Meeting To Take Place

A meeting is to take place between committee members of Hale Parish Councils Memorial sub committee, Hale Carnival and the Hale Branch of the Royal British Legion, to discuss a proposal put forward by the Carnival committee, to hang/display bunting, on the railings of the memorial during Carnival day on the 13th June.

Hale Carnival Late 1990's

The above image comes from my photo archive of a past Carnival procession, showing bunting and flags in and around the memorial green, held aloft by poles, indicating that such a thing has been done in the past-done at a time when the green would have been lovengly cared for by local villager Dougy Stonehouse?

Litter Bugs

I went for my usual walk around the park on Monday morning (25th May), to take a few snaps of the new play area and, the now wonderful trees that have greened up to make the park look even more impressive.
I normally go each morning or lunch time, of a Saturday and Sunday, sometimes I park up in the new car park weekdays, just to have 5 minutes and see how the park is developing after the re-fit etc…
I thought I had climbed into the Tardis and had been transported into the future to June 13th-Carnival day, because the amount of litter knocking about, looked as though there had been an event on?
I’ll cut to the chase,, it was disappointing to see, while I was walking around, that the place was littered with all types of rubbish, from plastic blow-up guitars to ale cans and babies nappies- in and around the play area, dog exercise area and on the fields either side of the drive.. Mind you, it was a nice sunny bank holiday weekend and no doubt the sunny weather brought people out to enjoy it,, but to see the park a day after, with all sorts of litter all over the place, slightly got on my chest a bit.

Saying that, it looked worse than it actually did and no-doubt the litter will be picked up during the week, if only those who had come to Hale Park during the bank holiday weekend had put their rubbish in the bins provided, it would make the job easier for the volunteer/s and Parks Maintenance team to clear up?

Also for the last couple of weeks, a rogue vehichle has been racing up and down the drive between the car park area and the gates to Hale Hall gardens. It appears to have been scrambling around the lime tree on the new grassed area in the car park, as can be seen from the last 3 images in the photo grid

Hale Carnival 2009

Sunday evening May 10th saw members of the Hale Carnival Committee meet, to finalise arrangements for this years Carnival in Hale Village-in the park.
Chairman of the Carnival Committee, Peter Platt carefully went through the main essentials of the carnival event during the meeting, in a pre organised-set out agenda. From health and safety, showground events, promotion, to a grand 1st prize never before seen at a Hale Carnival.

This years carnival will be held in the newly landscaped Hale Park and will take place on Saturday 13th June from 12 noon till around 5.30pm.

The 2009 Carnival will include the crowning of the new rose queen, the traditional parade around Hale Village, along with events in the park including the showground events, Hale V Hale Bank Charity Football Match, Fun Fair, Donkey Rides and the raffle, for which this year the 1st prize will be a flight in a light aircraft around the North West/Chester area near Hale Village-kindly donated and flown by a local villager/pilot.
The main showground/arena will consist of an afternoons entertainment for all ages, from a large Samba band to a U2 Tribute band.
The parkland area will also include stalls from local groups, Clay Pigeon Shooting, Army Paint Balling and a climbing wall amongst other attractions on the day.
Refreshments will also be available, from Ice creams to burgers, toilets will also be available.
The Village Hall will also be in use on the day, with the usual opening of the village coffee shop for those who like to have a coffee or a cup of tea and a cake etc. In the village hall, there will also be an historical photo display, showing old photographs, maps and the likes of the village through the decades. This grand display is put together and overseen on the day, by Freeman Larry Morgan and shouldn’t be missed.

Further details, upon confirmation about the carnival, will be uploaded to the main front page of the Hale Village Online Website in the next 14 days.

Lets wish for a sunny and fine day on the 13th June, as Hale Carnival once again without fail, delivers a full days events for the village and visitors to it!?

Hale Village Comfort/Shoe Box Appeal

The below article is courtesy of Bill Sergaent-Chairman of the Hale Branch of the Royal British Legion.

Since May 2008, members of the Hale Branch of the Royal British Legion have been sending shoeboxes to troops serving in Afghanistan and in 11 months have sent more than 5,100 boxes. This has been achieved with the help of the people of Merseyside who have donated an assortment of items which we know our servicemen and women appreciate. In return, we have received over 100 letters of thanks, all emphasising how good it is to know that people back home appreciate the work they are doing and the risks they are taking – while the contents of the boxes are greatly appreciated, morale is lifted by the knowledge that complete strangers are prepared to make the effort to let them know they are not forgotten. One such letter was sent by Lieutenant (then 2nd Lt.) Ian Jones, Royal Engineers. Ian is a Liverpool man who served for 3 years with Merseyside Police before deciding his future lay with the Army. He applied for a commission and passed out with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. He recently returned home after more than 7 months in Afghanistan and called in on the Hale Branch monthly meeting to personally thank those involved with the shoeboxes. He outlined some of his experiences in Afghanistan and stressed the value of the shoeboxes which made life more pleasant for those serving but were particularly welcomed by some of their overseas colleagues who otherwise receive very little mail or news from home. Since his return, Ian has been promoted to Lieutenant. The Branch intends to continue sending their boxes while British troops are in Afghanistan and welcome any help whatsoever. If you would like to help, contact Bill Sergaent on 0151 724 3171 or Don Allerston on 0151 425 3375. A list of items we send is available from Bill or Don and any donated will be picked up by members of the Hale Branch, Royal British Legion.

Friends Of Hale Park & The Park

Tuesday night 5th May,, saw the Friends of Hale Park group meet in the function room upstairs in the Wellington Hotel, to discuss the next phases of improvements and activities for the newly landscaped Hale Park.
The meeting was chaired by Mike Wharton (chairman of the group), along with Nick Martin-the architect, from Halton Borough Councils Landscaping department. Throughout the meeting, new initiatives for events and landscaping improvements were discussed, along with a desire to go for a Green Flag status for the new park.
The park at the moment, is not 100% finished, as various areas need to be cleaned up and other areas seeded with grass seed to give a good finish later on.
Anthony-the new Hale Champion, has been busy liaising and meeting with various people from around the area, including staff from Speke Hall and Grapenhalls Walled Garden.
It was suggested that a form of educational session would take place, informing and talking to dog owners in the park of what is now expected of how to keep their animals under control and to clean up their mess in certain new zones/areas of the park.
Nick Martin provided numerous photo’s of the park, before and after the improvements for the group to see the before and after effect etc.
Nick also announced that the new interpretation boards will soon be constructed and installed around various locations in the park-and also two locations at either end of the village. The interpretation boards will give historical information about the village and parkland-past and present. Look out for them,, they will be installed in the next month or two.
A general clean up of the park will take place soon along with an official opening event, this was decided to take place within the next month or two.

For further information about the Friends of Hale Park-and Hale Park,, visit their website at:
www.friendsofhalepark.org.uk