Life in United Kingdom

As part of Derby’s seasonal celebrations, the city’s Market Place will play host to a Christmas Playground from 7th December until 6th January.

Unique to Derby the ‘Christmas Playground’ will feature giant wooden toy sculptures which will provide a play area for visitors to the city centre seeking a rest from Christmas shopping. Children will be encouraged to climb aboard the giant toys – carved by local wood sculptor Andrew Frost – and let their imagination run wild.

Children are invited to play an active role through workshops at QUAD, Derby’s centre for art and film, they will be able to get involved in competitions and activities such as ‘Colour the soldier’, ‘Name the bear’ and making wooden decorations for the Christmas tree in The Market Place.

Andrew Frost is the artist or 'chief elf' who has been comissioned to make the wooden toys for the Christmas Playground. He is a Derbyshire based wood sculptor. Previously a fine artist, Countryside Ranger and Forester, Andrew co…

Christmas again! Brenda HAVE A ROLE in nativity play. She is going to be soldier:
Brenda, you are going to be

Soldier 2

You have these lines to learn

Soldier 1: Wake up, wake up!
Soldier 2 You have to go to Bethlehem to be counted.
Narrator Soon, they came to Mary's house.
Soldier 1 Wake up, wake up!
Narrator Mary's husband, Joseph, opened the door
Soldier 2 You have to go to Bethlehem to be counted.
Isn't this role better than a STAR or ROCK?

As a Chinese, and not a Christian,  we are not use to this kind of  school play, we can opt out Christian education for my child, though. We are not serious with any religion, and don't want her miss all those school fun.

Dear Parent,

I am pleased to inform you that your child has been chosen to receive a Golden Star of the Week certificate will be given out in our next Celebration Assembly on

WEDNESDAY 18th NOVEMBER, 2009

We would like to invite you to attend the assembly to watch the certificate being presented to your child. Assemblies start at 9.05a.m prompt in the INFANT HALL.

The certificate is always kept as a surprise for the child and we hope you will assist us in keeping it a secret until Wednesday. One child is chosen from each class throughout the school and the parents/guardians of the other children will also be invited to attend. If you are unable to attend grandparents, aunties and uncles etcetera, are more than welcome to attend in your place.

I do hope you can join us to see your child receive this well earned award.

Yours sincerely,
xxx
Headteacher

Ah! what is he, whose haggard eye,
Scarce dares to meet the morning ray
Who trembling, would, but cannot fly
From man, and from the busy day.
Mark how his lip is fever'd o'er,
Behold his cheek, how deathly is eappears!
See how his blood-shot eye-balls pour
A burning torrent of unpitied tears!

Now watch the varying gesture, wild,
See how his tortur'd bosom heaves!
Behold, misfortune's wayward child,
For whom no kindred nature grieves.
Dispis'd, suspected, ruined, lost!
His fortun, health, and reputation flown;
On mis'ry's stormy ocean tost,
condemn'd to curse his fate, and curse alone!

Once, were his prospects bright and gay,
and independance blest his hours;
His was the smooth and sunny way,
Where tip-toe pleasure scatter'd flow'rs.
Love bound his brow with thornless sweets,
And smiling friendship fill'd his cup of joy;
Now, not a firend the victim meets,
for, like a wolf, he wanders to destroy.

All day, upon a couch …

Derby Mercury is the oldest newspaper in Derby. Publication commenced on 30 March 1732. For issue number three onwards, a woodcut masthead was printed, showing a view of the City of Derby, with an explanation of the principal buildings shown.

The cover price for this weekly newspaper was six pence in 1800, each issue being four pages of five columns, as was common with newspapers of this time, as was also typical for many newspapers of its time, it circulated widely outside Derby. It: 'Advocates the interests of agriculture, commerce, manufactures, literature and the Church of England'.

By 1800, the departments of the newspaper included: Friday's mail, advertisements, finance, Saturday & Sunday's mails, Tuesday's mail from the London Gazette, poetry, births, marriages, and deaths, Wednesday's mail, and, beginning in 1800, shipping news.

By 1899, the departments were: public notices, local news, district news, correspondence, serial fiction, literature, p…

A Christmas appeal letter from Derby Lions Club, which invites schoolchildren from across the county to donate food and drink to the needy. The campaign, which is being supported by the Derby Telegraph, and was officially launched at a ceremony at the Derby Telegraph's offices in Meadow Road, Derby Mayor Sean Marshall attended the ceremony.

Derby Lions has been running Christmas collections for more than 20 years and, 10 years ago, the group first decided to invite schools to join the appeal.
Dear Parent,

Your Child's school has given us permission to ask you to support our Annual Christmas Appeal for the Needy and Lonely.

May we kindly ask you to send a Tin of Food or a Packet of Non-perishable Food or Drink that will be included in our Parcels which will be distributed week commencing 30th November.

Your Children's School will be mentioned in the Derby Telegraph and we extend our thanks for your anticipated support.

Barbara Edmuns

Derby Lions Club President

Brenda's masterpiece, Caterpillar becomes a beautiful butterfly.

General Election is lust a few months away. Gordon Brown MUST call a General Election by next June. Most political pundits now think it will be May 2010.

Derby North has been dramatically changed in the boundary changes. Lib Dem strongholds of Littleover and Mickleover move into the new Derby North constituency whereas Conservative areas like Allestree and Spondon have moved out.

Political experts say that Boundary changes help Lib Dems, which would have been in a clear second place on the new boundaries in 2005. And local election results also point to the Lib Dems doing well. At the last three local elections in the Derby North constituency, in 2006, 2007 and 2008 Labour's vote plummeted. At the last Election, Labour 40%, Lib Dem 31%, Conservatives 26%. Labour also lost five councillors across the area, with the Lib Dems being the biggest winners. The Lib Dems have 12 councillors in the constituency, Labour seven and the Conservatives just two.

Labour's current MP has announ…

Photographers recently visited child's school and took photographs of her reception class.I scanned from the proof sample, it's black and white, printed on an A4 paper, a bit dark and blurred.