We’re in to December and lots of people have already started putting up their Christmas decorations. I’m not sure if you have yet but I do like how Christmasy it’s starting to look around our town, especially now that the big tree is up in Market Place.
Well one thing is for sure this week, I’m certainly glad that I didn’t get around to fully writing the show last night as today two bits of big news came out.
The first bit of news is regarding the bride that The Waterside pub used to stand on in Summerseat. You might recall the terrible flooding back on boxing day 2015 that came to Ramsbottom.
This flood didn’t just ruin Ramsbottom, it destroyed what was The Waterside pub in Summerseat. The pub itself had been closed for some time and the flood was the final nail in the coffin. Since The Waterside had collapsed, the bridge that it stood on was no longer safe for pedestrians or vehicles.
The Council did repair the bridge so that it was safe for pedestrian access in March 2016, but without the ability to make further improvements due to the land not being owned by the council where the pub once stood. Today, the Bury Times have reported that the Government have now approved the compulsory purchase order that the Council submitted earlier this year. This means that potentially the bridge could be repaired and opened to vehicles as early as next year. The plans were approved in May of this year which include creation of a new walkway.
The second bit of news comes with the announcement that Head for the Hills 2019 will not happen, not here in Ramsbottom, nor in the rumoured future location Burrs Country Park, or will it?
This news is also this week’s not a competition quiz question.
The question this week is, in what year did the Ramsbottom Rhythm and Blues Festival launch? This is, what you might say was the precursor to the Ramsbottom Festival. You’ll get the answer, a little bit later on in the show.
Have a listen to what The Met announced on their website today:
Since we created the festival we’ve seen big changes to the festival market, with more events than ever taking place in Manchester and Lancashire, some no doubt buoyed by what we achieve in Ramsbottom.
This means Head For The Hills as you know it will not take place in 2019. This will be a disappointment to some, but our plan is to come back with something brilliant in 2020.
The words that stand out for me there are “Head For The Hills as you know it will not take place in 2019”. As you know it. Does this mean there could be some smaller musical happenings under the Head for the Hills umbrella?
Who knows, but one thing’s for sure is that it will not be taking place at Ramsbottom Cricket club in 2019, and if rumours are to be believed it won’t in 2020 either, but they’re all rumours at present.
The reason The Met have decided against running the festival again in 2019 they state is: “for the first time since we started we weren’t able to grow and improve on the previous year to the level that we would have liked”… “the decision to take a year out to improve our ability to deliver brilliant festivals in 2020 and beyond has been taken by us all”.
With regards to a potential site change, the FAQ on the Head for the Hills website says:
We’ve had a brilliant time at Ramsbottom Cricket Club over the last 8 years, and we know a number of local residents love having a festival of such high quality within walking distance. The current site has its challenges, but we love it. We’ll take this all into consideration while we plan how to deliver the best festival possible. We wouldn’t be doing it properly if we didn’t consider all the options open to us. As a Bury-based organisation, whatever happens we’ll be serving residents of the Bury area (and we do love it in Rammy).
How do you feel about this announcement? The Met is open to suggestions and comments, you can get hold of them by email on info@themet.org.uk
Outside of those two big announcements, Velvet have just opened a fantastic new shop on Bridge Street, this is their second shop in Ramsbottom now since they moved from their old location on Square Street to the former premises of W & D Scholes on the corner of Bridge Street and Silver Street. This was a good move for them as it increased footfall significantly.
Now, just a few years since that move, they have opened a second shop not far from Ramsbottom Station on Bridge Street in the former Natwest Bank building which sat next to the old Ramsbottom Police station. The new shop is aimed more at children’s clothes stocking some very fashionable items from ranges such as the high end Joules range of clothes.
Next up is the Ramsbottom News, however, before that I want to give you the answer to this week’s #notacompetitionquizquestion. The question this week was, in what year did the Ramsbottom Rhythm and Blue Festival launch. Think you got it? The answer was….. 2004. This was 7 whole years before the first Ramsbottom Festival.
13:33 – Ramsbottom United News: ⚽Now, on to the regular Ramsbottom United section which is also newsworthy. For the first time since 2014, our fantastic Ramsbottom United have managed to get into the first round proper of The FA Trophy. This came about after we got a fantastic result at home to Pickering Town. Having already visited Pickering in the previous match where we held them to a 0-0 draw, Pickering were now the ones having to make the 100+ mile journey to Ramsbottom. That’s two long journeys we’ve had recently in the FA Trophy.
The Rams scored early on in the first half with a great goal from regular scoresheet feature and November player of the month Nic Evangelinos. Pickering Town were able to get an equaliser in the form of a penalty after a questionable decision by the referee. A nervous second half then continued but The Rams soon dominated sending in several shots on the Pickering Town goal mouth. We were able to finally get the ball in the back of the net on the 89th minute with a rocket from Kyle Jacobs. That was Kyles first goal for Ramsbottom since signing, however given he’s a defender I think that’s acceptable 🙂
The match before we played Pickering was a goal fest against Yaxley on our return leg at home. This was the match which took several hours of travel time for each time. We got a 1-1 result away but the reply ended in a 5-1 smashing. A thoroughly enjoyable match.
Sadly, our record unbeaten run of 13 games came to an end against 1st placed Runcorn Linnets on Saturday the 1st of December.
The next match for Ramsbottom is an away league game against Kidsgrove Athletic who are currently 13th in the table. Looking at their form and ours, there is a good chance this will end in a draw, which as an away fixture, I’ll take, but obviously I’d prefer the win.
Ramsbottom United Match Centre
If you want to check out what events are coming up in and around Ramsbottom take a look at the events page, here are some upcoming events from that list:
https://www.thisisrammy.co.uk/event/st-andrews-primary-school-christmas-fair-2018/
https://www.thisisrammy.co.uk/event/santas-grotto/
https://www.thisisrammy.co.uk/event/ramsbottom-christmas-markets-2018/
Check out the full events calendar for many upcoming Ramsbottom events, but here are some other great sources too:
Bury Times Ramsbottom Events Page.
East Lancs Railway Facebook events page.
If YOU have an event you would like to be included in a future podcast episode, get in touch.
Thanks to all the new likers and followers of the This is Rammy social sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, including:
Mike Johnson, Rachel Nicholson, Katie Worsick, Tim Peers, Dan Greenwood, Adam Scott, Lucy Marsden, Alison Haynes, Gill Phillips and Samantha Willcock
Great to have you all onboard, feel free to get in touch any time.
If you’re not yet following the social channels for This is Rammy, take a look and maybe you’ll hear your name mentioned next week.
Kay Street Bridge in Summerseat could reopen next year - Bury TimesTHE NEXT HEAD FOR THE HILLS WILL TAKE PLACE IN 2020 - HFTH Website
Head for the Hills organisers announce next year's festival has been shelved - Bury Times
Ramsbottom Rhythm and Blues Festival returns for another year (2005) – Rossendale Free Press
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