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Death of Honorary President IT is with great sadness that we record the death of Ray Gladden, Honorary President of the Crewe and Nantwich Talking Newspaper. He died in Leighton Hospital on Sunday, July 25, at the age of 85. Ray was one of the leading lights in forming the CNTN following an initiative from the Rotary Club of Crewe in 1977 and has worked tirelessly to ensure the smooth running of the operation ever since. He has been an inspiration to the many volunteers who run the Talking Newspaper and his experience and enthusiasm have influenced all who have worked with him. Following wartime service in the Merchant Navy, Ray joined Calmic Ltd at Crewe Hall. After the acquisition of Calmic by The Wellcome Foundation in 1966 he continued to work at Crewe Hall until his retirement in 1984. Among his many interests Ray was a JP, a keen Rotarian, a rambler and a writer. He was awarded the MBE in 1999 for his services to the community. Ray will be greatly missed but never forgotten. His wife, Brenda, was a Reader with Crewe and Nantwich Talking Newspaper for many years. Ray also leaves two sons, Stephen and David, and five grandchildren. The funeral took place on Monday, August 9, at St Andrew's Church, Bedford Street, Crewe, followed by a private family committal at Crewe Crematorium. There were family flowers only. Arrangements were by Nantwich Funeral Services (01270 812512). |
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Civic guests at studios CIVIC guests visited the studios of CNTN on January 15, 2009. They had been invited after expressing an interest in seeing a recording session of the weekly tape. The Mayor of Crewe and Nantwich (Cllr Brian Silvester) and the Mayoress (Ms Sheila Davies) met the Week 3 team of Readers and the Recorder during an evening visit, with the civic couple donning headphones in the recording room to hear what was happening in the reading room. They were later joined by the Deputy Mayor, Mrs Rachel Bailey. (The Deputy's Consort, Mr Steven Bailey, was not able to be present). The visitors later watched as the copying team produced the cassette tapes which are sent out to Listeners. On hand to answer questions were the Honorary President of CNTN (Ray Gladden MBE), the then Chairman (Janet Farrell) and the Treasurer (David Bushell). The Secretary - and now Chairman - Debbie Foss, was in the team of Readers. The civic party and the volunteers later enjoyed a buffet to complete the evening. |
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Long-serving volunteers honoured THE Crewe and Nantwich Talking Newspaper (CNTN) has marked the long service of its Volunteers. In an awards and lunch event at Hunter's Lodge Hotel, Sydney, near Crewe, certificates were presented to Volunteers who have given more than 20 years’ service - some nearer to 30 years. The certificates were presented by the Honorary President, Ray Gladden MBE, who is a founder member of the Talking Newspaper (founded in 1977), and who received a 30-year certificate from the then CNTN Chairman, Janet Farrell. Twenty Volunteers received their certificate in person on the day, and a further 11, who were unable to attend, received theirs later. The full list of long-serving Volunteers is:- Current Volunteers: Ray Gladden, Joyce Jinks, Florence Ross (30 years), Vesta Bennett, David Bushell, Mary Dodd, Patrick Grange, Barbara Waters (25 years), Robin Charlton (23 years), Jennifer Bowyer-Bates, John Brough, Ralph Chipling, Bernard Cliffe, Mercia Davies, Edna Dodds, Nancy Griffiths, Grace Harding, Lorna Jones (20 years) and Ken Willington (17 years). Recently retired Volunteers: Eric Russell (29 years), Brenda Gladden, Brenda Worgan (26 years), Alan and Pam Wraith (25 years), Ann Wright (24 years), Nigel Peever, Bert and Eileen Segrott (21 years), Frances Ford (20 years), Julie and John Colclough, and Dorothy and Keith Mason (19 years). ~ We currently have more than 90 Volunteers who routinely provide cover for one session each month. They work in teams in order to quickly get through the work that is required of them. The work is often quite hectic due to the time constraints of producing the tapes. The then CNTN Chairman, Janet Farrell, said: “Without the help of the Volunteers, Crewe and Nantwich Talking Newspaper would cease to function. Like most charities, we are often short of helpers and we have an on-going programme to recruit new members. “If anyone is interested, please contact Debbie Foss on (01270) 668049 or Janet Farrell on (01270) 589786.” For details of Volunteers needed currently, see this page.
2009 awards FOUR volunteers have received awards in 2009. They are: Mercia Davies (25 years), Ralph Chipling (25 years), Bernard Cliffe (25 years) and Barbara Waters (30 years).
2010 awards LONG service awards were presented in 2010 to: Jennifer Bowyer-Bates and John Brough (25 years), Brenda Carless, Ute King and Tom Protheroe (20 years).
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Sentinel cheque for CNTN WE were delighted when, in a ceremony on November 22, 2005, a cheque for £4,921 was presented to CNTN by representatives of The Sentinel Football Competitions. The money was used to update our tape production set-up to digital from the previous tape cassette system. Our Listeners will continue to receive tapes for the near future but at a later date those who would prefer to receive their weekly news on CDs will have the opportunity to change to the newer medium. Meanwhile, the digital recording will lead to a better sound quality on the tapes and will also enable the Recorders to make a cleaner job of the original recording. Presenting the cheque to us were: Alan Vickers (Chairman of The Sentinel Football Competitions), Roy Plant (Referees Secretary), Simon Vickers (Schools Shield Secretary) and David Banks (General Secretary). The Sentinel, which covers Staffordshire and South Cheshire, sponsors the four separate competitions, which in turn use match-day receipts from the semi-finals and finals of the tournaments to support local charities. CNTN have taken news items for the tapes from the Crewe and Nantwich editions of The Chronicle since being formed 30 years ago. We are delighted to have the support of a second local newspaper for our efforts.
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