The “Life” was formed in 1986 by a small group of local people wanting to let the residents know about local news, events and clubs in the area. Initially the paper had to be sent away to Chester for printing, after which it was collected from the Railway station and taken to a local College for collating and distribution. There were ten issues a year, the volunteers taking a well earned rest in January and July.
Nowadays we still produce ten issues a year but the paper has a lot more pages with regular items from the local churches, police service, volunteer bureau and various charities as well as a monthly feature specifically aimed at the Thorpe Astley housing development.
Thorpe Astley lies within the boundaries of Braunstone Town just to the west. It has a thriving Community Association and work has recently started on their long awaited Community Centre and sports facilities. This is due to open in the Autumn of 2010.
The Life is an active and enthusiastic supporter of the local community; we’ve recently donated fiction books to all local schools. Each school also has a centre page spread where pupils produce a “Junior Life”.
There is an editorial team in each school, with editors, reporters, photographers, and a layout team. The children are very keen and have produced some excellent work.
The Life has run a competition for short stories with prizes in four age ranges, from up to 8 years to our oldest entrant at 81 years old. A poetry competition for the 16′s and under followed.