The Parish Council has recently received some complaints about dog fouling in the Cemetery. There is no objection to dogs being taken into the Cemetery but they should be kept on leads and any dog fouling that does take place should be cleared up immediately by the dog’s owner/companion. There are plenty of suitable receptacles and bio-degradable dog waste gloves are available from a dispenser by the Pavilion just across the road.
You are likely already aware, but for those that are not yet, the Fleur will be going up for sale, and members of the village have an opportunity to buy it, as some manner of co-operative venture, should they desire. After a meeting the other month, a working group has been put together, and out of it, things are progressing, and now it is time for you to start letting them know your thoughts on the matter.
The first (and possibly most important thing at this point) is to fill out a small online survey. This will let the group know your level of interest, whether you would like to invest, and how much you might like to be involved. Ultimately, if not enough people fill out this form, we will unlikely be able to proceed much more, as there will not be deemed enough of a need.
If you are unable to fill out the form (or don’t want to do so via Facebook), then please speak to someone on the working group. Alternatively you can submit a contact form on this website, and your details will be forwarded to someone on the group, or wait until a printed form is posted through village doors over the coming weeks.
As you may have noticed, the survey is on the new ‘Friends of the Fleur’ Facebook page. As such, please do like/follow/share this page to encourage as many others within the village to get involved as possible.
There will also be a website about the Fleur, giving information on the campaign, and some history. News on this will be posted onto the Friends Facebook page, and will also likely be posted on this website too. So listen out for more information.
If you would like more information now, please look to page 9 in the September edition of the Dorchester News
More than three hundred entries were a sure sign of your continuing support and the show went really well on the day. On behalf of the committee, thank you all for your hard work in preparing all those amazing exhibits, and thanks to all those who came along to see.
It is once again my pleasure to tell you that the judges were impressed by the continued high quality of the entries in our small but perfectly formed show.
A highlight this year was the first presentation of the Jenny Nudds Tomato Cup. Jenny presented the cup after retiring from the committee and she and Jerry Nudds each gave more than thirty years of service to the show. We owe them a lot, and their knowledge and experience will be much missed – thank you both. We now have Jenny’s cup and the Jerry Nudds plate for a Gentleman’s Fruitcake, so neither will be forgotten.
I would like to thank the committee members for all their hard work, i.e. for: schedule-agreeing, poster-making, poster-sticking, email-sending, plant-growing, plant-preparing, trophy-collecting, trophy-chasing, trophy-polishing, judge-booking, hall-booking, hall-preparing, banner-hanging, paperwork-doing, loads-more-paperwork-doing, prize-card stamping, email-sending, money-managing, float-preparing, tea-readying, raffle-prize-organising, entry-collecting, picking-up-scattered-small-change-off-Christina’s-doormatting, entrant-minding, judge-minding, result-running, prize-card-scribing, final-checking, tea-making, tea-selling, plant-selling, raffle-selling, door-guarding, prize-giving, non-winner-consoling, hall-clearing, hall-tidying, left-behind-entries-delivering, probably-quite-a-few-I-forgot(ing), and sorting the schedule for the next show.
Welcome to our new committee member John – he survived surprisingly well. And thank you to Dan Duke and Ian Brace for their publicity work.
The Spring Show will be on Saturday 7th April 2018 – we look forward to seeing you there.
David Wilkinson
Our thanks to Andrew Townsend for cutting the hay on the Hurst meadow again this year. It was cut on 26th August and baled on 29th, the cut having been delayed by wet weather earlier in the month. Andrew will use the hay for his livestock during the winter.
The later cut allowed flowers such as knapweed to set seed which was enjoyed by flocks (or charms) of goldfinch. Also, from late July onwards there were reports of barn owls hunting over the Hurst in the evenings.
Thank you to regular walkers in all three meadows for your diligence and help over dog mess and litter, especially picking up the odd wrapper or empty can that has been discarded. This is much appreciated.
Having completed our annual accounts up to the end of March we are beginning to look ahead at how Brexit might affect us. Last year our total income was £13,700, of which £6,000 came from farming grants. Almost all the rest came from donations and associated tax credits. We spent a little over £12,000, of which £9,000 was for land maintenance (mainly tree surgery beyond the competence of our volunteers, and tractor mower running costs). Other significant costs included fees of £1,200 for preparing our new 10 year land maintenance plan, and £650 for our liability insurance.
The reality is that our total actual expenditure is dwarfed by the unaccounted value of the weekly work of our land management volunteers. This exceeds all our expenditure put together. They gain a real sense of personal ownership of the meadows, as well as good exercise and learning new skills. They meet on Tuesday mornings and some weekends. Contact Chris Smith to find out more about Tuesday sessions (chriscssmith@btinternet.com) or Graham Beland about weekend sessions (belandgraham@gmail.com).
We have to plan that Brexit will mean lower farming grants, perhaps none, and we will become more dependent on donations. Small amounts from lots of people will go a long way to keep us solvent. If you might consider making a contribution to our work please contact me and I will be pleased to send you more information. Thank you.
Gillian Johnson (Hon. Secretary) on behalf of the Trustees
01865 340925 email: admin@hurst-water-meadow.org.uk
From Sunday 1 October 2017 the charges for the disposal of non-household waste are changing. The existing DIY 1,2,3 for free scheme, which has been in place for 15 years, is being replaced by a small fixed fee per item. Further details on the charges can be found online at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/chargeablewaste.
You will still be able to dispose of all household waste free of charge at any of the county’s Household Waste Recycling Centres.