September

There's good news and bad news in the pages of this month's Village Voice.

Let's start with the first, and the announcement that the Wakes will be back in town. Albert Holland, whose family have been running the Melbourne Wakes for more than 100 years, said the event was currently planned to take place at the usual time in October.
With the Festival kicking off this month, there is plenty to be enthusiastic about.

Things are certainly looking bright, too, for local area pupils with outstanding results at A, BTEC and GCSE levels being recorded.
Chellaston Academy say they are "immensely proud of all the achievements of our students" after an "enormously challenging year”.

On a downbeat note the bad stuff features the vandalism that has caused Melbourne's public toilet to be closed for repairs. Barely a year since they were opened, the loos have had wiring torn out and the baby changing unit damaged in what parish council chair Sheila Hicklin called a "mindless" act.

In other news we report on the Second World War bomb that was netted by a couple in the canal near Swarkestone.

And the number 100 figures prominently this month: the Hilly Fields allotments celebrate their centenary; Noel Newman, who grew up in Swarkestone, joins the centenarian club; while two teenage Ticknall cricketers both hit tons in the same match.

With an Olympic medal winner making an appearance, there's a lot to read in this edition.


The Village Voice Team.