Northants Telegraph Sunday Extra - nuisance motorbikes, author's new book and workplace anniversary

We've got so much news these days that we can't always squeeze everything into the working week. So every Sunday we'll bring you updates on recent stories, some news-in-brief and other things you need to know from across Corby, Wellingborough, East Northamptonshire and Kettering.

Police in Corby are appealing for local people to keep their eyes out for nuisance motorcycles.

PCSO Tony Greening says that there are currently high levels of motorcycle nuisance in and around Corby and has now appealed for help from the public.

They are being asked to take a note of the type of motorcycle and its colour, a description of the rider, the time, place and date it was seen and any other suspicious circumstances.

You can email intelligence to Tony at [email protected]

You can also provide confidential information anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

A secretary at a Corby estate agent is celebrating two decades behind the counter.

Fiona Morton, who works at Belvoir estate agents in George Street, started at the business when it was Yates Walker back in 2002.

She joined the company as a personal secretary to then director, Jim Yates, after having previously worked with him as part of a work experience placement when she was just 16 and then becoming a junior secretary.

Yates Walker, or Yates as it was later known, was a household name in Corby for more than 30 years before it was acquired by Belvoir in 2018.

Fiona now works as a secretary across both the sales and lettings departments at Belvoir and has been described as a “vital and valued” member of the team by its managing director Bobby Singh Braich.

He said: “Fiona is such a vital and valued member of the team. The place just wouldn’t be the same without her.

Fiona said: “Things have moved on so much since my first experience of working at an estate agency at 16. Then the window display was on a turntable and we’d have to manually stick the information about the houses onto it.

“Each picture had to be printed from a camera film and when we ran out of printed pictures, we photocopied them.

“For many years we didn’t have email and my ‘inbox’ was an ‘in tray’ on my desk that I would work my way through from top to bottom.

“I also spent much of my time typing letters on a typewriter that had been dictated to me on a Dictaphone that I would play, pause and rewind using pedals under my desk!

“It’s amazing how much things have changed over the years but one thing that has remained constant is how much I enjoy working with the team to help the landlords, tenants and home buyers of Corby.”

An author from Kettering has published a new book about communication.

‘Nimblicity’ has been written by Nicholas Wright, who originally grew up in the town, and co-author Darren Briggs.

It discuss all aspects of communication in the modern age and has already made a splash in Amazon sales, reaching number one in Australia’s communication policy books chart.

The deputy mayor of Corby Town Council was invited to visit Beanfield Primary School last week.

For the first part of his visit Cllr Tafadzwa Chikoto was taken on a tour of school by pupils Jordan and Rhys.

Class ambassadors introduced themselves to Cllr Chikoto and informed him of what they were learning in class, as well as proudly sharing some examples of their work.

Cllr Chikoto then led a question-and-answer session with the Pupil Parliament where he asked questions about what the pupils like at Beanfield, what they enjoy most about learning and the children’s hopes and aspirations for the future.

The children also asked Cllr Chikoto some questions about his role within Corby and the town council.

Kirby Hall near Gretton has seen visitor numbers rocket, according to English Heritage.

One of England’s greatest Elizabethan and 17th century houses, with a restored Elizabethan garden, Kirby Hall is now semi-ruined but retains much of its rich decoration.

And 2021 was its best year for visitors since 2001 - with numbers up by 19 per cent since 2019.

Kate Mavor, chief executive of English Heritage, said: “At English Heritage, we look after over 400 historic buildings, monuments and sites across the country – many of which attract visitors from far and wide. In the past, those lesser known, more intimate local sites in our care have often been overlooked in favour of our more iconic ones, despite having just as rich and important a history. This has been a long and hard pandemic but one silver lining appears to be that with people staying closer to home, they have discovered historic places nearby.”

The date for the Wellingborough & East Northants Chamber of Commerce spring meeting has been announced.

Chamber members, business representatives and local stakeholders have been encouraged to attend the Chamber’s spring event, which is the first face-to-face meeting since the start of the pandemic.

Taking place on Friday, March 18, between 7am and 10am at Chester House Estate in Irchester, the meeting will explore the area’s new town councils and tourism sector. In addition, the event will include a Chamber update and a panel discussion.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to network with some of the leading figures in the area, including Chamber president Pritesh Ganatra.

Pritesh said: “We are pleased to welcome people back to an in-person meeting, after holding them virtually over the last two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It will be great to see people beyond a computer screen and tackle some important issues facing businesses in the town.”

Corby school Priors Hall - A Learning Community has been awarded the Targeted Mental Health Support (TaMHS) Bronze Award.

To gain the accreditation, leaders had to provide evidence of their dedication to promoting positive mental health within the school, including demonstrating how the provision has been developed to enhance children’s mental health.

Tess McQuade, the school’s headteacher and trained senior mental health lead, said: “Our school motto is ‘Ready for Learning, Ready for Life’. I strongly believe that providing children with skills and strategies in order to understand their own feelings and be able to talk about them is equally as important as providing them with the skills needed to solve a mathematical equation.

“With our ever-changing world, it is important children understand that mental health is as important as our physical health.

“I am so proud to be part of a school where all staff believe in our ethos and work together to achieve it.”

A Wellingborough disability service has been given a clean bill of health after a visit from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as part of their pandemic response.

Sanctuary Supported Living’s Southwood House was visited by health inspectors who found that good practice was in place, and comprehensive checks are carried out with staff and visitors to reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection for people living at the home.

Tricia Galloway, local service manager, said: “We always place the health and wellbeing of residents first and I’m so pleased that the inspectors have recognised first-hand the high standards that the team at Southwood House has maintained throughout the pandemic and beyond.”