Last month’s Doxey Times told of the grant that the Community Association had received for its arts project. Since then the project has been awarded a further £1500 from Staffordshire County Council. We are fast approaching the total needed to put the Doxey play on, but do need a bit more

For those not yet up to speed, he idea is to put on a play in Doxey – about Doxey – with Doxey people involved at every stage and in every part of the production. As well as giving a chance for people who already have theatre skills to put them to use, it will give others a chance to learn these skills. There will be a series of workshops run by theatre professionals.

Some people have already called to say that they are interested – and the number is growing every week, but it is not too late for others to put their names forward. If you want to act, to play music, to construct scenery, to do lighting or do any of the other jobs involved in producing a play call Jane on 621453 or Joan on 251622.

Work on writing the play has already started. The writer will be visiting Doxey in January and would be keen to meet residents who have interesting stories to tell about the village. Contact Barbara on 607771 if you have a story to tell.

The provisional title for the play is "Village Voices", so look out for more news about this production in coming weeks.

The play will be performed on Saturday, 30 April and Sunday, 1 May and Mikron will do their four-actor version in Doxey on Saturday, 11 June.

Doxey’s Hannah Burgess is standing for election to the National Youth Parliament.

The parliament aims to:

Each year the Parliament draws up a manifesto - which highlights the concerns of young people across the country – and presents this to the Government which is committed to making a response.

Hannah has been prominent in Doxey’s Youth Forum – working for better facilities for young people in Doxey - and has played a role in getting more litter bins in Doxey.

Voting takes place from Monday 7 February to Friday 11 Friday. Any one in the age range 11 – 19 can vote – on-line or by texting. Instructions on how to do this will be available in youth clubs and schools and from Connexions.

Doxey’s annual garden sale will take place in May. Why not sow some extra seeds for sale on that day?

Elections for the new Doxey Parish Council are due to take place on 5 May this year. Notices will be published on …. inviting nominations to the council.

With a few exceptions, anyone who lives in Doxey can stand for election.. You just need ten people to sign your nomination form.

There will be nine seats. If only nine people – or fewer – are nominated, there will be no election. Everyone who is elected will become a member of the new parish council. If there are any vacancies, the parish council can co-opt additional members.

Although there are many things which a parish council can do, what it actually does is largely up to the councillors to decide. The main thing, though, is that it will give Doxey a voice in the wider world. The Doxey Parish council will be able to campaign in a more organised way for things to benefit Doxey people.

There will be plenty of guidance about how the council will work and training will be provided for parish councillors.

To find out more about what a parish council can do and what being a parish councillor means come along to the next meeting of the Doxey Community Association

on Wednesday, 9 February

Mark Gater, from the recently formed Silverdale Parish Council will be there to answer all your questions and to explain what you can get out of being a parish councillor.

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For many years the people of Doxey have used a footpath to get from The Drive to the disused railway line that went to Newport. This runs alongside the fenced field and past the end of the football pitch nearest to town. (For those of you who are familiar with grid references, the references for the start and finish of this path are 906325 and 906234.)

At one time there was a fence between this footpath and the rest of the open space, but this has been down for a long time. The County Council - which, has converted the disused railway into a bridleway, known as the Greenway - has acknowledged this footpath, by providing access from it to the Greenway.

It appears that no one has been prevented in recent years from using this path, but it is now in a bad state. Some early attention would be very helpful to the people who use it. The problem, though is that this footpath is not an official right of way so there is no way in which the community or the local council could do anything about this.

It is possible to establish the path as a right of way if it has been used as such for a sufficiently long time. To prove this there need to be at least six people who are prepared to make a statement that this path has been used – without any hindrance or special permission – for at least 20 years. If you are able to help with this, please call 251622.

The next clear-out day will be on

Sunday, 8th May. See later issues of Doxey Times for details.

In the past many Doxey parents have welcomed the support provided by the Parent and Toddler Group. It is hoped to get the group going again soon. It will meet

on Friday mornings

A small charge of 50p per session will be made. This will include refreshments

The health visitor will be in attendance at some session.

If you are interested in joining the group, call Mandy on

07969 942 011.

A questionnaire was delivered to every tenth home in Doxey a couple of weeks ago. The idea is to find out the extent to which the closure of Doxey post office has made life difficult for residents of Doxey.

Because this was only a 10% survey it is important that as many completed

questionnaires as possible are returned. They will tell us whether we need to continue the campaign to restore some kind of post office service to Doxey.

Completed questionnaires can be returned to the following places:

If you would like someone to collect your questionnaire or you need another copy, call 251622.

Keep Fit

Tuesdays - 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Doxey Primary School

Costs £5 Last session is on 15 March

New CLAIT computer course

To enrol call 275607. For further information about these courses, call 07771 696746.