Twelve stunning Dobcross photographs were selected for the 2011 Dobcross Calendar at yesterday's village fete. From almost 400 photographs submitted, 36 were put on public display at the fete and visitors were asked to vote for their favourites. Tim Newbold and the other volunteers had great fun running the special calendar preview stall and there was a real buzz as villagers' votes were cast. It was interesting to see how people's opinions differed, but the general feeling was that it was difficult to choose between the pictures - such was the high standard.

However, after a busy afternoon's activity, after1,860 votes were cast, the selection was made. Congratulations go to all of the finalists and especially well done to the photographers whose work was chosen on the day: Jim Grady, Robin Whalley, Richard Wallis, Helen Taylor, Sue Bluer, Tim Newbold, Laurie Wilson, Steve Harper, Kathryn Rudd, John Brierley and Simon Wray.

Thank you to everyone who took part either as photogrpaher or judge. The £50 cash prize draw was won by Alison Brophy and there was even a little money left over which will go towards producing the calendar itself. Work will commence to prepare the calendar for printing and they will go on sale sometime next month. As always, proceeds from the sales of the calendars will go to fund Dobcross village community projects. Any indivuduals or groups with an idea of how to spend this money is invited to contact the Dobcross Village Community. This can be done through the Dobcross Diary or by contacting any of the DVC members (details in the Dobcross Diary).

To avoid disappointment, you can contact the Dobcross Diary editor to reserve your copies of the 2011 Dobcross Calendar. No obligation, pay on approval. Michael dobcrossdiary@dobx.net

Sunday 27th June, 2010, CHurch Fields

Many happy returns of the day to Victor Smith, pictured today on his birthday reading the Dobcross Diary.

Victor was born on the 1-6-16. 1st June 1916. He's 94 today and has walked on Whit Friday in Dobcross from being a toddler. He only gave up very recently. Victor could well be the oldest reader of the Dobcross Diary?

Here is five month old Joseph. Anne and Simon Hunter's son and Steve and Penny Sankey of Platt Lane's first grandchild. The youngest reader?

1st Prize

Rothwell Temperance

66 bands played.

2nd Prize

Hepworth

3rd Prize

Wakefield Metropolitan

Local

Marsden

Saddleworth

Oldham (Lees)

Youth

1: Smithills Snr

2. Rochdale Youth

Henry Livings

Diggle A

participants in Whit Walks

Junior Soloist

Smithills Snr cornet

Junior Player

Rochdale Youth eEuphonium

Local Junior Soloist

Dobcross Youth cornet

Sop cornet

Smithills Snr

Youth sop cornet

Smithills Snr

Congratulations to all the bands and well done everyone who took part.

For more results, go to  http://www.whitfriday.brassbands.saddleworth.org/Winners_2010.html

The editor of the Dobcross Diary is proud to have some of his photographs featured.

If anyone finds it difficult to get to any of the shops to buy a copy, the editor will deliver to you, free of charge around Saddleworth. If anyone reading this from further afield would like a copy (copies) sent to them by post, just contact the editor to arrange postage which will be charged at actual. (Contact: Michael on 01457 829783 or by email at dobcrossdiary@dobx.net)

 Shortlisted photographs will be showcased at the Dobcross Village Fete on Saturday 10th July 2010 (Dobcross School). Everyone is invited to have fun voting for their favourites and by doing so will be entered into an exciting prize draw. The most popular photographs will be published in the 2011 Calendar.

Good Luck!

The day will begin as usual between 09.30 and 10.30 when Dobcross Silver Band & Dobcross Youth Band march from the Band Club into The Square as hundreds gather for the main service. Brass bands and joyful singing in a perfect (traffic free!) setting. Wonderful.

The day’s events include a Children’s Lunch, Fun Family Sports Activities and, of course, the world famous BAND CONTEST on Church Fields in the late afternoon and evening. For full details and times, please refer to the excellent DOBCROSS WHIT FRIDAY PROGRAMME (on sale now from all good outlets - just £2). It is packed with interesting articles & pictures, as well as containing all the information you need for Whit Friday. Proceeds from sales of the programmes will help fund next year’s event, so be sure to buy a copy or two as souvenirs.

Attached to the back of this month’s Dobx Diary (and on the WHAT'S ON section of this website) is important information prepared by the Whit Friday United Effort Committee. Please read it & tear it off to keep, as it details information & advice about traffic & parking etc.

Steve Haddican, who took the February picture in the 2010 Dobcross Calendar, had the idea for the book and said, ‘I saw the potential to produce a picture book on Saddleworth with all the proceeds going to a local charity.’

‘As well as providing a showcase for amateur local photographers, it is a great opportunity to show visitors what a great area we have on our doorstep & to highlight the fantastic entertainment that can be had with the numerous events that Saddleworth hosts (many of them for free).’

‘We also enjoyed making new friends, swapping tips and techniques & it’s certainly fuelled our passion for taking photos.’

Saddleworth Photobook COMING SOON! Follow the Saddleworth Photobook at Flickr.com and Facebook. Updates will appear here as soon as they become available.

Let's hope it is not long before these low-life criminals are apprehended and brought to justice.

It was great to see the shop open as usual on Wednesday and Sukhi can be assured of the village's continued support.

Tuesday 30th March 2010:

A blast from the past today as an ex-GM Buses bus returned to Dobcross. 5120 (SND 120X) is an MCW Metrobus, built in 1982 and restored to late 1980's livery by owner Mark Amis, a native of Lees but now living in Bristol. Mark brought his bus up for the Spring Transport Festival last weekend, and before taking it back down to the West Country spent today recreating scenes from the past in various old haunts the bus would have operated in. 5120 would have been seen regularly in Saddleworth during the years it operated from GM Buses Tameside depot.

 Despite GM Buses having passed to First and Stagecoach more than ten years ago, people were still putting their hand out to try and stop Mark's bus, and drivers and other staff from Stagecoach were pleased to see an old friend return ... in fact, one inspector in Piccadilly suggested Mark might like to do a turn in service with it!

Jon Brierley

After months of speculation, the future of an iconic Dobcross landmark has been decided. The much-loved red telephone box in The Square is to be replaced by a blue police box. Once a familiar sight in Britain, the blue police boxes are being rolled out in mainly rural villages like Dobcross as part of the government’s Local Policing Pledge initiative.

 The state-of-the-art box will benefit from free Wi-Fi access to allow police officers to submit surveillance observation reports directly to Central HQ (Uppermill). The box will also house a speed camera, CCTV with the latest face recognition technology & a decibelometer in case anyone talks too loudly on the bench. There will also be a kettle so Bobbies can enjoy their refreshment breaks. It has been suggested that, in the spirit of ‘community involvement’, residents can post small cakes and biscuits through a specially designed serving hatch if they spot an officer ‘in residence’.

 Extra space will be gained when the tunnel network under The Square is opened up, giving police officers direct access to the labyrinth below, thereby making the facilities truly TARDIS-like. However, there is no truth in the rumours that the underground chambers will be used as temporary holding bays for hoodies, rogues & scoundrels. Interfering human rights lawyers fear that some offenders might find it too upsetting to be imprisoned in a cold, damp, rat-infested, subterranean windowless cell.

Anticipating a vocal backlash from irate villagers, a spokesman for the officials declared, “Everyone has a mobile phone these days, so you don’t need the phone box. We understand you don’t like change, so the really drastic proposals have been shelved because it is an election year. And anyway you will still have a traditional British box. Blue isn’t so different from red. We do however accept that the boost to the local economy from increased visitor numbers (primarily coach loads of Doctor Who fans) won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. We suggest cask ale in The Swan instead. We know what’s best for you.”

A special opening ceremony will be performed by John Barrowman singing popular show tunes accompanied by Diggle Youth Band (Reserves) if David Tennant is too busy.

Dobcross will be the first village to see the return of the blue police box in Greater Manchester, although their reintroduction has been a great success in places like Stackton Tressel, Suffolk; Walmington-on-Sea, Kent; Penny Hassett in the Midlands and Effing Sodslaugh in The South.

Objections & comments should be forwarded, via the Dobcross Diary email address (dobcrossdiary@dobx.net) to The Association of Public Resources in Local Funding of Outsourced Legal Services by no later than the first of the month.

 Villagers voice strong reactions vocally…

“Well, it probably won’t be too bad. But I won’t like it.”

- Local person

 “It’s a disgrace. They should spend our money on potholes. I blame the Common Market.” 

- Resident

 “What phone box?”

- Neighbour

 “I prefer custard creams.”

- PC Mark Clough

 “It has recently become my lifelong dream to perform in Dob’s Moss.”

- John Barrowman

Look forward to other exciting Council hotlines, including DOG DIRT BURT on 0161 770 6644. 

 “Greetings from the land of fermented cabbage and spam gift sets, where I am an object of ridicule to young children because I don’t know my own blood type, and where the natives actually correct MY English because I don’t speak it with an American accent. Welcome to South Korea.

 I’ve been here for six months, teaching English in a “hagwon”, which is an academy for children to attend every day after regular school. It can be somewhat disheartening to work in a place with a sign outside proclaiming it to be an “ENGILSH SCHOOL”, and where students respond to assignments like Describe a whale (5-7 sentences) with answers like “IT IS A HORSE”, but I keep telling myself I must be getting through to some of them.

Most South Korean children go to three or four hagwons every night, and it is quite normal for them to study from 8am until 10pm, or even midnight! Of course, they don’t know any different, and they are always slightly appalled when they discover that there is no such thing as a hagwon in the UK. In fact it is quite effective to calm an unruly class down not by shouting, but by coolly explaining to them that when I was their age I finished school at 3pm, and after that was free to play with my friends, not buried beneath a mountain of homework. I know it’s cruel, but it works.

While I am proud to be a Dobcross boy, I have come to realise that the verbal skills I picked up there are not the greatest asset to my teaching abilities. This may come as a surprise, but of the nine foreign teachers at my school, including a Welshman, a Scotsman, and a New Zealander, it is my accent that the Korean staff and students find hardest to understand. I have even had to stop giving entry tests to new students because so few have any idea what I’m saying, despite my best efforts to speak slowly and pronounce all my Ts.

Having to regularly explain to children that English does not come from the USA can be infuriating, but if that’s all a free ticket to Asia costs then it’s nothing to whinge about, and I must say I’m having a horse of a time.”