With the exception of last summer, Zippo’s Circus has come to Sidcup every year since 1994. It’s a great favourite with audiences, and is welcomed and supported by the local public. The Circus will perform at Sidcup Place from May 6th to 11th.
One of the most popular features of the circus is its animal performers. They include horses, ponies, and budgies — extremely domestic and extremely uncontroversial participants.
Like all traditional circuses, Zippo’s advertises by placing posters in the windows of local shops, where shop-owners give their permission. An animal rights group is proudly boasting on its website that its activists have misled shopkeepers in Sidcup into removing these posters. They reveal their method; they state that shops were ‘visited by “a guy from the circus” who informed them that sadly the shows had to be postponed so the posters were now out of date and new ones would be delivered soon’.
While the activists are obviously lying to the shopkeepers, there’s no attempt at pretence on their website about what they’re up to. The use of the highlighted phrase ‘a guy from the circus’ is a clear admission of a very crude subterfuge. Whatever the activists’ agenda may be, it doesn’t include being truthful.
Zippo’s Circus follows a strict ethical code in caring for its animals. They are kept, trained, and transported in line with a code developed in cooperation with the respected charity World Horse Welfare (formerly the International League for the Protection of Horses). The circus’s state-of-the-art portable stabling was designed and built after positive discussions with the Born Free organisation. The circus is regularly inspected by specialist veterinarians; some of their comments can be read on Zippo’s website at http://www.zipposcircus.co.uk/ecode.html
Zippo’s Circus informs local people in Sidcup and in Bexley that it has not been and will not be cancelled or postponed; and that the claims made by the activist fanatics are clearly and certifiably untrue.
Tickets for the circus can be bought via www.zippos.co.uk , by ringing 0871 210 2100, or at the ticket office on site from 10am to 8pm each day from Wednesday 5th May.
I can provide images and further information.
Kind regards.
Chris
SALON STAFF BEAT FUND-RAISING TARGET
TO HELP WAR WOUNDED
Staff at a Blackfen hair salon have raised almost £1,300 to help servicemen and women who have been wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Owner Julie Barnes and her team at Back2Front, in Sherwood Park Avenue, shot past their £1,000 target during a two-day charity event, held at the shop last Friday and Saturday (April 16 and 17).
Staff and a band of volunteers, who donned army jackets and berets, sold hundreds of raffle and tombola tickets, collected donations, and sold wrist bands, badges and keyrings in aid of the Help for Heroes charity. Helpers included Julie’s aunt, Maureen Dwyer, from Sidcup, and 17-year-old Army Cadet Robert Welch, from Welling.
Many of the 25 raffle and tombola prizes were donated by the salon’s clients, staff and their family and friends.
The fund-raiser was held in memory of Julie’s dad, known affectionately as ‘Pa’, who died suddenly in February aged 65.
Said Julie: “My dad was a very caring, generous man who was deeply moved by the suffering of others, and he’d always be the first to put his hand in his pocket to help someone in need. He was a great supporter of Help for Heroes so it was fitting that this should be our chosen charity for 2010.
“I’m bowled over by the amount we’ve raised and I’ve had further pledges from many of my clients. I’d like to thank everyone who supported us, either by donating a prize, buying tickets, or helping out on the day. It’s been fantastic.”
The Back2Front staff hold charity days every year. They’ve raised £1,300 for the Breast Cancer Campaign by wearing pink bras over their clothes; £700 for CLAPA (the Cleft Lip and Palate Association), thanks to a sponsored silence; and £800 for the British Heart Foundation by dressing up as bumble bees and animals.
If you’d like to make an online donation, you can visit Julie’s fund-raising page at www.justgiving.com/Pa-and-Help-for-Heroes. For more information about Help for Heroes, go to www.helpforheroes.org.uk.
Greenwich & Bexley Cottage Hospice Lead Nurse to run Marathon
Education and Practice Development Lead Nurse Deirdre Peters is running the
Virgin London Marathon this month to raise money for the charity she works
for.
She is hoping to raise as much money as possible for Greenwich & Bexley
Cottage Hospice, a charity that provides high quality care to local people
at the end of their lives.
Deirdre, aged 49, of Abbey Wood, said: “I am raising money for Greenwich &
Bexley Cottage Hospice because of the excellent care it provides for people
with life-limiting illnesses and their families. Three years ago the hospice
cared for my mum in the last days of her life for which I am eternally
grateful.”
Deirdre, who took up the post of Education and Practice Development Lead
Nurse at the Hospice last December, has worked in hospice care for most of
her career as a nurse. She is passionate about palliative care because she
says there is so much that can be achieved in improving the quality of life
of people with life limiting-illnesses.
Deirdre has run the London Marathon on three occasions and is training hard
for the 26.2 mile London Marathon which takes place on April 25. Deirdre
hopes to complete her run in less than five hours.
“I think the London Marathon is a brilliant event,” said Deirdre. “It’s the
best sporting event I have ever been involved in. I feel so inspired, by
being part of a race where over 35,000 people are taking part, many in fancy
dress, many with disabilities, all determined to keep going, with crowds of
people cheering and encouraging you, the atmosphere is great – it’s so
uplifting. In my opinion, the London Marathon is the best marathon in the
world. It’s the only sports event where so many fun runners and complete
beginners can take part alongside world class athletes.”
If you would like to sponsor Deirdre, visit
www.justgiving.com/gbchdeirdrepeters.
Volunteers in South East London are needed for the London Offender Intensive Support Programme SOVA in partnership with Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, working in collaboration with London Probation & the Metropolitan Police are looking for adult volunteers to mentor adult male ex-offenders with long-standing psychological needs. You will be providing emotional and practical support to clients in a volunteer group and/or one to one basis. No experience is needed as full accredited training is provided, however open-minded, honest and reliable adults are essential qualities. Volunteers must be able to commit to the project for 5 hours a week over 12 months. For further information contact Sarah Connor at sconnor@sova.org.uk or 0207 793 5879.
Bexley council among the best in England for affordable housing delivery, Shelter’s Housing League Table reveals
Bexley council ranks among the best in the country for delivering enough affordable homes to meet local need, housing charity Shelter has found.
Shelter’s Housing League Table, launched today, analysed the performance of 323 councils in England in providing affordable housing and Bexley council was ranked fifth.
Local authorities are responsible for identifying the housing need in their area and for ensuring enough affordable homes are provided to meet this need. Bexley council is required to provide 169 affordable homes a year and last year delivered 233.
It was one of only eight councils in England to deliver more than its annual requirement of affordable homes.
Shelter’s chief executive Campbell Robb said: “We know that the recession has created a difficult climate for house building, but the work of Bexley council clearly shows that by working creatively with their partners local authorities can deliver affordable homes.
“However, with nearly 6,500 households on the waiting list in Bexley it is vital that the council continues to keep building these desperately needed homes.
The findings are part of Shelter’s Housing League Table, a new one-stop-shop website that provides local housing data including house prices, housing waiting lists and levels of housing delivery. The website also ranks councils according to their current levels of affordable housing delivery against their analysis of housing need. These rankings can be found at: www.shelter.org.uk/housingleaguetabledata
Shelter hopes the website will provide councillors and the public with information about the need for affordable housing, with the league tables updated annually to enable the public to hold the council to account.
Mr Robb added: “We hope members of the public will use this information to get in touch with their council and make their views on the need to deliver more affordable homes known.
“Councils must also be supported by significant Government cash so they can deliver desperately needed affordable homes. That’s why in the current financial climate, and with council budgets set to be slashed, it is vital that all political parties make affordable housing a long-term top priority.”
