Charity CD to buy a cow

I was delighted to hear this week from a friend who was on the same Albania trip as I was in May 2008 and who has come up with a novel way to help the church in Lushnje.

Janet King, a trustee with the European Christian Mission and a member of her village choir, has helped produce a charity CD with the profits going to help a poor family buy a cow.

She said the visit made a lasting impact on her and she enjoyed meeting Berti Dosti, leader of the Rruga e Paqes (Way of Peace) Church and founder of Victory School, whose story is told in my other book God’s Secret Listener, published by Lion/Monarch of Oxford. 

Janet wrote in an email: “In Lushnje I found a group of people determined to make the world around them a better place for many families and young people with a variety of social, community and educational projects.

  

“Recently, with the help of aid from Holland they have rebuilt two primary schools in local villages.  

“Now the Cow for Life Project (CFLP) is one of their latest initiatives aimed at helping poor families from two villages by providing them with a cow which is either in calf or has a calf.” 

She added: “During a visit in August 2011 I was privileged to see ‘Daisy’, pictured below, as we called her, being delivered to one such family in Bitaj. 

“It was amazing.  To receive a cow is life changing for such poor families who suddenly find themselves able to have fresh milk, butter and yogurt. 

“If all goes to plan, Daisy’s first two calves will be sold and the proceeds put into buying another healthy cow in calf for another needy family.”

Janet said that when about 20 members of Burton Village Choir, pictured below, came together to make music for the St James' Carol Service at Ab Kettleby, Leicestershire, in December 2010 it was such fun that they met up  again in November 2011 to practise another five songs for Christmas.

“It seemed a pity to stop there,” added Janet, “we were enjoying ourselves so much we decided to keep going.

“We wanted to share something of our joy in making music to try to help others less fortunate than ourselves.”

They joined forces with nearby St Mary’s Choir in Melton Mowbray and this CD is the result.

All the proceeds from this CD, entitled You Raise Me Up will go towards the Cow for Life Project.

No money will go in administration fees as it will be transferred directly by Janet to a special CFLP account held by The Way of Peace Church.

The project has gone so well that they hope to raise enough money to buy two cows.

For more details on how to buy a CD for £10 email janetking476@btinternet.com 

Tea and talk at a National Trust house

The most interesting location where I have given a talk recently has to be Sunnycroft, in Wellington, Shropshire.

This substantial red-brick villa is a typical, small suburban gentleman’s residence from the late-Victorian era which is now managed by the National Trust.

I was invited to speak about my books by the Sunnycroft Afternoon Tea Group, some of whom are pictured below.

I had been once before to this villa whose contents and decorations have been largely unaltered for more than 100 years.

But it was good to see the place without the visitors streaming through – over Easter they had more than 1,000 people come in during the four days.

It was also interesting talking to some of the 100 volunteers who help keep the house and gardens in first class condition as well as being guides and answering the visitors’ many questions.

I had a number of questions from the Tea Group after my talk on the Lion Hotel, Shrewsbury, and I was delighted that I sold copies of that book and God’s Secret Listener published by Lion Hudson Monarch of Oxford.

As befitting this welcoming group we finished with a cup of tea and excellent home-made cakes.

It was a very pleasant afternoon – despite the torrential rain outside.

If you would like me to give a talk to your group on either the fascinating history of The Lion Hotel in Shrewsbury, or Albania – the country that was shut off from the rest of the world for 47 years or Editing the fourth oldest weekly paper in Britain email John@jbutterworth.plus.com

Making tracks for an unusual press launch

I have had a different Monday this week when I went to a railway company’s press launch.

Long-standing friend Pete Mason asked me to write a press release last week for a group of Stone and Stafford railway enthusiasts for whom a 20-year dream is on track this weekend.

I thought I must attend and I was really impressed by the trains, the mile-long track and all the hard work put in by the group.

The Amerton Railway, near Stowe-by-Chartley had always wanted to own the land which it had been renting near Stafford to keep alive the Staffordshire railway heritage.

Now the owner of Amerton Farm & Craft Centre, Paul Williams, has agreed to sell the field on which the line runs to the Staffordshire Narrow Gauge Railway, of which Pete is one of the directors.

To celebrate this occasion the charity is holding a special open day this Saturday (May 5) for the public to see and ride behind a number of local historic engines.

At 1pm on Saturday (May 5) the Mayor of Stafford, Cllr Stan Highfield, will cut a celebratory ribbon to herald the next 20 years of narrow gauge railway heritage in Staffordshire.

It will be almost 20 years since the then Mayor of Stafford, pictured below, officially opened the railway on the Amerton site on March 27, 1993, by cutting a ribbon and making a speech from Isabel’s footplate before the train gave the mayoral party a special trip along the line.

“It will be a day of celebration and a great chance to thank all those who have helped make this dream happen,” said Derek Luker, chairman of the railway, who added that the money had been given by members and supporters plus a mortgage from the HSBC Bank.

 “It is also an opportunity to show the county’s tremendous railway heritage which is becoming a really popular tourist attraction,” added Derek.

He said the charity was staffed by volunteers whose aim was to restore, maintain and run narrow gauge locomotives.

The 115-year-old Isabel, which used to be on a plinth outside Stafford station, will be one of the engines giving rides on Saturday (May 5) from 12 noon to 5pm.

Built in 1897 by Bagnalls of Stafford the steam engine is now fully restored and will be operating most weekends at Amerton Railway along the mile-long track.

Two other engines will also be in steam on the day; Jennie built in Tamworth in 2008 and a 2007 Paddy vertical boiler while other diesels will be on display in the yard including:

Golspie built in 1935 by the Burton-upon-Trent firm of Baguley for the Trentham Gardens railway. When that railway closed, it moved to Alton Towers and then to Amerton, where the public can see it awaiting restoration.

Dreadnought, built in 1939 by Baguley, was used in Kent, Lancashire and Walton-on-the-Naze pier, Essex. It now works passenger trains on some Saturdays and will be running at the opening

Ernie’s Engine, the small Ruston diesel locomotive from Littleton Colliery, Cannock, is now used for shunting at Amerton.

Lorna Doone, the “Wren” class quarry loco which was moved from the Birmingham Science Museum to be restored in the Amerton workshops, was built in Stoke-on-Trent in 1922 by the locomotive manufacturer Kerr, Stuart and Co Ltd.

At the special opening day will be VIPs including County, Borough and Stafford Tourism officials, donors and members of the railway and representatives from HSBC Bank.

Youngsters with special needs from the Trinity Skills for Life in Stone were to enjoy the press launch together with local mums and babies who met through the National Childbirth Trust.

So far the launch has gone brilliantly with a page one picture story, pictured below, in the Express and Star tonight (Tuesday) plus a one-minute video clip on their video site.

It certainly helped that it was the only sunny day with blue skies for more than a week.

The Burton Mail has also given the railway good coverage and I am promised the Staffordshire Newsletter and other papers will also be running the story.

If you want a fun day out this Bank Holiday weekend for all the family do go to the open day at Amerton Farm & Craft Centre on Saturday afternoon.