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| Compiled by Karon Watson | ||||
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Chichele School Canteen Ladies
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In the early 1980s the Chichele school canteen was under threat of the staff's hours being reduced or even worst closure. The dinner ladies at the time wrote a poem of prostest. Shirley Skinner was the instigator with a little help from her friends. The Evening Telegraph featured an article (below) and took photographs of the ladies holding up their poem.
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Cooking up a dinner winner
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| Dinner ladies at a Rushden school canteen are hoping their talents for poetry - as well as their cooking - will attract more youngsters to eat school meals and save their jobs. Between them the 14 strong staff at Chichele School canteen have cooked up a rhyme singing their virtues of school dinners. Since it went up on a school notice board it has been attracting the attention of scores of schoolgirls. "We want to entice them back to take school dinners," said school cook Mrs Pamela Harris. "A lot of parents don't know what is available for their children in the snack bar. We hope this will attract them." At present about 150 girls at the school eat the full school meal each day, and a further 90 or so buy snacks. The canteen at Chichele School has already lost two full-time dinner ladies through redundancy, and one part-time worker. The redundancies were made because of national policy of cutting staff by 30per cent, and because the rising cost of school meant fewer children were taking them. Mrs Harris said there were fears throughout the country that there could be more redundancies later this year if things did not improve. "It is a pretty general thing all over the country with these cut-backs," she said. The Poem submitted was: - If you but know of all the time |
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Tribute to brave colleagues
Over the past six or seven years Miss Plant has lost several colleagues from the disease - and she hopes her effort will be a tribute to their bravery. She is planning a coffee evening at the Portland Road canteen in Rushden a week tomorrow (from when this article was produced). She is inviting everyone who wants to support her appeal to call in for a drink and a chat. Tickets priced at 25p are being sold by school meal's staff in the Rushden, Higham Ferrers, Raunds and Wollaston areas, but those who turn up on the night will be able to pay at the door. Miss Plant said "Several people I have known have suffered fom cancer and when Maureen Dickens, who was assistant cook at Chichele School, died this year I felt I wanted to organise something to raise money for research. "Maureen was very brave and an example to us all." Miss Plant has also lost colleagues Erica Cowler, Lily Burton and Doreen Rawlins through cancer over the past few years and the cash raised will also be in their memory. A competition for prizes donated by various canteens in the area will be held and stalls will be set up to cater for Christmas shoppers. They will include caneware, silk flowers, Christmas decoration and enamelled jewellery. The coffee evening is from 7.30pm to 9pm. |
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