Our town is a very nice town

THE online community newspaper for Nailsea people, their family and their friends

February 2023

Property Peeps

On this page you will find a recent tour of our construction sites. We also have lots of pending planning applications and others in the pipeline for thousands of new houses. Read more on our Property Peeps page sponsored by HENSONS estate agents HERE

What's On 2023

The page for street markets, fairs, fetes and fests, all the fun things but sadly no eat:Nailsea for 2023. Dance, theatre and concerts and pub quizzes and live band gigs also feature. Read all about it HERE

Gallery 2023

We have hundreds of images in our galleries (under dropdown menu top). For 2022 it goes from the wassail to wildlife, jubilee to carnival, skatefest to beerfest and more. The latest slideshows fot 2023 feature Backwell Lake and Winter Walks. These images are by Phil Williams. Email pics to nailseapeople@gmail.com

Winter of discontent 2023

Pictured top is the National Union of Teacher picket line early on Wednesday, February 1, at Nailsea School which is closed today except for students classed as vulnerable and children of critical workers.

Backwell School teachers are also on strike.

Mum Sammy Fothergill posted on our Facebook page: “You’ve got my support.”

With Lucy Catherine adding: “Well done Nailsea teachers.”

Tickenham Village Market supporters said: “ Teachers, undervalued, under-resourced, and underpaid.”

Teacher Andrew Kelly said: “I can tell you with certainly that it is absolutely about underfunding of education.

“We were given a five per cent pay rise last year by the government.

“Where did the money come from for that - school budget.

“That takes essential resources away from children.

“I have to buy essential resources from my wages so students can learn in the classroom.

“So the tiny wage I get - I was paid more in my previous job than I am as a teacher - I have to use to pay for essential learning resources.

“This is outrageous.

“Do you pay for essential work equipment for other people to use in your work place?

“Please read up on the facts, we need all the support we can get.

“Teachers and students deserve better.

“We are being failed by this government.”

Grandmother Janette Midda said: “It’s trying to look at both sides.

“My daughter and daughter-in-law are both teachers and it’s not just the

additional hours they work above their contracts but what teaching has become.

“I am not taking sides but trying to make the Government aware of their policies and impacts is really important.

“It’s a different world from when my children were at school.

"I couldn’t do their job but do admire them.”

Nailsea dad and CWU Bristol branch secretary Ben Watts said: "100 per cent support for all the teachers on strike today, especially at Golden Valley Primary School and Nailsea School.

"The quicker people understand that there is a huge recruitment and retention crisis in education the better.

"Vacancies everywhere, no science teachers, no IT support, no teaching assistants because you can earn the same or similar money with less stress at Aldi supermarket.

"We need to invest in our teachers and get people wanting to be teachers again."

On the railways there is industrial action affecting services planned for Wednesday and Friday, February 1 and 3.

A revised timetable will operate across several train operators, including

GWR. NHS nurses will strike again on Monday and Tuesday, February 6-7.

Ambulance workers and other health service personnel have action days planned too.

Royal Mail is committed to reaching an agreement to resolve the current pay and change disputes to secure the company's future and its employees' long-term job security.

Talks commenced on Monday, January 9, and are ongoing.

After dinner speaker

North Somerset MP Liam Fox produced a non-political after-dinner speech at a Rotary Nailsea & Backwell meeting.

It was an informative and very entertaining run through his origins and into his early involvement and subsequent career in politics.

it included a generous sprinkling of anecdotes about people with whom he had worked - including HRH Prince William and Mother Teresa.

Dr Fox relayed with pride his Private Members Bill relating to Down’s Syndrome; it achieved all-party support into legislation and is now being used as a template in other countries.

The potent Q&A session demonstrated his excellent grasp of, and agreement with, much local opinion on current controversial topics.

Dr Fox concluded with an appeal for Give Us Time, a charity that provides one-week holidays and short breaks in premises donated by owners of holiday homes, hotels, resorts and timeshares, and matches them with military families in need of rest, rehabilitation and re-connection after long periods of deployment or adverse family situations.

Dr Fox in final photo flanked by Rotarians Chris Broughton and Clive Hawkins. Photos by Roy Ackrill

www.thetekhut.uk
computer techies for the online community

The TEK Hut was started by Ben Parker in the summer of 2018.

For 12 years Ben had been one of the team at The ICT Workshop which provided a wide variety of computer services to Nailsea, Clevedon, Yatton, Backwell and even Weston-Super-Mare.

Ben felt it right to continue the same great service customers had previously experienced but under new branding for a new business and The Tek Hut was born.

Trading at the familiar location in Nailsea, The Tek Hut will continue to offer the same cost effective, new laptops and PCs, upgrades, onsite support for homes and businesses through to a wide range of workshop services and accessories.