Cotswold Link (North Cots) March-April 2018 by JKA / Cotswold Publications

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inside

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Spring has Sprung!

provide some top tips on how to get the best from your garden this 24 We Spring

Origins of Easter

We look at the origins of Easter and the date changing

Grubs Up!

Enjoy delicious garlic and herb prawns

06 A417 ‘missing link’ consultation 16 Local events across the area business health 08 New businesses and services 20 Save your sight! local news: astronomy: 10 Upper Rissington Neighbourhood Plan 22 The discovery of “little green men!” local news garden view: 12 Historic staircase moved to Ireland 24 Spring has Sprung! a good read recipe: 14 2 books reviewed 28 Garlic & herb prawns education: cotswold link 14 The Origins of Easter 30 Advertising Details & Index local news: FEATURED

events

FEATURED

Welcome to the March - April issue

We welcome Spring and the changing weather with a whole host of updates and news, from the ‘Missing link’ (p6), to Upper Rissingtons Neighbourhood Plan (p10). Our Spring garden tips (p24) are a perfect excuse to get outside in the lighter (and hopefully warmer!) weather. Don’t forget, if you have any news, events, updates or stories of local interest, please send them to editorial@jkanorth.com and we’ll do our best to publish them for you. I hope you all enjoy this issue and I’ll see you again in May. Best wishes,

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Christine Campbell | Editor Cotswold Link Magazine is published in good faith and the editors cannot be held responsible in any way for inaccuracies in reports or advertising in

or advertising that appear in this publication and the views of the contributors may not be the those of the editors. Adverts and advertisers Cotswold Link carry no implied recommendation from the magazine or the publishers. All rights reserved. All information is appearing Your in Cotswold Link Magazine 4reports mention Your CotswoldLink when contacting any of our advertisers correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of going to press. Cotswold Link Magazine cannot be held Please responsible for any errors or omissions.

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Have your say on A417 ‘missing link’ Highways England is launching a consultation into options for the A417 ‘Missing Link’ and you can have your say. The public consultation into the route options for this particular stretch of the road began on 15 February and will run until 29 March. There are a number of events taking place in the county, where information will be available along with an opportunity to speak to Highways England representatives about the project and the consultation. Residents will be able to have their say on the shortlisted route options that will be published when the consultation starts. To make sure as many people as possible have chance to give their views, Gloucestershire County Council is supporting the consultation by hosting information points in some libraries (including the branch in Cirencester) and will be making the plans available at Shire Hall. Cllr Lynden Stowe, CDC Member and Gloucestershire County Council Cabinet member for economy, skills and growth said: “This is a very important stage of the project to fix the A417 ‘Missing Link’ and although we need to keep the pressure on to make sure things continue to move forward, this is a key stage of the process to make sure the campaign becomes a reality. “We want as many people as possible to get involved in this consultation. Have your say, spread the word with family and friends - urge them to get involved. “I want to send a loud message that as a county we are united in our determination to bring this vital route to Gloucestershire and consign the A417 ‘Missing Link’ to history.” More information on the project can be found at www. a417missinglink.co.uk

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W E N businesses s & service our area in & around

“New To The Area” is a new business feature specifically designed to help new businesses and those that are offering new businesses and services to promote themselves cost effectively. Businesses are invited to submit their adverts to this feature at the regular price and they will receive the

equivalent space in complimentary editorial*. This editorial provides excellent business exposure to 15,800 homes and businesses and allows further explanation of the new business or services available. * Editorial must be supplied completed.

Cheers! Beverage cup recycling is now available in Cotswold District Plastic-lined paper cups can now be recycled in the Cotswolds thanks to a new initiative by the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE UK), in partnership with Cotswold District Council and Gloucestershire’s Joint Waste Team. This new service enables plastic-lined cups - the sort commonly supplied by coffee shops, fast food outlets and petrol stations - to be recycled by depositing them in any of the food and drink carton recycling banks within the district. Councillor Sue Coakley, Chair of Gloucestershire’s Joint Waste Committee and Cabinet Member for the Environment at CDC welcomes this initiative: “The carton re-

Local Business opens new depot Local plant hire business, WHC Hire, has achieved its goal and scored a hat-trick of rental depots in the region. The third branch of the forward thinking plant hire company was officially opened in mid-November by the charismatic former Director General of the CBI, Lord Digby Jones.

Formerly known as Cotswold Tool & Plant Hire, the depot was purchased in February 2017. The business was already well- known and well established with many loyal customers and WHC is already building on this success with investment in new machinery, new services and the health and safety ethos for which it has become renowned. The showroom sells a range of consumable products and displays a range of small tools for hire, including strimmers, rotavators, lawnmowers, cement mixes and even wallpaper strippers etc . The acquisition was the culmination of a 3-year growth strategy to expand the range of plant, invest in staff and grow the business organically. Managing Director, James Clutterbuck, was delighted to welcome guests to the opening where he detailed the journey

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so far; “Over the past 3 years we had a vision to be the best through investment and hard work. This included listening to our customers, being aware of market changes and investing in staff, technology, apprenticeships and products.” This is key to the success of WHC and it’s been demonstrated with the opening of our new Chipping Norton depot which is due to the teamwork from it’s staff, our suppliers and our customers. From 1997 – when Worcester Hire depot opened – it has taken 15 years to establish it’s brand and open depot number two. This time it has taken just 5 years for depot three – so who knows what will happen next? Our prediction is another depot in 2-3 years. Understanding technology – the role of the mobile phone, for example – is now critical to the appreciation of what and where your market is. The world is smaller and more connected thanks to the mobile phone, social media, websites. Successful businesses embrace change and remain flexible. WHC – in what is now its 21st Anniversary year – is a company that does that and more.”

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cycling banks already accept the type of packaging usually associated with fruit juices, milk drinks and premium soup brands, and it is great to see that they can now take plastic-lined paper cups. This change the result of an agreement between ACE UK, high street retailers and cup manufacturers - provides a great opportunity for local residents and visitors to recycle even more waste. “Obviously, we would prefer people to drink from reusable cups where possible – and it is good to see that most coffee shops are more than willing to fill a reusable cup brought from home. However, the next best thing is to ensure that as many single-use cups as possible are recycled, and this initiative should help immensely.

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Upper Rissington maps out a Neighbourhood Plan

Upper Rissington Parish Council has submitted a proposal to Cotswold District Council to designate a ‘neighbourhood area’ for the village – an important formal stage in setting up a Neighbourhood Plan. The proposed area encompasses most of the parish, and a small area of Victory Fields within Great Rissington parish. Neighbourhood Planning is one of the powers introduced by the Localism Act and should give residents more influence over planning issues within their area. Although they must follow national and local strategic policies, Neighbourhood Plans can give communities more of a say about what goes where, and what it looks like. The first stage in the process is to designate the area to be covered, after which the fact-finding and plan development really starts. Chair of the Upper Rissington Neighbourhood Plan steering group, Andrew Maclean, says: “Over the last 20 years we have seen huge changes in the village, with the Victory Fields development doubling the size of the community to approximately 800 households, whilst creating a core of community assets and highly prized green spaces within the village. The community would like to build on the master planning agreed by the developers and Cotswold District Council and create a Neighbourhood Plan that would help to unite the disparate sections of the village around common interests. Major themes will ultimately depend on community interests but are expected to focus on the creation of commercial and business space to prevent Upper Rissington becoming solely a dormitory village. We envisage increasing families’ access to green spaces and countryside, introducing measures to manage traffic effectively, and designating the green spaces created by the Victory Fields development.”

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CDC gifts historic ‘Bannatyne’ staircase to Limerick church museum Cotswold District Council will fund the removal of an historic oak staircase from the Old Memorial Hospital and transfer it to a church in Limerick, Ireland. The staircase – which is regarded as an official war memorial - was originally donated to the hospital by the Limerickbased family of Major Edgar James Bannatyne, who was a member of the Royal Flying Corps during World War 1 and died at Rendcomb airfield in the Cotswolds in 1917. Meeting on 18 January, members of the CDC Cabinet agreed that Council’s priority fund should pay for the removal of the staircase and its transfer to the custodianship of the Limerick Civic Trust to honour the memory of the Bannatynes. The line of the family has now died out but they are fondly remembered as leading merchants who helped to bring prosperity to Limerick. Once the staircase has been restored, it will be incorporated into Saint Munchin’s Church in Limerick, which contains a number of graves and monuments commemorating the Bannatyne family. Cllr Nick Parsons, the Deputy Leader of CDC, comments: “The Council will be applying for planning permission to demolish the Old Memorial Hospital, as agreed at the Cabinet meeting on 21 April 2016, and we wanted to ensure that this magnificent staircase was preserved for posterity. Placing it in storage would have deprived the public of a magnificent war memorial and we are very pleased that it will now be on display at the Bannatyne family church in Ireland. “From a financial viewpoint it would have cost a substantial amount of money per year to keep the staircase in storage so the cost of transferring it to Ireland for public display represents very good value for money for taxpayers.” David O’Brien of the Limerick Civic Trust adds: “We are very grateful that Cotswold District Council has agreed to give us custodianship of this historic staircase. For over 30 years Limerick Civic Trust has been involved with the conservation and preservation of our heritage, so we very much appreciate the origins and story behind the Bannatyne staircase.

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The Origins of Easter

A Good Read

Ever tried to plan an event around Easter?

Wicked

n Gregory Maguire We all know what happened when Dorothy arrived in the Land of Oz courtesy of a cyclone. She killed the Wicked Witch of the East and magically acquired her ruby slippers. Helped by Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, she travelled to the Emerald City with three friends and asked the Wizard to send her back to Kansas. And of course, we know about her green enemy: The Wicked Witch of the West. But do we really know the rest of the story? What DID happen in Oz before this little girl from Kansas carelessly ‘dropped’ in? Wicked, is the story of the witches of Oz as imagined by Gregory Maguire. Familiar to many people these days through the hit West End musical of the same name, this novel is very different in tone to the musical with much more adult themes. It addresses politics, animal rights, outcasts, fate, friendships, and the philosophical question of what makes us bad: are people born wicked or do they become wicked purely by living up to people’s expectations of them? Elphaba Thropp was born with an unfortunate colour skin tone and right from the start felt rejected like an outcast. She feels as if she has no place in the world but all that is set to change when she arrives at Shiz University. Here she meets her total opposite, Glinda, and despite an initial hatred of each other they do become best friends. But where will that friendship take them? They are destined to follow separate paths: one of good and one of evil. The Good Witch and The Wicked Witch. It is how that happens and how they discover their true purpose and destiny that forms the heart of this immersive fantasy novel. Clearly Oz is not just for children.

Naughty Amelia Jane! n Enid Blyton

Naughty Amelia Jane! by Enid Blyton Some books never fail to entertain generation after generation and the Amelia Jane books by Enid Blyton are no exception. At some point in childhood we all wonder what would happen if our toys were alive. Well in this nursery they are. Amelia Jane is a big ragdoll and she is not just big, she is bad. And the other toys are generally scared of her. Hardly surprising when she does things like throwing pints of milk over other toys on a regular basis! These short chapters almost work as individual short stories which makes it a nice transition for readers to proper ‘chapter books’. Each chapter sees Amelia Jane getting into trouble and being naughty but ultimately learning a lesson: one that she seems destined to forget despite her protestations that she ‘will be good from now’. Lessons that demonstrate to the reader why it is important to be kind and considerate towards others. In the words of Enid Blyton: “I do somehow feel perfectly certain that she can’t be good for long.”

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It can be quite difficult due to its fluctuations in the calendar. Even Justin Welby the present Archbishop of Canterbury is of the opinion that Easter should be given a set date. The following list of Easter dates over a 4 year period tell us of the difficulties found in the lack of continuity in arranging events dependent on spring. Easter Sunday 2016 – 27th March 2017 – 16th April 2018 – 1st April 2019 – 21st April In fact Easter can occur as early as the 22nd March and as late as the 25th April

Calculating the date of Easter Easter is a celebration of the crucifixion and rising from the dead of Jesus and has been celebrated ever since his death. Christ’s resurrection occurred during the Jewish Passover which is dated according to the phases of the moon in the Jewish calendar, the dates of which drift each year. In those bygone days some churches would celebrate Easter at the time of the Passover whilst others would celebrate it on the following Sunday. It was not unusual for churches in the same region to celebrate Easter on different Sundays. In the year 325AD King Constantine paid for all the influential leaders of Christianity to a meeting to rectify the above problems. Pope St Sylvester 1st was also invited but was too ill to travel, so he sent representatives. It was at this meeting that the first serious official efforts of agreeing a common date for Easter were discussed; the principles of calculating its date have stuck with us until the present day.

Writing an A* Essay Whether you’re 15 or 50, writing an academic essay can be pretty daunting. Hopefully our how-to guide might make the process a little bit easier. Start off with your notes. Get key points down, quotes, useful resources and so on. Don’t worry about grammar and spelling; at this point, it’s all about getting your ideas together in one place. Ideally, you’ll want to start your research well before your deadline, so that you can add to your notes when you hear something relevant in a lecture, or come across something when you’re reading. Make sure you include where you’ve found the information, so that you can cite the source in your essay.

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Try to identify any gaps in your notes. Do you need to find proof to back up an argument, for example? It can help to write yourself a set of questions that you need to answer. You’ll then know exactly what you’re looking for when you’re researching. Once you have your notes, copy and paste them into a new document, and then start moving them into some kind of structure. Most essays will follow the following structure: Introduction (less than 10% of your total word count). This should give a brief overview of what you’re going to cover in the essay, and why. It should indicate that the essay is going to answer the set question, or expand on the title that you’ve chosen.

In simplistic terms Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday; following the first full Moon; after the Spring Equinox unless; it clashes with the Jewish Passover; when it will occur one week later. However the debate carried on for many centuries one of the reasons being of not having a totally accurate calendar that did not drift with the seasons. Indeed in David Ewing Duncan’s brilliant book “The Calendar” he points to modern day astronomers devising 14 equations for calculating “an almost precise Easter date”. It concludes that because of continuous planetary fluctuations “an absolutely exact measurement (of Easter) is impossible to predict”

Is it possible to reform the dates of Easter? The World Council of Churches proposed in 1997 to replace the previously mentioned equation based method with a direct astronomical observation. This was to be implemented in 2001 but not yet executed. Perhaps more surprisingly the dates of Easter can be reformed as soon as the Government see fit. The Easter Act 1928 allows the Government to fix Easter as “the first Sunday after the Second Saturday in April”. This law although no implemented remains on the UK Statute data base. Whatever your thoughts, whatever your views may I wish all readers a Happy Joyous Easter John Harris.

Body of the essay Here you’ll want to fully explain the points you mentioned in the introduction. You’ll likely include quotes and refer to key research material. While you might include opposing views, the main body of the essay should support the conclusion. You might need to subdivide this section with subheaders. Conclusion (up to 15% of the total word count). Here you’ll summarise your main ideas and, if appropriate, answer the question set. While the saying ‘begin at the beginning’ might be true for many things, it’s not always helpful for essays (or magazine articles for that matter). It’s often

actually easier to leave writing the introduction until the end. That way you’ll know exactly what it is that you’re introducing. You’ll want to make sure the essay flows well, with wellstructured paragraphs, and no spelling or grammatical errors. Don’t rely on a computer spellchecker. It is difficult to proofread your own work, so ask a friend or family member to take a look at it for you if possible. Good luck! By Kate Duggan

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Out & About n Fosseway Café Orchestra

(Shipston-on-Stour U3A group) meets every Tuesday from 10.00-12.00 in Todenham Village Hall @GL56 9PL. No auditions. We can write special parts for players of 4 notes, but generally players are Grade III - VI. Total cost is £3.00 per session. 07967 423550.

n Via Fossa (Shipston-onStour U3A group) Advanced Recorder Consort meet on Mondays @GL56 9SR. We play in 4 parts. Cost is 50p. Contact Christine: 07967 423550

n Recorder Ensemble Beginners (Shipston-on-Stour

U3A group) meet on Fridays @ GL56 9SR. Cost is 50p. Contact Christine: 07967 423550 ........................................................

19th March n Talk

7.30pm: Hailey Gardening Club are holding a talk by Jamie Bunting called GARDENING AT WOOD GREEN SCHOOL Jamie talks about horticulture studies at Wood Green school -

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an activity supported by Hailey Gardening Club for several years. Hailey Village Hall OX29 9UA Members free, Non-members £2 Tel 01993 899125 ........................................................

23rd March

n Rissingtons Local History Society

7.30pm: THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL FOREST OF DEAN - an illustrated talk by Pete Ralph on the forest starting with Canute and ending with Queen Elizabeth ||. The history ranges from a Neolithic stone, through hunting forests,the industrial area and eventually tourism. Venue: Upper Rissington Village Hall GL54 2QW. £3.50 to include refreshments. Contact 01451 820233. ........................................................

24th March

n Burford Orchestra

Burford Orchestra returns to Witney’s historic St Mary’s Church for the first time in over ten years with a delightful programme for a spring evening. The concert, which starts at 7.30pm, opens with the great German composer

Johannes Brahms’s brooding Tragic Overture before moving into France with Georges Bizet’s ever-popular L’Arlésienne suites. The evening is rounded out with the first symphony by the littleknown Russian composer Vasily Kalinnikov, a piece that – like its author – definitely deserves to be much more widely known. Tickets cost £9 with £1 entry for under 16s and are available in advance from info@ burfordorchestra.org.uk or by contacting Sarah on 01993 883490 ........................................................

25th March

Burford Singers – A Concert for Palm Sunday

7.30pm Purcell – Funeral Sentences for Queen Mary Stainer - Crucifixion Burford Singers with Tenor : Joshua Ellicott Bass : Quentin Hayes Organist: Robin Baggs Conductor: Brian Kay Our annual Palm Sunday concert brings together Stainer’s Crucifixion and Henry Purcell’s deeply

moving and heartfelt tribute to his beloved Queen Mary. Venue: Church of St John the Baptist, Church Green, Burford OX18 4RY Tickets reserved at £17, £15, £12 and £8 Online booking at http:// www.burfordsingers.org.uk/ box-office (Booking fee applies) Booking in person at The Madhatter Bookshop 122, High Street, Burford OX18 4QJ. Full details and booking form available on our website www.burfordsingers.org.uk ........................................................

25th - 27th March

n World Literacy Summit

The third World Literacy Summit will be held in Oxford, United Kingdom and the three day event will commence the 25th of March 2018. It will serve as a unique opportunity for delegates to collaborate, share ideas, learn and be united to close the global literacy gap in the 21st century. The Summit provides a platform for debate, discussion and sharing of knowledge between...

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Having an event?

Email us your event details to: events@jkanorth.com and we’ll publish it for you. Magazine distribution dates are on p30. ...some of the world’s most ardent literacy and educational leaders, institutions, organisations and pioneers. Sun., 25/03/2018, 4:00 pm – Tue., 27/03/2018, 6:00pm The Sheldonian Theatre, Broad Street, Oxford, OX1 3AZ Tickets on Eventbrite ........................................................

31st March

n Charlbury Museum.

Charlbury Museum will reopen for the 2018 season on Easter Saturday 31st March, with a new exhibition about Charlbury and the Wychwood Forest, the workers, the poachers, the natural history. Opening hours are on Saturdays from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm, and on Sundays and Bank Holidays from 2.30 - 4.30 pm. Admission £1, children free. We also mark the centenary since 1918 with our book on Charlbury and the First World War, “Glover, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor”, and a display of WWI memorabilia. Visitors are warmly welcomed. Market Street, Chipping Norton. Phone: 01608 810656

8th April

29th April

Andoversford is home to the Cotswold Point-to-Point races, an enduring fixture in the Gloucestershire sporting calendar, and one of the fastest growing Pointing fixtures in the calendar. Some of the country’s best steeplechasers have been seen at Andoversford, and we’re situated right in the middle of racing country, equidistant from the large training yards of Jonjo O’Neill, Kim Bailey, Nigel TwistonDavies and Tom George. Gates open: 11am Programme Starts: 12 noon Tickets available from: andoversfordraces.co.uk ........................................................

Blenheim Palace provides a stunning setting for this great familyfriendly event which welcomes established runners and newbies alike. With a junior 1 mile event for under 15s and 4 miles for wheelchairs and buggies, there is an event for everyone. Run, walk or jog round. Prizes for individual winners as well as teams. Entry fee for the run includes entry to the palace park grounds (usually £16 for adults) 10:30 – 13:00 BST Blenheim Palace, Woodstock OX20 1PX. Tickets on Eventbrite ........................................................

n Andoversford Races

26th - 29th April

n Chipping Norton Literary Festival

A wide range of literary talks and activities at various venues @CHIPLITFEST #CHIPLITFEST TICKETS: 01608 642350 www.chiplitfest.com ........................................................

n Blenheim 7k 2018

2nd - 7th May

n Cheltenham International Jazz Festival

Town Hall and other venues The Cheltenham International Jazz Festival ranks among the top British festivals of its kind. Since 1996 the Festival has brought some of the biggest names in jazz to the town, as well as providing a platform for the

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stars of the future. Box Office (01242) 227979, www.cheltenhamfestivals. com/jazz ........................................................

18th - 20th May

n Winchcombe Cotswolds Walking Festival

The Walking Festival offers a full three day programme of walks designed for walkers of all abilities. The festival has a buzz with displays, tea and a chance to meet fellow walkers prior to the walks.The programme of walks range from three miles to fourteen miles with some based on specific themes. All walks, other than the 21 mile self-guided Winchcombe Way Challenge, are led by knowledgeable local guides. Walks must be booked in advance on the Winchcombe Welcomes Walkers website: www.winchcombewelcomeswalkers.com ........................................................ Please note: the editors cannot be held responsible for any changes to events listed. Please contact event organisers directly. All events correct at time of going to press.

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Save Your Sight! Most people don’t think about their eyes much until something goes wrong. It’s important to understand what happens to our eyes as we age. Your optometrist does so much more than provide spectacles. The following conditions are all detectable by optometrists during a routine eye examination. Cataracts These are caused by clouding of the lens inside the eye. They are not painful but vision may be smudged or blurry. Diabetics and those taking certain medications are more at risk, but in most cases they are caused by old age. Most cataracts may be treated successfully by surgical removal then replacing the cloudy lens with a clear, artificial one. Glaucoma This is a condition in which the optic nerve at the back of the eye is dam-

aged. It is usually though not always, caused by raised pressure inside the eyeball. 99% of Glaucoma sufferers experience no symptoms until significant damage to their sight has occurred. The risk becomes more significant once you are over 40 and it increases with age. Anyone with a family history of the disease is more at risk, along with diabetics, very short-sighted people and anyone from an Afro-Caribbean background. If detected early Glaucoma can be controlled with eye-drops, and in some cases surgery. Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) happens when the delicate ‘seeing-cells’ at the back of the eye stop working. It usually affects both eyes. The risk of getting it increases with age but poor diet, too much sunexposure and smoking are all contributory factors. You are also more at risk if there is a family history of the condition.

From £45 to £450, we have options for all businesses to reach over 15,800 homes and businesses More details on p30 Call Christine on: 01609 777401 or Dwight on: 01609 779097 cotswoldlink.co.uk

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There are two types: Wet AMD is rarer and can be treated if caught early, and dry AMD, which is currently untreatable. The progress of dry AMD may be slowed by increasing the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables consumed and by stopping smoking. Diabetes is not an eye disease but eye problems are among its most significant complications. An optometrist will check for signs that the blood vessels of the eye are leaking or not working properly. If problems are discovered then you will be referred for laser treatment at your local hospital. Even if you are not Diabetic and your eyesight seems fine it is im-

portant to have the health of your eyes checked at least once every two years, as changes may happen without you realising. Rememberâ&#x20AC;Ś Unlike teeth, eyes do not usually hurt when there is something wrong. Generally, the earlier an eye problem is detected, the easier it is to treat. If you drive, it is your responsibility to make sure you satisfy the legal visual requirements. Book an eye examination today. You have just one pair of eyes, and they have to last you a lifetime, so take care of them.

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The

Rotary Club of Burford & Kingham news

Cotswold Sky The Discovery of “The Little Green Men” 50 years ago an amazing discovery was made by a young lady called Jocelyn Bell (Now Dame Jocelyn Bell-Burnell) at Cambridge University. Like many great discoveries it came by accident; however its ramifications to astronomy were immense. She came across a string of pulses from a specific part of the sky and not knowing the cause of these signals they were referred to as “LGM-1” (LGM abbreviated for “Little Green Men”); this abbreviation as gone down in the folklore of astronomy, because she had discovered the pulsar which is also called a neutron star. Dame Jocelyn is now the Visiting Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford and is interested in the research on neutron stars particularly with regards to the testing of Einstein’s theory of gravity.

size of London. So far over 2,000 pulsars have been discovered and they have been found to rotate from a few revolutions per second (rps) to as many as 700rps continuously emitting signals during this process. Some neutron stars evolve into black holes but more research is presently being carried out on this process and their magnetic fields can range from 100 million times to 1 quadrillion (a million billion) times stronger than that of the Earth’s. For further detailed information on Pulsars and Neutron Stars: https://www.space.com/32661-pulsars.html www.nasa.gov/ www.astronomynow.com www.skyatnightmagazine.com

Diary

Spring Equinox – Tuesday 20th March 16.15 hours GMT; this marks the moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator – the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator. British Summer Time Starts – Sunday 25th March 01.00 hours; turn your clocks forward one hour for those long awaited light evenings.

Planets

Neutron Stars

The image shows a pulsar at the centre of the galaxy Messier 82, discovered by NASA’s NuSTAR and is highlighted in pink in the centre. Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech Imagine an atom in which the neutrons are so tightly packed they are almost touching each other, this is the composition of a neutron star. It is the collapsed core of an old star that collapsed as a super nova. They are so tightly packed that a pin head would weigh as much as a super tanker; it would be the equivalent of our Sun compressed to the

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Mercury – the best time to view will be on March 15th and can be located low in the evening sky just after sunset. For a lovely panoramic view of the Moon, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter; look in the direction from SSE to SSW at 06.00 hours between the days of March 7th to March 11th Venus comes to the fore in April and can first be seen during twilight as the Sun is setting. An excellent month for observation

Meteor Showers

Lyrid Meteor Shower – 22nd/ 23rd April viewing prospects are good. John Harris

As the end of 2017 approached the club donated towards the repair of the fire damaged Central Beacon Mountain Rescue Team HQ in recognition of support from one of their number with our 2017 charity cycle ride to Paris and also had two interesting talks. The first was about “40 years as a vet”, given by Peter Aylmer who spoke about his fascinating experiences both in the UK and far-flung lands. A truly remarkable story. The second, by Robert Llewellyn, who started as a bespoke Leicestershire shoemaker, went on to a famous acting career (Red Dwarf, to mention only one!) and progressed to environmentally friendly energy production. Sprinkled with amusing asides and anecdotes, he was a splendid highlight for the club’s Christmas Dinner & Charter night, finally generously donating his honorarium to the NSPCC. Incidentally, we hope you enjoyed the Christmas & New Year good wishes illuminated sign by the Gateway Hotel! In January, we changed our meetings venue to the Bay Tree Hotel where former Rotarian Kay Shortland is scheduled to talk about a 5 week visit to Nepal setting up sewing classes in villages using donated sewing machines, and teaching sewing skills to Nepalese women in order that they can start sustainable businesses. In February, Edith Sim is to speak about “Parkinson’s UK charity”, while in March David Eagles of Taynton will enlighten us on the thrills and spills of being a Fleet Air Arm pilot and defence industry test pilot. Fund-raising in 2018 will include the annual May-time Bluebell Walk through Cornbury Park (including areas usually off-limits to the general public) and we plan to participate in the Burford Fire Station’s charity walk when they will be filming the walk for Google Street maps. We shall also co-ordinate the annual Christian Aid Week door-to-door collection again (13th -19th May). Please, anyone living between Kingham to Lechlade (or beyond) volunteer to help! The club’s major fund-raising event of former years, the annual Kingham Duck Race is at time of writing, sadly, in doubt since the site is no longer available. Having planted many crocus corms at the A40/A361 roundabout in Burford last autumn, we hope to have a display of flowers advertising Rotary’s worldwide efforts to eradicate Polio – but sadly, the local rooks, crows and possibly squirrels were seen feasting on the corms...so the result might be disappointing! Later in the year, we plan to visit club member Laith Reynold’s Bell Foundry in Loughborough & we have invited Graham Short, the micro-artist, who engraved Jane Austen on our new £5 notes to talk to us. Finally, if you would like to visit us, please contact secretary Terry Best at terry.a.best@btinternet.com.

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GARDEN VIEW

Spring has Sprung The other day someone said to me, ‘You are so lucky…you have a beautiful garden.’ I thanked her of course, but I really wanted to say, ‘Luck has very little to do with it. A beautiful garden does not happen by pure chance. It takes a bit of work and planning.’ As the spring equinox looms, the trees blossom and daffodils bloom. The garden is waking up from its winter sleep and is full of promise. I am excited to be outside in it but I’m aware for nongardeners it can seem daunting when everything (including the weeds) starts growing at once! So where to begin? There are three fairly simple tasks which will get you off to a flying start. Pruning is the first task. It’s time to hard prune late-flowering shrubs like Buddleia, Leycesteria and Lavateria, but only if the risk of hard frost is past. Spring flowering plants such as Forsythia and Winter Honeysuckle should be pruned immediately the flowers fade. If you haven’t already pruned your bush roses, now is the time. Leave about an inch of last year’s growth to encourage bushiness and lots of flowers. Shrub roses don’t need such radical treatment but would benefit from losing

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a third of their old, thick, woody stems. Then a bit of lifting is required. Lift congested clumps of snowdrops while they still have leaves showing. Finally, stay on top of the weeds from the outset. If you leave them, weeding quickly becomes an insurmountable chore. But of course gardening is about planting things and one of the best things to plant now is lilies. If you have a bit of a slug problem like I do grow them in pots. Pots also have the advantage of protecting the bulbs. I hate slicing through them accidentally when hoeing. And pots mean you can grow them even if you only have a balcony. There are loads of varieties to choose from. Three bulbs fit nicely into an 8inch / 20cm pot and five fit into a ten inch / 25cm pot. I’ve found terracotta pots best because lilies are tall and terracotta provides enough weight to prevent them tipping over.

Lilies need a well-drained open planting mixture so I use a mixture of potting compost plus a soil-less multi-purpose compost. The bulb tips should be a couple of inches below the compost. Keep in a sheltered spot and water when the surface of the compost looks dry. Once the buds have formed, feed weekly with dilute tomato food until late summer. When the blooms fade, cut the stems down and place in a sheltered spot. Each spring, scrape away a couple of inches of compost and add fresh mixture, then repeat the instructions above. Treated like this your lilies will reward you for three or four years before they need re-potting. By Rachael Leverton

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Tourism is booming across The Cotswolds, according to a newly published report which shows that during 2016 there were over 20 million days of visits to the area and total visitorrelated business turnover was in excess of one billion pounds. The report, compiled by the South West Research Company Ltd, also showed that tourism was responsible for 8% of employment across the wider area with businesses in the Cotswold District Council area reaching as high as 15% of employment - and is valuable evidence of the importance of the tourism industry. During 2016 tourists spent over £373 million on accommodation within the area, another £157 million on local attractions and entertainments, and about £100m on travel. Other significant facts included the impact of tourism on local shopping and the food and drink sector with these being worth 18% and 22% of visitor spend respectively. Reviewing the figures, Chris Jackson of Cotswolds Tourism Partnership commented: “This is a valuable report which

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New report highlights boom time for tourism in Cotswolds underlines the importance of tourism to the economic well-being of the Cotswolds and for all sectors of the local economy to work together to promote tourism. The South West Research Company also looked at tourism patterns and it was interesting to note the 12% increase in overseas staying visitors with increased spend at 9%. Working with all local authorities across the wider Cotswolds area under the Cotswolds Tourism partnership, the tourism sector must continue to adapt to meet visitors’ needs now and for the future. The partnership needs to market and promote the area to show visitors the hidden gems and experiences visitors may not know about; this can spread visitors across the lesser known towns which will continue to stimulate the local economy into the future. “We are lucky to live and work here

and, with businesses expanding and diversifying all the time, it helps us promote the Cotswolds as a surprising destination. We know it takes a lot to beat the Cotswolds as a great holiday destination for all ages – we’ve got magnificent countryside to explore, charming market towns to visit, a rich heritage and history to investigate, diverse cultural attractions and top quality sporting facilities, and year-round events. “Cotswolds Tourism Partnership will continue to work with Visit England and Visit Britain to promote the area through trade shows, media visits and social media, and if any businesses in the wider tourism sector wish to get involved with us please see www.cotswolds.com/partnership

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Why do we change the clocks? It’s time to turn the clocks forward an hour at 1 am on 26th March. This time when sunrise and sunset are one hour later on the clock is known as British Summer Time, or Daylight Saving Time. It is believed that the concept was first proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1784 in an essay entitled; ‘An Economical Project for Diminishing the Cost of Light.’ Ancient civilisations had already been adopting similar concepts however by adjusting their routines in accordance with the sun’s schedules. The first official modern use of Daylight Saving Time was in Ontario in 1908, and several other Canadian cities followed. At around the same time MP Robert Pearce proposed a bill in the House of Commons based on work done by British Builder William Willett around moving the clocks eight

times a year to achieve similar results. This was rejected. Germany became the first European country to introduce Daylight Saving Time in April 1916. Its rationale was that the use of artificial light would be reduced and thus there would be more fuel for the war effort. Britain followed shortly after in May 1916. Daylight Saving Time is now utilised in over 70 countries world wide although dates of implementation and clock adjustments vary. The main benefits of Daylight Saving Time are said to be: - The opportunity to make better use of natural daylight - The ability to conserve energy that would otherwise be used on artificial light - A decrease in road accidents because roads are naturally lit during the time when most vehicles are using them Some studies such as one carried out by the Belfast Telegraph also claim that the extra hour of daylight means

that tourists stay out longer and spend more money - an extra £6.34 million in Northern Ireland alone. Some are not in favour though. For example, traditional dairy farmers claim Daylight Saving Time disrupts milking routines. This mainly affects developing countries as elsewhere milking is automated. Some research has also shown that there is a greater risk of people having accidents or being the victims of crime because they leave their houses in the morning when it’s still dark. Some studies have suggested that in the first few days after the clocks go forward there are more heart attacks too. Finally for those of us who struggle to remember when we turn the clocks forward and when they go back, this little phrase may help: ‘Spring Forward, Fall Back,’ as the time when clocks go back always happens in the Autumn. This year in the UK, the date when Greenwich Mean Time will begin again is 29th October. By Susan Brookes-Morris

Garlic & Herb Prawns A light and tasty supper

Preparation time: 25 minutes + marinating time Cooking Time: 5-6 minutes Serves: 2 Ingredients 12 Raw prawns in their shells Juice of half a lemon 2 Garlic cloves - crushed 3 tbsp Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 1 tbsp chopped fresh dill 3 tbsp softened butter Salt and pepper Method Rinse the prawns. Use a sharp knife to slice along the back of each prawn from head end to tail and remove the

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thin black intestine. Mix the lemon juice with the garlic, herbs and butter to form a paste. Season well with salt and pepper and spread the paste over the prawns. Leave to marinate for 30 minutes.

prawns until cooked, tossing them several times to distribute the heat evenly. Turn out on to warm plates and drizzle with the juices from the pan. Serve with lemon wedges and crusty bread.

Preheat a frying pan. Fry the

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