ACHIEVEMENTS, HIGHLIGHTS, SUCCESSES
History Archives exhibition
It was lovely to receive an email recently from a lady from Astley who visited the History Archives exhibition at St. Helen’s Church House and Rixton Methodist Church’s coffee morning in September, having seen the events advertised in the ‘In the Know’ newsletter on www.hollinsgreen.net. She said: “Having read the booklet I made contact with Joan Hill, spent an enjoyable 2 days in Hollins Green and Rixton and found out some very helpful information about some of my ancestors from the area. A very kind member of Rixton Church’s congregation showed me some interesting church records, which helped me in researching my family tree. I will certainly be referring to the booklet regularly and look forward to attending other events in the future”.
Zumba
Following the success of the half hour taster sessions of Zumba style exercise introduced in July at the Scout Centre these are now running on Monday evenings for 45 minutes 7 - 7.45pm. A session costs £2.50 - for more details contact Michele on 07525 456291.
Friends of St. Helen’s Church
Friends of St. Helen’s Church have had a busy and varied summer enjoying a trip to Trentham Gardens; entertaining children with their Teddy Bears picnic at school and transforming Church House into a scene from upstairs/downstairs as ‘Friends’ served afternoon tea in their vintage costumes.
Their launch and signing of a new book entitled ‘A History of Hollins Green’ took place in September, with the author Gareth Brogan signing copies - available at £8.99 from church or Joan Hill on 0161 775 4925.
Doreen’s Dance Class group have already got a date on their 2012
calendar, with 3 days holiday booked in St. Annes to look forward to.
The annual Village Show
The annual Village Show hosted by the Chrysanthemum Horticultural Society was a great success with more visitors and entries than ever this year. There was a particularly large increase of entries in the junior section, which is always good to see. For more images of some of the flowers, produce and cake entries click here
The Scout Centre
The Scout Centre, now 3yrs old, celebrated recently with a successful and sunny Open Day. All 3 Scout units are well attended, totalling nearly 60 children - contact details on page 10 (In the Know booklet). 
Senior citizens were treated to an excellent performance by St. Helen’s School KS2 pupils about a group of evacuees, called ‘bombs and blackberries’. Year 6 pupils had a fantastic residential visit to the
Kingswood Colomendy Centre, North Wales where they tried new ventures and faced individual and team challenges. The Rugby Team
took part in a tournament at St. Peter’s School, Woolston and reached the quarter finals of the Cheshire Fire and Rescue Sevens at Halliwell Jones Stadium. Coach, Mrs Bradbury, held a special awards evening in July for the school team leavers. The school Gardening Club, comprising of 3 parents, worked with small groups of children to improve the appearance of the school grounds, planting baskets, tubs, shrubs and vegetables. They were delighted to taste crisps made from their potatoes and enjoyed harvesting their tomatoes. Children shared their hopes and dreams for the future at a moving leaver’s service. The Friends of St. Helen’s Primary School helped contribute to a new projector and provided a new scooter rack for school. The Summer Fair raised nearly £900 - thanks to all who gave their support.
The Lancashire Scooter Alliance ride out from Ye Olde Red Lion was a huge success with 300 scooters taking part.
Friends of Hollinfare Cemetery
Friends of Hollinfare Cemetery raised over £400 at 2 local fundraising events and celebrated their first year in operation with a meal at the Rhinewood Hotel. Since starting, over 40 volunteers have helped out with on average 25 attending each Action Day. Visitors regularly comment on the already improved look of the cemetery. If you would like to help and make a difference see diary pages 16 and 19 (In the Know booklet) for Action Day dates and times or visit the ‘Friends’ notice board in the cemetery.
The Bikers Church, located at Rixton Methodist Church, was 1 year old in September and is the first in this country - see p. 23 for times. (In the Know Booklet)
Camsley Grange Riding
Camsley Grange Riding for the Disabled were delighted when Tom Shaw successfully completed his climb up Mount Kilimanjaro, raising over £2,000 for the group.
Following a successful Charity Bowling Event held in February, Neil Trownson recently presented a cheque to Air Ambulance in Barton.
Sponsored by The Hamilton Davies Trust