Kelvin the Kiln is Stoke's Centenary Mascot
Plus MBE for Keele Professor, TedEx returns to the University of Staffordshire, support for wheelchair users in Newcastle and Festival of Brilliant returns…
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💯 Meet Our Centenary Mascot! After winning a council-led competition to name the Stoke centenary mascot and design an apron, Kelvin the Kiln paid a surprise visit to children at the St. Gregory’s Catholic Academy in Longton with Lord Mayor Lyn Sharpe. The two winners were Zunairah Hussain, who chose the name, and Fizza Fatima, who designed the front of Kelvin’s potter’s apron. The mascot was produced by London-based costume specialist Rainbow Productions. The company’s managing director, Simon Foulkes, was born in Stoke and still has connections to the city. He’s also a massive Stoke fan.
👩🏫 Keele Professor Receives MBE from Prince William. Keele University Professor Elaine Hay recently received her MBE medal from Prince William for services to medical research. Hay, a Professor of Community Rheumatology, was honoured at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle. She has devoted her career to understanding the causes and consequences of musculoskeletal disorders, and improving primary care for patients. Well done Elaine!
♻️ Recycling and Repurposing Medical Items. More than 700 medical items have been recycled over the last 12 months thanks to a new county council and charity partnership. Run by Staffordshire County Council and charity Grace Cares, the project enables people to donate any unwanted items at 12 collection points across Staffordshire’s Household Waste Recycling Centres and includes things like walkers and commodes. The charity then sells the donated items at less than half the market price, with any proceeds from sales going to community events including afternoon teas and care home activities.
📢 TedEx Speakers Unveiled for Uni of Staffs. Nine inspirational people will deliver a talk that explores this year’s theme, 'Adventures into the Unknown' on 15/05. Leading the line-up is world explorer, author and documentary maker Major Levison Wood, who will argue that exploration enables us to achieve our full potential. In his talk, Chancellor of University of Staffordshire, who grew up in Forsbrook, will reflect on experiences including walking the length of The Nile, The Himalayas and Central America. Former SCFC player Nathan Jones and Port Vale chair Carol Shanahan will also be speaking at the event. Tickets here.
Levison Wood is at the Uni of Staff’s upcoming TedEx event
👩🦽Support for Wheelchair Users in Newcastle. Wheelchair users and people with mobility difficulties in Newcastle are benefiting after Staffordshire County Council awarded £2,200 to Newcastle Community Transport, which provides a wheelchair-friendly, door-to-door transport service. The service helps people get to medical appointments, shopping trips and to attend support groups, day centres, churches, and social clubs. The charity has more than 120 regular customers and makes around 4,700 journeys per year.
📚 Festival of Brilliant Returns. Following the success of last year’s show, children’s book event The Festival of Brilliant is returning to Staffordshire Moorlands this summer. Children’s Laureates will appear alongside a line-up of authors, illustrators, poets and performers at Biddulph Old Hall on 11/07 and 12/07. This year’s festival features Children’s Laureates Frank Cottrell Boyce and Joseph Coelho, author/illustrator Nadia Shireen and spoken word artist Steven Camden (aka Polarbear). Expect readings, talks, workshops, and storytelling sessions in the fab grounds of Biddulph Old Hall, which dates back to the 1420s.
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🏃 New Junior Park Run at Lyme Valley Park: It’s for kids aged 4-14 if you fancy…
🦸♀️ Comic-Con Returns to Stoke: Meet your fave superheroes at the Potteries Centre
📅 The Knot Life: did you know you can list your events for free at The Knot Life? More and more readers are doing it - get yours on too!
Unsung Heroes ⬇️
🏃♀️ Dave Juggins. The 75 year old gold medal duathlete can run a 5km in 21 minutes.
👗 Anya Parker James. Read about the designer that built a fashion career here.
👨🎨 Ian Parker: Mouth painter Ian has illustrated a kid’s book and is a full-time artist.
👩⚕️ Ruth Chambers: The retired GP won an OBE for improving health outcomes.
🥨 Good Vibes Only: A Word from Helen, Writer at The Knot
There was no way Stoke’s centenary mascot couldn’t have a connection to our mighty pottery industry, and we can’t wait to see Kelvin the Kiln in action (watch him meet competition winners at St. Gregory’s Academy) as celebrations step up a gear to mark the 100th anniversary of Stoke being granted city status on 5 June, 1925. With the pottery industry at its most productive and our iconic bottle kilns working at full pelt to fire our fabulous crockery, King George V and Queen Mary visited us on that day to personally confer the Royal Charter.
While we all know Stoke isn’t without its problems, we’ve come a long way since 1925, when our city, like the rest of the UK, was recovering from the economic impact of World War I, and Conservative Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin presided over a stark period of depression and decline. Fastforward a century and the city’s celebrations, including the first-ever Stoke-on-Trent Day on 05/06 and the People’s Parade (07/06), will commemorate all that’s great and good about our city.
It’s now just 72 days until Stoke officially turns 100, but there are plenty of great events to look out for before then, including Voices of the Potteries - A Centenary Musical (02/05-03/05) and the Etruria Canals Festival (31/05-01/06) - see here for a full list of centenary happenings. We forward to meeting Kelvin the Kiln at these upcoming events - and you, too!
Weekly Weather (Stoke-on-Trent):
Mon ☁️ 13° (5°) Tue ☁️ 12° (4°) Wed ⛅️ 13° (3°) Thu 🌧️ 13° (4°) Fri 🌧️ 13° (3°)
Sat 🌧️ 11° (3°) Sun 🌧️ 11° (2°).
Sunrise 24/03 ☀️06:03 Sunset 24/03 🌅 18:29
Thanks for the reminder about the Festival of Brilliant- we went last year and it was a lovely, small festival on beautiful grounds. I've booked our tickets already :-)