Hunt on for laser lout

Warning after high powered beam of light is aimed at several aircraft

A LASER pen lout has been shining a high-powered beam of light at aircraft — with police saying it’s vital the culprit is caught before a catastrophe occurs.
The call comes after officers investigated 15 reports from across parts of Nottinghamshire of a laser being shone at aircraft using East Midlands airport over the last 10 months.
Other incidents of lasers being pointed at drivers in cars and buses and even the police helicopter have also been reported.
Sgt Christine McQuaid, of the North Midlands Helicopter Unit, said: “A laser pen emits an intense light which can blind a driver or a pilot and could go on to have potentially catastrophic consequences. It may look harmless, but the hazards associated if used inappropriately are unthinkable.”

City still top UK shopping centre

NOTTINGHAM remains one of the top places for shopping in the country.
New figures from retail data experts Callcredit Information Group show the city is now sixth in the national retail revenue rankings — a place down from last year’s fifth position.
In common with most large retail centres, the city has seen a decline in estimated retail revenue, generating £672m this year in takings from fashion, homeware/DIY and electrical stores, compared to £734m last year.
The RetailVision report, which covers 17,107 retail centres across the UK, revealed that Manchester has retained its position as the largest retail centre outside London, while Westfield Stratford City has shot into seventh place overall, despite opening only six months ago.
Birmingham has leapfrogged Glasgow to take third place, while Leeds has overtaken both Liverpool and Edinburgh to take eighth place.
Chris Duley, Commercial Director at Callcredit Information Group, said: “There is no doubt that Nottingham remains one of the largest retail centres in the country and continues to pull in the shoppers, generating a significant amount of revenue.”

Dream job a reality in Nottingham

NOTTINGHAM workers top the UK chart for fulfilling their employment ambitions.
Research by Microsoft’s Search Engine Bing found that 22 per cent had ‘fulfilled their dreams by doing their dream job’.
Nottingham also had the highest proportion of people doing jobs they wanted to do when they were a child (27 per cent).
Interestingly, ‘driving a truck’ was a big childhood ambition for people in the city (11 per cent) – more than anywhere else in the UK. Spokesman Jenni Trent Hughes said: “From Robin Hood to leading the world in bicycle manufacturing and lacemaking during The Industrial Revolution, Nottingham residents have always blazed their own trail.
“This attitude of ‘doing’ is what has made Nottingham one of the eight core Cities of the UK. All we need now is to get those who are letting their dreams slip by remember what the spirit of Nottingham is all about and give it a go – whatever ‘it’ may be.”
Bing is asking readers to say what they really want to do. Visit facebook.com/binguk.­

Choirmaster for half a century

CHOIRMASTER Jerry Morris reaches a golden milestone this week — 50 years in his role.
St Andrew’s with Castle Gate Church on Goldsmith Street, in Nottingham will mark the special anniversary for Jerry Morris with a jubilee concert on Friday (May 18th). Jerry has been the choirmaster of St Andrew’s with Castle Gate URC (formally St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church) on the same site since April 1962.
Born and educated in Nottingham, Jerry started his singing as a principal with West Bridgford Operatic Society and had his first singing lessons at the age of 16 with Charles Pickard in West Bridgford. He gained his LRAM diploma in singing before going on to study at the Royal College of Music.
There he won several prizes, including the coveted Clara Butt Prize for Singers, before graduating in 1961. From that time he taught music to 11-18 year-olds in Nottinghamshire schools until his retirement from teaching in 1996.
For several years he was a member of staff at South Nottinghamshire Music School and for the last 22 years of his teaching career was Head of Music at Arnold Hill School, whose band, choir and Gilbert and Sullivan performances enjoyed wide recognition.
Now he is an elder, and his work as a baritone soloist has continued since college days. Jerry’s interests outside music include drama, gardening, dog ownership, walking and community work through the church and The Compassionate Friends, which is a national organisation offering friendship and support to bereaved parents.

New-look for trams is revealed

Sleek-looking designs have been unveiled for new trams which will be introduced onto the Nottingham Express Transit (NET) tram system.
As part of the major project to extend the city’s tram network two new lines to Chilwell and Clifton are currently under construction.
An additional 22 new trams are required to operate the expanded services, which are expected to cater for around 20 million passenger journeys a year from late 2014.
Councillor Jane Urquhart, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Transportation at Nottingham City Council, said: “We are delighted with the iconic design of the new trams. They tey are very much in keeping with NET’s strong visual identity and the council’s vision for a world-class tram network.”

Is this a glimpse into the future?

SAINSBURY'S has submitted a planning application for its proposed new food store in West Bridgford.
The retailer hopes to redevelop the site formerly occupied by The Chateau pub on Wilford Lane.
Consultation feedback has led to several key revisions being made to the scheme prior to submission.
The submitted proposals include a package of highway works on Wilford Lane,
If approved, the new 50,000 sq ft (net sales) store will create around 350 new full and part-time jobs.
The plans can now be viewed at the council offices or online at www.document1.co.uk/blueprint using planning application reference number 12/00564/FUL.

Nottinghamshire Police on 0800 555 111.

Duo in ‘toughest race on earth’

TWO Nottinghamshire runners have completed a race hailed as ‘the toughest footrace on earth’.
Friends Brendan Parkinson and Richard Durance completed the 27th Marathon des Sables and raised over £5,500 for Alzheimer’s Society.
The 150-mile six-day Marathon des Sables took place across the Saharan Desert in Morocco and featured 850 runners from 48 countries. Temperatures during the day soared to 56 degrees Celsius and dropped to 2 degrees at night.
Brendan, from Burton Joyce, said: “It was a privilege to be living among these runners from around the world, helping each other and giving the best of themselves and demonstrating the ‘I can do’ culture — a state of mind I wholly agree with. We trained together, we started every stage together and we finished them together.”
You can still support Richard and Brendan by sponsoring them please visit their fundraising and blog link page at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/brendanandrichardMDS

Libraries launch £1 e-book service

READERS can now download e-books from local libraries for £1.
Nottinghamshire County Council has launched an e-books service which offers the opportunity for people to download titles for their electronic readers.
More than 1,000 of the most current and popular titles are now available to download.
Each e-book costs £1 and up to five titles can be downloaded at any one time for up to 21 days. After that the e-book automatically becomes inactive, meaning no late fines.
Nick London, Team Manager for Library Resources at Nottinghamshire County Council said: “We are aware of the changing market in publishing which is why we have launched the e-books service.”
E-books can be downloaded to a PC, Mac or laptop from www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/libraries 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Topper columnist
Katy Heninghem has lots to say...

Read her weekly column

Topper Competitions Rules