- Local schools could win £20,000 with Asda’s Plastic Investigators Club! Asda have announced a new poster competition, where primary schools can win up to £20,000 for a sustainability project, by designing a poster that spreads awareness of plastic waste and what can be done to help solve it. Entries must be sent in by 5pm on the 24th July - you can enter, here: https://nationalschoolspartnership.com/initiatives/asda/ and find some resources on how to inspire the next generation.
- The Grow Festival in Corby is back! Grow 2019 is inspired by the theme of food and celebrating all things culinary. The town centre will once again be animated with street performers, family pop-up shows and art throughout the weekend. The highlight of this year’s festival will be an enormous Community Feast. You can find out more, here: www.growcorby.co.uk. A fun family weekend - do go along!
- I was pleased to hear of the recent sporting achievements of a number of schools in Corby and East Northamptonshire and I therefore wanted to pass on my “congratulations” to all those involved in the Corby, Oundle, and Thrapston School Sports Partnership. I hope they all enjoyed taking part in the activities and competitions and getting up and active out there in the sunshine, inspired by the incredible summer of sport we are witnessing!
- As a keen swimmer myself, I am very pleased to be supporting the ‘Love Swimming’ campaign, which has been organised by Swim England to mark their 150th anniversary, with the aim of encouraging more people to swim regularly. Swimming is such a good way to keep fit and healthy and we have some first-class swimming facilities locally that we should all be making good use of, so if you get the chance, why not go along? Even if just to take a refreshing break from the warm sticky weather! You can find more information here: https://www.swimming.org/justswim/love-swimming-campaign/.
- I was really pleased to hear that the Royal Mail is introducing some of its first ever ‘parcel postboxes’ in Corby, which will enable small businesses and residents to post pre-paid parcels as they would a letter. These will be located on Princewood Road, Sallow Road and Saxon Way East – great news for our community and for those who buy and sell online!
- In 2018, 3,271 people used a Disabled Person’s Railcard in Corby, compared to 2,319 in 2015. The Disabled Person’s Railcard offers 1/3 off adult rail fares for travel on the National Rail network in Great Britain for people with a disability that makes travelling by train difficult. If travelling with another adult, they will also get 1/3 off their rail fare. There are no time restrictions on the Disabled Person’s Railcard, so you can use it to get a discount on tickets at any time of the day. For more information on the Disabled Person’s Railcard, please visit: https://www.disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk/.
- I have recently heard about the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust’s ‘Churchill Fellowships’, an exciting opportunity to travel for educational purposes. Visit https://www.wcmt.org.uk/ to find out more. Applications close on the 17th September 2019.
- Small Business Saturday is back on the 7th December 2019 and applications opened on the 1st June to find 100 outstanding small businesses to celebrate in the run-up to the main event. Having had the pleasure of visiting so many, I know that Corby & East Northamptonshire is home to numerous fantastic small businesses and it would be great to see their hard work recognised, so if you or anyone you know is involved with a special small business locally, please do consider applying! To find out more and to apply, head over to: https://smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com/small-biz-100.
- Singing can have great physical and mental health benefits, so if you’re interested in joining the Corby Male Voice Choir, do phone Steve Jackson, Choir Secretary, on 01832 734259, or email stevecorbyMVC@outlook.com. They sing every Thursday in Corby – a great opportunity!
- I have heard about a fantastic group called ‘Encouraging Reading’, which aims to promote any sort of literature, whether that be a well-known title by a well-known author, or a local author, or an up-and-coming author. If you’re interested, you can find out more, here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2254079124855667/.
- Citizens’ Advice are offering help to make a Universal Credit claim and receive the first full payment on time, through their new initiative, ‘Help to Claim’. It is available through their free phone line, web chat, and local Citizens’ Advice services. Call 0800 144 8444, go to https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/helptoclaim, or visit your local office to find out more.
If you have anything you would like to be featured next week, please email me all the details to pursglovet@parliament.uk.
Also, if you have taken any photos of constituency landscapes or landmarks, which could be featured in my ‘Community Notices’ headers, please send them in and I will try to use as many of them as possible (and credit them accordingly!), as a celebration of the fantastic place we live and work in. I know we have many budding photographers in our community and it would be great to showcase their work!