Come along to the Family Fun Day on 30 August between 10am-3pm. It is taking place at Wharton Annexe, St Oswalds Church Hall and The Brougham Centre.
All comers are most welcome.

Event Programme

10.00 am Official opening (Iain Wright MP – The Annexe)
Dance workshops (The Brougham Centre)
‘Beat the goalie’ (The Brougham Centre)
Gym tasters (The Annexe)
Complimentary therapies (The Brougham Centre)

12.00 pm Health Bus (St.Oswald’s Church Hall)
BBQ (The Annexe)
Police motorcycles & horses (The Annexe)

1.00 pm Arts & crafts (The Annexe)
Face painting (The Annexe)

4.00 pm Close of event (Radio Hartlepool – The Annexe)

All Day Attractions

Fire Brigade, Bric-a-brac stalls, Outdoor catering, Climbing wall, Radio Hartlepool, Family Learning, Fruit n Veg scheme, Bouncy castle, Rides.

I’m sure many of you will now be having withdrawal symptoms, after the Olympics closed a couple of days ago. The Games have been absolutely spectacular, and even people who have no interest whatsoever in sport, like my wife, have been glued to the screen.

Everybody I have spoken to have enjoyed the Games. Particular highlights have been Rebecca Adlington’s two gold medals in swimming. Even though he is not British, I have been astonished and impressed at Usain Bolt’s effortless demolition of the 100 and 200 metres world records. For Hartlepool, the whole town is extremely proud of Jemma Lowe, who so narrowly failed to get into the finals of her swimming events: her and her family have been great ambassadors for the sport and the town during the Olympics.

The highlight for me is seeing Team GB as a whole performing so well. For a small country like ours to finish fourth in the medals table, behind only the massive countries of China, the United States and Russia is a huge achievement. We have had the best medal tally for something like a century, which gives me a bit of a spring in my step. This makes me very optimistic for when Britain hosts the Games themselves in only four years time.

This sort of achievement doesn’t happen by chance, or luck. The business of sport these days is extremely competitive, not only on the field, but in terms of preparation and finance. The reason we have been able to achieve so much in Beijing was the decision taken never again to have to suffer the humiliation of the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, where we finished 36th and achieved only one gold medal. Over the past few years, more finance has been provided through Lottery funding, a more focused and well run organisation – UK Sport – has provided targeted funding for athletes, which have now started to reap the rewards, and hopefully will do more in London in 2012.

I can’t see an event like the Olympics without thinking how it can benefit Hartlepool. One of our town’s defining features, often best seen when people travel away from the town, is what a great place for sport Hartlepool is. We have a great heritage and reputation when it comes to sport over the past century, and are renowned for punching above our weight – often quite literally, given our record in boxing. But it’s not just Michael Hunter. Sports like rugby – with clubs like West and Rovers – athletics, with Burn Road Harriers, and even bowls, of which my dad is not a bad player, and which is mourning the recent loss of Mal Hughes.

The Olympics have been a great spectacle and once again demonstrate that sport can pull people together in a way that very few other things can nowadays. One of the greatest days in the town’s collective history for decades was the trip to Cardiff. Last night’s win against West Bromwich Albion is also a morale-booster for Hartlepool.

But there are other advantages. I’m a massive believer in the idea that sport can teach a great deal, from team playing to competition, from discipline to co-operation. These skills are essential in life. Sport is a great way of becoming a better person. We may not all become Usain Bolt, although I haven’t truly given up feeling I could do this still, if I lay off the booze, but it certainly will help us become fitter people.

Sport is now a multi-billion pound organisation. Tapping into our sporting heritage and successes already will bring great rewards for Hartlepool in the future. I would like to see a greater emphasis given to sport as a means of regeneration and using our great heritage and even brighter future to attract more jobs and wealth to the town.

Rossmere Residents group has been running for just over a year now and have celebrated their first anniversary by being awarded £9750.00 from the Awards for All National Lottery Fund.

The grant will be put to good use providing courses for the 2008/2009 year. These will include painting, sewing, card-making and using the computer and internet. In the last year these courses have proved to be very popular and will run for the year in school term times. The award will also help towards the cost of outings for local residents with trips to be planned throughout the year. They have also purchased carpet bowls equipment so that there can be social games afternoons and evenings with cards, dominos and darts. All are welcome from the area to come along and join in with their friends, or to make new friends.

The Residents Group has not only enjoyed social activities and educational courses; they have held very productive monthly meetings to discuss issues of concern and to find out more about plans for the area. These meetings have given people a chance to have their say and to offer pathways of communication between residents and organisations responsible for decision making in the area.

Iain Wright joined in the celebrations today by attending the Rossmere Residents Group AGM and was on hand to present the Awards for All Lottery Fund cheque to Chairman Tom Stewart.