Olympic javelin-throwing medallist of 1980s was inspirational speaker at Blundell Park conference

                                                      

Former Olympic medal-winning javelin thrower Fatima Whitbread MBE was recent guest at Blundell Park, Cleethorpes, to give a talk to teachers, child pyschologists and others concerned with the welfare and development of children, especially those from difficult backgrounds. Ms Whitbread (64), who won a silver medal at the 1988 Olympics, was abandoned as a baby and spent the first 14 years of her life in institutions with other traumatised children. But by dint of perseverance, she became a great international athlete of the 1980s and, since her retirement from competition in 1992, has championed the cause of children in seeking to achieve their their goals. 

Grimsby and Cleethorpes MP in new blast at Corporation Road Bridge repairs delays

                                             

Melanie Onn: 'It's an absolute disgrace' 

GRIMSBY and Cleethorpes MP Melanie Onn has again vented her fury at what has become known as the "Corporation Road Bridge fiasco".

In her monthly question-and-answer session on the social media platform, Facebook, she fumed: "My goodness, what an absolute disgrace - the amount of money that has gone down the drain on this project is ridiculous."

The MP said she had been disturbed to be told that repairs had been delayed "for months"because staff employed by the original contractor had been working on other projects elsewhere.

Since then, a new contractor has been appointed by North East Lincolnshire Council, but there is still no word on the likely reopening date, nor on the prospective size of the final bill.

Ms Onn noted that the repairs were being funded largely by NELC and Whitehall and that "public money was hard to come by".

Her understanding was that NELC was seeking reimbursement for some of its expenditure but she had no further detail on this.

She said  that, henceforth, there should be no "wriggle room for delays".

"There has to be appropriate scrutiny and management," she insisted.

* During the 30-minute Q&A session, the MP confirmed that she had attended this week's  meeting of  Labour MPs and had given her support to Sir Keir Starmer continuing as Prime Minister for the sake of stability.

Suspected Monkey Pox case in patient at Grimsby care home proved to be false alarm

A SUSPECTED case of  Mpox (Monkey Pox) in a Grimsby care home turned out to be a false alarm.

The scare occurred when the elderly male resident, though otherwise well, presented with a widespread rash.

Mpox was first identified in laboratory monkeys in 1958, with the first human case occurring in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

Since then it has spready globally with a particular surge in 2022. However, it is very rare in the UK.

The flu-like symptoms and rash are unpleasant but the condition is usually 'self-limiting' - it clears up after a few weeks.

A report on the Grimsby 'case' states: "There were no known factors that would have suggested that this patient, nor anyone else in, or associated with, the care home was a plausible risk for Mpox. 

"Despite epidemiology suggesting that Mpox was highly unlikely, four independent clinicians raised concerns and so the patient was admitted to a hospital isolation unit for further investigation. 

"He remained in hospital for an extended period due to  swabs being missed and late reported results.

"Unfortunately, he went on to acquire a healthcare associated infecton, HCAI, extending his admission further.

"Results eventually confirmed the absence of Mpox, and a diagnosis of viral rash was given."

The report goes on  identify a number of concerns about the case including: 

• Timeliness of testing and results 

• Communication challenges between involved agencies 

• Primary Care response to care home patients 

The case was circulated to the wider health system and review meetings took place with partner agencies in order to understand and share learning points and identify any potential issues in the system with regards to the Mpox response.

10-bedroomed hotel close to Cleethorpes seafront put up for sale

                                                             

The Kristina Hotel - agents say it has 'potential' for conversion to other uses 

A 10-bedroomed Cleethorpes hotel has been put up for sale.

The Kristina is on Queen's Parade and close to the seafront.

Agents Jackson, Green & Preston say the majority of the 10 bedrooms are en suite. There is a car park to the rear of the property off Oxford Street.

The semi-detached property is described as having (subject to planning consent) potential for conversion to a family home, to individual flats or to a house in multiple occupation.

The asking price is £325,00.

Work set to start next month on Cleethorpes amenity building - so long as sums add up

                                                         

Tests have been ongoing to ensure the ground is capable of holding a three-storey building with utilities capacity

WORK is scheduled to start next month on construction of the amenity building proposed for the site of the demolished Waves pub on the corner of Sea Road and Central Promenade.

So long as a price can be agreed, the prospective contractor is long-established Lincoln-based Lindum  which has taken over from JemBuild. 

The project has been long delayed, For anyone who might have forgotten, the proposal is for a "three-storey building comprising public amenities and a changing facility as well as commercially lettable space across all floors".

However, it is still not clear whether any prospective tenants have yet been signed up to take spaces.   

NELC is not revealing anything  save to say that the building, when completed, "may include different providers in retail and hospitality". 

During the long lull since activity, further tests have been carried out on the ground to establish that it is of sufficient integrity to accommodate a relatively large building.

So far, £1.4-million has already been spent, out of a budget of  £6-1-million,  on design, planning and  preliminary works.

The proposed completion date is March next year, but is this projection optimistic given that the council acknowledges that there are some challenges ahead?

It lists these as: 

• Certainty required on design, legal position and costings to enable start on site 

• Support from NELC's own planning and highways colleagues

• Co-ordination of design and construction with the adjacent Pier Gardens project

• Aligning project cost with procurement requirements.

Perhaps the main concern is that, after having done the arithmetic, Lindum may decide that the budget is insufficient to make the project profitable, prompting them to pull out.

Time will tell.

Film review: how bird of prey helped give shape to life of woman numbed by grief at loss of her dad

                                                             

The film movingly explores the bond between a college lecturer and a Goshawk 

THERE has been quite a bit of buzz locally about the film H is for Hawk which is currently screening at the Parkway cinema in Cleethorpes.

It explores how  acquiring and training  a hawk (which she names, Mabel - from the Latin, amabilis, meaning lovable) becomes the obsession  of Helen Macdonald, a lecturer at Jesus College, Cambridge.

In some strange way, the bird seems to provide an anchor to her life following the sudden death from heart failure of her much-loved father, Alisdair, a photographer with the Daily Mirror.

The action is based on the true story recounted in a book of the same title by Helen who co-produced the film.

It has to be said that many parts of the book are heavy going.

The film, by contrast, is tightly-edited and crisp.

The movie is also more successful in exploring both the touchingly tender bond between daughter and her father (it survives just as strongly after his death) and her warm, but less affectionate, relationship with her mother and brother.

There is some fine acting in the supporting roles, notably by Lindsay Duncan, as  the mother, but it is the performance of Claire Foy as Helen Macdonald which really excels - not least  because, to fit the role, she had to learn to engage with a live Goshawk, a large and energetic prey with fierce bills and talon.

There is a rough honesty about how Helen is portrayed. Far from being a paragon of tenderness she has plenty of ragged edges - she is self-centred, chain-smokes, swears  and  plays rap music at top volume in her late father’s car where she seems careless at the wheel.

With,  a somewhat slovenly approach to life and slightly cruel laugh, this character is not someone you would necessarily want as a reliable friend.

But  it is impossible not to sympathise with and admire a woman trapped in grief and loneliness, yet simultaneously able to find an anchor in her  life through  her affection towards a bird that in no way can reciprocate.

Looking at the credits, the extent of  female involvement in the making of the film is conspicuous, and, perhaps in a nod to diversity, even the GP who diagnoses Helen’s depression is changed from a man in the book to a black woman in the film.

Plaudits to the director, Philippa Lowthorpe, who ensures the narrative is taut and almost entirely free of sentimentality apart from one moment when the Goshawk seems to be casting a tender eye on its owner as she sleeps.

Also creditable is a lecture hall sequence, late in the film,  which explores the ethics of hunting with raptors and whether, as in times gone by, there might today be a role for interaction between humankind and birds as an alternative to watching them with detachment from afar.

It should be noted that though the theme is underscored throughout by grief, the message is emphatically not one of despair. 

The last word, spoken in a flashback sequence as Helen’s father asks her to pose for a picture is: "Smile".

And before the credits roll, we see on screen (and are invited to interpret) the words written in 1373 in  Revelations of Divine Love by the ascetic, Julian of Norwich  (1343-1416): "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well". 

What happened to the Goshawk, for which Helen had paid £800? 

It is not revealed in the film, but according to the book, the bird "flew for many more seasons before a sudden untreatable infection with aspergillosis - airborne fungus - carried her from her aviary to the dark woods where dwell the lost and dead."   

Oil painting of old Grimsby trawler expected to fetch bids of up to £100 at Scarborough auction

                                                                     

Paintings of old Grimsby steam trawlers are not scarce but those of high quality invariably attract the interest of bidders when they come up for sale. According to Scarborough auction  house David Duggleby, this oil-on-canvas by Keith Baldock of Black Watch is expected to   go under the hammer for between £50 and £100 at its art sale on Thursday February 12.