8th October 2021
Welcome to the Rotherham Round-up, your regular email update with news, video and events from Rotherham Council.
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Arthur Wharton, a pioneer for black athletes worldwide
 Click on the image above to find out more about Rotherham's role in creating a sporting icon
Celebrating a Rotherham sporting icon for Black History Month
We’re marking Black History Month by celebrating the diverse communities that make up our borough.
And there can no better way of celebrating our black history than by telling the story of Arthur Wharton.
Arthur travelled to England from Ghana as a teenager in 1883, originally set on becoming a missionary. Despite the discrimination he would have faced on a daily basis, his footballing talent shone through and he played for a number of the country's leading clubs - first as an an amateur - and then as a semi-professional at Preston.
But when Arthur joined the then Rotherham Town in 1889, he became the first black professional footballer on the planet. Without knowing it at the time, he was paving the way for black athletes across the globe.
He was an extremely talented goalkeeper and it's thought that only the colour of skin prevented him from representing England. In fact it was almost 90 years later, in 1978, before Viv Anderson became the the first black player to represent the national senior team.
But it wasn’t just football in which Arthur Wharton excelled. He was the first man to be recorded running the 100 yards in 10 seconds, making him the fastest man in the world as well! He also spent time as a professional cricketer and played rugby for Rotherham.
VIDEO: Watch our video to hear about Arthur's story, including contributions from Shaun Campbell of the Arthur Wharton Foundation, Wes Harding of Rotherham United and Councillor David Sheppard, Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion at Rotherham Council.
For more on the incredible life and times of Arthur, visit the Arthur Wharton Foundation website.
The theme of Black History Month 2021 is 'proud to be' and we are proud to be part of Arthur's amazing story.
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 Arthur Wharton (front row, centre) at Darlington FC, his first team in England
Your Chance To Volunteer At UEFA Women’s EURO 2022!
 Help welcome the world to Rotherham for huge sporting occasion
You can get involved with UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 in an exciting and unique way – by
volunteering!
Whether it’s to gain or share your experience, see the event from a different perspective, or
simply enjoy the feeling of helping out and making people’s day, there’s loads of reasons to
apply to be a volunteer at this major tournament.
There are incredible opportunities to at each of our 10 host stadiums and cities, and we
need your help in making UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 the best one yet!
With roles spread across Fan Zones, transport hubs, spectator services and stadium support, there’s something for everyone!
Volunteers are crucial for spreading the excitement, building the atmosphere and providing
a positive experience to enhance the matchday for spectators at the tournament.
Applications to be part of UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 volunteer programme are open NOW, until Monday 1 November 2021 at 3pm.
For further information and to apply to volunteer.
Illicit cigarettes and tobacco with a street value of more than £24,000 have been seized following three raids by Rotherham Council Trading Standards officers, in partnership with South Yorkshire Police.
The raids were the result of an operation which included undercover test purchases and led to the seizure of more than 38,000 illicit cigarettes and 155 packs of hand rolling tobacco, as well as a quantity of cash believed to be obtained through criminal activity.
The majority of the items seized from three premises in the Ferham and Wath areas were deliberately hidden, but were very quickly uncovered by specialist detection dogs.
The products were not produced or packaged for legal sale in the UK and are likely to fail UK safety regulations that require cigarettes to self-extinguish in order to reduce the risk of house fires.
As well as being potentially hazardous to users, illicit cigarettes also deprive legitimate businesses of trade and the treasury of taxes to fund public services.
Anyone who wishes to report concerns around suspect cigarettes can contact Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133 or through their website.
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Clifton Park gets funding to improve women's safety
Clifton Park in Rotherham is one of four parks in South Yorkshire to benefit from funding for new measures ti improve the safety of women and girls.
The £550,000 in funding follows a successful bid to the Government's Safer Streets Fund by South Yorkshire's Police and Crime Commissioner, Dr Alan Billings.
The funding will be used to install innovative lighting and CCTV cameras.
It follows a public consultation about safety in public places. Over 2,000 responses pointed to a sharp fall in confidence at night-time and highlighted that parks and woodland areas were the areas where women felt most unsafe.
Read the full story here.
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Shadow Minister tours Rotherham's cultural gems
 VIDEO: Shadow Minister for Tourism & Heritage, Alex Sobel on his visit to Rotherham
Some of Rotherham's cultural gems were showcased during a visit to the borough by Shadow Minister for Tourism & Heritage, Alex Sobel MP this week.
The visit took in Wentworth Woodhouse, Wath Library and Neighbourhood Hub, Clifton Park Museum and Rotherham Civic Theatre.
Mr Sobel was shown how Council investment in many of the sites was delivering major benefit for local communities as sites re-opened as Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.
Recent capital investments in cultural facilities in Rotherham have included:
- £1.8 million for improvements to the 15 Libraries & Neighbourhood Hubs across the borough,
- Redevelopment Clifton Park Museum galleries, engagement spaces, Walker Café and retail space.
- A £350,000 refurbishment of Rotherham Civic Theatre to transform the box office, main entrance bar and cafe facilities and create new performance space.
VIDEO: Alex Sobel talks about the impressive cultural offer in Rotherham
 Mariam Shah and Zanib Rasool MBE from the Pakistani Women’s Art Collective with Cllr David Sheppard at the Suitcase exhibition at Clifton Park Museum
A new exhibition at Clifton Park Museum provides a fascinating insight into the life-changing experiences of Pakastani women who made Rotherham their new home in the 1960s.
'The Suitcase' exhibition, which had previously been on display at Wentworth Woodhouse, captures the memories the women carried with them from home, through stories, poetry, visual images and video.
Everyday objects the women brought with them are on display from prayer mats, clay pots, bracelets and henna and photos of the family left behind, plus the letters that arrived from home as they navigated a new life.
The free exhibition runs at Clifton Park Museum until 21 November 2021. For information on the opening times visit the Museum website.
Read more about The Suitcase here.
What's On at Rotherham Theatres
There's another packed, varied programme of entertainment to enjoy at the new-look Rotherham Theatre this month.
Included in October's programme is Poetry Live - a must for lovers of the witty written-word, featuring a stellar line-up of poets. And what's more, it's FREE!
If you want to attend, you will still need to book though - see details below.
This month Rotherham Civic Theatre has a fantastic line up:
- Tales from the Great Wood - 9 Oct
- One Man Two Guvnors 2021 - 11 - 15 Oct
- The Opera Boys 2021 - 16 Oct
- Whistle and I'll Come To You - 18 Oct
- Off the Shelf - poetry live - 22 Oct
- Dirty Dusting - 29 Oct
- How the Koala Learnt to Hug - 30 Oct
- COMING SOON: Our brilliant pantomime Aladdin from 2 Dec 2021 – 9 Jan 2022 (tickets on sale now)
To book tickets:
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Your opinion matters
Did you know the Council is regularly asking local residents and businesses for their views on a huge variety of topics?
From taxi licensing to cycling strategies and our annual budget to local plans, we would really like to hear your views on what's happening locally, what you support, what you're against - and why. Public opinion matters.
Current consultations include the Wickersley Neighbourhood Plan.
All our live consultations are available to view on our website, which is regularly updated.
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