Liz Wakefield is to take the post of Treasurer and thanks were given to Niki Garwood who has retired from this post and also the position of getting the speaker after many years. Joanne Phillips has taken over the speaker post and members enjoyed a visit to the Westcliffe Theatre to see The Full Monty that Joanne arranged.

This months’ meeting was a social one with a Beetle Drive, won by Margaret Ockendon and June Adams. There were also lots of prizes in the following game of Pass the Parcel.

Members that wish to go with Chadwell WI on a coach trip to Brighton in June are to contact them for seats.

Craft is to be the theme for social time at some future meetings and ideas were sought after.

Next meeting: At West Tilbury Village Hall on June 4th 2013 at 7pm to 9-30pm

Speaker: Maggie Piper ‘Eden Project and The Lost Gardens of Heligan‘

Visitors are welcome.

The mayor of Thurrock, cllr Yash Gupta was joined by a host of organisations across the town of Tilbury in celebrating the day.

Pam Painter President of Linford will the be delegate attending this meeting and representing Link Institutes Chadwell St Mary West Tilbury & Fobbing & Corringham , also attending with pam is June Schroeder going as an observer.

The Annual meeting took place early part of the meeting.With treasurer Hazel Green

Telling us that we had worked hard to keep our bank balance in the black, June gave a very good report on our activities throughout the year. We are only a small Institute of nine members we seemed to have had a busy year with meetings outings and visits. President Pam thanked the Committee for the cooperation in helping to arrange the meetings and making it a pleasant Institute to run..

The new committee is Rosemary Bannister, June Clifford, Marjorie Firsov, Hazel Green June Schroeder and Pam Painter. May we Continue to have an Institute in Linford for many more years

For any enquiries contact Pam Painter.

They were joined by the mayor of Thurrock, cllr Yash Gupta at the home of Second Generation at the Bata estate in East Tilbury.

Katie Van Dop of Sustrans gave a number of cyclist awareness sessions whilst hauliers Foley and Miles invited people up into their cab to see how hard it can be to see a cyclist on the road.

YT spoke to Gary Buckell from Foley and Miles to assess what training their drivers have.

Installation of the four turbines at the Port of Tilbury Wind Farm by SSE Renewables is now under way. Specialist engineers are constructing each of the turbines in stages, with this key part of the project due to last approximately two weeks. Each turbine will generate 2.3MW of electricity and, when complete, the wind farm will be able to provide up to 50% of the Port’s needs.

Perry Glading, Chief Operating Officer at Forth Ports (owner of The Port of Tilbury), said: “We’re pleased to see the four turbines starting to take shape at the Port of Tilbury. This wind farm demonstrates our commitment to the environment and further enhances our position as Britain’s Greenest Port. The team at SSE Renewables are doing a great job with the installation, with minimum interruption to daily activities at our busy port. We look forward to seeing the four turbines in place once they are completed, as this project is something we are very proud of.”

Martin Sweeney, SSE Renewables Project Manager, said: “Everyone involved has been working hard to make sure this project is a success, and so it’s really exciting to see the turbines starting to go up. Since the components started to arrive by ship in February, we have been working closely with the port to ensure that everything was in place for us to erect the turbines with the minimum amount of disruption to the rest of the businesses who are based on site. This part of the project will take approximately three weeks to complete, and so if the good weather conditions continue, we should have all four turbines in place around the middle of March.”

Margaret Clamp and Denise Nice stood in for the President and Secretary for the West Tilbury Meeting this month.

Our speaker was Fran Smith from the Remus Horse Sanctuary this won the award for the Best Horse Sanctuary of the year in 2011 for the excellent work in rescuing horses that have been left to either fend for themselves or die of neglect. This year they also have a training programme for firemen to show them the best method of handling frightened horses in any situation they find themselves.

It was entertaining seeing in the film show of how they give these animals toys, mainly balls filled with food pellets to keep them from getting bored, they also have a variety of other animals and are open to the public to show them. Fran said she is campaigning for owners not to tether their horses’ this is cruel because they get hurt when pulling on the chains around their necks. This sanctuary is a run by dedicated volunteers and help is always needed.

A resolution meeting is to be held at the Hatfield Peverel county office on 15th April 2013.

The WI County meeting will be held at the Charter Hall Colchester on 8th May 2013.

West Tilbury WI meetings are held at The West Tilbury Village Hall on the first Tuesday in the month

Next meeting is on March 5th 2013 7pm-930pm

Speaker Annabel Barry with a talk on Hypnosis & Hypnotherapy

But that is exactly what Tilbury’s Charlie Lawrence (69) is setting out to do.

Charlie is running in support of the charity Joint Action, the Orthopaedic Research Appeal of The British Orthopaedic Association.

For many years Charlie, who had a knee replacement two years ago, was a successful youth team football manager and assistant for various teams from the Tilbury area.

One of these teams was Sonway Juniors, one of the first junior sponsored teams in England, who he managed between 1978 and 1984.

To assist in the fundraising Sonway Juniors are reforming and playing TACA in a charity football match at Tilbury Football Club on Saturday 9th March, 5pm kick off, free admission.

You can purchase a ticket to win a signed Manchester United football, donated by Manchester United (£5).

Charlie would like to thank Direct Flooring for supplying the kit for the game and Tilbury FC for the use of the venue.

If you would like to support Charlie in his efforts you can attend the match or vist www.justgiving.com/Charlie-Lawrence1 or text “chas68 and £amount” to 70070.

The centre would like to reassure their visitors that the visitors centre will be open on Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th, however you will need to park at the bottom car park and walk up to the centre.

There will be no access to the centre on Thursday 7th and Friday 8th however the road will be reopened ready for the Essex Book Festival on Friday 8th March at 7pm.

A spokesperson said: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused whilst we carry out this work it is important to us to ensure visitors can access the facilities easily in the future.”

The event will be held at Linford Methodist church, East Tilbury Road, Linford (SS17 0QH).

10.00 to 3.00 pm

Admission:. £1
50p: 16yrs and younger

Promoting a variety of locally produced crafts. Quilting, jewellery, card making, wood turning, pottery and much more.

Refreshments, Disabled Parking and Access

Everyone welcome.

YT’s Mike Jones is a particular fan of the lift at the Thameside but that may be because he loves the sound of his own voice. Yes, Mike Jones is the voice of the announcer at the Thameside Theatre!

So, here, ladies and gentlemen, is a film of a lift in Tilbury.

There is always lots to do, with fairground rides, santa’s grotto and a host of acts on the stage.

Lansdowne Academy students and Gateway Free school students entertained the crowds.

Santa was very busy in his grotto and he was full of bonhomie and cheer.

Once again, the community was grateful that the Port of Tilbury had contributed so much to help the big switch on.

Thurrock MP, Jackie Doyle-Price was there as were several local councillors and many of the community movers and shakers that ensure everyone has a really good time.

The fun starts at 4.30pm on 7th Dec in Civic Square and the lights will be switched on by two special children from Tilbury at 6pm.

There is a new Centenary Christmas Light for the town to celebrate 100 years of Tilbury town.

Father Christmas will be arriving on a Steam Engine – tooting all the way to the Square!

Keep yourself warm with a hot chocolate and mince pies whilst you wander around the festive stalls.

Take a ride on the Fun Fair – if you dare!!!

Listen to the local school children sing carols and local dance school entertain you.

How can you miss such a great community evening??

See you on the 7th Dec at 4.30pm for a fun filled family event.

More than 40 people from Tilbury and Chadwell St Mary took part in Thurrock’s pilot U Choose event at The Gateway Academy.

The event focused on finding community solutions to improve health and well-being and was led by ward councillors from the area.

The morning session involved councillors talking with residents about local health issues and how health and well-being could be improved.

Responses will be fed into the council’s health and well-being consultation as the it prepares to take on more health responsibilities from April.

It was the first Community Council public engagement event with Chadwell St Mary representative Cllr Barbara Rice – cabinet portfolio holder for adult social care and health – leading a discussion looking at ways residents could help themselves and others to live healthier lives.

In the afternoon ngage – the local organisation which promotes active citizenship – led a “participatory budgeting” exercise to distribute £10,000 to community initiatives.

Eleven local proposals were put to the public vote for residents to decide which would have the greatest impact on health and well-being, including a kite-making and flying project, community zumba and heritage walks across Tilbury and Chadwell.

Cllr Lynn Worrall, portfolio holder for Communities and Transformation said: “Today has been a very successful trial for community councils and for participatory budgeting.

“Involving people in this way really helps to bring different people together and to air local concerns in a positive way.”

The full list of successful projects:
Thurrock Play Network: Let’s Go Fly a Kite – £714
Women’s Aid: Young People’s Wall Paint Murals – £605
Thurrock Mind: Tilbury Sheds – £1,702
Delargy Close: Community Garden – £550
One Community Development Trust: Community Zumba – £1,740
Resident: Play equipment for toddlers – £2,000
Chadwell Boxing Club: Equipment to support physical exercise with disabled people – £739
Tilbury Riverside Project: Healthy History Walks – £1,950

The night of 31 January/1 February 1953 saw the most recent large coastal flood in Europe, claiming a total of 2,100 lives, most on the Continent.

But the surge that night caused great flooding in the borough with much of Tilbury under water and 58 deaths in Canvey Island.

To commemorate the anniversary the Tilbury Riverside Project, in co-operation with Thurrock Council, is holding an event at the Tilbury Riverside Arts Activity Centre (TRACC) in Ferry Road, Tilbury on the evening of 31 January.

The event, which starts at 7pm, will include a guided torchlight walk along the Tilbury Promenade, where the guides will explain the chronology of events that tragic night.

This will be followed by refreshments, further talks and the sharing of memories, which will take place inside the TRAAC building. There is also an exhibition of memorabilia and photographs from the great flood at the centre.

The event will be ticketed with tickets available from Thameside box office and other outlets from 7 January.

The Tilbury Riverside Project is still collecting memories from the great flood. Contact Annie O’Brien on 01375 859911, or at annie@tilburyriverside.co.uk if you wish to donate anything to the exhibition.