Welcome Sandyford and Goldenhill Residents Association (S.A.G.E.)
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A residents association uniting the two villages of Sandyford and Goldenhill since 1999
An organisation that aims to improve the environment and lifestyle for all its residents who live in our community
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David Wood’s Story comes to an end in Christmas 2011 with children and choirs walking through the streets from the Methodist Chapel in 1950s Goldenhill.
David’s story goes like this,
 Methodist Church in Alice Street (to left) and fronting on Andrew Street Every year on the first Sunday in June the Methodist chapel in Andrew Street celebrated it’s anniversary. This meant that the choir and children walked the streets of the village in the morning of that day. The choir stopped every so often and sang and the people came out to listen and donate money for the chapel. Several weeks before this the children attended the Sunday school rooms at least one evening per week and practised the songs and hymns that were to be sung on the Anniversary Sunday. The climax to all this was that a stage was built in the chapel and the children worked their way through their repertoire both in the afternoon and evening on the Anniversary Sunday.
Can you imagine that on this particular Sunday your day started with a walk through the streets dressed up in all your new best clothes, went home had your Sunday lunch, went to chapel and sang your heart out, went home had your tea, went back to the chapel, sang your socks off and went home about 8-00 o’clock having done a 12 hour day. Still, it didn’t do us any harm, at least we got a new set of clothes out of it. The Sunday school teachers were Jack Rhead, Fred Halfpenny, Ray Bailey, Derek Mack and Russell Bromley.
I attended Sunday school, morning and afternoon until I was about 14, until then I had never even kicked a football on a Sunday as I was always dressed up in my best clothes, my dad wouldn’t allow it, Sunday was supposed to be a day of rest. In the 1950s the Sunday school teachers used to stage pantomimes or concerts, there were also dances held in the school rooms in Andrew Street.
If you want to see some of the names of the people who have been mentioned in this series of articles all the way back to 1834, have a look at these web sites and see how many you can recognise.
http://www.wishful-thinking.org.uk/genuki/STS/Tunstall/MIs.html
http://www.wishful-thinking.org.uk/genuki/STS/Goldenhill/MIs.html
I hope that whoever reads this article will enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I also hope that it conjures up many happy memories of a village that withstood the test of time.
My memory bank is now feels totally exhausted, but I know that as soon as I sign this off, something else will pop into my head.
If you think that your memories or opinions differ from mine, please feel free to get in touch.
I thank my old English teachers for their perseverance in trying to make me understand that spelling and grammar are important and also to Microsoft for Spellcheck, for that little bit of extra help. Any the mistakes are mine and mine alone.
Thank you for your time and your patience.
David Wood.
I would personally like to thank David for his excellent recollection of yesteryear Goldenhill, please do write some more articles for us, the Home Page would not be the same without you.
Tom Simpson, Secretary, Sandyford & Goldenhill Residents Association (S.A.G.E.)
Sandyford & Goldenhill Residents Association (S.A.G.E.) Committee would like to wish all it’s residents a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Times have become very difficult for everyone in recent years but S.A.G.E. along with support from residents and the authorities is here to ensure that Goldenhill and Sandyford gets the best deal it can for the people and the area it represents.
Staffordshire Police are updating residents on the recent discovery of a man’s body in Westbourne Drive, Tunstall.
Inspector Martin Brereton says, they have arrested a 41 year old male in connection with the suspicious death.
Inspector Brereton reports that he is able to inform that the male, Jason Bryn Mayer of no fixed abode was charged with the murder.
Mayer from Stoke on Trent will now appear at court following a detailed inquiry by the Major Investigation Department.
Following the sad discovery of the dead man, who has been named as 58 year old Kelvin Williams of Westbourne Drive, officers are supporting the family of Mr Williams and maintaining contact with the local community at this difficult time.
If you have any concerns you wish to discuss, the police are encouraging people to contact your local officers on 101 or speak with them as they patrol your area.
Follow the links for more on this story
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/Man-41-questioned-death-flat-Tunstall/story-14199529-detail/story.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-16298302
http://www.signal1.co.uk/news/local/man-charged-over-tunstall-death-171/
Tunstall’s Chamber of Trade are putting proposals forward to try and improve trade in Stoke on Trent’s most northerly town.
Within these proposals are some suggestions for improving the road network and included in this is the KFC roundabout at Sandyford.
The ideas which the Tunstall Chamber of Trade are making is to try and push the people back into the town of Tunstall and if anyone has any suggestions then please report it on either this website, My Tunstall or contact the Tunstall Chamber of Trade directly.
Follow the link for more information on this story
http://mytunstall.co.uk/11/12/tunstall-parking-and-road-change-suggestions-tunstall-forum
Monday 12th December 2011 is a day when residents of the Ridge Road Estate in Sandyford will remember for a long time because this is the day when its inhabitants celebrated its own success against fighting antisocial behaviour.
Residents won their battle against recent antisocial behaviour when four asbo’s were given out to local youths who had terrorised local people for a long time.
The “Respect Day” which brought Stoke on Trent City Council, Staffordshire Police & Fire Service, Councillor Martin Garner and the Sandyford & Goldenhill Residents Association together as proved a success for all to see.
The authorities lead by the Safer Cities Partnership and Staffordshire Police believe that local residents needed a show of support from all agencies by giving them a “Respect Day” that would improve their own environment.
The day gave residents a cleaner area by providing free skips, having litter picks and supplying new waste bins, community pay back cutting back overgrown vegetation, Staffordshire Fire Service offering free home safety checks, including checking water pressure levels, Staffordshire Police providing support and advice from the police van sited on McDonald’s, S.A.G.E. posting leaflets throughout the area informing residents of the benefits of active walking “Closer to Home, Walk 2 Fitness” as well as with Councillor Garner giving added support to the victims who have suffered from antisocial behaviour.
S.A.G.E. would like to say a special thank you to Councillor Martin Garner in respect to his support through the use of ward budget money to have the pathway from Ridge Road to the park improved.
The pathway in recent years has been subject to poor accessibility to the play area with its unsuitable surface. S.A.G.E. did start having concerns in regards to it becoming unsafe to its users, especially the young children.
S.A.G.E. along with Councillor Garner believes that this was good use of public money due to it helping to improve an area where antisocial behaviour has been rife for so long.
The pathway improvement will enable teenagers, children and their mothers to frequent the park more easily from Ridge Road in a much safer environment.
The respect day in Sandyford has addressed the litter issue on the Ridge Road Estate with a number of new waste bins being sited across the area.
S.A.G.E. Secretary Tom Simpson said that within hours of the bins being placed on the estate that he witnessed people using the litter bins to dispose of their waste.
A member of staff from McDonald’s Food Restaurant in Sandyford was also involved in litter picking across the estate. Jason Owen who works at McDonald’s and is a S.A.G.E. committee member said that the day has been a great success across the area with him collecting ten bags of discarded litter.
Well done to everybody who has helped with this activity.
The Ridge Road Estate “Respect Day” Monday 12.12.11 has enabled residents to dispose of their bulk waste items for free of charge.
The City Council has supplied skips across the estate in Ridge Road, Russell Road, Wignall Road, Sandy Road and Maureen Avenue in an attempt to offer residents the chance to dispose of unwanted bulk items.
The skips have proved a success and all of them were used to their full capacity.
S.A.G.E. would like to thank the authorities for their support in offering this invaluable service to them.
David Wood’s story this week starts with a ball, a couple of jackets, a rope & a piece of chalk and that was all that was needed for 1950s children to have a good time, how things have changed.
David goes onto say, we played football and cricket in any open space we could find, all we needed was a ball and a couple of jackets for goal posts.
The girls played hopscotch and skipping, all that was needed for those two games was either a piece of chalk or a short length of rope.
In the school holidays we were up at the crack of dawn and off to Bathpool, Tunstall Park or the swings with our jam butties and bottles of water.
 Goldenhill Roman Catholic Junior & Infants School Harry Tiptoe, so called for the way he walked, worked on Burgess’s farm at Woodstock, always wore wellies and was one of the most cheerful people around.
My cousin Albert Tilstone, never went anywhere without his camera bag on his shoulder. Jack Walker who farmed at Park Farm, which was down the lane by the station, wore leather gaiters from his ankles to knees.
Stan Bourne, who’s wife Eva had the shop in Heath Street was an insurance man, he always had sweets in his pocket for his customers children. A man, I never knew his name, apparently suffering from shell shock during the war, stepped over things that weren’t there on the pavements.
When I was at the Church school, probably around 1956 a mine shaft opened up in Elgood Lane, my cousin and his friend were delivering papers there and they almost fell into it.
I can honestly say that even though we did not have lots of money or luxuries I did have a very good, well spent, well educated, loving childhood.
We didn’t have televisions, computers, play stations, cars, washing machines, fitted carpets, duvets, central heating, double glazing, fast food and all the things we take for granted today.
What we did have was, hard working parents, good teachers, discipline, freedom to roam, snow drifts in winter, sunshine in summer and lots of fresh air all the year round.
What we had but didn’t want was, freezing cold winters, smog, Asian flu and outside toilets but we put up with them because we were told that things would get better and they did.
It has to be said that although the Winters were cold, they did kill all the germs, well almost 99% of all known germs “so they say” ha! ha! until next time happy reading of these very interesting stories of yesteryear Goldenhill and Sandyford.
A day of action to put some respect back into Sandyford is to take place on Monday 12th December.
The aim of the day is to make the area around Ridge Road to be a cleaner and safer place for everyone to live, work and play.
Respect Action is all about working together. The council, Staffordshire Police, Staffordshire Fire & Rescue, voluntary groups including S.A.G.E. McDonald’s, local residents and other organisations are all working to make things better for your local area.
A free skip service is available for every resident to use and giving them the opportunity to help make the local area tidier. Free skips are available from between 9.00 a.m. & 2.00 p.m. and will be located in Sandy Road, Ridge Road, Russell Road, Russell Place and Wignall Road.
Most important – it is residents responsibility to take waste to the skips and to load it themselves. Anyone caught leaving waste in alleyways or on the pavements could be fined. On the day Environmental Crime officers will be working in the area.
Items not accepted in the skips are – Asbestos, Gas cylinders/bottles, Car batteries, Any electrical items, TVs or IT equipment, Paint tins, Large amounts of rubble, Fluorescent tubes, Fridges/freezers, Tyres, Washers/dryers or Toxic chemical containers.
For more information on how to dispose of the items listed above, please contact 01782 234000.
WHAT ELSE IS TAKING PLACE ?
- Community Payback will be strimming back overgrown land
- New litter bins are being installed
- A barrier is being installed in Sandy Road stopping vehicles from accessing the green space
- City Council Environment Tean and Environmental Crime Unit will be in the area throughout the day
- Staffordshire Fire & Rescue will be offering advice and conducting FREE home fire safety checks
- FREE crime prevention equipment will be available from the police van
- Children from St Joseph’s Goldenhill Community Sports College and McDonald’s Staff will be conducting a litter pick in the area
- Street Pastors will be patrolling the neighbourhood, talking to local residents
Come along to meet Councillor Garner and local police officers at the police van at McDonald’s between 10.00 a.m. & 8.00 p.m.
http://www.stoke.gov.uk/ccm/portal/
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