Monday 10 December 2018

Old bangers

Anyone who has followed my jottings for any length of time will, no doubt, recall an article I wrote many moons ago relating how I became a Master of Mink Hounds and the formation of The Tandridge Mink Hounds which I ran for a good few years. Any pack of hounds needs a vehicle to be able to operate and the Tandridge was no exception. The country we hunted was huge, taking in half of Surrey and half of Kent. The distances we had to travel to meets were such that we could not have managed without transport. We, actually, had two vehicles one for hound transport and the other for transporting feed.

The other evening I was watching an edition of The Antiques Road Trip on the television and it brought back a flood of memories from my mink hound days. For those not familiar with the program, it basically, involves two antique experts travelling around an area of Britain in some sort of old /vintage car, and buying antiques for auction. The trip takes several stages with an auction at the end of each stage. The winner is the expert who has made the most money at the end of the "trip".

Well, you might ask what on earth has all this got to do with mink hunting in Surrey many years ago ? In the program I watched the other evening the vehicle which the two experts had been given for their trip turned out to be a Bedford Dormobile coloured powder blue. The same model of vehicle which we had used as a hound van and in the same colour. Our vehicle had been found for sale by one of our hunt members and I was assured that it was both a bargain and in good condition. Given that this all happened a long time ago I can't remember the exact price we paid for the old Bedford but the figure of seventy five pounds sticks in the back of my mind. In any event we bought this treasure and having done so the first thing which had to change was the colour. No self respecting mink hunt could possibly be seen driving around the country side in a vehicle painted powder blue, what would people think ! So it was that we bought a large, very large, can of paint of a shade which I would describe as army green. Quite a deep green but not khaki. The paint was applied to the vehicle by a team of enthusiastic painters by hand with brushes. When the task had been completed, all concerned agreed, it was a great improvement. The only trouble was the whole of the exterior of the vehicle was covered in the new improved shade but the interior was not. All surfaces within remained the dreaded powder blue. Open up any of the doors and the awful colour was there for the world to see. It was decided by the proud owners that this would have to be put up with as to strip out all the bits and pieces from within the vehicle in order to paint the interior metal surfaces would be far to complex and time consuming. Having painted our hound van we then had to construct a barrier behind the front seats in order to confine the hounds to the back section and prevent them from having access to the driving area. I found it quite amazing how many talents existed within the group of hunt supports we had attracted. Every time we needed a job doing some good soul would come forward with the skills and, hey presto, job done. We had a strong weld mesh screen in place in no time , fixed securely, which lasted the life of the vehicle. That van did us proud and proved to be very reliable as far as the motoring side of things went. Its major problem, we soon discovered, was the fact that the side, sliding door, slid rather too well. Each time it was operated the damned thing slid right out of it's guides and fell to the floor. We never succeeded in overcoming this problem, the solution being to keep it locked at all times. The door lock being a bit dodgy we bolted,on to the side of the van, a clasp and secured it with a padlock. The hound van went with the rest of the hunt to our neighbouring pack when I was transferred with my job to Dorset.

The second vehicle the hunt used was my Bedford Beagle van which, as it happened,was also painted a dark green but its paint job had been done by its makers Vauxhall. The van was affectionately known by all as the Flying Dustbin. It got this name from the fact that I used it to transport swill which was donated by the officers mess at Wandsworth Prison where I was serving at the time. Each day I would take out a plastic bin of the food waste from the mess and leave a clean bin ready to be filled. I got the idea from an article I had read regarding a military pack of hounds which fed food waste from its mess to hounds . I doubt if it could happen today since we are now swamped with petty regulations. In any event, our hounds thrived on that food and they looked in prime condition, so much so, that we won numerous prizes at the hound shows we entered.The van proved to be a reliable workhorse and did us well for a lot of years.The only negative event occurred when I was driving home one evening loaded up with a full bin of swill. The bin was located behind the drivers seat in the back of the van,being a van, there were no back seats. Just as I was approaching a cross roads at Sutton some lunatic pulled out in front of me from my left. I hit the breaks, the van stopped abruptly, and the bin of swill came forwards at a great force and covered me with its contents.Not nice ! The Flying Dustbin came to an abrupt and sudden end.One winters morning I set of for work at an early hour and a few hundred yards away from home I hit a large patch of black ice, the Flying Dustbin slid sideways, hit the curb and flipped over on to its side drivers side down. After the initial shock, and the overwhelming smell of spilt petrol, I made my exit via the passenger door which was then facing the sky.Incredibly I was unhurt. On the humorous side of the incident, there was an elderly lady walking along the opposite pavement. It was actually dark and I assume she was going to get her newspaper. The poor dear witnessed the whole incident and as I climbed out through the door she went into a series of screams before running away. I don't know, to this day, who she was or why she did a runner, did she think I was sort alien ? Oh well that's life. 

Thursday 15 November 2018

Another Year

My years these days are very much built around seasonal activities. Once again I have reached the end of two seasons and begun another. First to end was the butterfly transect walks which ended in September. Having completed two a week since the beginning of April my weekly routine changes quite a lot. No longer do I have to consider the temperature, wind and sunshine each day in order to decide if a walk is going to be possible. There are rules for walking which are designed to provide the best conditions in which to count butterflies. This year was a good one with regard to butterfly walks as, throughout the walking season, I was able to complete a walk on every week. No blanks. 

The season was also good as we had the long dry spell during the summer which meant conditions were, for the most part, good for butterflies. In fact, on my two transect walks, I recorded a number of species not previously seen or not seen on those particular walks for many years. The White Letter Hairstreak, Argos Brown and White Admiral being a few. Also a good increase in Small Coppers. Generally there was a big increase in recorded numbers on the previous year. Although Small Tortoishells were down in numbers. In Dorset the good news is that numbers across the whole county were up just over fifty percent on recorded numbers for 2017. One interesting feature of this year's observations, which I came across during the hot dry spell, was the fact that all normal sources of water had dried up and consequently I observed large numbers of butterflies taking to the bottom of ditches. This was clearly an attempt to get at any moisture which might remain and by no means normal behaviour.

The next season to end for me was the dormouse survey season which runs from March through to the end of October. My involvement in these surveys has been to join teams on three surveys each month, two in Somerset and another just over the border into Wiltshire. One of the Somerset survey areas being right at the north of the county near Cheddar in the wonderfully named Goblin Coombe. Dormouse surveys involve checking nest boxes placed on trees and the number of boxes varies from fifty up to around eighty. Each box is opened and if a dormouse is found to be present it is weighed and its sex recorded and all data is then sent to The People Trust For Endangered Species. This year has been a productive one for dormouse numbers although the long dry summer did appear to keep the dormice out of the boxes for a couple of months. Quite simply, we concluded, it was just too hot and dry for comfort in a small wooden box. Normally, it appears, quite moist conditions within the boxes favours dormouse occupation of the boxes when not breeding. In fact on two occasions I found sleeping dormice in boxes which contained nesting material which was almost soggy. However, when we got into the breeding season in August / October we found good numbers of dormice. In fact on both of those months at Goblin Coombe we recorded dormouse numbers in the twenties. The additional good news was the fact that all mice weighed were sufficiently fat to ensure they would survive their hibernation through the winter months. This tells us that their food supply during the summer had been good enabling body weight to be achieved.

The other good news, well at least as far as I am concerned, is the fact that I have now got my own Dormouse survey licence. This has taken two years to achieve but now means I am able to conduct surveys on my own and to help train other people who want a licence.

So October brought the end of the recording season but it also heralded the beginning of the beating season and I now find myself attending a number of local shoots each week. In fact most weeks I am out beating four times. This year I was invited to beat on a mid-Dorset shoot which has down land with high hills and deep valleys. the views are quite simply stunning and since, so far,the weather has been kind to us it has been a delight. Not only that, it keeps this old man pretty fit. 

Monday 24 September 2018

Kingsley Parish Council Wed 26th 7:30pm

Meeting of Kingsley Parish Council on Wednesday, 26th September 2018 in the Kingsley Centre at 7.30pm

AGENDA

1. Chairman’s Opening Remarks
2. Apologies for Absence
Cllr C. Rigden

3. Declarations of Personal/Prejudicial Interest
4. Public Question Time
Public Questions
Consideration of agenda items which will be open to public participation

5. Approval of Minutes of the Meetings held on 25th July 2018
6. Matters Arising
7. Planning Applications
Applications ongoing
54919/005 Land at Kingsley Golf Club, Forge Road, Kingsley, Bordon
Detached shed for use as a wormery
51188/003 Kingsley Quarry, Forge Road, Kingsley, Bordon
Easterly extension of the existing sand extraction area, extend the end date for quarry operations and restoration and amend the approved restoration schemes. (Details available on the HCC website - https://planning.hants.gov.uk/ApplicationDetails.aspx?RecNo=19368)
27508/002 1 Straits View, Forge Road, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9NA
Single storey rear extension and alteration of front porch roof.
27107/034 Sleaford Farm, Farnham Road, Bordon, GU35 9LJ
Amendments to previously approved scheme (27107/033) and filling of derelict pond
HCC/2018/0700 Grundon Sand And Gravel Ltd, Frith End Sand Quarry, Grooms Farm Lane, Frith End, Bordon GU35 0QR
Variation of conditions 5 (Phasing), 11 (Landscaping), 24 (Restoration) and 27 (Plans) of Planning Permission 30633/031 to revise
HCC/2018/0701 Grundon Sand And Gravel Ltd, Frith End Sand Quarry, Grooms Farm Lane, Frith End, Bordon GU35 0QR
The relocation of the ancillary activity of the importation, handling and re-sale of aggregates as previously permitted by pp 30633/030
HCC/2018/0702 Grundon Sand And Gravel Ltd, Frith End Sand Quarry, Grooms Farm Lane, Frith End, Bordon GU35 0QR
Sand recovery from development projects in Bordon and surrounding area
New applications:
20136/054 LMC Sleaford Garage, Farnham Road, Bordon, GU35 0QP
Extension to existing motor vehicle service area, refurbishment of the existing showroom, construction of
new additional car showroom, extension to car parking area and creation of emergency access point.
SDNP/18/02170/FUL Oaklands Farm Green Street East Worldham Bordon GU34 3AU
Change of use of Oakland Farm and associated land holdings from Agriculture and B8 (Open Storage) to
mixed use Agriculture, B8 (Open Storage) and Seasonal Event Space associated with the holding of
Religious Festivals and other activities associated with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association; including the
provision of external storage space, new landscape and revised ventilation and extraction equipment in
association with the onsite kitchen.

31121/004 The Cricketers, Forge Road, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9ND
Conversion and extension of existing tourist accommodation to provide 2 new dwellings, and provision of
associated parking and landscaping.

8. St Nicholas Cemetery & Cemetery Chapel
To receive an update from Cllr Fletcher

9. Transport, Highways and Road Safety
To receive an update from Cllr Clayton

10. Commons, Village Greens and Rights of Way
Footpath 6
Consideration of report concerning encroachment of hedges onto Footpath 6
Upper Green
To receive an update from Cllr Fletcher

11. Community Resilience
12. Environment and Biodiversity
13. Kingsley Village Forum
14. Housing, Business & Commerce
15. Review of Capital Projects
16. Communications
The correspondence received this month was listed & circulated to all Cllrs prior to the meeting.

17. Broadband
To receive an update from Cllr Coury & Cllr Clayton

18. District Councillor
19. Procedures, Finance and Payments
Review the format of the monthly parish meeting
To receive an update from Cllr Fletcher
To agree the automatic renewal of the licenses and fees during October and November for the online
hosting of the Parish Council website, at a cost of £242.7 per year.
To consider the use of official email accounts for Parish Councillors at an annual cost of £132 ex VAT
To consider compensation from Tsb for all the inconvenience caused due to endless online banking
issues
Payments to be made & Accounts to accept
To consider the payment of invoices on the schedule included in the agenda of the meeting
Payment
Date Payee
Payment
Mode Description Amount
16/09/2018 Host Papa CARD Inv 210500-1559000 domain name renewal and web hosting 211.96
28/09/2018 Karine Nana Yonko BACS Clerk's September 2018 expenses invoice 0006-2018/19 85.00
28/09/2018 Karine Nana Yonko BACS Clerk's September 2018 salary 296.80
28/09/2018 HMRC BACS PAYE September 2018 39.20
Date of Next Meeting of Kingsley Parish Council –
Wednesday 24th October 2018 – 7.30 pm at the Kingsley Centre

Wednesday 5 September 2018

THE CRICKETERS

I was glad to read in the Kings Blog that The Cricketers was to re-open and I sincerely hope the call to use and support the pub will be heeded by the present Kingsley residents. It is very easy for a village to lose its pub and, generally, when its gone its gone forever. As someone who grew up in Kingsley in the fifties and sixties I know that the Cricketers played a major part in the life of the village. Of course, it dispensed fine ales of many sorts and, over the years food in various forms but it also played a significant part in the wider social life of the village. Not least, in that, it held the village fete in its paddock in front of Ockham Hall for many years. This was always a popular and very well supported annual event. As with many village events the fete was a joint effort between the Church, the pub and the village school. It was also the Cricketers that organized the, also very popular, seaside outings of the day. In those days few people owned cars and the seaside trips were taken by coach. Bognor Regis, Hayling Island and Portsmouth were some of the places chosen for such trips. Not only did these trips provide an opportunity to eat such delights as prawns, cockles and whelks but much ice cream was consumed. On the way home it was the custom to have a stop at a wayside pub where thirsts were quenched and courage was built up for the other essential component of such trips, the sing song. This was generally entered into with great enthusiasm although, as far as I recall, the Kingsley residents of the day were unlikely to form the basis for a half decent choir ! The village bonfire,held on the green below the school, was another event in which the pub participated.

In those days there were three popular tipples which the Cricketers served up in the ale department. These were brown ale, light ale and best bitter. Lagers did not feature at the time. Many of the men drank a combination of light and bitter. I don’t know if light and brown ales are still made but they were then and, as far as the cricketers was concerned, they all came from the local brewery which was Courages in Alton. In later years there was CourageTavern Keg Bitter and another very popular brew of the day, Watneys Red Barrel.

During the summer months the Cricketers played a pleasant part in our family’s weekly routine. It was the norm for Mother and Father to join Bill and Tilley Woods and go for a stroll on Sunday evenings. I say stroll but, I suspect, by today’s standards it would be seen as rather more of a marathon. As both family’s lived in Woodfield they would embark upon their walk by turning onto the B3004 and heading either east or west. The route covered was always the same each week, save for the direction taken. If, for example the route was to be the eastern one, we would walk past the shop and old piggery, turn left down the hill, up past the sports ground and hall,over the railway line, and turn left again into the Straits. Now heading west we would continue through the Kingsley Nurseries , through the various bends until we met the Binsted road. At that junction another left turn down, what was then referred to as, the Old Lane, past St Nicolas Church, also known as The Old Church,and on to Bakers Corner.Left again along the B3004 past Dean Farm and up the rise to the Cricketers. Once there the adults would disappear inside and order the drinks and crisps to be brought out to the children, whilst they had a couple of pints within. We played in the pub garden and hoped upon hope that our parents would not want to go home to soon.All in all a very nice way to spend a Sunday evening. 

As is the case today, with most pubs, The Cricketers was then  the hub for the villages sporting activities. There were, of course, the obvious sports of cricket, football and darts but also, in those days, there were shove halfpenny leagues. All of these activities enhanced village life and helped to secure the fortunes of the pub. Life was so different then, seasonal workers moved around the countryside picking hops and potatoes and helping out at harvest time, after a hard day in the fields they would go to the pub for a welcome evening drink. Those activities have now all been mechanised and so a source of transient trade has been lost to all country pubs. Probably just as well because I can’t imagine a modern day publican getting away with posting a "No Gypsies or Travelers" notice outside his premises as once was the norm. In the case of the Cricketers another source of trade was the army. The camp at Bordon, which extended to just over the hill from the Kingsley parish boundaries, was once a very large military establishment and soldiers would walk to the pub.As I noted on a recent visit to the area, the Camp at Bordon is now but a shadow of its former glory. All of these matters will have had to,some degree or another,a negative impact upon the viability of The Cricketers, I do so hope the present Kingsley residents appreciate their pub and support the new management in their endeavors to keep the old place open. 

Sunday 12 August 2018

Butterflies

Most readers will, no doubt, recall the dire warnings and prophecies of doom which were being cast far and wide last year with regard to our butterfly population. The subject made most of the newspapers, it featured in a number of T.V. programmes and also on news bulletins. Basically, we were told, the butterfly population had hit rock bottom and many varieties faced extinction. Even David Attenborough, who is president of Butterfly Conservation, added his voice to the throng. Yes, last year was not the best on record for butterflies and the recorded numbers dropped. However, I have long held the belief, seasons come and seasons go and some are good, some are bad but, overall, Mother Nature has a way of sorting most things out and things generally right themselves. There are always many, many, things which impact upon the fortunes of any species never one single item. Temperature, rain, wind, food supplies to mention just a few. The worst effects are usually felt, in my opinion, when a number of those factors conspire and occur together. It is then that things start to seriously go wrong but, come the next season things are restored and, hey ho, everything begins to recover.

This year has undoubtedly been unusual for its long, hot, dry, period and as such it has had benefits for butterflies. As a transect walker for Butterfly Conservation, I undertake two walks each week in the woods which I look after for the Woodland Trust. In both of woods there have undoubtedly been a large number of butterflies, not only that, but also a number of species previously rarely seen or unrecorded. The transect walks take place from the first of April through until the end of September. A few weeks ago, at the halfway stage of the walking period, the count numbers for the whole of Dorset were fifty-one and a half per cent up on the numbers recorded over the same period last year. To date, the number of Common Blue butterflies is almost at the level of the all-time high for my two woods. I strongly suspect, by the time next weeks walks have been completed, that record will have been broken. 

White Admirals have appeared again this year, Clouded Yellows and White  Letter Hairstreaks. The latter even appeared in my garden one afternoon. I am several miles from the woods so this was not, I suspect, one from there. Apart from the fact that I have quite a lot of elm trees around my field, which is the feed plant for the White Letter Hairstreak, it is difficult to understand why that one paid a visit. There has never before been a record of that species in a village in which I live. The nearest known, small, colony is getting on for twenty miles away.

In general terms then, it is looking increasingly likely, the Dorset records will show a huge rise in numbers of most butterfly species. I wouldn’t mind betting that the same sort of results will be recorded throughout the country. This has been a good year, but just as easily, next year could be another bad, one that is how it goes. 

One very notable and, perhaps, a little negative impact of the heatwave has been the fact that large numbers of butterflies have been recorded by me in the bottom of ditches. No doubt the lack of moisture is the reason. Although fairly dry, the ditch bottoms have retained a degree of moist earth and I think this is the attraction for the insects. 

Before I finish, may I remind readers, The Great Butterfly Count is still on and anyone interested in submitting sightings of butterflies in their garden or local area may do so by going to the Butterfly Conservation website. 

Thursday 2 August 2018

Cricketers opens under new management

The Cricketers Inn will reopen under new management tomorrow, Friday 3rd August 2018.

Let's all make sure we get down there and support our pub regularly.

Thursday 12 July 2018

Rats

It Is a fact of life,if you keep poultry, you will have rats. In fact if you keep almost any kind of stock you will, sooner or later, attract rats. Apart from the obvious health hazards associated with rats they are a major nuisance in that they chew things and they dig holes all over the place. They nest in hay or straw stacks and generally do a lot of damage. The most effective way of dealing with a rat population is to poison it. You go to your local agricultural dealer and buy a box /bucket of rat "Bait" which you then administer and after a few days when you notice that the said bate is not being eaten the rats will be dead or dying. Of course, we old country boys who have dealing with these creatures for years also pursue them with air rifles and terriers, and some, even use ferrets for a bit of ratting. All good fun, but not really effective in getting rid of a rat infestation. 

Having had poultry of some form or another for most of my years on this earth I have used rat bait for as long as I care to remember. As with all things there are right and wrong ways of using these substances. It is, of course, important to ensure that other animals cannot,and do not, eat rat bait. It will, for example, kill a dog. It, therefore, always needs to be used with caution and by following the instructions on the container it comes in. In order to protect wild birds, and indeed poultry, the bait should be administered in covered containers into which rats can gain access but, other creatures cannot. These containers have inner compartments which help to prevent spillage if the container is knocked over or overturned. So there you have it, all fairly straight forward, you may think,and yes it should be. Well it used to be until, that is, the politicians got involved.

Let me say straight away I am not a political person and the following is not political in that sense. I have a fairly simple view of politicians, of all shades and persuasions, I don’t like them. For the most part they are dishonest chancers, most of whom have never had a proper job or done a decent days work. I would be more inclined to trust a secondhand car salesman. If you think this is all a bit extreme let me remind you of the expenses fiddles and the fact that nearly all of them got away with it claiming ignorance or misunderstanding. Excuses that would, most certainly, not be available to you and I in similar circumstances. If all that were not enough look at their lavish redecoration expense for grace and favour housing and their,even more lavish, "fact finding" trips around the world. Not to mention, the many corporate jollies and gifts they receive. All, of course, perfectly legal … nice. 

What, you may ask, has all this got to do with rats ? Well, I discovered, a few months ago that rat bait legislation was changing. I found this out when I went to buy some in the usual way, and was told, by the person serving me, soon I would need a certificate / licence to continue to purchase rat bait. That was the first bit, soon thereafter, came another announcement advising that the strength of rat bait was going to be reduced.

Having been using rat bait for over fifty years, one might consider, I knew a little bit about its use. However , I took one of the glossy brochures providing all the info a user needed to comply with the new rules. It quickly became apparent that in order to gain the, now necessary, certificate of competence an exam was required and a fee of £65 would have to be paid. So, a new bureaucratic system costing people, that neither want or need rat bait instruction, a hefty sum and, no doubt, lining the pockets of those providing the advice. I declined their kind offer refusing to be ripped off in this appalling manner. Consider if you will, some months in the winter, when rats come in from the fields and hedgerows, it can cost me in the region of thirty pounds a month to keep them down, I only have three acres. Goodness knows what the costs are to a large farm, they must be huge.

It would appear that a number of politicians, I haven’t bothered to find out who they are, succumbed to lobbying by an ornithological society claiming misuse of rat bait was killing wild birds. This might well be the case, there are, and always will be abusers and misusers of almost anything you can think of. Sadly that is a fact of life. It is also a fact of life that those same abusers will not comply with the rules and will not take, and pay for, a test. All that is achieved in such situations is, quite simply, careful users, following the rules, will be penalised and hit in the pocket. Just look at what previous political bans have achieved, pistols are banned in this country, more gun crime than ever before. Knives for young people under eighteen are banned, more knife crime than ever before. A whole list of drugs are banned, the country is awash with illegal drugs. Quite simply, banning does not, and never has worked.

The problem is, politicians always know best. I did consider writing to my local M.P. and, after due reflection, abandoned the idea. I don’t write to M.P.s often, only twice in the whole of my life. Each time it proved to be a complete waste of time and paper. You see, on both occasions I was wrong and did not fully understand the matters about which I was writing. I was told the M.P.s were right, it just so happens that both are no longer M.P.s, having lost their seats. One having been involved in a scandal over mistakenly buying and expensive carpet on taxpayer funded expenses, who then retired, and the other being kicked out by the electorate for basically being a complete waste of space. The good news is, the latter did get a Knighthood for his failure, you know it makes sense, lovely system we have! Incidentally, both of the matters I wrote about did come to pass and the fears I had expressed were realised. I fear we have two as well as four legged rats in our midst.

So it was that my rat population exploded. Not having received their normal dose of bait, they did what rats do and bred. I found myself surrounded by the nasty creatures. Off I went to the agricultural merchant only to find the bait available to me was now being sold in tiny packages of a few grams and priced at the hefty price of a pound a packet. Translate that into the weight I once was able to buy, three kilos, and the price becomes eye watering. The agri merchants  are as bad as the M.Ps, never miss a chance to fleece someone. I had considered getting my future supplies of rat bait from France, where common sense still seems to prevail but, fortunately, I have found a supplier where I can obtain the normal stuff at the usual price ! Didn’t they do well. Rat problem solved. It would appear there are, would you believe, loopholes in the legislation so, pretty much, business as usual. 

Just a final thought, I doubt very much if the people this cock-up was aimed at are doing anything differently in terms of care. It might just be they are doing nothing at all and the rat population in their areas is growing apace. When, as I suspect it will, it reaches epidemic proportions you will, no doubt, be treated to the inglorious spectacle of the Honourable M.P.s responsible diving down their own rat holes and blaming everyone else.  

Tuesday 3 July 2018

Dormice Part Two

Since writing last month I have been involved in several dormouse surveys in both Wiltshire and Somerset.The aim of these surveys is to provide the P.T.E.S with a comprehensive picture of the ups and downs of the dormouse population and have data to make comparisons each year. If a dormouse box is found to contain a dormouse it is carefully removed from its position on the tree, having securely blocked the hole into the box with a bung, and placed into a large polythene bag. The mouse is then let out into the bag, the box removed and the mouse caught, weighed, sexed, aged and finally replaced into the box and relocated upon the tree from whence it came. All of this process is overseen by a licence holder and the mice are none the worse for their experience.The great advantage in handling dormice is the fact that, for the most part, they don’t bite. There are records in these parts of an exception to this rule in the form of a black dormouse which will administer a fairly savage bite if found and handled. The fact that the creature is black is, in itself, very unusual. 

Quite often when opening a dormouse box it will be found to contain a Wood Mouse or a yellow Necked Mouse and anyone foolish enough to pick one of these up, without extreme caution,will almost certainly be bitten and hard. Last year I was on a survey with a licence holder and a very young female student. The young lady in question had seen movement when checking a box and had placed the box into the polythene bag believing the occupant to be a dormouse.It quickly became apparent the mouse inside was a wood mouse. Having exited the box the mouse displayed no intention of returning to it. So, said young lady, declared she would catch it and pop it back into the box. I casually asked how she was going to achieve this to which she replied she would pick it up. Asked if she had ever picked one up before her reply was negative. I told her wood mice bite, but no, there would be no problem she said. In went her hand, grabbed the mouse, the mouse bit. It latched on to her index finger and sank its considerable teeth in deep. She will never do that again! Incidentally,biting mouse varieties can be handled, albeit carefully, by a process known as scruffing. This involves manoeuvring the mouse into the corner of the bag and then gripping it behind its head by the scruff of its neck. Thus it cannot bite your. This should only be done by a competent person ….bites are not nice !   

Over the recent surveys I have been involved in we have also found large numbers of boxes containing nesting blue tits, great tits and marsh tits. Also, on two occasions, bees. In the case of the birds it seems to me quite incredible how they find the entrance hole into a box as it is against the tree trunk and cannot be seen unless it is approached from the trunk itself. But,find the entrance they do, and then go on to rear their young within. Whilst mentioning the positioning of the holes in dormouse boxes, we found a whole range of the boxes,on a recent survey which had been turned around the other way. No doubt by some well meaning idiot who thought them to be bird boxes.

In most areas the monthly surveys do not take place in August as this is the month in which dormice are having their young which, when first born, are both tiny and pink.

If any readers are interested in becoming involved in dormouse surveys this can be achieved by contacting the local mammal group of your County Wild Life Trust. Details of leaders and dates etc. are to be found on the internet. On the website of The Peoples Trust For Endangered Species can be found a huge amount of information regarding dormice and the surveying process etc.. All of which is free to download. I am fairly confident that there will be surveys conducted in and around Kingsley as I know from my childhood there that dormice were to be found in many of the woods and hangers in that area. 

But, be warned, dormouse surveying is a very addictive practice, once you have found and handled one of these delightful little creatures you will be hooked for life. To hold a torpid dormouse in your hands and observe its delicate little features is nothing short of magical. 

Wednesday 27 June 2018

Kingsley Parish Council on Thursday, 28th June

Kingsley Parish Council on Thursday, 28th June 2018 in the Kingsley Centre at 7.30pm

AGENDA

1. Chairman’s Opening Remarks
2. Apologies for Absence
3. Declarations of Personal/Prejudicial Interest
4. Public Question Time
Public Questions
Consideration of agenda items which will be open to public participation

5. Approval of Minutes of the Meetings held on 24th May 2018
6. Matters Arising
7. Planning Applications
Applications ongoing:
49416/006 2 Churchfields, Kingsley, GU35 9PJ
Detached dwelling following demolition of existing garage
51471/006 Unit 7 Waterbrook Estate, Waterbrook Road, ALTON GU34 2UD (HCC planning web site https://planning.hants.gov.uk/ApplicationDetails.aspx?RecNo=18991 )
Variation of conditions 5, 11 and 18 of planning permission 51471/003 to allow for importation of road planning and the night-time importation and exportation of waste
49416/006 2 Churchfields, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9PJ
Detached dwelling following demolition of existing garage (AS AMENDED BY PLANS RECEIVED 14/02/2018). | 2 Churchfields, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9PJ
22495/012 Burninghams, South Hay Lane, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9NW
Listed building consent - replace three windows
54919/005 Land at Kingsley Golf Club, Forge Road, Kingsley, Bordon
Detached shed for use as a wormery
SDNP/18/01271/FUL Land South of Green Street East Worldham Bordon GU35 9NN
New vehicular access and concrete turning area
55444/001 Land East of Karma, Forge Road, Kingsley, Bordon
B1(a). B1(b). B1(c). and B2 class Business Units with associated parking areas after demolition of existing motor garage and workshop buildings
27396/049 Old Park Farm, Forge Road, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9LU
Prior notification - agricultural storage barn used for the purposes of storing hay
New applications:
20285/006 Longdene, Farnham Road, Bordon, GU35 0QP
Porch extension to front
51188/003 Kingsley Quarry, Forge Road, Kingsley, Bordon
Request for screening opinion - Easterly extension of the existing sand extraction area, extend the end date for quarry operations and restoration and amend the approved restoration schemes. (Details available on the HCC website - https://planning.hants.gov.uk/ApplicationDetails.aspx?RecNo=19368)
27508/002 1 Straits View, Forge Road, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9NA
Single storey rear extension and alteration of front porch roof.

8. St Nicholas Cemetery & Cemetery Chapel
To receive an update from Cllr Fletcher

9. Transport, Highways and Road Safety
To receive an update from Cllr Fletcher

10. Commons, Village Greens and Rights of Way
Upper Green
To receive an update from Cllr Gregory
Footpath 6
To receive an update from Cllr Rigden

11. Community Resilience
12. Environment and Biodiversity
Allotments
Update on allotments insurance and volunteers to do maintenance work at the allotment site

13. Kingsley Village Forum
14. Housing, Business & Commerce
Update on nomination for The Cricketers to become an Asset of Community Value

15. Review of Capital Projects
16. Communications
The correspondence received this month was listed & circulated to all Cllrs prior to the meeting.

17. Broadband
To receive an update from Cllr Coury & Cllr Clayton

18. District Councillor
19. Procedures, Finance and Payments
General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
To consider process for review and further develop the related procedures (pages 3 to 8 of document) to be ready for agreement at a future meeting
Review the format of the monthly parish meeting
To receive an update on KPC insurance renewal
Hampshire Association of Local Councils Ltd
Membership document update
Internal Audit
To acknowledge receipt of Eleanor Greene’s annual report
Audit Commission
Exemption form to be completed and signed

Payments to be made & Accounts to accept
To consider the payment of invoices on the schedule included in the agenda of the meeting
Payment Date
Payee
Payment Mode
Description
Amount
29/06/2018
Do the Numbers
BACS
Inv 12/697 Internal audit April 2017 to March 2018
190.00
29/06/2018
Zurich Insurance
BACS
Inv 32040674 Insurance renewal premium
925.66
29/06/2018
Kinglsey Organisation
BACS
Inv 14343 Hall Hire for Annual Parish Meeting 16/05/18
40.50
29/06/2018
Karine Nana Yonko
BACS
Clerk's June 2018 expenses invoice 0003-2018/19
85.00
29/06/2018
Karine Nana Yonko
BACS
Clerk's June 2018 salary
296.80
29/06/2018
HMRC
BACS
PAYE June 2018
39.20
29/06/2018
N.W. Adams
BACS
Inv 1863 Annual play equipment inspection
99.90
Date of Next Meeting of Kingsley Parish Council –
Wednesday 25th July 2018 – 7.30 pm at the Kingsley Centre

Saturday 9 June 2018

Kingsley quarry extension

Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015
Notice under Article 13 of Application for Planning Permission Accompanied by an Environmental Statement
Proposed development
at Kingsley Quarry, Bordon, Hampshire
by Tarmac Trading Ltd
Hampshire County Council has received an application for planning permission for:
Easterly extension of the existing sand extraction area, extend the end date for quarry operations and restoration and amend the approved restoration schemes
The application is accompanied by an environmental statement.
The proposed development affects public right of way
Members of the public may inspect copies of the application, the plans and other documents submitted with the application at East Hampshire District Council, Penns Place, Durford Road, Petersfield, GU31 4EX during office hours until 20 July 2018, or on the Strategic Planning website at https://planning.hants.gov.uk/
Members of the public may obtain paper copies of the environmental statement from the agent Quarry Plan, Unit 12A, the Borough Mall, Wedmore, Somerset, BS28 4EB Volume 1 Non Technical Summary £25, Volume 2 £50, Volume 3 Technical Reports (Part A) £125, Volume 3 Technical Reports (Part B) Volume 3 Technical Reports (Part C) £125, Volume 4 Planning Application £50 or a complete copy on CD for £10. A complete hard copy is available for inspection at Kings Quarry during normal office hours ( Monday to Friday 0900 to 1700 hours). The documents can also be downloaded from the Strategic Planning website at the address given above.
Anyone who wishes to make representations about this application should write to Strategic Planning, Economy, Transport & Environment Department, Elizabeth II Court West, The Castle, Winchester, Hampshire, SO23 8UD, or make their comments online at the Strategic Planning website at the address given above, by 20 July 2018. Representations must include a name and address to be accepted. Anonymous or confidential representations will not be accepted. The details provided will only be held for the purposes of considering your representation. As part of the statutory process your name, address and comments will be on deposit with other application documents, will be available for public inspection and will also be published on our website. Strategic Planning's Privacy Notice provides more information on how we manage personal data http://www3.hants.gov.uk/mineralsandwaste/env-pad-data-protection.htm
The County Council will allow members of the public to speak directly to the Regulatory Committee when they consider the application at a committee meeting, this is known as a deputation. If you wish to speak to the Committee, you must contact Democratic Services at the County Chief Executive Department, The Castle, Winchester, Hampshire (telephone number 01962 847347, or email members.services@hants.gov.uk), during office hours. You should also telephone this number if you require further information about the deputation scheme.
Stuart Jarvis
Director of Economy, Transport & Environment Department
8 June 2018

Contact

Strategic Planning
01962 846746
 

Thursday 24 May 2018

Kingsley Parish Council tonight





AGENDA

  1. Chairman’s Opening Remarks


  1. Apologies for Absence


3. Declarations of Personal/Prejudicial Interest


4. Public Question Time

Public Questions
Consideration of agenda items which will be open to public participation

5. Approval of Final Accounts for the Financial Year 2017/2018
Hampshire Association of Local Councils Ltd – Approval of membership document for year 01/04/18 to 31/03/19
Audit Commission – Approval of Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2017/18 Form

6. Approval of Minutes of the Meetings held on 19th April 2018



7. Matters Arising


8. Planning Applications
Applications ongoing:

20136/050 F.W Kerridge Ltd, Farnham Road, Kingsley, GU35 0QP
Rear extension to existing filling station to provide "food to go offering", cladding to existing and new building, new shop front, glazing and bollard's, new parking bays, flood lights and two jet wash bays, relocate vacuum/service bay, timber screen to rear of parking and new bin store

49416/006 2 Churchfields, Kingsley, GU35 9PJ
Detached dwelling following demolition of existing garage

54941/002 Land South of, Forge Road, Kingsley, Bordon
Removal of conditions 3 and 4 of planning permission 54941 to make permission permanent and non personal for use of land for stationing of mobile home for residential purposes for a single gypsy pitch

51471/006 Unit 7 Waterbrook Estate, Waterbrook Road, ALTON GU34 2UD (HCC planning web site https://planning.hants.gov.uk/ApplicationDetails.aspx?RecNo=18991 )
Variation of conditions 5, 11 and 18 of planning permission 51471/003 to allow for importation of road planning and the night-time importation and exportation of waste

37484/005 Westerkirk, Forge Road, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9ND
Listed building consent - two replacement windows | Westerkirk, Forge Road, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9ND






49416/006 2 Churchfields, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9PJ
Detached dwelling following demolition of existing garage (AS AMENDED BY PLANS RECEIVED 14/02/2018). | 2 Churchfields, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9PJ

22495/012 Burninghams, South Hay Lane, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9NW
Listed building consent - replace three windows


54919/005 Land at Kingsley Golf Club, Forge Road, Kingsley, Bordon
Detached shed for use as a wormery

SDNP/18/01271/FUL   Land South of Green Street East Worldham Bordon GU35 9NN
New vehicular access and concrete turning area 

New applications:
55444/001 Land East of Karma, Forge Road, Kingsley, Bordon
B1(a). B1(b). B1(c). and B2 class Business Units with associated parking areas after demolition of existing motor garage and workshop buildings


27396/049 Old Park Farm, Forge Road, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9LU
Prior notification - agricultural storage barn used for the purposes of storing hay

9. St Nicholas Cemetery & Cemetery Chapel
To receive an update from Cllr Fletcher

10. Transport, Highways and Road Safety

To receive an update from Cllr Fletcher

11. Commons, Village Greens and Rights of Way

Upper Green
To receive an update from Cllr Gregory

Footpath 6
a) To consider proposal to send to local residents, the Parish Council feedback document attached to email sent to all Councillors on 18 May 2018.
b) To consider the next steps concerning the transfer of ownership of footpath 6 
12. Community Resilience


13. Environment and Biodiversity
Allotments
Update on allotments insurance and volunteers to do maintenance work at the allotment site


14. Kingsley Village Forum


15. Housing, Business & Commerce

Update on nomination for The Cricketers to become an Asset of Community Value

16. Review of Capital Projects



17. Communications

The correspondence received this month was listed & circulated to all Cllrs prior to the meeting.
18. Broadband
To receive an update from Cllr Coury & Cllr Clayton







19. District Councillor


20. Procedures, Finance and Payments

General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
a) To consider the draft policy statement (pages 1 and 2 of document sent to Councillors on 14 May 2018) 
b) To consider process for review and further develop the related procedures (pages 3 to 8 of document) to be ready for agreement at a future meeting
Review the format of the monthly parish meeting
To consider the insurance renewal with Zurich insurance annual premium £1,215.01, 1,162.45 for 3 years or 1,109.92 for 5 years premium


Payments to be made & Accounts to accept
To consider the payment of invoices on the schedule included in the agenda of the meeting
Payment Date
Payee
Payment Mode
Description
Amount
29/05/2018
Karine Nana Yonko
BACS
Clerk's May 2018 expenses invoice 0002-2018/19
98.60
29/05/2018
Karine Nana Yonko
BACS
Clerk's May 2018 salary
324.80
29/05/2018
HMRC
BACS
PAYE May 2018
95.20


Date of Next Meeting of Kingsley Parish Council –

Thursday 28th June 2018 – 7.30 pm at the Kingsley Centre



Tuesday 15 May 2018

Dormice(1)

I think I may have mentioned in a previous article that I look after a couple of woods for The
Woodland Trust, that is about to become three. However, as a result of my connection with the two original woods I began to consider if they held Dormouse populations. It would appear that no formal surveys had been conducted by the Trust. The more I thought about it, and became more familiar with the woods, the more convinced I became that there must be Dormice within each of the two woods. I had not seen a Dormouse since childhood, that’s a long time, and things have changed considerably over the years. The Dormouse is now listed as an endangered species and is fully protected under law. Both British and E.U. Law. It must not be disturbed, injured or killed and it’s habitat must also be protected. All of these matters are overseen by The Peoples Trust for Endangered Species. (P.T.E.S ). They are also the body which collate all info regarding the Dormouse and they keep the National records regarding it. In order to get this information there have to be people who collect it and these people have to have a licence issued by the P.T.E.S.. Having discovered all of the above it became clear to me that I could not just launch into a major search for Dormice in "my" two woods.

I also discovered that there are a number of establishments where courses regarding Dormouse conservation and management are conducted. The Woodland Trust happily paid for me to attend one such course held near Exeter early last year. This proved to be a delight and, as a result of the on course survey, I saw my first Dormouse, actually several, for many a year. 

As a result of all of the above I am now working towards my own licence. This involves going on surveys held by other licence holders and being trained in the techniques used to survey and record Dormice without causing harm to them. I have now been involved in many. As surveying does not take place during the winter months, ( the Dormice hibernate), the new season has just begun. On my first survey this year, in the first box we opened, we found a torpid Dormouse. We weighed the little creature and replaced it into the box and throughout it remained asleep and completely unaware of what was happening to it. This is not unusual behaviour for Dormice, they often go into a torpid, hibernating like state for short periods of time during the summer months. 

In woodlands where Dormice are monitored boxes are put up in order that the Dormice can use them, not least to breed in. The Dormice do not use these boxes to hibernate in. They use a location which is on or very close to the ground as they need moisture in order that they do not dehydrate during the long period of hibernation. The boxes used for Dormice are basically a reverse design of an average bird box.The entrance hole is placed facing the tree trunk and the roof slopes away from the tree. The roof is wired on to the base of the box which prevents it falling off or being removed by squirrels. The whole structure is them strapped to the tree trunk at a height of about six feet. When surveying, the box lid is eased carefully to one side to permit observation of the inside. Carefully it has to be as Dormice are nothing if not agile and fast. A careless surveyor will be lucky to see the back end of the Dormouse as it disappears high into the trees if a box is opened without great care. Last season on one occasion a lad,who was new to Dormouse surveying, unfortunately opened up a box without due care only to be amazed, and completely embarrassed, when from within the box a family of mum and about five little Dormice exploded all over his arms and shoulders as they scampered hell for leather into the upper branches of the tree. He will never make that mistake again !

Part two next month.

Monday 9 April 2018

Roads and things

I don't know if it is the norm elsewhere but down here in Dorset it has become very much the norm to close roads when work needs doing. Once upon a time, when road works needed doing a system of traffic lights was put in place allowing, throughout the work, one side of the road to operate pretty much as normal. When one side was finished the lights were simply transferred to the other side. This, as far as I saw, worked quite well and, it seemed to me, a good way of managing the works. 

All that has now changed, the whole road is closed. We are currently undergoing such road works on the A30 and there is a rolling programme of closures throughout the whole of April. Each closure covers several miles. There are diversions in place, however, it doesn't seem to have occurred to the great thinkers in the Council that the local lanes are totally unsuitable for modern traffic needs. There is, for example, a very large car storage facility just west of the road works. This is on an airfield and is serviced by large numbers of vehicle carrying lorries each day. These huge lorries carry eight or nine cars at a time. It would appear the storage site is also a distribution centre as the aforementioned lorries seem to both take in and out their loads of cars. Just imagine for a moment the utter chaos when one of these monsters goes along a diversion which is barely wider than the lorry itself. 

The old lanes of Dorset were never meant for such vehicles. when a car meets one of these vehicles the car must give way and reverse as it is totally unreasonable to expect such a large, loaded or even unloaded, lorry to reverse. Simply there is nowhere to go! Add to that the fact that the car meeting the lorry is, almost certainly being followed along the diversion route by a number of other cars and, bingo, you have chaos. Great planning! I suspect that the whole situation regarding these road is driver by the two modern great Gods …. Money and Health and Safety. I also suspect that the premier God here is Money. When a traffic light system is in place or, as sometimes used to happen, a convoy system there is money involved. When work is controlled by traffic lights it takes a bit longer to complete so, extra cost. When a convoy system is in place it requires extra staff in the form of drivers to manage it and, again, extra cost. This is, all conveniently, backed up by the second God, Health and Safety. 

Although the two systems above have been used without mass traffic casualties for years there appears to be great danger involved for the work force these days. In practical terms this means delays and disruption for all of the local residents and visitors using the area for the month of April, lovely. But hey folks, take heart, there are Council notices dotted around the place telling all whom care to read them that the Council is working hard to make life better for the people of Dorset and doing all sorts of wonderful things to encourage tourism, trouble is, it doesn't actually seem like it! As someone once said, "you couldn't make it up!"

This being a rural area we have, like all rural areas, large numbers of tractors operating around the place. I am sure the residents of Kingsley will be very familiar with them. However, the modern day tractor is quite a different beast from the ones of yesteryear. Today the driver is perched eight or ten feet above the ground in an air conditioned cab operating a system, which is computer controlled, in a vehicle which can travel at high speed. They are big, I mean very big, high, wide and fast. No longer the fifteen or sixteen miles an hour of the old tractors. These monsters really shift. The problem down here seems to be that, for the most part, they are being driven by people whom have had a brain removal operation. These people are almost always young men barely out of their teens. Add to that the fact that it is common place to see them propelling the said tractors, at high speed, with a mobile phone clamped to their ear. These tractors fill the lanes and if you meet one there is nowhere to go. If one or other or both vehicles are unable to stop the result is tragedy. Obviously the tractor wins, a car hitting such a solid mass has no chance. It feels a bit like taking your life into your hands when driving around the local lanes. 

Hardly a week goes by without a tractor encounter of some kind and they are scary. I am of an age where I can justifiably say I am not a boy racer, or, anything like. Experience tells me to drive carefully around the lanes, as mentioned, they are narrow and apart from the tractor menace they also play host to horse riders, cyclists, runners and walkers, but sadly the tractor drivers appear to be oblivious to all of this. Like all other rural areas we don't see policemen any more, I can't recall the last time I saw a police vehicle in our village. I guess if there were more police about driving would improve. I was talking about this to a police officer that comes beating with me and he gave me the figures for tractor related deaths in Dorset last year and, whilst I forget the exact figure, the number was considerable. If you come to Dorset be aware! 

Wednesday 28 March 2018

Save our pub

As some will be aware The Cricketers Inn is up for sale and won't necessarily continue as a pub.

The Localism Act provides a mechanism whereby we can have the pub listed as an "Asset of Community Value" which will protect it for a period allowing time for us to develop a plan to perhaps purchase the pub and run it as a village enterprise.

If you'd like to support this idea please do two things:-

1) Contact parish councillor Claire Millhouse (or the Clerk Karine Nana Yonko) and let her know your thoughts.
2) Support The Cricketers Inn by eating, drinking & socialising there

Monday 19 March 2018

Robins

Several weeks ago I noticed that a particular robin would pop up in my feed shed almost every time I was in it. At that time it would hop around and flit from one point to another whilst appearing to be curious about what was going on. For a wild bird it was quite fearless, in that, it would come within a yard of me in, what is, a fairly closed in environment. I began putting odd bits of food down for it and soon we had a regular cycle going on. 

I feed my animals twice a day and, therefore, open up the feed shed at regular times in order to do so. The robin usually arrives a few minutes after me and has got used to eating whatever I dropped on the floor for it. This progressed until the little bird would fly into the shed and sit quite near to me, clearly, waiting for food. I began whistling to it in, what can only be described,as a most un-robin like way. None the less my robin was clearly intrigued by the noise I was making as it would cock its head to one side in, what I took to be, a listening pose. One day, as a result of pouring rain, I put my usual offering to the bird on the base of an upturned plastic tub inside the shed. He quickly realised what was going on and began feeding. 

This has now progressed to a daily ritual, but now the robin sings to me. Upon arrival it sits on the afore mentioned tub and makes a delightful little twittering noise. This is nothing like the normal robin calls which, for the most part, are quite loud and fairly penetrating. The little chap sits making these noises and cocking its head from side to side watching my every move. I respond by getting some bread,which I keep for the purpose, from a polythene bag. I break it up into small crumbs and scatter it on to the bin. Whilst this is going on the robin will fly to a spot a few feet away and wait until I have moved back and then it will feed. This has now been going on for about couple of months each day repeating the routine. The robin and I have now progressed to a situation where it will come within about a foot of my hands whilst I am breaking up the bread. As soon as I move back it will feed happily and allow me to remain within a foot or eighteen inches of it. Any sudden movements and it will fly a short distance away, but, within a couple of minutes it will resume feeding again. 

I am of the belief that the twittering noise is to get my attention and, perhaps, as near as it gets to a request to be fed. It would appear progress and the birds confidence seem to build in weekly stages. Each passing week there is a willingness on the robins part to allow me closer to it. Yesterday it came within six inches of my hand. I have no idea if the little bird is male or female, I wonder if it is female, as in the last few days it’s visits are not quite as regular and seem to be only once a day rather than the normal twice.Perhaps it is sitting on eggs somewhere in the garden. Each year we have been here we have had, at least,one brood of baby robins. Some years two.In addition to all of the above I now have two more adult robins which appear at the feed shed. Not yet on a regular daily basis but several times a week. Word is obviously getting around that food is available. I must say, it is a great delight to be able to get so close to a wild bird and to gain its trust and I eagerly await the arrival of my little robin at each feed time.

All of this stirred a memory in the old grey matter as I recalled that my grandmother had a tame robin when I was a child. She at the time was living in the last cottage along the Straits, the house farthest from where I lived in Rose cottage. I don’t recall the details of how granny’s robin became tame or how long the process took. However, granny’s little bird would actually come and feed from her hand. She would take a chair into the garden, just outside the back door, and sit there motionless with food in her outstretched hand and the bird would fly down. It perched on her hand and would remain until it had enough food. It was, if you like, granny’s party piece. 

So, I am hoping to be able to achieve the same result with my robin and each day appears to be a step in the right direction. I, of course, have no idea if I will actually achieve the hand feeding but I will keep you posted. 

Just an update on the wild rabbits which I wrote about previously, they are alive and well. Apart from the odd sighting in my field, I found masses of rabbit tracks in the recent snow. Actually, many of the tracks came right up into the garden and I could see much activity in the earth mound behind the polytunnel which they seem to have colonised. 

Monday 12 March 2018

Kingsley Partish Council Cancelled

The March 2018 Parish Council Meeting, originally scheduled for the 22nd, has been cancelled.

The next monthly meeting will be on Thursday 26th April 2018 at 7:30pm at the Kingsley Centre.

Monday 26 February 2018

2017/18 Shooting season

As I write, towards the end of February, it hardly seems possible that yet another shooting season has come and gone. I seem to recall, as a child, I was told time gets slower as you get older, it seems to me to be the other way around. Be that as it may, yet another season has passed and during all the days I was beating there were only two or three which were wet. Mercifully they were only part days of rain. Believe me, there is nothing worse than starting a day in the rain and continuing to get wet until it is time to go home many hours later. Not good for man or dog. It all becomes particularly unpleasant if the guns stop for lunch. What this means, in practical terms, is the beaters hang around in their cold and wet clothing trying to dry out, knowing full well they are in for a second soaking when the guns return and shooting continues. Fortunately, the keeper on the shoot I go to most often has made a rule that the guns shoot through and lunch at the end of the day. This has been a great success and it also ensures that guns are not handled by people whom have had the odd tipple with their lunch. Say no more! So, for the most part, we had dry days and many of them were sunny and very pleasant. Of course, nothing is ever straightforward, as,on sunny days the pheasants are not in the woods, they are out along the hedgerows dusting and basking in the sunshine. All this means they have to be driven back into the woods and on to the flushing points in order to be presented before the guns. This all takes time and a lot of walking but in the sun it is rather a nice way to spend a few hours. 

Bertie, my young Lurcher, was a year old at the beginning of the season. This was as I planned it because I wanted to be able to take him beating and to begin the job of teaching him his part in the shooting calendar. Any Lurcher worth his salt wants to work and the selection of a puppy from working stock is just the start of the process. During the weeks and months leading up to the season, basic obedience has to be taught and a good standard achieved. There is absolutely no point in arriving at a shoot with a dog which is out of control, the most likely outcome of such a situation is to be sent home by the keeper. A bad dog can very quickly ruin the day's shooting and that would not be a good thing for man or beast. Fortunately, Bertie was receptive and took well to training, he was a quick learner and, I am happy to claim, puts a lot of more experienced dogs to shame. He comes back when called, he stays when told to do so and I can drop him in the down position with a hand signal and at long distances. All of which commends him to shoot keepers. There is always a worry with a new dog that it might be gun shy. Some dogs hear the bang of a gun and are gone. This is something which, as far as I am aware, is with them for life and, I think, incurable. However, thankfully, Bertie does not suffer from that problem. 

Lurchers are by nature, and for the most part, quite clever dogs. I say for the most part as, with any breed or strain of dog, there are always the idiots which appear to be beyond training. The makeup of a proper Lurcher usually includes Greyhound and Collie. The Greyhound being the fastest dog and, therefore, providing speed and the Collie being brainy and providing intelligence. Together these two qualities should make for a very good working dog and, trained well, usually do. One of the biggest matters to overcome in the shooting field, when working a Lurcher, is the fact that they are gazehounds. This means they hunt by sight and not by scent. Working by sight has its benefits but it is also desirable for the dog to use its nose as well. Bertie took to locating and flushing pheasants by sight as though he had been born for it. Which, since he was brought into the world for hunting, is not that surprising. However, it has taken most of the season to train him into using his nose as well. This, really, is just a question of regular and frequent contact with the pheasants in cover where sighting is difficult if not. impossible. The nose, therefore, becomes an essential part in both locating and flushing the birds. Well, don't you just know it, at almost exactly the moment when the penny dropped and Bertie got the idea that nose equals pheasants the season came to an end. Fortunately, dogs have a very good memory and my expectation is, at the beginning of next season, Bertie will pick up pretty much where he left off. So what do we do now and until October when it all starts again? Well there will be a bit a rabbiting and chasing the odd grey squirrel. Training never stops and most days when we go out there is a session of training, all of which is, wrapped up as a game and a fun thing to do. Also long summer walks to keep us both fit, well assuming that is, that we get a summer. 

Tuesday 16 January 2018

Chutney part two

As the shooting season progressed and, every time, the beaters wagon drove past Maurice's smallholding mention was made of his incredible chutney. Pete was well and truly hooked and continued to express his amazement that such a production could have taken place, right under his nose, involving a friend of his, and he remaining completely unaware of its existence. As we approached Christmas of that particular year and thoughts turned to the traditional beaters pre–Christmas food, my brother told Pete that he would bring along a jar of the famous chutney to share with us all. Famous, that is, because by now we had elevated the phantom chutney to new heights. Maurice had won the gold medal for chutney at the Bath and West Show, undoubtedly a great achievement. This we told Pete had resulted in a contract to supply chutney to Waitrose stores throughout the country. Again Pete expressed his amazement at these achievements and told us all that he had not seen Maurice for many months… just as well really, in the circumstances. However, Pete continued to accept, without question, that Maurice was a leading maker of fine chutney and doing very nicely at it. The beaters pre-Christmas feast is really just an extension of the normal mid-morning drinks break that takes place on every shoot day. The difference being, on the pre-Christmas day beaters tend to bring additional festive bites to be shared and some of the guns also donate various goodies for our delectation. The keeper's wife, who normally provides the refreshments for the beaters, also puts on a special spread for the occasion. It was, therefore, nothing out of the ordinary that Don had offered to bring a jar of chutney for the event. He did an incredible job, having produced an extremely realistic label for the chutney jar. Apart from mention of Dorset's finest chutney there was a list of ingredients and mention of the awards which had been bestowed upon the completely fake chutney within the jar. 

What was not mentioned on the label was the fact that Don had liberally laced the homemade chutney, he had produced, with a very strong chilli powder. It was hot, very hot! Knowing what was in it I abstained. Some of the more enthusiastic chutney eating beaters generously spread their cheese and biscuits with the lethal mix. Not, however, before Pete had been enticed to sample a small portion of the stuff. With his usual protestations of not being one for spicy or fancy food out of the way, and, having been persuaded that it was, after all, Christmas Pete got stuck in and his reaction was as swift as it was spectacular. The fiery mix hit his pallet nearly taking his head off, he choked, he coughed and his face changed from its normal colour to an alarming shade of red. He dived for the hedge to expel the chutney from his mouth. Whilst several others within the group had experienced the undoubted heat they had managed, in varying degrees, to put on a brave face and spoke warmly of the excellence, of this, one of Maurice's finest chutneys. It took Pete most of the day to regain normality, during which time, he made it very clear his first taste of chutney was quite definitely his last. He could not begin to understand why anyone would want to eat such stuff and how it had achieved such acclaim was quite beyond his comprehension. The pre–Christmas episode long forgotten, the season continued and the chutney joke carried on, Pete still blissfully unaware that the whole thing was a complete farce. 

The season ended and that was that. In the autumn of the same year the new season began, as they always do, and the chutney joke was soon up and running again. Pete was again told of further successes which Maurice and his chutney had achieved throughout the summer. As previously, he accepted all this nonsense without question. Each time we passed Maurice's place the chutney was always mentioned and so we continued for several weeks. Then, the inevitable happened, one morning Pete arrived for beating as usual and received the usual greetings and was asked how he was. "Well", he said, "I am ok but I had a very embarrassing experience in the week. "What happened", we asked. "I bumped into Maurice and congratulated him on his chutney success but he said he didn't know what I was talking about." replied Pete. "I said, you know all your awards and sales at Waitrose but he said are you mad, I don't know what you are on about". "So", went on Pete, "I said Derek told me all about you and your chutney and then Maurice got quite funny and said he didn't know anyone called Derek and nor did he bloody well know anything about chutney". Pete it would appear persisted saying that he had seen and tasted a jar of the chutney. Where upon Maurice told him he was talking complete rubbish, actually he used another word, but you get the point. "I was so embarrassed" said Pete.  "What's going on he asked?" Quick as a flash my brother said, "I think old Maurice is not paying his VAT or taxes and he doesn't want you to know about his chutney business".  Pete pondered this for a few moments and then said "Oh well that would explain why he was so queer with me". That was that, the explanation was accepted without further doubt and the whole matter not mentioned again. Clearly, Pete knew Maurice better than we did and was perfectly happy to assume, the somewhat sinister explanation, completely accounted for Maurice's strange behaviour. Due to age and ill health Pete no longer comes beating and, as far as I know, still believes the chutney tale. As for the other members of the beating team, well, they all have a bit of a giggle each time we pass Maurice's place.