick Animals.

The Birmingham, Kingstanding PDSA Charity Shop in Oscott sells a wide range of high quality clean donated clothes available at very reasonable prices. 
They also sell a range of Books, kitchen equipment and toys at the Kingstanding PDSA Charity Shop so you can get yourself a good book to read as well as some bargains for your kitchen and Children, whilst helping support the PDSA to help injured and sick pets.
I
At the Kingstanding Hawthorn Road PDSA Charity Shop they also offer a range of seasonal goods including calenders, diaries and Christmas cards at at the festive time of year. 

If you would like to donate something to our Birmingham, Kingstanding PDSA Charity Shop then please contact the store on 0121 382 2556 . They are always in need of extra donations to help support the charity.
The , Kingstanding PDSA Charity Shop is located in  Oscott on 228 Hawthorn Road. The staff at this shop are all helpful and friendly so why not pop in.

Please don't forget to give your pets a good time at Christmas.

CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR SAT 14TH DECEMBER AT ELIM CHURCH WARREN ROAD

The Elim Church along with the Hawthorn Traders Association  (and a small donation for the Oscott Ward Committee Community Chest)  are holding their Christmas Spectacular on Saturday 14th December 12 to 4pm – come rain, shine or a few feet of snow, the Christmas 
Spectacular annual event is a popular event in Kingstanding. With literally hundreds and hundreds of people being welcomed into the church for craft, face painting refreshments, carol singing and a visit to Santa (complete with gift).

This is just the sort of thing which the community need during these trying times and I would like to say a big thank you for all those volunteers who are putting in the time and effort to arrange this event..

KEEPING IN TOUCH

As a Local Councillor representing Oscott I like to think I do what I can to keep in touch with residents.

In order to do this I regularly have street walk about ’s  where I speak to residents and leave letters or cards to help residents who I have not spoken to , (these have my contact details). With the help of these it is easy to contact me if residents so wish.
 I am always interested in residents views and concerns although clearly  I cannot promise to resolve them all id do try to help if I can.

Clearly I have an email address Keith.Linnecor@birmingham.gov.uk. and I have a message service 303 2039.

I write this blog to keep people informed about some of the things I am doing and also use twitter. Keith Linnecor@Twitter.

I do on occasions join with my 2 colleagues Councillor Barbara Dring and Councillor Tristan Chatfield help distribute joint leaflets around the ward.

I also try and use the local media from time to time to try and keep residents informed about what is happening in the area..

For those who prefer the old fashioned letter as a means to contact me they can write to me C/o the Birmingham City Council House B1 1BR or pop into one of my Councillor surgeries which I hold on the 4^th Tuesday in the month at 9.30am at the Old Oscott Community Centre or at the 610 

Community Centre on the 4^th Saturday in the month at 10.30am.

By the means above I hope people recognise it is relatively easy to keep in touch with me if you so wish..