What’s on

Halloween Spooktacular 2022

Community Bulb Planting Event

Get some fresh air and gentle exercise and meet people from the local community by coming along to one of our cemeteries for our bulb planting and wildflower seed sowing events.

• Monday 21st November between 9.30am and 12.30pm at Strawberry Lane Cemetery, Great Wyrley, WS6 7AU
• Friday 25th November between 9.30am and 12.30pm at Sytch Lane Cemetery, Wombourne, WV5 0JP

You can come along for the whole three hours but any time you can spare will be much appreciated.

we’ll be planting a variety of spring flowering bulbs including snowdrops, daffodils, crocus and bluebells and this year we will be sowing some wildflower seeds in our natural burial meadow areas.

Please bring sensible footwear and warm clothing and we will provide everything else.  We hope to see you there!

Repair Cafe Event

The Friends of Bilbrook Repair Café in partnership with South Staffs Council climate change prize will be holding a Repair Cafe event on Saturday 10th December, 10am – 1pm at Bilbrook Village Hall, Joeys Lane, Bilbrook, WV8 1JL.

Bring along your items for repair, the service is free, however donations are most welcome.

• Minor pushbike repairs – including bike check-ups.
• Jewellery repairs – not gold or stone settings.
• Minor sewing repairs such as hems, buttons, seams, darning woollen items, patches – no alterations.
• IT repairs – software only.
• Sharpening – garden tools, kitchen knives.
• General repair desk – changing batteries, gluing etc.
• Bees wax wraps – make and take home your own bees wax wrap.
• Security bike marking – kit provided by South Staffs Police.
• Portable Appliance Testing – by a qualified PAT tester.

Please help us to reduce waste in South Staffordshire, repair rather than throw away.  Come along, learn new skills and help mitigate climate change.

For more information email: enquiries@friendsofbilbrook.org or call 07989 423617

Council and district news

Have your say:
South Staffordshire Residents’ Survey now out

Make your voice heard – take part in our newly released Residents’ Survey.

The survey is a chance for everyone living in South Staffordshire to let us know their views on where they live, and the district as a whole.

Have your say by completing the survey via this link

Environmental Improvement Works

Working in collaboration with Staffordshire County Council, Street Scene have been busy over the last week or so carrying out a programme of Environmental Improvement works at various locations in the district.  These works include pruning of shrubs and removal of weeds from pathways and kerb lines, removal of litter build up, clearing of green waste debris from public alley ways and general tidy up, these works are ongoing. 

Please see before and after pics – do you recognise any of the locations? 

For more information on our Street Scene operations, please click here: Street Scene South Staffordshire Council (sstaffs.gov.uk)

Community Lottery

South Staffordshire Community is the Best Medicine Fund

Increased costs this year are going to leave many people across our communities with additional cost burdens that may prove to be extremely challenging. Households may be faced with choices between eating healthily, turning the heating on or having to live in cold homes, leading to increased health and wellbeing issues.

South Staffordshire Council in Partnership with the Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust (MPFT) and The Staffordshire Community Foundation have pooled a budget to facilitate this provision. It is not intended to cover the full costs, rather supplement other budgets and funding that existing organisations are already using for this type of provision.

Please click here for information on the application process.

Council job vacancies

• Senior Caretaker – closing midnight on October 30th
• Relief Leisure Assistants at Codsall, Wombourne, Penkridge & Cheslyn Hay Leisure Centres – open application date.
• Biffa Class 2 Driver, Municipal Waste Collection – open application date. 
• Swimming Instructors, all leisure centres – open application date.

For more information on all South Staffordshire Council vacancies and for details on how to apply, click here

Wellbeing:

Trick or treat yourself to these healthy recipes

Halloween is often a time for frightful amounts of sugar and other junk food.

So why not cut down on the bad food – and go batty for some healthier options instead?

BBC Good Food offers a range of options: from Healthy Halloween Stuffed Peppers, to Creamy Pumpkin and Lentil Soup, Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes and more.

See their recipe suggestions here

Spook-tacular tips of the week

1. Get moving Carve out time to be active this Halloween – between get-togethers and trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. Take a walk and do some weight training to help you feel good.
2. Keep your bite healthy Keep Halloween candy at bay. Care for teeth the right way – brush with a fluoride toothpaste each and every day.
3. Play it safe Take precautions to stay safe if you head out trick-or-treating on Halloween night. Watch out for cars, use reflective gear, walk with a group, and carry a torch.
4. Scare away the flu and colds Don’t get spooked by the flu or other seasonal illnesses. Wash your hands frequently and consider getting vaccinated.

Don’t be a zombie Sleep is important – even on Halloween. Adults need seven to eight hours each night. It’s best for staying healthy and helping to fight off diseases

Leisure latest

The Goodlife Winter Saver

From November 1^st to 30^th, South Staffordshire Council’s leisure centres are giving customers the chance to join for just £10, with no further payments until January 2023. 

Customers can sign up to any of the membership packages and enjoy unlimited use for two months, for just £10.

The earlier you join, the bigger the saving.

To view membership packages, click here.

Sign up from November 1^st by emailing Leisure@sstaffs.gov.uk

Baggeridge celebrates one year of Wellbeing Walks

Thursday, November 3rd, marks one year of Wellbeing walks at Baggeridge Country Park.

In celebration we are inviting walkers to come along, enjoy a walk around the park from 10-11am, followed by complimentary tea, coffee and cakes after the walk at Baggeridge Tea Room

Partnership updates

Flu vaccination: who should have it this winter and why

Child Death Prevention Newsletter

Smoking in pregnancy and living in a smoking household have been identified as modifiable factors in a high number of neonatal deaths in Saffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.

Protecting your baby from tobacco smoke is one of the best things you can do to give your child a healthy start in life.  It can be difficult to stop smoking, but it’s never too late to quit.  To view Newsletter click here

Community Recovery Grants Funding Scheme

The Community Recovery Grants scheme is now open for applications from groups who work with and support communities in Staffordshire from a new County Council fund.

Staffordshire County Council is keen to support the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector in Staffordshire by providing a range of one-off grants to help them recover following the pandemic and with the challenges of the rising cost of living. The funding will help organisations adapt to new ways of working, sustain existing activities and support residents with cost of living pressures. Grants of between £500 and £5,000 are available.

The County Council is working with the Community Foundation for Staffordshire who are managing grant applications and distribution. Grants will be awarded throughout October, November and December 2022 on a first come first served basis. All grants will be fully distributed by December 2022 and recipients will need to spend the award by 31st March 2023.

Further information is available on the Community Foundation for Staffordshire’s website – https://staffordshire.foundation/grants/crfund/