Diary:
Friday 14th March 7.00 – Live & Local
Stretton-on-Fosse Village hall
Sunday 16th March 9.30 Queen's Avenue Orchard Planting
Queen's Avenue Play Area
Monday 17th March 7.30 – Permaculture Group Pub Meet
Red Lion, Long Compton
Monday 24th March 7.30 – Transition Shipston Energy Group
Black Horse Pub, Station Road
Wednesday 26th March 6.45 - Queen's Avenue Play Area Group
Black Horse Pub, Station Road
Wednesday 2nd April, 7.30 – Transition Shipston
Black Horse Pub, Station Road
Live
& Local Show - ‘MuHa’ in concert
March
14th
at 8pm, Stretton-on-Fosse Village Hall
MuHa
are an international band with Eastern European roots who bring
together an original repertoire of contemporary folk songs with
Russian lyrics and flavours from Africa, Asia and Latin America.
You’ve
seen the flyers but want to know more? Visit the band’s website:
www.muha.co.uk
then phone me to book your tickets: Geri Hunting on 01608 662848.
What better way to spend a Friday night – have a drink and share an
evening of original music and fun with your local friends? Tickets
still available!
WOULD
YOU LIKE TO KEEP BEES?
A
lot of people keep bees because they produce honey, one of the
healthiest and most natural foods and one which has been valued by
man since prehistory as a sweetener. Others keep bees because they
are interested in the study of bees and of their habits; bees are
fascinating creatures and there is always something new to learn
about them. With no means of dealing with the varroa mite that is
now present in all UK honey bee colonies, a feral honey bee nest is
unlikely to remain viable for more than a couple of seasons. With
the help of beekeepers it is only managed colonies that can survive
to carry out the essential pollination of our food crops. Beekeeping
is an enjoyable open-air hobby bringing you in contact with people
from all walks of life. Bees can be kept by almost everyone except a
very small minority who are allergic to bee stings. We can all,
however, play our part in supporting the honeybee and other
pollinating insects by planting bulbs, shrubs and trees in our
gardens - especially varieties that flower early in the year.
Introduction
to Beekeeping
Shipston
Beekeepers are holding an “Introduction to Beekeeping” day on
Saturday 29th March
at Oxhill Village Hall, Main Street, Oxhill CV35 0QU. The
day will deal with the basics of beekeeping for the complete
beginner or those with very limited experience of this craft.
Arrive
at 09.30 for coffee prior to a prompt 10.00 start. Refreshments,
a light lunch and a practical beekeeping reference manual are
included in the day’s price of £45. The event is
scheduled to finish at 15.30 approx.
Contact
Douglas Nethercleft on 07850 352905 or djn0001@aol.com to
book your place. Places
still available!
Community
Energy Companies
Investing
in community energy companies is an ethical option to saving in
banks. There are now over 160 community energy companies in the
country. Our own Community Energy Warwickshire has no projects ready
for investment at the moment but here are some websites that list
some other community energy projects that are open for investment
from around the country:
1.
Community Shares:
2. Abundance
Abundance lets you take control of where your money is invested, by allowing you to put it directly into UK ethical and sustainable energy projects
Anyone can invest from
just £5 and get regular returns of 6-9% IRR.
3.
Sharenergy
Sharenergy
is a not-for-profit organisation which helps communities find, build
and own renewable energy generation throughout the UK.
You
could:
- Get involved in running your local green electricity generation plant
- Invest some money and get a decent return
- Provide an energy generation site and earn rent
4. Trillion Fund
Is
a group of project developers, asset managers, energy boffins, tech
geeks, journalists and campaigners who are all motivated by two
things: helping people to do something important with their money
and generating more clean energy for us to use.
They
are called Trillion Fund because this name represents the
scale of investment needed
worldwide to prevent climate change reaching damaging levels. It's a
huge number, but crowd investing in renewable energy projects is one
answer.
They
offer a portal to investments in renewable energy projects, whether
they are crowdfunds, bonds or shares in a local co-operative or PLC.
5.
Community Energy Warwickshire
Our
local energy company has installed solar panels on Warwick and
Stratford Hospitals but has no projects to invest in at the moment.
Watch their website for future opportunities: http://www.cew.coop/
Queen's Avenue
Community Orchard Planting
The
next planting at the orchard is on Sunday 19th March when
Shipston Cubs & Scouts will plant a hedge using the a
free Wild Harvest tree pack awarded to them by the Woodland Trust.
This includes
30
hazel, 30
blackthorn, 5 crab apple, 15 dog rose, 15 elder.
We
are planning to plant herbs around flowers around the fruit tree and
build a “log garden”. Anyone interested in helping contact Polly
pollytaylor3@googlemail.com
Permaculture Orchard
The
Permaculture Group are planning to convert an existing orchard into a
permaculture orchard with pigs, chickens and bees. One of the key
permaculture ideas being used is the “tree guild”. Here is a link
to an example of how to build an apple tree centred guild
http://www.scribd.com/doc/38483043/An-Apple-Centered-Guild-An-Excerpt-from-Gaia-s-Garden
The
next pub meeting of the group will be at the Red Lion in Long Compton
at 7.30 Monday 17th
March. For more information contact Jenny Lanham –
photojourno2003@yahoo.co.uk
or join the 3 Counties permaculture group
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/3CP/info
Energy From Waste
Visit
The
Transition Shipston visit to the Northwick Biogas near Chipping
Campden has now been arranged for Tuesday 29th
April at 5pm. More information to follow.
If
you would like to join the visit contact: Dave Passingham
davepassingham@hotmail.com
01608 661816
20's
Plenty
At the recent meeting of the Stratford Cycle Forum it was agreed that the Forum should support and encourage the adoption of 20 mph speed limits in town centres across Stratford District rather than piecemeal. This would encourage walking and cycling and hence reduce congestion in Stratford and other towns across the District. This follows the recent adoption of a 20mph speed limit in Alcester High Street which was warmly welcomed by those present. It was also agreed that the Forum should join forces with Stratford Society in promoting traffic free areas within Stratford town centre.
At the recent meeting of the Stratford Cycle Forum it was agreed that the Forum should support and encourage the adoption of 20 mph speed limits in town centres across Stratford District rather than piecemeal. This would encourage walking and cycling and hence reduce congestion in Stratford and other towns across the District. This follows the recent adoption of a 20mph speed limit in Alcester High Street which was warmly welcomed by those present. It was also agreed that the Forum should join forces with Stratford Society in promoting traffic free areas within Stratford town centre.
The
Cycling Forum consists of cyclists from across Stratford District.
Cycling issues are discussed and suggested improvements to the
cycling network are made. The Forum meetings are often attended by
District and County Council officers and Councillors who take any
matters forward. A recurring issue for cyclists is the number of
potholes and the length of time taken to repair them. The meeting
heard that in January Warwickshire CC had fixed only 24% of the
potholes reported and that it ranks 99th
in
the list of UK highways authorities in this respect. Members of the
Forum are planning to carry out surveys of the major roads in the
town and provide WCC with suggestions for improvements.
