Staffordshire's Life
A look at human-interest stories in the county, day by day
If you're looking for a run-down of the daily BBC coverage of serious news in the county, please go to the BBC News Search and type in "Staffordshire" - and you'll get the full day by daylist
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January 2005
Newest stories at the top, ie in date reverse order |
Racers People living close to Festival Park in Stoke on Trent sat hundreds of teenage drivers descend on the park at weekends; and the boy-racers stay until the early hours. They say the noise is unbearable. The boy racers say they come to show off their cars and their music systems but many insist they don't come here to break the law.
For the next few weeks police will be here, in force, to trap speeding drivers and hope to be able to stop this area from turning into an unofficial night-time race track.
Motorway advertising - clutter or income?Phillip Robinson, a livestock farmer right next to junction 16 of the M6, has responded to the local authorities who are calling on the government to pass legislation banning the large advertising hoardings in farmers' fields by motorways. Mr Robinson says the hoardings are a welcome source of extra income for struggling farmers.
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But he recognised that countryside campaigners and some safety experts want them banned.
Ten years of The Forest It's the tenth anniversary of the day a large part of East Staffordshire was officially declared part of the National Forest. See more about the National Forest27/01/05
Children' stories Stories by scores of schoolchildren in Burton will soon end up in a book. Pupils in five of the town's primary schools are working with an author, Maria Whatton, on a collection of stories inspired by myths, fairy tales, and their own experiences. The book will appear at an East Staffordshire storytelling festival in April. 27/01/05
Say yes! Rock band "Don't Say No" are through to the final 30 of the National Student Music Awards, which get under way today. The bands' roots go back to the time some of them met as pupils at Thomas Alleyne's school in Uttoxeter. 26/01/05
Uttoxeter big screen Approval's been given for a big cinema and leisure complex in Uttoxeter. Local developer Malcolm Barrett has won planning permission for a three-screen cinema and an eight-lane bowling alley on Town Meadows Way, behind Tesco's. Mr Barrett says if all goes according to plan, building work could start within four to six weeks, with the development finished by late autumn. 25/01/05
Goodness Gracious... Comedy actors Meera Syal and Sanjeev Bhaskar have got married away from the limelight in a low-key register office ceremony. Syal, who was raised in Eddington, a small village in south Staffordshire, plays her new husband's grandmother in the spoof chat show "The Kumars at Number 42". The ceremony, for close family only, was held in Lichfield in Staffordshire. 25/01/05
Muslim concern Mahboob Yousaf of Burton's Inter-Faith network claims the image of Islam in the town has been damaged, even though the town's mosque has now been re-opened. The mosque in Uxbridge Street was shut down by police last November after fights between opposing religious factions.
Mr Yousaf says he welcomes the new interim committee and new religious leader but says the whole affair was distasteful.17/01/05
Elvis trib "One Night" is the thousandth number one since the charts began - and it's by Elvis Presley. To mark the event, fans Terry and Marjorie Bentley are inviting people to view their "Gatesland" in Cannock. The gates to Gatesland are the exact replica of the gates of Graceland, Elvis' home in America, and the real music room in Graceland is copied exactly in the living room of Gatesland... and more!17/01/05
Lichfield best at rubbish Lichfield District Council has been named as the best local authority in the country for the amount of rubbish that gets recycled - nearly fifty per cent of all their waste. Bottom of the pile is Cannock Chase Council, recycling just 8 per cent of rubbish.
Murder anniversary Today is the thirtieth anniversary of the kidnap of the Wolverhampton student who was heir to the Whittle Coach Company. Seventeen year-old Lesley Whittle, a student at Wulfrun College was abducted from her family home in Shropshire, and Donald Nielsen, known as the Black Panther, left a note demanding a £50,000 ransom for her return. After a series of police blunders and failed ransom drops, Lesley's body was eventually discovered 52 days later in a drain shaft in Bathpool Park, Kidsgrove, in Staffordshire. She died hanging by a steel wire round her neck. Nielsen was caught later that year and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1976. 14/01/05
Muffy is a TV starBBC Midlands Today cameras visited a Stafford hospital, not to interview doctors - but to film a dog!
Muffy visits children at the Mid Staffordshire General Hospital every week as part of a programme arranged by the charity Pets as Therapy. Hospital staff believe there can be real benefits from having specially trained pets on the wards.
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Muffy could also be the cleanest dog in the UK. He has to be bathed groomed, his nails have to be trimmed and his teeth cleaned before each visit to the hospital.
One of Muffy's greatest successes is a six year old boy called Kyle Smal from Stafford who has to go to the hospital every month for vital treatment.17/01/05
Education league tables There were wide variations in the performance of different areas of England as seen in the annual results tables for 2004, with the two education authorities in the county - Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent - in the bottom half of the table. However, Stafford Grammar was one of the 200 top schools in England for GCSE exam performance and Newcastle under Lyme School one of the 200 top schools in England for A/AS-level and Key Skills exams. For links to details of all schools performances, see Education Results13/01/05
Blowy weather High winds have been affecting parts of Staffordshire over the weekend. In Lichfield, a three-storey building under construction collapsed. 10/01/05
Noise support Support for Alton Towers as it fights a noise ban given in the Autumn has come from an unexpected quarter - a local residents. Gina Dickerson, who lives near the main entrance to the park, is campaigning against the ban, and has organised a meting to protest against the ban - because she says the Towers is important for the local economy and the park needs to continue unimpeded. 10/01/05
Muslims fly out Over five hundred Muslims from this region took-off on the first of 20 special flights from Manchester Airport heading for the holy cities of Makkah and Madina in Saudi Arabia, for the Hajj. This year, more than 6,000 people are expected to begin the Hajj, a pilgrimage that every Muslim must do at least once in their lifetime, from Manchester Airport, from where the new flighst are leaving.The flights allow the Muslim community to make the journey direct from this area, rather than having to make flight connections in London or at other airports across Europe. 01/01/05
Web-love A website for East Staffordshire Borough Council's been voted one of the best in the country. It's won awards for its clarity and accessibility - making it into the top ten of council sites nationwide. It's content has also been praised by the Plain English campaign. 01/01/05
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