Halloween Advice

Halloween will occur at the end of this month, on 31st October. This can be a fun time for children, dressing up in costumes and going door-to-door with the hope of visiting neighbours and local residents to collect a ‘treat’. However, to ensure your safety and the safety of children, here is some advice:-

• It is recommended you go in a group, that way the children and adults can walk safely together and have fun and ensuring any younger children are safely supervised. • It will be dark and sometimes paths can be uneven so taking a torch would be a good idea. • Only visit local homes that have a pumpkin or Halloween decorations on show. • Avoid visiting homes of elderly people as it can be quite scary to open the door when it is dark. • Make or buy costumes in light-coloured material. • Place strips of reflective tape on the back and front of costumes, so that drivers can better see your child. • Costumes should fit properly to prevent trips and falls. … • Dress your child for the weather. • Ensure you have a bag to collect those ‘treats’. • Children should not dart out behind parked cars or sprint across the road. This can be unsafe for the child and may scare drivers causing an accident. Ultimately have fun, home-made outfits can be great using old clothes and items you have at home. If you can’t go out, put some simple decorations up outside your home and I am sure the children will come a knocking.

If you would like to share photos of your homes decorated or your children in their outfits please send them to me via email or message me on Facebook.

I would love to include some photos in the next issue of the magazine.

Have fun and stay safe.

Halloween Advice for those that don’t want visitors

Not everyone likes people knocking on their door asking for treats.

It can be quite scary or upsetting.

If this is something that you want to avoid—why not write in big letters on a piece of paper and display in your window or on your door -

‘No Trick or Treaters this year—thank you’.

If you or you know someone who has the use of a computer, there are signs that can be downloaded from Government or local council websites that can be printed and displayed.

ONGAR NATURE WATCH False autumn Prolonged high summer temperatures in Ongar, and the rest of south-east England, have not only parched the land and dried uprivers, ponds and reservoirs, they have also caused trees to shed their leaves early in what has been termed a false autumn. Record temperatures were recorded in many parts of southern and eastern England with 40oC seen for the first time in Britain in July, a month which was also the driest since records began. Instead of the green of summer and early autumn, many woodlands, parks and gardens are now carpeted in brown, crunchy dried leaves while many of the leaves that remain on the trees are a mixture of yellow, orange and red. Shown here are fallen ash leaves covering the grass in the Jubilee Nature Reserve, adjacent to the Cripsey Brook. This early leaf fall is a sign of the trees being stressed, as they shed their leaves to prevent transpiration and retain precious water. While older trees with deep roots are able to withstand the drier conditions, many less established trees will be at risk and may not survive. The trees are utilising the hormones which in autumn shut them down to ensure their continued survival over the winter period. They may keep going like this for a few years but it will eventually impact on them leading to their premature death. At a time when countless young trees are being planted to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to combat climate change, this is bad news indeed. So climate change is actually working to negate the measure taken to alleviate its effects which has led to drought being declared and a ban on the use of hosepipes in order to conserve water in some areas. A similar situation was observed during prolonged dry spells in 2006-07 but this year has been more severe and it appears that these events are happening more frequently. And hotter, drier, summers and more erratic rainfall very much fits in with the concept of climate change. We have just experienced a long period of exceptionally hot and dry weather but who knows what next. Let us hope that we do not have the heavy rainfall that caused floods earlier this year and are now causing havoc, destruction and death in countries like Pakistan. Back in this country, the high temperatures are also responsible for the premature ripening of berries and nuts which could hit small mammals and birds that collect them in September and October to provide energy to survive the cold winter months. Nature's timing assures the survival of our wildlife: The climate crisis brings changes in seasonal weather patterns that our wildlife cannot adapt to rapidly and their long-term existence must be brought into question. Keith Snow

Welcome to Autumn, and he rain has finally arrived along with a chill in the air, a bit of a shock after the fantastic summer we have had. October is now the time to change the plants in your pots, tubs, and hanging baskets. If you would like me to refill your baskets, you can bring in your empty baskets any time now and I will plant with Autumn/Winter colours. In your beds, you can plant wall flowers and sweet William along with spring flowering bulbs, tulips, daffodils, crocus, snowdrops etc. It’s a good time to give roses a light prune and also pick off any leaves affected by black spot. Do not put these on the compost heap, its advisable to put them in the green waste bin for disposal Start to prepare the vegetable patch ready for next season. Dig over and leave in large clods allowing the winter frosts to break down the soil into a fine tilth to make planting and sowing much easier in the Spring. Introducing world rotted manure at the same time will be extremely beneficial. Keep the lawns free from falling leaves and windfall fruit, sometime in October is usually the last cut of the year. If you can raise the blades slightly to help the lawn flourish through the winter months. I generally about now, make a note of crops/flowers that have been a success and those that perhaps have struggled also noting the position they were planted, ie., sunny, shady etc. This helps to plan your garden for next Spring/Summer when things come to life again. If you would like to discuss any success or failures you have experienced, please come in and share them, producing photos if possible, this will help with diagnosis. It’s how we all learn and how I continually hear about great ideas and tips. As always, take time out, sit back, relax and enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of your garden with a drink of your choice. As it has turned now colder, mine will probably be a sloe gin. Cheers! Source: Nigel, Art Garden Centre. Vicarage Lane.

Essex County Council is setting out its plan to help households and communities deal with the rising cost of living. A new raft of measures and money to help families battle against increasing cost of living pressures has been announced by Essex County Council (ECC) The plans include £17 million of government cash to help households pay for insulation and other energy saving improvements at home, a community led ‘winter warmth and welcome’ campaign to provide local places for winter warmth over the coming months, including a grant scheme to help groups fund activities, and additional funding to help vulnerable people with essential costs. The full range of the £50m support is outlined in the Council’s Cost of Living Support for Households and Communities Plan, which aims to help those needing immediate support. Through the plan, ECC brings together partners, charities and organisations to tackle the issues residents are facing. It also maps the wider support being delivered across the county. The Council’s approach is based on three pillars – Response, Resilience and Root causes, along with a six-point plan to support residents. A number of support initiatives are already underway with others due to launch in mid-October onwards. This plan will continue to evolve and will respond to the changing needs of people and communities in Essex. While these measures will offer immediate relief to residents in difficulty, ECC is also looking at the medium and long term, building resilience and looking at the root causes of cost-of-living pressures, such as access to skills and good jobs. Cllr Louise McKinlay, the County Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Community, Equality, Partnerships and Performance, said: “We know people across the country are struggling and many are really worried about how they are going to cope with the rise in the cost of living. “We understand the challenges many are faced with, and tackling this crisis is a key priority for us, so people have access to the food, heating and essential items they need. “Our Cost of Living Support for Households and Communities plan highlights how we will be funding and mobilising support across the county - how we will help people keep warm, eat and keep well and happy this winter, and beyond. We will also be providing valuable advice and guidance to communities to help them, help themselves. “Even though these short-term solutions will make a difference in the ‘here and now’, we recognise that it is essential that support measures are put in place to help residents become as resilient as possible, so that they are more able to cope with future pressures and I will be making more announcements in the coming weeks.” ECC remains committed to the goals of its Levelling Up strategy, a longer-term programme looking beyond the immediate impacts of inflation and the rising prices of essentials. In November, Essex County Council is hosting a summit with partners to ensure all public service agencies are working together to support communities

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