Shipston is celebrating in a spectacular way this harvest. Transition Shipston is putting on a big Harvest Fayre on September 25th. The old centre of the town will be closed to traffic for a bonanza day celebrating local food and produce, with live music from three local groups of musicians. There will be stalls of organic meat and vegetables, honey, special chocolates and soap, local milk, nuts, free recycled daffodil bulbs, caricature drawing, a place to offload or collect glass jars for making jams and chutneys, and local charities will be raising money at their own stalls. Many of Shipston’s independent shops will be open for their usual range of excellent, often locally sourced produce, and the cafes and pubs will be open for their usual delicious refreshments.
One of the star attractions will be a smoothie-bike. Pam Bennett explains: “We’ve converted an old bike plus a liquidizer, so that you can put in your fruit (locally grown of course!) and pedal away to make your own zero-energy smoothie - fun for energetic kids as well as adults.' An even more unusual creation will be the unveiling of Shipston’s Eco Tower. This has been made for the Transition Group with funding from APE UK, the Brailes-based charity. The Eco Tower is made from recycled oil drums and illustrates our society’s dependence on oil-based products but as the tower spirals upwards more sustainable objects are attached to the tower until at the top is placed a solar panel . Dave Passingham, of the Transition group, said... “The Eco Tower will be the centre piece of the Harvest Fayre. People attending the Fayre will be invited to hang objects which symbolise a more sustainable future on the tower. After this the tower will be based at Shipston High School for the children in the Eco-club to base their activities around.
Apple Competition for under 10s:
Transition Shipston is organising a window display competition as a special activity for children under 10 during the Harvest Fayre. The idea is to ask Shipston’s independent shops to place somewhere in their window display an apple with a number on it. The children will be given a list of the shops taking part and will be asked to write the number of the apple next to the name of the shop. For example, if Clarke’s Electrical Shop has an apple marked 11, they would write 11 next to the name Clarke’s Electrical shop. These are the prizes:
A voucher for £10 donated by Toffee Apple, to be spent in that shop
A basket of sweets donated by Lavender Basket
A child’s dinosaur tapestry kit donated by Shipston Needlecraft
...with thanks to all three shops who have given prizes, thanks to Taylors for donating all the apples, and to all the shops who have taken part.
Shipston’s Harvest day celebrations begin at 10 am on Sunday 25th with Harvest Festival in St Edmund’s Church, to which everyone is very welcome. The church will be raising funds during the day to support CORD’s project to provide solar cookers for refugee camps in Burundi, where shortages of firewood make it very difficult for families to cook what little food they have. Helen Winnifrith said “St Edmund’s church is very much part of Shipston’s daily life and we want to show our gratitude for God’s generous harvest to us locally, by doing something to help support sustainable life for those far away who have so little. It’s great that we can join with the Transition group like this” The Harvest Fayre starts at 11 and continues till 4pm.
Help Needed:
If anyone can help for an hour or two on the day helping to press apples, supervise the bicycle smoothie maker or help with marshalling contact Dave Passingham on 07973 846605We are also collecting jam jars with lids to give away at the Fayre for making jams and chutneys. Contact Pam Roebuck - pamroebuck@roebar.wanadoo.co.uk
We are collecting unwanted apples to be sold at the Harvest Fayre by the Scouts and Guides. If anyone has spare apples and need the Scouts to help pick them contact Dave Passingham on 07973 846605
Shipston now boasts its own loyalty card scheme
The Shipston Card was launched at the end of August. It works in a similar way to other loyalty cards, except that this one card allows you to collect points in any participating shop, pub, restaurant or business in the town. As soon as you have collected and registered your Shipston Card you can start collecting points. If you present your Shipston Card when you pay for your goods, the points you have earned at each purchase will be added onto your card. Once you have earned enough points, you will be able to redeem them in the business in which they were collected. You don’t have to remember where the different points were earned – the card does all that for you. Kate King, owner of Ivyheart and one of the organisers of the scheme said “All retailers understand that most people can choose where they shop. This is our way of saying thank you for shopping in Shipston and supporting local businesses.” To find out more about the scheme or to collect a card, please visit one of the following participating businesses: Ivy Heart, Lucy Walker Flowers, Taste of the Country, Shipston Therapy Centre, Cookies Mini Mart, The George Hotel, Niche, The Bakery , Rightons, Shipston Leisure Centre, Sheldon's wine cellars.
Ground Source Heat Pumps - Worth Considering!
Ground source heat pumps are helping to cut CO2 and other nasty emissions and help to delay the arrival of Peak Oil.
Typically a 70 - 120 metre length ground loop put down a 5 -6 inch diameter borehole will collect enough heat from the ground for a four bedroom house. Alternatively where there is sufficient land a long collector loop can be buried in a trench of a metre depth or more. The collected heat is used to warm a refrigerant in the heat pump machine until it becomes a vapour. The machine compresses this vapour which makes its temperature increase. The hot vapour is then used to heat the water going to the radiators or underfloor pipework. If properly designed and installed a heat pump system will warm a house throughout even a long severe winter. It will also give all the hot water for washing up, baths and hand washing. In many cases heat pumps are becoming the preferred choice for heating new homes or replacing old boilers. This is because you get about 1kilowatt-hour of heat for every quarter of a kilowatt hour of electricity supplied to the machine.
Energy Saving Trust field trials at 54 sites of operational systems have shown proper sizing, careful design, rigorous attention to all aspects during installation and commissioning are essential to achievement of high performance. There have been cases where this has not happened. The industry is responding by tightening standards and enhancing training. It is also important end-users understand the differences between running a boiler and using a heat pump to heat a property at maximum efficiency. This includes grasping the concepts of thermal mass, response times and minimum cycling and their effects.
Heat pumps are spread throughout the UK from Cornwall to Scotland and can be found in properties ranging from bungalows to accommodate the elderly, hard-to–heat homes, and stately homes, to schools, offices and public buildings. Ideally they are specified in the initial proposals for a new build but frequently they are becoming the preferred option for retrofits.
In all cases the priority should be getting the thermal characteristics of the building itself as high possible mainly by super-insulation, stringent minimalisation of air leakage and correct provision of, (and subsequent use of,) ventilation whether natural or other. Then it is appropriate to choose the heat source.
The Renewable Heat Incentive, about to start for ground source heat pumps, with air source to follow next year, makes a heat pump system financially attractive. Drafted to give an 11% or 12% annual return on the difference between the capital cost of a boiler and the ground source heat pump system, it is to be confirmed possibly this month.
Is it any wonder the government says there could be 2.5 million installations in the UK by 2030?
(Paul is an independent renewable energy consultant)
Other Events:
Shipston High School is hosting a special skip, on 22nd September (8 am to 12 noon), for electrical and electronic appliance recycling arranged by Stratford District Council with the help of DHL. The event is advertised in local newspapers as well. I hope you will support us by informing your contacts - maybe using your mail list for Transition Shipston.
MADE IN ILMINGTON MARKET
SATURDAY 24 SEPTEMBER
VILLAGE HALL 10AM-3PM
Come and enjoy the talents, tastes and skills of the country!
Home grown goodies, arts and crafts, apple pressing,
Cheese scone bites with coffee/tea
Early bird rates for stall holders: £10 before 10 Sept, £15 thereafter
To book call 01608 682542
ADMISSION FREE!
Supporting the Village Hall Jubilee Kitchen Appeal
1st/2nd October - 'Training for Transition' - a U.N. accredited course for anyone committed to a peaceful transition to a post-peak oil, sustainable society. It's being run at the new East Lodge Sustainability Centre in Jephson Gardens, Leamington Spa, and is the only Training for Transition scheduled in the Midlands until 2012. The course (which is taught all over the world) doesn't just look at the issues of oil, climate change, and waste, but also our emotional responses to the challenges, and our vision for a better future. It includes plenty of practical exercises, including how to present and how to run exciting events - and is great fun!
Further details on the Transition Network website: http://www.transitionnetwork.org/training/courses/launch
£100-£110 for the two days
To go please contact Ruth Wallsgrove: ruth.wallsgrove@tkjpartners.com
