Welcome To the May/June edition of Citylife magazine.
In this issue, you can read about World Environment Day taking place on 5 June and how you can show your support and really make a difference.
The EAT! festival is back in NewcasteGateshead offering exciting opportunities to experience unique and exciting food – how yummy!
Why not sit down and have a cuppa and read our features about the hard working volunteers at Newcastle Citizens Advice Bureau and the Recruited to Recycle feature.
In our next edition watch out for the launch of a new regular feature as we team up with Anna Foster from Metro Radio’s “Tony Horne In The Morning”. Anna and I will be checking out “what’s new” in the city and reviewing new restaurants, bars, family attractions and much more – plus giveaways and celebrity gossip.
It’s fantastic to team up with Metro Radio and it will be lovely to welcome another working mum on board the magazine – thanks Anna!
Look forward to speaking to you in July,
Kind regards
Julie Knox – Editor, Citylife
Download the pdf for Citylife May/June (3.42mb) or read the articles below on-line. The pdf also includes advertisements, Council diary and What's on.
News
Launch of neighbourhood helpline – 0300 1000 101 We've joined forces with Sunderland City Council in a unique partnership to provide a 24 hour, seven day a week helpline for local people.
City Council has agreed the budget and Council Tax for 2008/09 Find out about the council's budget
It’s a dog’s life Changes in the law mean the police will no longer accept stray dogs at police stations and we now have to make arrangements for them to be looked after.
Crackdown on loansharks Following successful pilot schemes to establish two dedicated teams to tackle unlicensed illegal money lending in Glasgow and Birmingham the Government decided to roll the schemes out nationally.
City library reaches milestone Newcastle’s new £40m library has reached another milestone.
Listen to Walker’s Voices for Change live on local radio Community groups and schools in Walker will be broadcasting on the community radio station, NE1fm, from 16 - 20 June between 4 and 7 pm as part of the Voices for Change project.
Features
Polish Festival A month-long festival is taking place in Newcastle in May to promote Polish culture and sport.
Magpie star backs fire service safety project Newcastle United and England striker Alan Smith is backing a campaign to reduce accidents and injuries in young people.
EAT! NewcastleGateshead food festival back for seconds in 2008 EAT! NewcastleGateshead will run from 3-22 May and forms part of NewcastleGateshead programme of world-class festivals and events for 2008, managed by culture10.
Health and wellbeing - read all about it! Newcastle's first dedicated health and well-being resource launched at Gosforth Library
Job’s done for John John Rushford, one of our Facilities Services Supervisors retired recently and was honoured at a presentation at Heaton Community Centre.
Celebrating the Great Northern Miners Tyne Bridge Publishing is launching, The Great Northern Miners, a very special book that tells the story of mining in Northumberland and County Durham, and more importantly, the men who risked their lives in the darkness to win coal.
To be Fair we’re great! A two-day conference was held at St Mary’s RC Comprehensive on Benton Park Road, which saw 250 young people from the feeder primary schools taking part in workshops involving Fairtrade cookery, Fairtrade cotton tie dye, ICT, simulation games, drama and sports activities which included a surprise visit from Newcastle Eagles star Fab Flounroy.
Tyne Theatre and Opera House The world’s oldest working Victorian theatre on Westgate Street, arguably Newcastle’s richest cultural possession, has been through the wars but is now safe for generations to come.
Children’s creative character competition! Create your own new and exciting book character and win a free month’s membership at Explore Learning!
Food Safety Week (9-13 June) Did you know that one in 10 people suffer from food poisoning every year, with the majority of cases happening in the home?
The benefits of cycling! Welfare Rights Officer, Maggie Bailey, has abandoned her car to use her bike when she visits people in their homes, pedalling up to an amazing 2000 miles in just two years!
Serving you in your community We want our centres to include the types of services which you need and want, and be accessible to everyone who uses them. Because of this we set up Community Focus Groups (CFG) across the city so you can have your say
Ruby Anniversary for Civic Centre This November sees the Civic Centre celebrate its ruby anniversary and, to commemorate this milestone, we are asking the people of Newcastle for their personal memories of the building.
Are you LINked? A LINk in Newcastle will be a local community-based network of organisations and individuals committed to strengthening the voice of patients, users of social care services and the public. Feedback from the LINk will help in the process of planning and improving health and social care services.
Making life Easier West End residents will be able to access a range of council services at a special one-stop shop which opens in Benwell later this year.
Promoting independence and choice for disabled people Disability North is a registered charity previously know as Newcastle Council for the Disabled. It provides independent, confidential and impartial advice to anyone who needs information or advice on disability or mobility issues. This article focuses on the free advice and support provided by the Direct Payments Support Service.
Dangerous misuse of scooters With the increase in the use of scooters there are a growing number of accidents involving both users and pedestrians. Local organisations such as Disability North have been working to raise awareness of the issues around the safe use of scooters. This work led to a report by Look North being broadcast late last year which highlighted the dangers caused by their misuse.
Welford Centre’s newsround team reports The newsround group has been busy going to meetings held across the city. They have been talking to people with disabilities to find out what is important them. At the meetings people said the following things
What do you think? A Comment Card Survey has been carried out recently across our Customer Service Centres at the Civic Centre, East End, Outer West and Kenton
Newcastle Citizens Advice Bureau Newcastle Citizens Advice Bureau is an independent charity supporting clients from all parts of Newcastle.
Council Tax annual billingBy now you should have all received your Council Tax annual bill. This year we want to improve again on how quickly we collect your Council Tax and the amount of Council Tax we collect.
Opportunity to sail on world’s largest tallship The world’s largest tall ship “Sedov” will be visiting several UK ports this year and it will be coming to Newcastle in May.
Regulars
News from Newcastle NHS Primary Care TrustWin a holiday, take a Chlamydia, dental services, your choice of hospital and the new centre in Molineux Street
Are you getting the benefit? Benefit rules are changing all the time, so you can read up here to see if any of the changes will affect you.
Everyone’s tomorrow - Be Inspired... If you are are looking for a change of life direction, an opportunity to learn something new, a chance to try new activities, a way to be involved in your community or simply information on facilities and services in your area, the “Be Inspired” Open Day is for you.
Everyone’s tomorrow - Help the Aged offers advice on money A new money advice service called “Your Money Matters” has been introduced for older people and their carers who live in the East End of Newcastle.
Everyone’s tomorrow - The safe way to find a good trades person The Quality of Life Partnership has commissioned the Newcastle Trades Register. It is a list of over 50 reliable trades people
Everyone's tomorrow - Westgate Bazaar updateWe introduced you to this new section in the last edition of Citylife. We listened to readers views on what issues and priorities should be included in this section.
Competition Winners – May/June 2008 Find out who won the prizes in the last edition of Citylife.
Bridging NewcastleGateshead
Everyone’s tomorrow - Newcastle unites to put dignity at the heart of care services We’re leading the way in championing dignity in adult care, and making sure our city’s senior citizens and other adult care service users are always treated with the respect they deserve.
Everyone’s tomorrow - Old Spice take off for Denmark! Members of the Old Spice drama group are packing their bags and heading off to Horsens, Denmark to take part in Senior Games Week.
Community News
Running miles for children’s smiles Last year the sun shone as hundreds of runners went under starter’s orders to raise funds for sick and disabled children.
Stroke Association bike ride Every five minutes someone in England and Wales suffers a stroke and it is the third biggest killer in the UK.
One lucky winner gets on his bike! We announce the winner of the cyclone ridgeback bike provided by Cyclelogical
Denton Burn Methodist Church Denton Burn flower and craft festival and the Tuesday Fellowship
Wyndam Primary celebrates 50th birthday Wyndham Primary School is proud to be celebrating its 50th birthday this year.
Christian Aid plant sale There will be a coffee morning and plant sale on Saturday 10 May at 10am at Westerhope Methodist Church.
Refurbishment of graveyard at St John’s, Whorlton During 2008 the graveyard at St John’s Church, Whorlton, in the Outer-West of Newcastle is to be refurbished.
Ken goes from green fingers to green pastures City gardener Ken Wood hung up his gardening gloves and as he retires after over 30 years tending to the city’s parks and green spaces.
Celebrating our overseas volunteers
Every Child Matters
Five schools amongst most improved in the country Five of our schools had praised heaped on them earlier this year when they were named amongst the most improved schools in the entire country.
New home from home for disabled children and young people opens The purpose-built Cheviot View Centre in Newbiggin Hall has been built to replace the old Hartburn Walk Centre in Kenton, and has twice the floor space of the original building.
Magpies’ hero encourages youngsters to tackle a book Newcastle United star Steven Taylor is urging city youngsters to tackle a book after being named Newcastle’s Reading Star for a fourth time.
The city’s Fusion programme continues to grow Any Newcastle resident between the ages of five – 18 can obtain a FUSION card and enjoy anything from basketball, boxercise, swimming, football to climbing, dance and much more!
Teachers meet to cook school meals improvements Over 100 head teachers and school cooks met at the Centre for Life earlier this year to cook up improvements to our school meals.
Safeguarding children board are heroes The Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board (NSCB) has been awarded a “Heroes Award” by the Virtual College for their work supporting local childcare professionals complete an on-line learning course in child protection.
Sure Start's North Moor Children's CentreFood hygiene success and turning a wilderness into a secret garden
Connexions connected to council Connexions Newcastle, the advice and support service for 13 to 19-year-olds, became part of the council on 1 April.
Top marks for St John VianneySt John Vianney RC Primary School “provides an outstanding quality of education and care” and is “a caring happy school where everyone is valued and appreciated and pupils reach their full potential” – according to independent inspectors Ofsted.
Fenham Children’s CentreProposed healthy eating programme
Students praised for 10 years 100% attendance Six of our students who have gone an astonishing 10 years without missing a single day of school were rewarded at a special event at St James’ Park.
Carnival comes to Monkchester Nursery Monkchester, Nursery, carnival
Continued improvement for our schools National test results for 14-year-olds published earlier this year showed Newcastle schools continuing to improve, with results in English going up by over six times the national average and the city bucking the national trend with improved results for Maths.
Nunsmoor Children’s Centre Nunsmoor Children’s Centre provides early years activities, play sessions, health, training and education services for families in the West End of Newcastle. The centre is children and parent friendly where we work continuously to ensure we meet the needs of local families.
Improving Your Environment
Help us reduce our ‘waste’ line Every year we collect many thousands of tonnes of rubbish from Newcastle’s bins. But lots of it isn’t actually rubbish at all, it’s valuable material that could have been re-used, recycled or turned into compost.
Recycle your old mobile phone In conjunction with Oxfam’s “bRing bRing” campaign we are asking you to donate your mobile to help raise funds for Oxfam.
Newcastle Community Green Festival For the second year running, the Green Festival will be a BBC Springwatch event featuring a whole host of family friendly activities.
Make a world of difference If you’ve been promising to go green but haven’t got round to it, now’s your chance.
FREE home insulation from Newcastle Warm Zone Beat the fuel price increases and do your bit for the environment!
Farmers’ Market at Grey’s Monument Friday 6 June 9.30am-2.30pm
Recycling’s a winner! Keen recycler Ross Heffernan is the latest £1000 prize winner in our Recycle and Win! Prize Draw.
Recycling points and household waste recycling centres There is a wide selection of recycling points to choose from across the city.
Teenage pregnancy rates fall in city Figures released by the National Office of Statistics show teenage conception rates in Newcastle have fallen by 6% a decrease of 15% since 2004.
Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life 2008