Quiz Night – Saturday 1st December 2018

Come along and discover how intelligent you are (or otherwise!).

 

Family Fun and Lifestyle Event

On Saturday 18th March South Highfields Neighbours had a stall at the Family Fun and Lifestyle Festival at Moat Community College.

Quiz Night – Saturday 10 December 2016

We look forward to seeing you all at our forthcoming Quiz Night – you will find plenty to eat and drink as well as being able to prove how knowledgeable you are!  Exciting prizes for the winning team.

Another event in Onslow Park

Exhibition at Moat Community College

The exhibition we created as part of our World War One project ‘How Saxby Street Got Its Name’ has been travelling around local schools and libraries since its launch, along with the book, in March 2015, and is currently at Moat Community College in Maidstone Road.

On Friday, 1 July 2016, the entire school took part in a special day to remember the Battle of the Somme (which took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916) and the exhibition and accompanying talks about life in our area at that time were part of the Year 7 curriculum.

Penny, who gave the talks said:

“I talked with eight different groups of students and for many this was their first introduction to World War One history so it was good to be able to relate it to where they live and to young people. Jean Hill, who was one of the people we interviewed for the book, and is featured in the exhibition, once taught at Moat School. The students asked interesting questions including ‘were you alive in World War One?’ !! They also enjoyed looking up their addresses in the folders which go with the exhibition, not only the information we have for residents of Saxby Street and Laurel Road at that time, but for all the streets in terms of soldiers and burials at Welford Road cemetery.”

If you would like to have the exhibition and/or a workshop about life in our area during World War One contact us at southhighfieldsneighbours@gmail.com or telephone Penny on 07414 465695.

The book is on sale at New Walk Museum and at the Visit Leicester Information Centre in Gallowtree Gate.

Love Where We Live

Love Where We Live is a South Highfields Neighbours environmental project. A small group of us are working hard to rid the area of fly tipping, litter, bins on pavements and furniture in front gardens. We also try to make everywhere look nicer with plants and shrubs. Our current projects include liaising with food outlets like Dominos to prevent litter from their customers, refreshing the flowers in Biddulph Avenue and Gotham Street which we and local residents planted last year and getting Sky Blue Homes (letting agents) banners removed from railings. We work with the Eco Squad at Medway School.

We are planning two forthcoming events – a ‘Bring and Take Day’ to share unwanted goods and furniture and a ‘Fly Tipping Reporting Week’ when we aim to clear all the 40 plus streets in our area of fly tipping. Dates and more details will follow shortly.

Some useful contact details are:-

To report fly tipping contact our city warden Darren Evans on 07772 578 487, download the Love Leicester app (free) to your smartphone or  email darren.evans@leicester.gov.uk

To get your own bulky items taken away free by the City Council telephone 0116 454 1002 or go to
https://www.leicester.gov.uk/your-environment/recycling-and-waste/bulky-item-collections/

Geraniums R Us

Residents in Biddulph Avenue and Gotham Street wanted to make their streets more beautiful and prevent fly tipping by planting up containers and wall baskets. South Highfields Neighbours applied to the City Council and were successful in getting funds to do this. The first Geraniums R Us event was in Biddulph Avenue  on Sunday 15th March. Photos below!   The planting day for Gotham Street was Sunday 31st May and was a great success despite the rain. Nearly every front garden now has tubs with geraniums just waiting to bloom! If you would like to prettify your street please bring your ideas along to one of our monthly meetings.

Project on the First World War

Having been granted funding by  the Heritage Lottery Fund to run a project which explored the impact of the 1914-1918 war on the  South Highfields area, we set out to publish a book explaining how and why street names in the area were changed after the war, finding out about people living in the area at the time and about people living in the area now whose family memories are of other countries during that time.

After over a year of research, interviews, meeting people, taking photographs and writing, our book How Saxby Street Got Its Name and exhibition about life in our area during World War One was launched on Sunday 29th March 2015 at the Serbian Centre, on the corner of Saxby Street and Gotham Street. Everyone in the area was invited. There was Irish dancing and short talks, including one from Panikos Panayi about the way Germans in Britain were treated in WW1. Our local ward councillor, Lucy Chaplin, attended, as did many of the people featured in the book.

The exhibition will be on tour for the next three years.  If you would like to have the exhibition in your school, community centre, place of worship, library or shop contact Penny on 07414 465695.

Copies of the book are available to purchase, priced at £10. Please contact Penny on the above telephone number.

Photographs of the event appear below.