Top man in town

England football manager Steve McClaren visited Foredyke Primary School, in east Hull, to see how a football coaching project is helping youngsters stay out of trouble.
The former Hull City midfielder watched a training session, spoke in the school assembly, and answered kids, questions.
Foredyke is just one Hull school which takes part in a national scheme known as the Hat-Trick football coaching project.

Year of the pig

Members of Hull's Chinese Cultural Centre with Lord Mayor of Hull Cllr Trevor Larsen (centre right)

Chinese New Year starts on February 18, when Hull's Chinese community will welcome in the year of the pig.
"It's a bit like Christmas, where families get together and celebrate," says Luana Smith, chair of Hull's Hon Lok Senior Association, in Beverley Road, which organises events for elderly Chinese residents in the city.
"It's a time of year when Chinese people like to clean out their houses, and children receive small red envelopes with money inside."
Meanwhile, a range of family activities -including Chinese cookery, t'ai-chi and calligraphy - will take place on Saturday February 17 at Hull Central Library, the BBC Centre, and the Central Methodist Hall, on King Edward Street.
For more information about these activities, organised by Hull City Council's Family Learning Networks, contact Amy Baker or Fiona Harbord on 300300.

School plans

Plans to close down Sir Henry Cooper School on Orchard Park Estate have been withdrawn by the independent School Organisation Committee (SOC).
The plans included replacing the school with a completely new building on the site of Endike Primary School, on Endike Lane north Hull, as part of the city's £200-million Building Schools for the Future programme.
Meanwhile, the SOC has approved proposals for Teskey King Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD) School, on Inglemire Lane, to become a school that caters for children with different needs.
From September 1, it will cater for children with behaviour, emotional and social difficulties (BESD), rather than MLD.
In 2010 it will move to a site at The Dales Primary School, Bransholme.

All mapped out

Twelve historic maps of Hull, dating from between 1530 and 1906, are now available on CD-ROM.
The maps show the growth of streets, houses, churches and other buildings over the centuries.
Priced at £12.95, the 'Hull Through the Ages' CD-ROM is now on sale from the Central Library on Albion Street, in the city centre.
The disc also contains two trade directories, from 1791 and 1842, of Hull merchants and business people, listing the work they did and where they lived.
For more information, call the Local Studies Library on 300300.

Grow your own

Would you like an allotment to grow your own fruit, veg and flowers? If so, an allotment gardening beginners, course may be for you.
Hull City Council manages 22 allotment sites around the city, which together make up about 1,800 individual plots.
Many plots are available to rent at £24.75 a year (price to increase slightly in April).
The course, run by the council and the City of Hull and Humber Environment Forum, covers all you need to know to get started and harvest a good yield.
It is held on Wednesdays at Hull Business Centre, Guildhall Road.
"The courses are well attended and appeal to anyone who'd like to grow their own produce," said Andrew Wilson, Hull City Council's horticultural manager.
The next one starts on February 14. To book, call Mr Wilson on 300300.

Happy hamper winner

Mr Ron Bowsley, of Kingsley Avenue, east Hull, was the lucky winner of the Hull in print Christmas hamper worth £100.
Mr Bowsley, who is retired, says he is a keen recycler – and he had no problem correctly answering all ten questions in the Christmas issue's recycling quiz to win the prize.
All the foodstuffs inside, including wine, cakes, sauces and jam, were either organic or Fairtrade, and the packaging was recyclable.

Stamp of approval

The face of one of Hull's most famous sons will appear on a national postage stamp to commemorate 200 years since the abolition of the British Slave Trade.
The William Wilberforce stamp will be the first of a set of six stamps, each featuring prominent abolitionists, including Olaudah Equiano, Granville Sharp, Thomas Clarkson, Hannah Moore and Ignatius Sancho.
The stamps will be available from post offices across the UK from March 22.

New ways to access council services

Hull City Council's first information point is now open at the former Newland Avenue primary school building, in Reynoldson Street.
It's a place where people can speak face-to-face with council officers in order to request a range of services, from council house repairs to the pest control team.
Problems including faulty street lights, fly-tipping and missed bin collections can also be reported.
The council now plans to set up more information points across the city, as smaller versions of its eight customer service centres.
They will be located in libraries and other council buildings, and at community warden offices.
For more information ring 300300.

Could you be a councillor?

"A councillor? Who? Me?"
That was the title of a course that was attended by 55 people at the Guildhall last month.
It was designed to encourage more people to become councillors to serve the people of Hull.
Delivered by former leader of Bradford Metropolitan District Council Ronnie Farley, the course gave an insight into the roles and responsibilities of councillors and the demands of the job.
Attendees of past courses include Hull City Council leader Carl Minns.
For more information on future courses (subject to demand), contact Di Taylor on 300300.

Archbishop visit

The highest ranking Catholic churchman in the UK launched this year's Wilberforce Lectures in January with a talk about modern-day slavery. More than 300 people attended the event, which was held in the Guildhall.
Archbishop Fitzgerald, who lives in Cairo as the papal ambassador to Egypt, delivered an insight into today's slavery, which exists despite the success of William Wilberforce's work two hundred years ago.
Among the laudable examples of anti-slavery action is the Philippines, lobbying and legal initiatives, the United Nations and Amnesty International activities and the work of everyday people like us to keep the plight of slaves an issue worth fighting for, he said.
The numbers of slaves vary, the Archbishop said, and none of the figures are truly reliable. However, it's estimated there could be as many as 700,000 sex workers trafficked in the world every year. In turn, this leads to an estimated worldwide profit of £4 billion for criminals exploiting people for their own ends.
The Archbishop said that the United Nation's 2003 plan of action to eradicate slavery from the world should be followed by more people, and that included changing our buying habits. Ensuring that the goods we buy are made in a slavery-free environment, such as Fairtrade products, is one important step forward. (See page 9 for details of Hull's Fairtrade Fornight).
The next Wilberforce lecture takes place at Holy Trinity Church on March 25 at 2pm, and will be delivered by the Right Hon. Owen Arthur, Prime Minister of Barbados. Free tickets are available from Hull City Hall box office on tel 226655.