The Saturday before last, visitors to Bramall Hall, as well as the warm welcome they usually receive, were treated to an array of activities. The reason? A celebration of volunteering in Bramhall and Cheadle Hulme South.

The talented pupils of BramhallHigh School played for us. A huge thankyou to them for giving so much pleasure to so many people. There were stalls representing some of the many local activities; youth work, Friends groups, School Governors and Rotary to name but a few. The opportunity for people to match their talents to so many diverse activities.

Queensgate Primary schoolchildren put Councillors and our Youth Council representatives through their paces in a very robust debate. Their questions were extremely relevant and searching, ranging from increasing school income through recycling, how to stay safe walking or cycling to school. Fortunately, we had our neighbourhood police inspector Dave Turner with us who was able to give us all very sound advice. The quality of question was matched by the pupils’ excellent behaviour throughout the proceedings.

Then we came to the awards ceremony celebrating local people doing very special things which bring so much added value to our community. People like Arnold Pease who works tirelessly as Co-ordinator at Grove Lane Day Centre. There were 17 other awards and age was no barrier to achievement! Alex, at 16 years old, appears not to have the words “no”, “I can’t” and “impossible” in his vocabulary! Fred Cain, in his 80s, had founded a football team which quickly mushroomed: there are now 170 players and numerous teams covering all age groups from 8 to 16. For this very special achievement Fred was awarded the Area award.

This proved to be an excellent opportunity to reward local people and remind ourselves that despite the gloom and doom of the recession, there are beacons of hope in our local communities.

Cllr Maureen Walsh
Bramhall North

This article, by Cllr Maureen Walsh, was first published by the Stockport Express on 23.11.09.