Page 6 - link magazine
P. 6
6 FRESHBROOK & GRANGE PARK
Freshbrook Village Group Exchange teachers return
Residents' Organisation
A year in the lives of four teachers
Annual General Meeting
comes to an end when they return to
Wednesday their own schools after exchanging
11 September, 8pm jobs. Alice Warne and Ann Fisher
return this month to their jobs at
Freshbrook Community Freshbrook School occupied by
Centre Peggy Doeksen and Murial Hack-
ney from Stillwater, Minnesota who
Residents from Freshbrook and
Grange Park are invited to attend, left in July. Before they left, we
talked to them about their impres-
find out about the work of the sions.
group which includes the
management of the community For Peggy, coming to Britain has
centre and elect a new committee left her with more questions than
for the next year answers. "It's been a wonderful
year, but for me, the more you know
the less you know. I feel very posi-
tive about my contribution in school
Pets at Home but I had a panic attack towards the
end, thinking I hadn't done enough
Worried about who will Freshbrook headteacher Phillip Gurney bids bairwell to U.S. teachers Murial
or seen enough. There is just so
look after your pets whilst much more to see and to find out. Hackney, left, and Peggy Doeksen
you're on holiday? "It's been a year of chaos in your Peggy and Murial took every op- their colleagues, and the children
education system, a very stressful portunity to visit the theatre and to and parents they met in Freshbrook.
Pets At Home could be time for teachers. They are so hard tour the U.K., clocking up 20,000 Next month, we talk to Alice and
your answer. working and most surprising, miles on their travels. Ann about their experiences in Min-
they're so dramatic. The British, far Both would like to bid farewell to nesota.
Pets At Home cares for from the stereotype of being cold
pets in their own homes and unfriendly, have a senseofthea-
(sorry, no dogs). tre which permeates the culture. Reception problems forces
School assemblies and classroom
Telephone Swindon work are all an exercise in use of up TV costs for GP residents
873062 voice, creative expression and gen- Residents in Grange Park are pinning their hopes on a BBC television
for furt her details erating excitement. It's been a rev- programme to improve TV reception in their area, whilst a hotel chain
elation to be part of it." is also getting the BBC involved in the problem.
Murial reflected more on the edu- TV pictures have completely dis-
cational aspects of their year. "The appeared in some households over Poor all over
Facechoice focus of education is so different the last nine months and residents Since our short item in the
here and it took some getting used are blaming the construction of the August Link, we've had several
Pharmacy to. Here, all subjects are integrated four star DeVere Hotel on the Shaw calls and letters regarding poor
in project work throughout the day. Ridge Leisure Park, within a few TV reception from all parts of
Freshbrook We're used to separate subjects in yards of their homes. They say that West Swindon. The letters are
Village Centre their own time slots. the building which towers over their published on page 26, butdoes
"We'vebeen amazed by the work- houses is blocking out the signal, anybody have solutions?
Tel: 870226 load of British teachers. They have but have received a guarded re- Please let us know.
so many responsibilities and pre- sponse from hotel bosses.
Opening Times: pare so much of their teaching mate- Now the BBC consumer pro- be installed on the hotel roof to im-
Monday - Friday rials. They do a great job with such gramme Them & Us is looking into prove reception.
9am - 1pm limited resources." the matter says Marney Road resi- "DeVere just will not accept that
215pm - 630pm Towards the end of the year dent Brian EveralL He's hoping they the hotel has ruined reception," said
Tuesday Muria I's class performed a short play will take the project further and ex- Brian. "I've got nothing against the
9am- 1pm; 2.15pm-5pm about two English children return- pose the problem on air. 'We've building, but the company should
Saturday 9am - 12noon ing from the U.S.A. and explaining seen our TV pictures deteriorate take into account how the hotel is
what they saw there and the differ- since last Christmas when the struc- affecting people's lives."
ences in the language. ture of the hotel started going up DeVere Hotels Project Manager
and by April there was virtually no Ian Groves denied that the com-
picture. At times reception im- pany was being insensitive to the
proved depending on where the views of residents. "Being new to
AUTUMN no difference. I've spent hours re- be seen as negative or unhelpful in
the area we certainly do not want to
crane driver parked his crane.
"We boughtabooster which made
this matter. Whether the construc-
NATURE NATURAL TIME FOR PLANTING positioning and redirecting the tion of the hotel is affecting the tel-
aerial, rewiring and generally tink- evision signal has yet to be proven.
ering. All channels are affected and "However we have asked the En-
EVERYTHING YOU NEED now we've had cable installed out of gineering Department at the BBC to
necessity, not choice. It means we investigate the impact of the hotel
TO CREATE YOUR pay about £260 a year in licence fees and to make recommendations to
and cable charges and not just for us. We will decide what the best
IDEAL GARDEN the licence that everybody else pays. course of action is once we have
OPEN DAILY "Some residents in the road can't received their report."
even get cable and they'vebeen told He pointed out that his company
they'll have to pay for it to be laid." would not be under any legal obli-
Haydon End Lane, Haydon Wick The residents have been in touch gation toensure that a signal is avail-
Tel: Swindon 721221 with DeVere managementand have able even if it were shown that the
suggested that a signal transposer building was affecting the signal.