Ashwell Village Newsletter - July 2020

1

Jack Boyle (cover artist) – Who am I?

I became a scholar of the Royal Institute of British Artists when my
school work was exhibited at The Mall Galleries, London. Then spent
a summer or two dedicated to the medium; painting the lovely people
of Ashwell - some of whom you will hopefully recognise - and later
honoured to be invited to paint the Headmaster at my school, The
Knights Templar.
More recent years have been filled with my training to become an
Architect, and recently graduating from The Royal College of Art with
a Masters in Architecture. My final project explored the tensions
between the world of architecture and fine art, in particular
embracing the indulgence of self-portraiture as a three-dimensional
tool to design Architecture. My studies also ignited my interest in film
as a medium which recently came to fruition with my debut short
being screened at this year’s Solaris Film festival having been nominated for ‘Best Cinematography’.
I am currently working in London for the award-winning Architecture practice Merrett Houmoller
Architects, but despite all these creative distractions my love for painting remains true. I was born
and raised in Ashwell and have missed the opportunity that portraiture provides to meet more of the
village’s people. If you are generous enough to give me an excuse to escape London and paint for a
few days, I will be truly grateful and would love to work with you.
If you would like to have a chat then please feel free to call me on 07842 127177.
Editor’s Comments: How many people can you identify on the front cover?
Answers on page 29. It’s possible for you to get 7 or even 8 of the 10 people.

2

EDITORIAL

I turn 60 this month, so please forgive my self-indulgence for both the
front cover and this article. I still remember when I thought this age to
be old, so how did that happen to me?
The whole decade thing is possibly a time to reflect a little and maybe
this one more than others. If for no other reason than having the time
to do so.
So what is the measure of a life? Or indeed even yours.
First thoughts often turn to your paid work. It does take a chunk of
your life and people often describe themselves by their profession or job
title. It can be interesting and give purpose, obviously necessary for
daily provisions, but somehow there is much more.
Maybe nurturing a family, being part of their lives and watching them
grow into something to be proud of. Experience their joy, their pain and
their achievements in life. A gift with memories to cherish.
Perhaps having good friends to socialise with, to have fun with and share experiences.
Great joy can come from the people who surround you.
Or engaging with the world as a whole, and adding value to it?
This can come in a myriad of ways: Producing art; through charitable works; invention or just being
happy. Perhaps learning about or explaining the beauty, physical laws and wonders of nature.
So much to do and see.
No one seems to get away from personal difficulties, tragedy and maybe hardship. Even from here
can come benefits, although it never seems so at the time. From pain and disappointment comes
understanding of joy and elation. Maybe even empathy, humility, and compassion.
And then there is unquestioning Love. Fully knowing another’s foibles, knowing the mistakes they
make, knowing they will probably carry on doing them and yet….
If something never dies, maybe it’s love.
In 6 decades, I have come to experience all of these things. So what now?
Who knows!
I do know Ashwell is a great place to live. My family has grown here, my great friends live here, it is a
privilege to be here and there is still so much more to learn.
Time does not necessarily give wisdom. It does help you to know the things that are precious and
should be cared for.
In the place we all live we have a church tower in need of community support and grants for
significant restoration funds.
We have 3 closed pubs. How many do you think will re-open?
We have village retail outlets that need your custom even after things change back.
If any, or all, of these things close, even your house prices are dependent on them!
We hope to highlight ways that everyone can help, in whatever way they can. Life brings trials to us
all, but let’s look after the joy as well.

James Boyle

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Editors Comments: Ashwell Village News (AVN) moves on line from the July edition to also become
eAVN. It’s a sign of the times and a small part of the tsunami of change around us all.
My mother, 80 years young, this year has a smart phone, utilising Facetime and What’s app,
whilst both receiving and posting photos to her family. It’s never too late to get the benefits of the
new world we all now live in.

3

The Parish Church Revd. Robert Evens

Dear Friends the position of Doubting Robert. I think Thomas’s
doubt was hopeful, rather than hopeless. He was
This month, to be precise on looking for reasons to believe rather than not to
the 3rd of July, we celebrate believe. He was a good healthy sceptic.
the feast day of the apostle
Thomas. Thomas was also Thomas eventually ended up taking the Gospel to
known as Didymus meaning the whole of India. If we are to learn from the
the twin or perhaps more story of Thomas, it is perhaps that it emphasises
famously as Doubting the importance of encouraging and supporting
Thomas. Christian seekers - those who are interested in
Christ but who may be sceptical about many of
Just before the Last Supper the claims of Christianity. Remember Jesus didn't
when Jesus warned his condemn Thomas for his doubts, but used them
disciples about his coming death and said, to affirm Thomas and to strengthen Thomas'
"You know the way to the place where I am commitment. It's clear that Thomas remained a
going," Thomas' response was, "Lord, we do not sceptic - at least until his time in India - but the
know where you are going. How can we know the whole continent of India believes that its
way?" (John 14:4-5). But perhaps his best known Christianity came originally from Thomas. Not a
response and the one which led to him being bad record for a sceptic!
known as "Doubting Thomas", was his disbelief
when the other disciples told him that they had So if you are unsure about Jesus, welcome!
seen Jesus alive again after his crucifixion. If you are unsure about miracles, welcome!
Thomas said, "Except I shall see in his hands the If you are unsure about God, welcome!
print of the nails, and put my finger into the
place of the nails, and put my hand into his side, Like Jesus and Thomas, we journey together
I will not believe" (John 20:25). But his through life, exploring the mystery of Christianity
scepticism didn't prevent Jesus from appearing to together, allowing God to work within us and
Thomas or using him in God's service, for just a remembering that his strength is made perfect in
week later Thomas met with the risen Christ for our weakness, as the life of Thomas so clearly
himself, and was at last able to say, shows.
"My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28).
Every blessing, Robert
Now I have a soft spot for Thomas. I find his
doubt encouraging, because I am often myself in

St Mary the Virgin Mill Street, Ashwell, SG7 5LY No Services until further notice.
(Church of England) 01462 742277
109 High Street, Ashwell, SG75PQ [email protected]
Rector: Revd. Robert Evens
Antje Brandtner 01462 743922
Parish Church Office & Parish Office, Parish Church Room [email protected]
Parish Church Room Hire Swan Street, SG7 5NY
Mark Eaton [email protected] 01462 743451
Reader & Treasurer David Richards 01462 742434
Churchwarden

4

Some music to listen to—by Bene’t Coldstream

My greatest achievement from this article will be if I can persuade someone who is
intuitively not a classical music fan to give it whirl. I risk tiptoeing into the world of
condescension or pomposity, but that’s my problem. There’s just no easy way to
tempt someone who isn’t prepared to try unless they want to. BUT classical music
is SO varied that I find it inconceivable that it isn’t worth an hour or two in a
month making the effort. So I continue with my highly varied theme, and hope if
you’re a newcomer you’ll give me what amounts to 0.25% of your time this
month! Feedback, whether you’re a newcomer or not, very welcome.

Wonderful Town—Bernstein - This is great fun. You don’t have to like big band jazz to enjoy
this, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt. (L)

I was glad - Parry - Psalm 122 words set to imperial music. Every coronation since Charles I
has commenced with music using these words (or Laetatus Sum as the words translate in Latin).
Since the turn of the 20th century, Parry’s version has been sung (written for Edward VII’s
enthroning). It includes brass fanfares, antiphonal choirs, and the acclamation “Vivat Rex/
Regina” (Long live the King/Queen) which is only sung at coronations and omitted when the work is
otherwise performed. Try and find a recording with the Vivats in it (QE2’s coronation for instance)
YouTube probably your best bet. (S)

Pathetique Sonata (piano) No.8 in C minor (2nd Movement) - Beethoven - I wouldn’t put
you off the whole sonata of course, but if you just want a quiet moment of extreme pleasure listen
to the 2nd Movement. The well known tune has been used as a psalm chant also (not Beethoven’s
idea but it isn’t sacrilege) and we shall do this in St Mary’s when we’re allowed back in. (S)

The trumpet shall sound (Messiah) - Handel - again don’t let me stop you listening to the
whole Messiah, but this aria comes late in the work and is one of my favourite moments. It is a
bass vocalist and trumpet duet. The trumpet solo is the only instrumental solo in the whole work.
Motifs from the trumpet are picked up by the singer and developed - “and we shall be changed” is
melismatic in the extreme. Nice da capo so you get the trumpet solo back at the end too. (S)

Ceremony of Carols—Britten - maybe I should have waited for Christmas but I’ve never believed
you can’t listen to Christmas music at any time. Spoiler alert if you don’t know this and you’re
expecting the tried and trusted congregational carols you sing at Midnight Mass. This is a totally

different experience. Written for boy trebles and
harp. So much to say, no space to say it. It’s all
wonderful but “This little babe” is astounding.
(M)

Cello Concerto—Elgar— In all honesty string
music is an area where I have a slight dearth of
suggestions. But I am deeply familiar with this
piece. I grew to love it when we were playing it
in school orchestra back in the late 70s—and I
was in awe of the young 15 year old cellist we
had at our school (although the second trumpet
part isn’t very interesting!). This piece was taken
to major prominence by the craft of the phenom-
enal cellist Jacqueline du Pre. So find the record-
ing of her playing it (Barbirolli conducting). The
life story of du Pre is very sad—and if you don’t
know it, have a read about it before you listen.
(L)

Funeral Sentences and Music for the Funeral
of Queen Mary—Purcell - Queen Mary II died
in 1694 but her funeral in Westminster Abbey
actually took place in 1685. This features brass
quartet, basso continuo and four part singers.
The brass sections bookend the work . You can
so easily hear the starkness, almost eerie sim-
plicity in the brass and know instantly that this is
about mourning and reflection. The singing por-
tions include “Thou knowest Lord the secrets of
our hearts” the words for which you could possi-
bly dwell on for a moment. Once again simplicity
is genius. (M)

Thanks, Bene’t Coldstream

5

A very few words from
ASHWELL UNITED REFORMED CHURCH

Trevor James, BEM, 1947-2020

On 5th June we received the sad news that Trevor had passed away
at the Garden House Hospice. He had battled bravely and with
great courage against a long illness with cancer.

Diagnosed with serious bowel cancer in 2016 followed by severe
surgery in 2017 he was determined to maintain his strength and
stamina and was frequently seen on his regular walks around
Ashwell ever alert to the local flora and fauna which was his
passion.

Moving to Ashwell in 1976, subsequently meeting and marrying
Chris they set up home in Back Street. Because of their joint
involvement in Environmental and Natural History they were to
manage the Ashwell Quarry under the auspices of the Hertfordshire
and Middlesex Wildlife Trust. In due time Trevor became a Trustee
of the Ashwell Museum and involved with Ashwell At Home events.

Faith and wildlife conservation were inseparable to Trevor. He and
Chris became members of Ashwell United Reformed Church in the
late 1980s which led on to Trevor being appointed an ‘Elder’ there
in 2013, helping to take services, although as he said ‘my later
illnesses greatly reduced my ability to take part’.

We all have our memories of Trevor, his enthusiasm for all things

wildlife and nature conservation which resulted in his books ‘Flora of Hertfordshire’ and his

monumental ‘Beetles of Hertfordshire’. His

moment of great pride was being awarded the

Artisan Cheese British Empire Medal for ‘services to nature
conservation in Hertfordshire’ and being cited in

Special cheeses from the Queen’s New Year Honours List for January
2020, with the Investiture on 2nd March.

southern England & Wales. Trevor has left a great legacy of faith linked with
nature conservation and an inspiration of
Free Local Delivery courage in the face of immense personal
suffering, and our sympathies go to Chris,
Ring/text Meril on 07871 752753 or email Edward, Helen and the wider family.
[email protected]
Alan Gilliam

www.artisancheese.co.uk

6

This is the first in what will be an occasional series of countryside walks in our local area. As most of you
are familiar with walks setting out from Ashwell itself, these walks will start a short drive away, and be
circular.

The first one is a delightful little loop at Sandon, 3.5 miles in length, and on good byways throughout. It
will take 1.25-1.5 hours to walk, and has the option of spending some time in a small nature reserve.

Getting to the walk (Map 1). Drive to Sandon, approx. 6 miles away. Best approached via the turning off
the A505 where the cat and dog boarding kennels are. As you enter Sandon, find the back road out to
Kelshall (and Royston), drive along for
one third of a mile to a left-hand bend.
Stop and park up here, there is plenty
of room on the verge at the corner, but
don’t block the farmer’s entry into his
field.

It is easiest to navigate the walk clock-
wise (Map 2), so facing the road
you’ve just driven along, turn right and
head off along the quiet road for 500
yards. Turn right at the sign that says
Public Byway 18. Once past the house
and paddock, delightful views open up
on the left hand side, and if you look
carefully you can see 2 churches, the
left hand one being Kelshall and the RH
one Therfield. Ahead to the right, the
views open up towards Reed and Bark-
way. One mile from the start of the
walk you come to a T junction. Turn
right, the sign says “Public Highway
known as Keepers Lane”. Follow this
track, which does a 90⁰ turn to the left,

taking you to a 2nd T junction. Turn right again and
follow this for a third of a mile, ignoring the first
crossroads at 300 yards. When you get to a
sunken part that is an old ford, turn right onto the
path clearly signed “Notley Green”.

This is a beautiful tree lined byway, providing

dappled sun on a bright day. About a quarter of a

mile along, on the

left hand side is a

small nature

reserve Hawkins

Wood. Well worth
a detour if you
have time, the
wood is managed
by the Herts and
Middlesex Wildlife
Trust. It is thought
to be named after
a John Hawkins who is mentioned in documents dated 1676. It is
divided by medieval banks and ditches into north, south and central
sections. It has woods, fields and hedges, and birds include bullfinch,
linnet and yellowhammer. There are also brown hares and deer, which
we saw when we did the walk recently.

Back on the main path, carry on for just over a quarter of a mile, then
take a 90⁰ left turn staying on the main path. (Straight ahead is gated
and no public right of way, and there is a smaller path off to the right).
We are on the Icknield Way path now, denoted by an axe on the
footpath direction markers. In a quarter of a mile keep left onto a cinder
track and you will see a road ahead of you. Turn right onto this road, immediately right again at the road
junction, then almost immediately right again onto another bridleway (marked on a post that has seen
better days, as both the Hertfordshire Way long distance path and the Icknield Way). It is just half a
mile now back to where you left the car, along a byway that you can imagine our forebears riding in their
horse and cart. I studied Thomas Hardy’s “The Woodlanders” at school, and this path reminded me
immediately of this novel.

An Ashwell neighbour of ours, who knows Sandon very well, has a theory about the last third of the walk.
She believes that these byways, hundreds of years old themselves, may well mark the boundary of a
medieval Deer Park. Let your imagination run wild as you follow these ancient tracks, and do enjoy being
out in the North Hertfordshire countryside.

7

8

9

Ashwell Village Museum
Update July 2020

from Peter Greener, Curator.
[email protected]

or 742956

Despite having a lovely renovated building, we have been shut due to circumstances beyond our con-
trol however, whilst abiding to strict quarantine rules, it has allowed us to get on with a re-think and
consequentially a re-display. As always with these things when you change one thing it has a knock-
on effect and you have to move everything else (usually more than once). We are looking
forward at ways of opening, according to any new guidelines, with an informative, refreshed and user
-friendly space ready for all our community activities and even our forthcoming 90th Birthday. We are
always adding fascinating snippets and pictures to our website and social media pages to satisfy
curiosity and spark interest in all things Ashwellian.
Object of the Month: Constable’s Bulls Eye Lamps.
We have two of these in the collection and I always thought they were for
bicycles but have found out recently that amazingly they were intended to
be worn on the belt. The need for light was obviously more important that
the safety aspect of wearing a paraffin burner next to your clothes. One of
our lamps has a revolving shield to obscure the light when stealth was
needed to apprehend criminals.
The Friends and Volunteers of the Museum
The Friends and Volunteers remain totally behind the Curator in supporting
the current refurbishment and rearranging of the Museum following the
building works completed last year. We all see the need to keep interest in
our museum alive and wonder if this may be the opportunity to become a
Friend if you are not currently one. Please contact David Hall 743799 who
will give you details. Some may be asking about future activities but other
than a possible Talk by Sam Wallace on ‘Farming in Ashwell ‘in November we cannot sadly plan
ahead. Meanwhile our Volunteers remain our ‘established manpower’ awaiting the time and date
when we can reopen the Museum to Visitors. If you are interested in helping please contact Karen
Mills 742155 for information
Thank you for everyone's ongoing support towards our Museum as this is so much appreciated.

Hertfordshire Book of Remembrance .

The Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire
Robert Voss CBE
has set up a virtual

Covid 19 Book of Remembrance
for Hertfordshire .

Should anyone wish to find out more , please access the Lieutenancy website :
lord-lieutenant-herts.org.uk/remembrance

10

Desert Island Discs

Each month we will be interviewing someone and asking them to tell us their 8 tracks they

would want on to have with them whilst they are stuck on their own on a desert island. This

month we spoke to Alfie Talks.

Alfie’s Desert Island Discs

Alfie Talks is part of the crazy Talks/Moynihan/Fletcher family and moved to Ashwell in 1999
at the age of two (which makes him 23 I reckon) and he grew up in the
village. As well as attending the Primary School, he has enjoyed many of the lovely village
activities, including Ashwell Accies, Cricket, Dance, Archaeology, Museum,
St Mary’s, Choir, Theatre, Folk and the Horticultural Show. He is now studying for a Master’s

These are Alfie’s choices:

Track One is The Butterfly Song - Psalty and Ernie Rettino - As I have spent the majority of my life in
Ashwell, I have many lovely memories of the village. This song reminds me of two major influences in
my childhood - Ashwell School and St Mary’s Church. I am extremely grateful for the time I spent in
both places and how they encouraged my love of music and appreciation for knowledge and wisdom.
As far as taste in music goes, you can draw your own conclusions from this list...
Track Two is Fairytale- Alexander Rybak - I have always loved theatre as well as music. As such,
a great enjoyment of mine has been Eurovision. It is a true amalgamation of everything fabulous.
This particular song was performed in 2009 and I have hummed it ever since.
Track Three is Detectorists - Johnny Flynn - During my time at Knights Templar School, I
developed two of my greatest passions. Archaeology, which was further encouraged through Ashwell
Archaeology with my mum and the other is my love of nature. This song truly encapsulates both of
these, but also reminds me of singing with my siblings for a CD for my parents.
Track Four is Through the Fire and Flames – DragonForce - I’ve always been fascinated by
technology - perhaps my father’s influence. During my GCSEs I took part in a BTEC in IT. Whilst hard-
ly working, I would listen along to this song and just escape reality.
Track Five is When You’re Smiling - Frank Sinatra - My university time was, occasionally, quite
civilised. Swing Dance involved dressing up in classic clothes, shirt and braces, and spending the eve-
nings in The De Gray Rooms, Lindy Hopping with Amina, in a fancy ballroom.
Track Six is Stay Gold - First Aid Kit - Whilst on long road trips, for example to Norway, or when I
am not feeling great, I find it very helpful to listen to this song. I zone out of reality and relax listen-
ing to the harmonies.
Track Seven is Just Keep Going On - Eric Bibb - I have a joy of hiking, encouraged by the univer-
sities Outdoor Society and the Duke of Edinburgh Award. I have spent many wonderful days and
weeks hiking in amazing places throughout the world. I always sing this song whilst climbing up steep
inclines. It is also a great song for the current pandemic situation. Just keep going on!
Track Eight is Tequila (Radio Edit) - Ajax Jones, Martin Solveig, RAYE and Europa - Lockdown
with my parents and sister has in some ways been a reversion to childhood. Not just by me and my
sister, but by my parents too. We have enjoyed crazy YouTube dance sessions from which this song
had been my favourite.
Thanks Alfie. Great, original choices. Here’s a link to Alfie’s choices in a handy playlist
https://tinyurl.com/y96g2amv

You can have one luxury item and one book - you already have the bible and the complete works
of Shakespeare.

In which case I’ll have a good hunting knife please. The practicalities of it alone will assist,
especially if it can help with my love of fish.

And so for the Book – I choose "The Dangerous Book for Boys" - Conn and Hal Iggulden - I
was often drawn to this book as a child trying to figure out the ways of the world. It provides survival
tips which I would normally get off the internet and also reminds me that there are things that I do
know - thus keeping my sanity. It could also reinforce me that an alternate place still exists.

One last question for you Alfie, if you could only take one of your 8 chosen tracks, which one would it
be? That's hard, it was hard enough just choosing 8. However I would have to choose When You’re
Smiling - Frank Sinatra. It is such a joyful song and is a sure way to get my feet moving. Even just
thinking of the song puts a smile on my face.

Thanks Alfie. It’s been great to discuss this all with you. Enjoy the island, it’s all yours.

Jack Busby and Bene’t Coldstream

11

In an English country garden…

Taking cuttings is one of life’s pleasures. It takes a little time and patience, but as lockdown
has provided time and taught us all to be patient, this seems a good time to have a go.
You can take cuttings throughout the year. Spring is the most productive because “juvenile
growth” generally roots quickly, but summer cuttings still work. The challenge is always is
to persuade the cutting to produce new roots before it dies from lack of water. So the aim is
to limit loss of water thought the leaves to buy time for new roots to form. This may seem
like a long list of rules, but it’s easy once you get the hang of it.

• Before you start, make sure that the parent plant is well watered. Look for fresh soft
growth rather than anything hard or woody. Choose a stem without flower buds if pos-
sible, and remove any flower buds if not.

• Take cuttings early in the morning, and put them into a plastic bag to preserve moisture. Spring cuttings can be quite small
3-4 cm, but 4-6cm works better in the summer. Keep them cool, and use them as soon as possible, ideally the same day.

• Cuttings do not need many leaves. Water in the cutting is lost through the leaves, so trim off the lower leaves, and if the
leaves are large, reduce their surface area by cutting the leaf in half.

• Insert the cuttings into moist compost in a small pot. Label them and add the date - so important! Cover the pot with a
clear plastic bag, held in place with a rubber band around the pot. This keeps the moisture in. A couple of straws or a lolly
stick will hold the bag up, but it does not matter if the bag touches the leaves.

• Keep the cuttings out of direct sunshine - a north-facing windowsill is best. You shouldn’t need to water the cuttings again.
In fact, avoid doing so unless the compost is drying out, as too much water can rot the stems of the cuttings. The cuttings
will still photosynthesise in indirect light.

Then wait. Rooting times vary. Impatiens, catmint, anthemis, pelargoniums and fuchsias root readily, some even in a glass of
water, but others take longer. Allow anything from 10 days to four weeks. A gentle tug on the cutting will usually indicate
whether roots have formed. If you are any doubt, wait for signs of new leaf growth. As soon as the cuttings have rooted, pot
them up individually in fresh compost and water them in. You can move them to a sunnier windowsill or into a greenhouse to
grow on, watering normally.

Susan Greenbank

12

CLIMATE CHANGE is now part of our way of life, so we need to reduce carbon emissions.
The BIG CLIMATE FIGHT BACK is a Woodland Trust campaign to make us more aware of this
GLOBAL CRISIS with a target of planting 1 MILLION TREES. So, what can we do in our village. GREENING

ASHWELL is a way of not only helping to restore some of the natural features of our
community but also improving sustainable biodiversity to our surroundings.

One of the initial aims of the project was to plant more trees to help reduce CO2 levels and we now
have a further chance to achieve this aim. The Woodland Trust have just announced grants for
organisations like ours who have community projects involving children and youths to be undertaken
in National Tree Week (November). So, our environmental survey is being used as a basis for
potential planting and upon approval selected sites will be submitted for grant aid.

The village is surrounded by high quality farming
practices that maximise field sizes to achieve good
yields. As the Enclosure Acts were never extensive
in this area, the fields have probably always been
large with few woods /boundary hedges. Our wildlife
is subsequently limited but Ashwell has a good
range of species. Many of these, need connectivity
to thrive and extend their range so that good
hedgerows and connecting wooded copses are
essential. We will therefore be engaging with the
surrounding farmers and land owners to encourage
them to allow us to gap up existing remnant hedges

and restore lost field boundaries where
appropriate.

Ashwell has a number of existing woods
where not only wildlife can thrive but are
potentially important in capturing carbon
emissions. “Tiny forests” is a new idea of
densely planting small areas with
woodland species which are proving to be
equally effective. We are fortunate to have
a number of original fields within the

village retaining its rural character and “green lungs”
Development pressure on a number of these should be
resisted or at least ensured that proposals are not only
sustainable but incorporate environmental elements
(green roofs, , rain gardens, SuDS etc) So, there are
many ways of helping climate change including
keeping native hedges, protecting existing mature
trees and encouraging residents to plant native
species in their own gardens and a wildflower parch,
cumulatively are all essential for Greening Ashwell to
be a success.

As the scheme progresses, we hope to have group meetings / discussions and outings to demonstrate
sustainability in our new “normality.” Learning what good has come out of this crisis, less
commuting, un-necessary travel, healthy eating and growing it, and connecting more with nature
should be part of Greening Ashwell’s ethos

SO, community commitment and involvement are essential if we are to achieve these goals and with
the number of members, we now have, we need to go forward with detailed survey planning, fund
raising and finalising the proposals for the autumn. I feel this initiative is too important to fail and I
trust committed members will continue with their enthusiastic support.

Editor comments: Great to see References:
wild flowers and poppies Green Roofs www.livingroofs.com
returning on the road verges Rain Gardens www.raingardens.info
leading into Ashwell. Thanks to
all involved in making that SuDS www.susdrains.org
happen. Long may it continue.
KEN COYNE on [email protected] or phone 01462 743723
GREENING ASHWELL Coordinator

13

Musings up the allotment

In normal years July and August can be the most challenging for the gardener. At this point of
maximum weeding and watering summer holidays also compete for attention. One happy result of
‘you-know-what’ is that with no holidays the allotment has never looked so good!

Last month most of the seedlings, which had been raised in the
greenhouse in warm, comfy and fertile compost were transplanted onto
the plot to take their chances in the somewhat forbidding chalky soil.
Despite adding well-rotted manure and fertilizer it is a challenge keeping
a decent soil texture in this area. Having said that, the tiny carrot seeds
sown directly in the soil in March have managed to form a row of healthy
looking leafage.
Only the aubergines, peppers and some
tomatoes have been left to grow on in the
greenhouse. Outside, no sooner is it warm
enough for these crops to get going than
the days get shorter and there is not
enough daylight for them to be really
productive.
Brassicas (kale, cabbage and broccoli) are
now safely netted against pigeons and worse, cabbage white butterflies
which lay their eggs in the blink of an eye and leave their ravenous
progeny to devastate the crop. The plants have been interspersed with
marigolds which apparently deter white fly - a tiny but rampant insect
which damages the leaves and are difficult to wash off before cooking –
we will see. There seems to be fewer snails around this year or that
would be another foe to deal with. Brassicas are certainly very popular!
The beans, sweetcorn, and courgettes are still making headway – maybe another month or so before
harvest.
Perhaps the easiest vegetables are potatoes;
planted in April, earthed up May/June, they take
care of themselves until they are dug up later this
month. Another easy crop and now ready to pick
are the raspberries. They do particularly well in
our soil, have few predators and reappear each
year with minimal effort. In fact, that could be
next year’s plan for the allotment: potatoes,
raspberries and a HOLIDAY!!
By the Reluctant Weeder

Front Cover Artists

We hope you are enjoying the new front cover art
from local artists.

The previous works from Alison Gates and Jack Quense,
along with the July edition from Jack Boyle are all
fantastic. We have now permanently moved to a

colour cover format. We welcome a selection of local
artists and subjects for future editions including
from our younger artists.
Please contact us if you wish to be involved.

14

Heavens Above – the Night Sky in July-August 2020

Welcome to our bi-monthly sky notes. The

Summer Triangle dominates the late evening

sky: the bright star Lyra is at the zenith, Deneb

to the north-east and Altair below. Hercules and

Bootes are to the west with the bright orange

star Arcturus. Pegasus is to the east with

Ophiuchus and Aquila below to the south.

Sagittarius and Scorpius are further south with

the bright red-giant star Antares. A monthly star

chart will no longer be included in this article.

Email me for a free online chart or go to

www.astronomynow.com for an interactive chart.

The Moon – phases: full moon July 5th, last
quarter 13th, new moon 20th, first quarter 27th,
full moon August 3rd, last quarter 11th, new

moon 19th, first quarter 25th.

The Planets: Mercury appears in the dawn sky

after July 17th. It reaches greatest elongation

west of the Sun on July 22nd shining at magni-

tude 0.2. Look for it in binoculars half an hour

before sunrise – be careful and avoid the Sun! M-57 The Ring Nebula in Lyra

Venus becomes a brilliant morning star during

July, climbing through the Hyades to rise 3 hours 47” (arc seconds); Saturn shines at mag 0.1 with
the rings open and spanning 42”. Find a clear
before sunrise as August begins and blazing at southern horizon to set up a telescope as both
gas-giants are rather low in the south in the
mag -4.7. Mars is in Pisces, rising after midnight constellation of Sagittarius. Meteor Shower:
The Perseid shower, derived from the comet
during July, but earlier in August. It is moving Swift-Tuttle, occurs between July 17th and August
24th, peaking around 12th/13th August at up to
north, brightening and growing in size as it heads 150 meteors/ hour. The radiant lies above the
head of Perseus in the north-eastern sky.
towards opposition in October. Neptune rises However, this year a waning last quarter moon
rises near the radiant just after midnight on
about an hour before Mars, while Uranus rises 12th/13th which will obscure the fainter meteors.
The best time to observe may be from about
about an hour after Mars. Jupiter reaches 11.00pm till 12.30am.
Notable Deep-Sky Objects for Small tele-
opposition (in line with the Earth and Sun) on Ju- scopes (* denotes binocular object) - See
chart: Open Clusters: M-39*, M-29, NGC-
ly 14th and Saturn is also at opposition on 20th 6871* in Cygnus, M-11 (Wild Duck Cluster) in
Aquila. Globular Clusters: M-71 in
July. Jupiter is a bright mag-2.7 and spans Sagitta – see picture, M-56 in Lyra, M-13, M-92
in Hercules, M-10, M-12, M-14 in Ophiuchus,
Double Stars: 61 Cygni, Beta (β) Cygni (Albireo)
in Cygnus, Delta (δ) Lyrae*, Epsilon (ε) Lyrae –
The Double-Double* in Lyra,
Planetary Nebulae: M-57 in Lyra (Ring Nebula)
– see picture, M-27 in Vulpecula (Dumbbell
Nebula)*, NGC-6781 in Aquila.

Clear Skies! Mike Taffs
[email protected]

M-71 Open cluster in Sagitta

15

SUPPORTING THE The Garden House Hospice News
WORK OF
ST MARY’S As I write, the

While it is very frustrating that we cannot Garden House
currently meet to worship together in church our
running costs as a church continue and there are Hospice is looking
relatively few opportunities to make savings. In
particular it is very important we maintain our forward to the
Parish Share payments to the Diocese as these
are critical to enable the Diocese to continue to re-opening of
pay the parochial clergy who are providing such
valuable support to their parishes in the current non-essential shops
circumstances.
on the 15th June.
We really appreciate all those who are continuing
to donate regularly by standing order and to This is great news, as the shops bring in essen-
those who have made generous one-off donation
in recent weeks . If you have not and would like tial income to help us maintain our services.
to support us there are two ways in which you
can do so: Our first five of our shops are ready to go, and
mark the return to work for many of our staff
1. You can donate on Line using the following and volunteers. The shops in Letchworth,
Royston, Hitchin and two in Stevenage will be
link: the first to open, with the shops in Baldock and
Stotfold opening shortly thereafter. Our
https://tinyurl.com/Ashwell-Church vintage store near Hitchin market and furniture
shop in Stevenage should follow in July. And
2. You can donate £3 by text by texting our ebay shop carries on, having been up and
STMASH 3 to 70085. running since early May.

(You can also donate different amounts by Unfortunately because the social distancing
changing the number in the text). rules require a lot of space, we cannot accept
donations at the shops at the moment, but
We really appreciate all donations which are keep en eye on our website to see when the
helping us sustain our ministry and maintain our Distribution Centre off Green Lane in
building during the lock-down. Letchworth is open. We are looking for
additional storage space to enable us to keep
We really appreciate all your donations. taking in the fruit of all your cupboard clearing
during lockdown.
THANK YOU!
Thank you to everyone who has supported our
continuing appeal and responded with stunning
photographs, beautiful artwork and other
innovative ideas. Your help is hugely
appreciated.

Susan Greenbank

Started by the community
Supporting the community
Sustained by the community

Betty the Blue Tit

Betty has flown the
nest. For whatever rea-
son she didn’t lay any
eggs. She continued to
roost at night, then in
mid May we saw her
feeding on the seed and
fat that we put out.

However she then flew out of the garden to
pastures new. So she is well just not with us
anymore. Perhaps she will return ..........

16

Editors comments: As a new regular feature, the below recent works are from stu-
dents at Knights Templar School. Whilst only a small selection, more are available
on their website. Pupils are not named in line with KTS policy. These where all done
as part of Home working during June 2020.

Year 8 Chemistry

GREENHOUSE EFFECT

The year 8 chemistry class are studying the greenhouse effect and
made models of gases in the atmosphere. Considering that their
modelling materials were restricted to items they could find at
home or perhaps get at a local supermarket they were amazingly
creative and inventive with their models. To be honest, some of
these unique ideas are so good I might have to use them in future
lessons when school is back in classrooms!

17

The purpose of the lesson
was to compare the mole-
cules of greenhouse gases
and non greenhouse gases,
to see if we we could work
out why they might cause
the greenhouse effect. A
3-dimensional model has
helped students to visualise
the effect more clearly as
shown by these students’
written notes.

at Knights Templar

Hello, my name is Esme and I am a In front of reception Viewing the queue to the canteen
part of 2nd Baldock Scout group. Inside Reception The Canteen
Recently, we have been looking at a The hall The History Block
lot of badges and one of those badg-
es is our local knowledge badge. As
part of this badge, Freddie, Chris,
Joseph, Evelyn and I started to cre-
ate a map of Baldock on Minecraft.

A centre point of the Baldock map
on Minecraft is Knights Templar
School.

A work in progress, our young group
have been working on replicating
Baldock through Google maps.

Our plans for the future, is to create
the whole of Baldock and start to
expand.

As Minecraft is an electronic world,
working on

it is hard as we all have to find a
time to meet and add to the world
together.

However, it is lots of fun work and
we all love working on the server
together. If anyone has Minecraft,
we really recommend working on a
group project together.

Esme W, 8 HINE

18

Youth News

School, scouts & celebrations

News from Ashwell Primary school

I am delighted that as a result of my incredible staff team working closely together, we have been
able to open for our Nursery and Key worker children full time and Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 on
a part time basis from 2nd June.

Everyone has been enormously supportive and I am really grateful for their words of thanks. It has
been encouraging to know that we have their trust which has been reflected in the good numbers of
children who have returned. It meant a lot to be able to get Year 6 back for their final weeks in
primary education as this was very close to being impossible! Almost every year 6 pupil is back and
we are hoping to give them some memories and experiences that will enable them to have closure
on their time with us at Ashwell and prepare them for moving on.

Simon England, Head Teacher

It is a strange thought you know, walking through that same
gate with the same buildings, the same school, and even the
same trees. But somehow, it is unrecognisable to me. As if I
hadn’t been here for a whole year of my life – not weeks!
The painfully quiet streets around the school; the only
sounds on the meadow, were of the trees swaying and the
humming wildlife around me. Then I see their faces.

Relief, as I see Mr England and Mrs Wild at the gate. Both
anxiously waiting and watching, about to call out ‘Welcome
back!’ and at that moment, the memories came back, like a
rush of water and I felt that motivation to return.

The classroom, as I walk in, is busy. A rush of ‘hellos’ and
immediately I begin to smile. Now, one of the things I’ve
loved. A whole table to myself! The teachers working hard, to
make school safe and life as normal as possible for us and as fun! The adults smile at me and help
me. But I miss the high fives and the group hugs! As much as I might nag and whine about school,
I have been terribly upset I can’t go. It is amazing to be back!

By Mia, Year 6

1st Ashwell Scouts – virtual investiture

Ceremonies are an important and
traditional part of Scouting. The
Investiture, or joining ceremony, is
one of the most important events in a
Scout's life and should be treated with
respect. For the first time in the
history of 1st Ashwell Scout Group,
5 scouts have been invested remotely.
At a virtual scout meeting on 18th
May, supported by fellow scouts and
leaders, George, Joseph, Dean, Charlie
& Ethan made their promises and
became full members of the scout
group. Photos were taken to capture
this special moment for their
Coronavirus Time Capsule.

A Birthday Festival

Amelie’s family had a creative idea to celebrate her 10th
Birthday on the 30th May. Their garden was decorated to
create a festival theme. Amelie tie-dyed some party bags
for her friends, filling them with flower garlands, face gems
and sweeties and delivered them to their houses
beforehand. Everyone was then able to wear their festival
gear for the online party and quiz. After party Amelie and
her family played games, toasted marshmallows and slept
in the camper van! Great fun!!

19

A Glass Half Full

The simple story of brewing - and how you can try

The oldest recorded recipes in the world are believed to date from 5,000 B.C., and they are the
methods for making beer. We can thank the religious ceremonies of the ancient Egyptians and
Chinese for this, although this, in turn, was based on beers brewed with malted barley and
indigenous herbs by the Sumerian cultures of Mesopotamia from about 10,000 B.C.

Fermenting is such a natural process (with only 3 ingredients - sugar, water and yeast), that it
almost certainly would have happened by accident. After just a few days, the natural yeasts in the
air would start converting the sugar in a grain porridge into alcohol. With the ensuing intoxication,
who would blame anyone for figuring out how to make it on purpose?

The brewing of grain sugars into beer spread from the Middle East across the Mediterranean to
Europe and in Northern Europe found a home with abundant barley crops, plentiful water and ideal
fermentation temperatures. Beer became a valuable safer alternative to drinking water, which often
became contaminated and consumed throughout the day.

These Middle Ages beers were flavoured with spices, bitter roots and barks but by 1150A.D. religion
had come to save the day again by German monks finding that the flowers of the wild hop plant
added a delicious thirst-quenching bitterness to the drink and improved the shelf-life of their
brews.The hop was the magic 4th ingredient that defined modern beer - the selection of hops, the
choice of grain, how it is roasted, the type of yeast and the water source pretty much give us all of
the flavours and styles of beer or ale that we drink today.

Knowing how simple it is to
turn barley into beer, and
with our fantastic Ashwell
water, you’d think we’d all
be at it. Mass-production
breweries have meant it is
easier just to pop out and
buy a pint, but the
satisfaction of brewing your
own is hard to beat. Home-
brewing has improved so
much over the past few
decades and the internet has
allowed excellent malts and
hops to be delivered with a
click.

It’s easy to get started. You
just need a brew bucket (a
big, clean container to
ferment in) and you can buy
decent tins of pre-hopped
malt (Woodforde’s Wherry is
a good starter), just add hot
water, sprinkle on the brewer’s yeast and within a week you have fermented your first 40 pints. If
your bucket has a tap (or use a siphon tube) then just drain the beer into clean bottles - use empty
fizzy pop bottles that can take the pressure - add a teaspoon of sugar before you screw the top on
and this will finish the fermentation in the bottle, giving your beer it’s sparkle and head.

If you have a big enough pan, you could go a step further and buy dried malt sugar (spray-malt)
and your choice of hops, just one hour of boiling with the hops added at various stages to extract
bitterness and aroma and you can make your own unique ale or try to replicate your favourite beer.
The more adventurous might even try extracting the sugar from malted barley by “mashing” in
water for an hour at 65°C, but you need an insulated or heated “tun” for this.

And if beer is not your thing, this time of year is perfect for Elderflower champagne. It’s closer to a
beer than champers, but there isn’t a better taste for summer. Dissolve 700g of sugar in 4 litres of
hot water, then top up with cold water to 6 litres in total. Add juice and zest of 4 lemons, a couple
tablespoons of white wine vinegar and stir in about 15 heads of elderflower in full bloom - you
should get yellow pollen on your hand if you tap them. Keep it covered with a damp towel and the
natural yeast on the flowers should start fermenting, or add a pinch of dried yeast to give it a hand
or if you get no foam after a couple of days. By the end of the week you can decant it into pop
bottles and let it build up some fizz for a week - but release the pressure every day to avoid the
sticky mess of an exploding “bottle-bomb”. Chill before serving!

David Linsley ([email protected])

20

Jimmy's in Cambridge is 25 this year. What was once a small night
shelter in the basement of an old church, now provides beds for
over 60 people and support for many more. Everyone we help at
Jimmy's has been sleeping rough on the streets. Life has taken
some bad turns. What we offer is hope, a chance to help someone
back on their feet. A bed, hot food, a listening ear, a chance to
tackle the issues that caused them to end up on the street in the first place. During the pandemic ,
Jimmy's has remained open 7 days a week 24 hours a day, with a committed team of staff and
volunteers turning up day after day, there to help people cope. Our ultimate goal is to end
homelessness, but while it exists, we continue to provide the support people need. Many of you will
have read about the government offering people on the street a room in a hotel. Sadly we don't have
enough beds for everyone on the street at Jimmy's, so this has been a lifeline for people, and we are
working with people in the hotels to see if we can find them a home so they dont end up on the street
again when the hotel accommodation ends. Which sounds easy in theory, harder in practise when
there isn't enough affordable accommodation and people have many complex needs meaning its
supported housing they need not just a bed, but it's a good ambition.
We were excited to open 6 new modular
homes last week. We've acquired a bit of
land on a church site to put 6 new homes
built by people who were formerly
homeless. While a smaller, modular home
won't suit everyone, actually for many sin-
gle people, given the choice of a room in a
hostel or shared house - or your own place
with your own front door, it's a great oppor-
tunity for people. They are in demand and
we'd really like to find some more land. This
is what helps people turn their lives around.
We are appreciative of the support people in
Ashwell have given Jimmy's. Every bit of
support helps us keep our doors open.
Thank you.
Mark Allan, Chief Executive - Jimmy's Cambridge, and Ashwell resident.

21

Happy July 4th Independence Day! (A Very Special Relationship).

For all the Yanks in the village, and at my last calculation there are about 14 of us, it is time to break out the
BBQ, Hotdogs and Apple Pie!
I remember when I moved to America 30+ years ago and had to take my
Citizenship Test, the first question I was asked was “Who are we celebrat-
ing independence from on the 4th of July?”. I of course found this very
amusing as I was British born and I laughed! (The answer to the question of

course is - Independents from the Brits). Oh
dear, laughing was not the thing to do and the ex-
aminer got very cross with me, so as a new Ameri-
can Citizen my first lesson was to take this test
very seriously and try to forget my British-Monty
Python humour!
When writing an article last month for the Village News, I talked with Linda Sau-
ble at Sarah’s Farm Shop. On hearing her surname I realised it was American. I
asked and she told me her dad had been an American servicemen stationed at
Wimpole Hall in the 50’s. It would appear her mum Vera, an Ashwell girl, had been
out for the evening at the Jockey Pub Royston with her friend and they met a cou-
ple of Yanks. They spent the evening with them, realising they had missed the last
bus home, the Yanks ordered and paid for a taxi for the girls, a huge deal for her
mum who had never been in a taxi in her life before. That made an impression!!
Then as they say, the rest is history. Chuck and Vera were married in 1957 and
travelled the world, his tours of duty had them firstly in Ankara, Turkey quite a
change for the lass from Ashwell. As a career soldier they had many posting
across the USA the first being Montana in 1960. Linda tells the story of her
mum, during a posting to South Carolina doing the very English thing of hanging
her washing out to dry on a blustery day (Yanks generally dry laundry by ma-
chine!) when the next door neighbour came rushing into the garden and said
“quick bring in your laundry a tornado is coming this way” This was Vera's first
introduction to living in Tornado Alley.
Chucks tour of duty ended in 1967 he had been born in Yorktown Pennsylvania
into a very large family and joined the military to escape and make an individual
life for himself. Vera had made him promise that he would not sign on again as
she was so desperately homesick. Transient military life is tough for making long
term friends and also for becoming part of a small community, which is what Vera longed to return to. They
came back with their two girls to Ashwell in 1967 and Chuck started work at USAF Chicksands as a civilian,

and they returned to the family home on Hodwell.
He became a popular village character and Linda tells me after he
passed away in 1997 they
had a tremendous number
of cards from people in
Ashwell to say how much
his cheerful, friendly
demeanour would be
missed. They had no idea
his walks around the
village had allowed him to
make so many friends. Vera died in December 2018 and was happy
to have returned to Ashwell, but was still talking about her
interesting life in America right to the end.

22

ASHWELL PARISH COUNCIL

Office at Bear Farm, 6A Back Street, Ashwell, Baldock, Herts, SG7 5PE
Mon-Thurs 08.30 -13.00 ( 01462 743706
Clerk: Jane Porter * [email protected]
Deputy Clerk: Laura Brooks-Payne * [email protected]
Chairman: Mark White (07977 099951

The Parish Council meets every month on the first Wednesday at 8pm. From May until further notice this is via Zoom.
All are welcome to join and will have the opportunity to speak in the ‘Open Forum’ session at the beginning of the meeting.

Sign-up to the website for updates and to join meetings. www.ashwell.gov.uk

Dr Martin Hoffman`s Jottings three sites are not owned by the PC and a
proposal for a new section of hedge around the
This precis has been taken from his full version of Recreation Ground is already on the PC list.
the ‘Jottings’ following the Parish Council Meeting Similarly, the hedge planting at Small Gains was
on Wednesday June 3rd. These, as well as the a PC initiative.
minutes and information on planning
applications, can be read at www.ashwell.gov.uk NHDC has asked the PC for its support in their
bid for funding for a ‘dial a ride’ type bus
The water supply issues in parts of the village service to cover the local area. Our District
has caused great hardship to many. Some did Councillor Tom Tyson has obtained further
not receive bottled water for an unacceptable information and received assurances that this
delay. This was not a one-off episode, and only would not have any impact on existing services.
after a parish councillor contacted the CEO of With this noted the PC agreed its support.
Affinity Water was the issue dealt with (a leak
along the Ashwell/Bygrave Road). Responsible Councillor Steve Jarvis reported on the new
use of water and respect for it as a valuable, and 20mph zone and restricted parking outside
not limitless, resource has always been retail outlets currently being installed.
emphasised in Ashwell. Amendments to county council regulations could
mean that Station Road, currently not included,
Whilst the PC remain very supportive in principle might be brought within the 20mph zone. The
of ‘Greening Ashwell’ it was noted in their West End chicane proposal is being
recent newsletter there were errors in the progressed by Highways engineers which will
Ashwell Parish Land section, where two of the slow the traffic and improve safety. The footpath
here is very narrow.

Parishioners concerns about speeding traffic
and the enforcement of the 20 mph were raised.
Speedwatch groups operate in slightly different
way than the one we had some years ago.

Parishioners raised the issue of very noisy cars
performing very noisy manoeuvres in the
evenings in Northfield’s Road and Kingsland Way
that caused disruption to families. The police
have been informed and are carrying out extra
patrols.

Sadly, there is antisocial behaviour and littering
at Small Gains and extra patrols are being
carried out by the police. This behaviour is not
acceptable and is upsetting many people.

The good weather caused a lot more people to go
to the Springs and the amount of extra rubbish
was amazing. From reports we have had from a
number of local people most came from outside
the Village! It got to such an overcrowding
situation with the associated problems of social
distancing that the police were called more than
once. Why doesn’t the PC close the Springs in
such a situation? It’s because we cannot close
the site containing a public right-of-way!

With best wishes and hope you are safe and well.

Dr Martin G Hoffman

Vice-chairman

www.ashwell.gov.uk

Mark White, Chairman.

23

100 Years Ago - July 1920

The annual Feast did not warrant a line in the members gathered at the ‘Post Office’ which at
newspaper which is surprising as it was one of that time was in Kirby Manor on the High Street.
the biggest events in the social calendar with They clambered into a flotilla of be-flagged
the schools shut for three days. However other vehicles and waggons and set off towards the
anniversary celebrations, special services, station. Tea was provided in the Odsey Mill
Sunday School treats and teas for the Wesleyan Room by Mr Chas Day - of a well-known bakery.
Church, St Mary’s Church and the Mothers Union Following speeches the vice-president, Mr
did get a mention. Joshua Page the brewer gave an invitation for
the group to hold the August meeting in the
In sport the cricket team were very busy over gardens of Westbury House. The party then
although the weather stopped two matches. decamped to Cheyneys Lodge for games. If this
Ashwell beat Kneesworth Street but lost to was not enough for the W.I. on the 29th June
Biggleswade, Henlow and to Letchworth’s Kryn & they organised a grand Garden Fete at the Bury.
Lahy team by only six runs, 99-105.
Peter Greener
Towards the end of the month many column
inches were allotted to two important events.

The funeral of Mr Thomas Lee was attended by
many ex-service men. His coffin was covered
with the Union Jack. Thomas enlisted in 1916 he
was then 36 and as such one of the older
soldiers although he was still living with his
parents and worked as a farm labourer. He
joined the Bedfordshire Regiment and was
transferred to the Army Service Corps. He
served on the Western Front and at some point
was wounded. He never recovered and after the
war spent a long time in Ware Priory Hospital
where he died. It was considered that his death
was caused by the war and he is honoured on
the Ashwell War Memorial.

Instead of their usual meeting the Women’s
Institute organised a picnic at Odsey. Over 88

RT HON SIR OLIVER HEALD QC

MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT
FOR NORTH EAST HERTFORDSHIRE

If you have any concerns please contact me
Email: [email protected]
Telephone : 01462 486074
or look on www.oliverhealdmp.com

24

Ashwell Bees This hanging up stage can take anything from
half an hour to 4 days. During this time the bees
It’s getting close to the end of send scouts out. We have no explanation why
the swarming season now and by they do this, it would seem better if the scouts
the time you read this it will be did their job while the bees waited patiently and
well and truly over. It’s the most warm inside the hive rather than in these
exciting time for the beekeeper, dreadfully exposed situations.
and the busiest time for the
queen who will be laying up to In this new situation the bees have two colonies
2,000 eggs a day and then the rather than one. The swarm colony has only old
big decision time for the worker bees so they have to get to work to raise new
bees which is shall we swarm or not. Like all bees, build a new hive with lots of honey comb
animals, they want to reproduce their kind and and collect and store nectar, pollen and water .
bees do it by swarming. The old queen flies out
with all the older bees and the new queen gets The new colony stays in the old hive and works
ready for the big event whilst still inside the hard to build the colony up again.
comb. She gobbles up a large amount of food
and nibbles her way out of the large queen cell. You can see that it’s all a big gamble, it
The worker bees listen carefully to the weather depends so much on the weather. If warm days
forecast and when they reckon it’s the best it’s have tempted the bees to swarm and a sudden
going to be they let the queen out and off they cold snap makes them wish they hadn’t, the
go. They don’t fly far but ‘hang up’ on anything beekeeper can end up with two small colonies
suitable. That means suitable for the bees but struggling to survive the rigors of the oncoming
without any consideration for the beekeeper. It winter.
can be convenient or inconvenient for him or her.
The inconvenient options are: 20 feet up a tree But if all goes well you will have 2 healthy
or down a chimney of a large manor house. The colonies instead of one at the end of the season.
convenient are: 5 feet above ground floor on an You could even have some honey to sell. And
overhanging branch without thorns and etc. If it’s then Which business can double up every year,
easy accessible, the beekeeper can march the possibilities are endless. Our 3 sons once
confidently along, a couple of snips and the bees confronted me and said, “Dad, can we stop
drop into his cardboard box and off he/she goes talking about bees.”
to tip into a hive which has been prepared for
their arrival.

25

Contributors – For Clarification

New and previous contributors are welcome. We wish to reflect the broad spectrum of activities,
businesses and individuals within our community.

If you wish to do so, contact the editor as early as possible please to discuss an appropriate slot, do
not wait until close to the final article submission deadline for that month. We now plan 2-3 months
in advance and can be oversubscribed.

All articles should be broadly positive, engaging to the readers outside of that organisation and
mainly forward looking. Editorial rights apply on all articles without reference to the writer.

Thank you to all current contributors for your time and interesting articles, it is greatly appreciated.
The increased breath of articles from both the new and the previous writers is very welcome.

Contact List

At the time of writing, no one on the previous contact list has requested to be reinstated. Neither
has any individual or organisation offered to sponsor the page (as has been suggested). Should you
wish to do either then please contact Karen Mills ( 742155 or [email protected] ).

A 2-page contact list is available within the Ashwell year book, which was delivered to every
household on March 2020, for those without internet access. The list remains under review.

Parish Council meetings

For avoidance of doubt, the Parish Council have always been offered a full page to summarise their
proceedings and still are going forward. Should anyone have any issue with the content of this
summary, they should contact the authors of the article.

What’s on - Events

Events are currently either postponed or cancelled, hence have not been included. This may well
change ready for the August or September Edition and of course they are a key part of our
community. If you are likely to then want to contribute, please follow the guidelines above as prior
notice needs to be given to avoid disappointment. If in doubt, just get in touch via:
ashwellvillagenews@gmail to discuss your proposed article. What’s on will again become an im-
portant part of AVN.

Publication

Ashwell Village News (AVN) is published by All volunteers can be reached by using the email:
St Mary’s Church, as a service to the
community. [email protected]

Deadlines for August’s final article submission:

Correspondence, articles and advertisements in Ashwell Village News Deadline 15th July
this magazine are not to be taken as
representing the views of either St Mary’s Advertising Deadline 10th July
Church or of any of the volunteers who produce
the AVN. [email protected]

Our AVN Team of volunteers are: Suitable article slots are to be agreed with the
editor at least 2 weeks prior to submission and
James Boyle Editor preferably the preceding month. Guidelines will
be given to contributors in-line with the 4 Aims
Julia Mitchell Advertising of the Ashwell Village News published in May.
The general subject matter needs to be agreed
Richard Young Distribution in advance to prevent repetition across articles.

Antje Brandtner Layout

Mark Eaton Finance

Want to Advertise?

 All adverts are now automatically in hard copy and on line (eAVN)
 No additional costs to advertisers for eAVN
 eAVN gives clickable* links DIRECTLY to your website from July 2020
 eAVN Bookcase holds all copies from April 2020
 https://anyflip.com/bookcase/usoit
 Free article about your business with every new 6 monthly booking.

Contact Julia Mitchell via [email protected] to find out more.
*subject to advert format

26

Farming today- Bluegates Farm July

July has flown around quickly, long forgotten is the extremely wet winter we
went through and everyone is in full preparations for harvesting the oil seed
rape and cereal crops.

Grain stores are being dusted from top to bottom, hoovered and fumigated to
make sure no bugs or critters are in the sheds to contaminate our pending
harvest. Not a job that anyone enjoys doing, but it is one of the most important jobs of the year.
As bug contamination can be devastating in a shed full of grain we worked so hard to produce.

July and August mean a change of machine for me, swapping sprayer
keys for those of the combine.

With all the cereal spraying completed for this year’s crops, the
combine is now coming out of the shed ready to harvest around 1700
acres of oil seed rape, wheat and barley. Approximately 5,600 tones of
grain will be harvested, and hauled back to our grain stores.

During this growing season we have experienced a variety of
conditions, from a challenging wet autumn planting the crop, to one of
the driest May and June’s on record. To put into perspective of how the
UK has been affected by these weather conditions - Last year in the UK
we produced around 16.3 million tonnes of wheat, this year’s pre
harvest estimations are around 10.7 million tonnes. Fingers crossed the
weather can be kind for the coming weeks and the sheds end up full!

James Mitchell, Manager - Bluegates Farm

Does community mean more

to us all at the moment?

I wonder if you have said Good Morning, hallo, here, yes we can get out across the fields on our
hi etc. to someone in the village that you daily exercise and yes it is easy to be insular. My
wouldn’t otherwise have previously seen or hope, shared I am sure by others, is that other
maybe even acknowledged. Not everyone is the smaller entities whether an area of a town, a
same but it has happened so often that it feels road or maybe other villages also feel like
like something new; not a new friendship neces- communities with support and care – looking at
sarily but a new concern. When my bike was the TV on a Thursday that does seem to be the
parked and stopped by the side of the road, I case.
was asked by someone a fraction of my age if I
was ok. I was fortunate to be a Churchwarden alongside
Catherine Perks. She had moved into the village
Whilst at work a large section of the company from just outside Cambridge and she said
attended a course which which helped us straight away that she felt she had moved into a
understand ourselves – it was called I. It is good community. And when together with the Rector
to know oneself and ones capabilities but for me at the time we were trying to express how
community is WE – something that is more part St Mary’s projected itself in a strap line, she
of our days and weeks now. added love. Whilst there are many forms of love,
love in a caring sharing and supportive sense –
We hear the mantra “we’re all in this together” – like the Food Pantry at the moment - makes for
but as an eminent Professor used to say very the flourishing we can strive for
regularly, it all depends what you mean by…..
Together: well certainly we are all affected by And surely we can hope like Julian of Norwich
the very significant change at the moment but that “all shall be well and all shall be well and all
we certainly don’t all feel it equally. One out- manner of things shall be well” – in a flourishing
standing change here has been the amazing way community showing love and offering care and
in which our local shops have shown how they
support us – support a crucial aspect of commu- support.
nity. And added to that there are many gener-
ous people that have been out delivering from Andrew Gillborn
those shops to individuals who would otherwise
be struggling.

Personally, I hope that these all show that we
are in it together as a community. In his book
Reimagining Britain Justin Welby puts it
succinctly “community exists for human flourish-
ing”.

So I suppose the real test, when we look back,
is to see if the massive change around us has
helped us to flourish, in our care, support and
concern for others. And of course it is very easy
to be parochial – in this instance Ashwell and the
immediate area – yes we are fortunate to live

27

The Colourful world of Podcasts

If you have ever enjoyed listening to a programme on Radio 4, then you will enjoy listening to
podcasts. Podcasts are audio programmes that are made for the internet and you listen to them on
your phone, tablet or computer whenever you like. Whether you are relaxing in a chair, walking,
gardening, chopping vegetables, pottering in the shed or cleaning the house, listening to a podcast
can make the time spent even more enjoyable.

How to listen: You will need an ‘app’ to listen to podcasts on your tablet or phone, and
the good news is that it’s either already on your device or free to download and use.

iPhones and iPads- come with the programme installed. It looks like this:

Android phones – you have a choice of many apps from Google Play such as Google
Podcast (free) and Castbox (free with paid version available).

Windows tablets/PCs – you can stream through a browser windows or use Windows
Media Player already on your PC. Or download a programme such as Grover Podcast (free) from
the Microsoft store to subscribe and organise them.

Note: you can pay for fancy podcast apps if you like…but you don’t need to. The ones above are free.
Streaming and downloading a podcast should always be free - they are funded by sponsors or
‘commercial breaks’ during the show.

What to listen to: There are many thousands of podcasts to choose from, and they normally are
organised as episodes in a series or channel. You find them by browsing through your podcast app,
or using your internet browser on a PC. You can download them for offline listening or ‘stream’ them
(play them through the internet) when you are online. If you like one, you can subscribe to the
channel so you know when new episodes are added. It’s really simple.

Below are some of my favourites to get you started:

Entertainment/Stories: Serial (especially season 1) was riveting. I also enjoy This American Life,
The Moth, and Radio 2s Confessions.

Insight /interview podcasts: Revisionist History (Malcolm Gladwell), Hidden Brain,
Stuff You Should Know, Fresh Air (interviewing famous and non-famous people), Radio Lab

Celebrity Podcasts: Peter Crouch, Matt Lucas, Jameela Jamil, Sandi Tosvig, and Louis Theroux
have their own podcasts where they share insights and interview other famous people

History: The History of Rome (Mike Duncan) and You’re Dead to Me (BBC Radio 4) are two
different styles of podcast that both bring fascinating facts alive.

Whatever you enjoy, you are sure to find a podcast to suit you. - Diane Jacoutot

ASHWELL PATIENTS' GROUP on Mondays in Stevenage, off Six Hills Way,
SG1 2DF. Please follow the signs to the test
Testing for Coronavirus centre to ensure that you do not join a queue for
the Household Waste Recycling Centre.
If you have suspected coronavirus symptoms you
can book either a drive-through or mail-order PLEASE TAKE A MOBILE to the test centre.
test. Visit www.gov.uk/coronavirus and enter
your details to book a test, or for anyone who Tests are effective if people are swabbed in the
needs additional help, call 119 between 7am and first three days of having suspected symptoms.
11pm or 18001 0300 303 2713 if you have The nose and throat swab test cannot detect
hearing or speech difficulties. whether someone has had coronavirus in the
past. Symptoms of coronavirus are: a new
You will be sent a booking code. The booking continuous cough, a high temperature, a loss of
system will only show you details of test or change in a person's sense of taste or smell.
locations which are available in the following 24
hours. When all available slots have been booked at a
particular site, that location will not appear on
The coronavirus test centre can help you book a the national list. Additional capacity is added reg-
test, answer your enquiries about the testing ularly so check-in on the website throughout the
process and what to do once you have your day if you are not successful in booking a local
result, or chase up any delayed results. drive-through or mail-order the first time you try.

Hertfordshire's mobile test sites are all open TRACING
10am to 4pm and are as follows:
If your test is positive you will be contacted by
on Thursdays in Watford at the Central Watford someone from the NHS Test and Trace team and
Leisure Centre, WD17 3HA will be told to self-isolate for 14 days.

on Saturdays in Hertford at County Hall, Genuine contact tracers will:
Pegs Lane, SG13 8DQ,
 call you from 0300 013 5000
on Saturdays at Tesco, Shire Park,
Welwyn Garden City  send you a text message from “NHS”

on Sundays in Watford at the Central Watford  ask you to sign into the NHS test and Trace
Leisure Centre, WD17 3HA website

28

 ask for your full name and date of birth to Search online for “NHS Test and Trace – how it
confirm your identity, and postcode to offer works” for more information. You will NEVER be
asked to disclose bank details or ring an
support while you are self-isolating
expensive phone number beginning with 09 or
 ask about your coronavirus symptoms 087 by a genuine Test and Trace team member.

 ask you to provide the name, telephone

number and/or email address of anyone

you have had close contact with from 2

days before your symptoms started

 ask if anyone you have been in contact with
is under 18 or lives outside the UK

Cover Page Portraits – Who am I ?

(from top left )

Andrew Pickering (retired KTS headmaster)
2014

Young man – Shown Mall Gallery London- KTS
2011

Medical Professor ( not this one ) 2018

Young Girl- relative ( not this one ) 2012

Alfie Talks - Ashwell 2013

Self-portrait – Cover artist - Ashwell raised
2014

Chris and Christine Schwick - Ashwell 2012

Jack and Jo Auckland - Ashwell 2014

Thank you to the sitters for giving permission to
use their portraits.

29

Basically Bikes

Cycling in Ashwell and the surrounding areas is a great introduction
to the benefits and good experiences gained from ‘just getting out
there’. From just going down to the shops to longer expeditions the
benefits are well documented, not only for personal wellbeing but also
for environmental considerations and simple things such as reducing traffic in the village.

If you’re new to cycling, have young children or are a returning cyclist having cycling in
childhood, I can see that this maybe a little daunting. We are lucky here in that the roads, for the
South East of England, are relatively quiet. There is also a wide network of Bridleways and other
rights of way that allow for traffic free riding.

When our family first started riding we first taught our children to ride locally such as at empty car
parks or places like Wimpole that allowed us to get away from other pedestrians and riders. Once
the children could ride a bike we took them to Stevenage. Probably not your first choice for places
to cycle but the off road cycle network is un-paralleled in this area and is a great place to start
building up the miles with the younger ones. There is a map of the routes available here: -

http://www.stevenagectc.org.uk/files/maps/stevenage-cycle-map.pdf

This allows you to see where to park, plan a route and where to have an ice cream stop!

Once you’ve built some confidence and endurance up there are routes from Ashwell of varying
distances that will keep up your interest, improve your navigation skills and give you
different outlooks on the area that you’ve never seen before. Short routes usually involve a stop at
a local pub.

The shortest of these local routes is off road to Hinxworth via Northfield Road. Just out of the village
there is a Bridleway down to a bridge over the River Rhee called Barrowsford Bridge. After a short
distance there’s a left turn, then after about a mile turn right up the slight hill and this will take you
into the back of Hinxworth and refreshment at the Three Horseshoes. To return either retrace your
original route or use the road between the two villages, turning left at Ashwell End to avoid some of
the traffic.

Before every ride you should check your bike over for defects, wear and parts than need any
maintenance work. This is known as an ‘M Check’. A quick search of videos on the internet reveals
loads of articles, images and videos on this subject but here is a good start:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qtx60bcNk0

Learning to do this takes a bit of time but If you do this every ride it
takes about a minute to complete and will highlight anything that
you may need to replace, oil or keep an eye on in the future.

If you check your bike and maintain it regularly you shouldn’t have
any problems. Having said this we all know that with anything me-
chanical it will, at some point, usually the most inconvenient time,
go wrong. It’s a good idea to be prepared for this. A small saddle
bag with spares etc. will usually get you out of these problems. An
inexpensive saddle bag such as this is a good place to start.

What you keep in it is personal preference but I would suggest one
or two new inner tubes, a pair of tyre levers, a small multi-tool, a spanner (if you need one to take
the wheel off) and a pair of gloves to keep the dirt off your hands and thus off the handlebars later.

It’s always a good idea to have a small pump
and your mobile with you as well. These can
usually be carried in your pockets or a small
rucksack, albeit as your ride length increases
you’ll find that rucksacks become uncomfortable.

I’ll write more about basic maintenance and on
the road puncture repair in future articles. I am
considering running a class for this in the village
in the near future, if you’re interested please
drop me a line at the below email address. If
you have any ideas on topics for this column or
questions, please send them to:

[email protected]
and I’ll try to include them in my articles.

Richard M.

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