BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

Scunthorpe Telegraph March 24th 2005

A former North Lincolnshire headteacher is keeping in touch with village life, despite living more than 400 miles away.
 
John Kirk runs four websites about the village of Winteringham from his home in northern France, even though he hasn't lived in the North Lincolnshire village for 45 years. Mr Kirk (57), grew up in Winteringham and his father was the village policeman between 1952 and 1960.
 
The former resident later moved to Louth, but he never forgot the pretty village and always took the opportunity to revisit his youth.
 
When the former headteacher of Bucknall School in Lincolnshire, and his wife Helen, retired to Haute Normandy in France a number of years ago, Mr Kirk created a website about Winteringham's history.
 
Soon afterwards he was contacted by people from all over the world who had ancestors who came from the village.
 
One person who contacted him was an Australian woman whose ancestors included the Newmarch family - the Lords of the Manor 700 years ago.
 
Since then, Marlene Walters has been in regular contact with him, helping Mr Kirk to research people from the village who were believed to have moved to Australia in the 30s and 40s.
 
"I still regard Winteringham as home in many ways," he said.
 
"It's a captivating place, a wonderful area to be raised, and I've always had a fascination with its history."
 
The Normandy resident said he was content with his Winteringham history site until the Scunthorpe Telegraph got involved in a story about the village.
 
He said as a result of the coverage, he decided to get in touch with former primary school classmate Christine Hammond, who was by then the parish clerk.
 
He discovered the parish council was looking to set up its own site and he offered his services free of charge.
 
And in May last year, the Winteringham parish website went live for the first time with up-to-the-minute news.
 
"I couldn't do that without input from the present day villagers," he explained.
 
"At first it was just Christine, who does a great deal for the village in many ways, but then Harry Wells became involved, and started sending me magnificent photographs almost every day.
 
"Without that the site would not be very good at all. So it's a combined effort, with other villagers giving news and pictures either directly to me via email, or to Harry or Christine."
 
Since then, two further websites have been set up containing information and pictures about village life.
 
Now Mr Kirk is in the process of organising a partner school in France for Winteringham Primary School.
 
And when the former headteacher is not busy telling tales about Winteringham from his home in France, he is doing voluntary work for the Grimsby Town website.
 
But despite his love for Grimsby Town and Winteringham, Mr Kirk told the Telegraph he had no intentions of moving back to North Lincolnshire.
 
He added: "The way of life where we live in France now is similar in many ways to what Winteringham was like in the fifties.
 
"So I think with this life, and the Winteringham websites, I can have my gateaux and eat it."
 

SCHOOL'S HIGH TWINNING HOPES

Scunthorpe Telegraph March 22nd 2005

Primary school pupils could be about to learn more about French life after a school announced it was to forge links with a school in France.
 
Winteringham Primary School is looking to develop links with a school in Lieurey, France. Discussions between the schools are reported to be at an early stage but signs are said to be good.
 
And Harry Wells, who runs the Winteringham French Club, is working with the school's headteacher Jacqueline Taylor, and they are in talks with teacher Madame Deuff in France.
 
Lieurey in Haute Normandie, about 35 miles south of the port of Le Havre, is thought to have approximately the same population as Winteringham, with shops, a hotel, a restaurant, a bank, garages, a cattle market and a market.
 
Mr Wells, who also helps with the village website, said he got the nine and 10-year-olds at Winteringham Primary School to start learning French on Thursdays, and thought the connection with a school in France would be beneficial to their learning.
 
He said the two villages were believed to be quite similar and it was decided the French village was a suitable place for the school to forge links with.
 
"In an age when few British people bother to learn languages it's a method of letting them see it's not just an academic exercise - it's very useful," he said.
 
"We are hoping to be able to get the children to email each other at school from school with supervision from teachers to swap and talk about ideas.
 
"Hopefully they will realise people do actually speak it and show them there's more than one way of working and more than one way of looking at things."
 
Mr Wells said it was not yet clear when the twinning would take place but it was set to happen some time in the near future.
 
Headteacher Jacqueline Taylor said the school appreciated Mr Wells's efforts to bring the language to life for the pupils.
 
For more information about the project visit www.council.winteringham.info/

ACHIEVEMENTS REWARDED

Scunthorpe Telegraph March 12th 2005

A Teenager who has represented Great Britain in Inline hockey has been recognised and awarded for her sporting achievements.
 
Emma Bird first took up InLine hockey when she was just 11-years-old, after seeing an exhibition at the Baths Hall in Scunthorpe. She joined Bottesford Roller Hockey Club and quickly shot to stardom, being selected as a member of the Great Britain Women's InLine Hockey squad three years ago.
 
Now 17, the Winteringham girl enjoys travelling around the world, competing in locations such as New York, the Czech Republic, and - most recently - in Canada.
 
And SportsAid South Humber has rewarded Emma for her sporting achievements after selecting her for a SportsAid Achievement Award.
 
The award, sponsored by North Lincolnshire Council and Millennium Chemicals, will provide financial support for the training she will need to develop her sporting talents.
 
Emma was presented with the award, as part of the Sport England World Class Start programme, by Colin Elliot of Millennium Chemicals and Coun Ivan Glover from North Lincolnshire Council.
 
Target shooter Abigail Stones (16) was also given a SportsAid Achievement Award.

SOUNDBITE LINC TO OLD PHRASES

Scunthorpe Telegraph March 4th 2005

he phrase 'I'm going to give some strap' might not mean much today, but to one group of experts it would make perfect - if rather worrying - sense.
 
The saying, which means 'I'm going to beat someone', is just one of a number of disappearing North Lincolnshire phrases which experts have preserved on a new website. Featuring recordings from across the UK, the British Library's Collect Britain sound archive contains a treasure trove of words and accents, recorded during the 1950s.
 
Entries have been recorded on the website from speakers in Scunthorpe, Barton-upon-Humber, Saxby and Eastoft, capturing the flavour of the region.
 
Subjects discussed in the recordings include fishing, farming, shipbuilding and steelworking in Scunthorpe.
 
The new website follows the sell-out success of Wads o'Wods, a 2002 guide to words and phrases used over the centuries in North Lincolnshire.
 
The Winteringham Workers Educational Association Guide sold more than 1,000 copies of the book, which is still in demand today.
 
Choice sayings and words captured in the book included phrases such as 'there's a mawlgrum a brewing,' which means 'a storm is on the way' and 'okerdols' which means feet.
 
Pam Wells, editor of the book and treasurer of the association, said they were delighted to hear about the new British Library website.
 
She said: "I think it is a very good idea, and I'm very pleased to hear about it.
 
"Anything which encourages the recording of our dialect is to be welcomed, as it is disappearing so quickly these days."
 
Mrs Wells said she and other association members had produced their guide with language expert Lorretta Rivett, to try and preserve some of the dialects they had heard.
 
Adding North Lincolnshire had a rich linguistic heritage, Mrs Wells said she felt it could disappear unless it was preserved.
 
"The way we speak language is determined by the way we hear it, and there is great pressure today to conform and speak in perfect English," she said.
 
The association treasurer said the group had been stunned by the success of Wads o'Wods, which showed there was a rich appetite in the region to preserve dialects.
 
She said: "It was a wonderful success and we had a lot of interest.
 
"The original run sold out completely, and people still ring up to see if they can get a copy, so I am still printing the odd one off for people."
 
Jonathan Robinson, curator of English accents and dialects at the British Library sound archive, said the website showed how people's speech had changed over the past 50 years.
 
He said: "The way people speak in England has changed over the past half century.
 
"Contrary to popular belief, there is still an incredible amount of regional diversity, and the recordings on the website illustrate elements of continuity and change."
 
Mrs Wells, meanwhile, said her favourite old saying was 'shift your okerdols' which, of course, means move your feet.
 
Adding the region had a rich linguistic heritage, Mrs Wells said it was important to preserve it now for future generations to enjoy.
 
"It is important for us to preserve these words and phrases as in 20 or 30 years' time there will not be anybody left who knows them," she said.