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April 2012
Issue 16
www.oddfellows.co.uk
Culture club
Active Travel Live like a king
Find out all the details of our Oddfellows summer holiday to Bodelwyddan Castle, North Wales Monday 2 - Friday 6 July 2012
Home & Garden Ask George...
The ‘Modfather’ mellows At 53, Paul Weller has mellowed with age. But he’s not a man to rest on his laurels. The former front man of The Jam has just delivered the final piece in a trilogy of solo albums, and it might just be his best yet.
Food & drink Good food fights back The farmshop trade hasn’t always been easy for the owners of Farrington’s – the 2012 UK Farm Retailer of the Year. From running a cold, empty barn to industry leaders; we speak to the couple at the heart of rural Britain’s great success story. WIN: A fantastic hamper worth £50! Find out more inside.
Also featured this month Discoveries: Kids running wild and a million years of fire Health & wellbeing: Find out how your money is helping Spinal Research Around Britain: Your no-nonsense guide to Bury St Edmunds Sport & leisure: All you need to know about getting out and enjoying the start of spring Money: FSA advises how to avoid share fraudsters
George Hill, our resident gardener, is on hand to answer your green-fingered gripes and guide you through those outdoor tasks. WIN: An essential gardening kit, including gloves, seeds and tools! Simply send George your gardening questions for your chance to win
New member benefit Get 10% off everything on Suttons seeds website
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Culture club “I love going to the theatre once in a while, so when I heard my local Oddfellows Branch was arranging a trip I couldn’t pass it up.” Sharon - Manchester
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Weller revels in mid-life freedom
Paul Weller has never been a man to rest on his laurels. Back in the ‘80s, when he was part of The Jam, he decided the limitations of the trio’s set-up were too great and split the band up there and then. Millions were devastated – not least band members Rick Buckler and Bruce Foxton, who reportedly heard the news via a letter delivered by Weller’s dad. Go to any of the 53-year-old’s gigs now and you’ll see men of a certain age who still haven’t quite forgiven ‘The Modfather’ for deserting them 30 years ago. Nevertheless, he held firm and quickly went on to form The Style Council, leaving behind the punk-fuelled rhythm and blues of The Jam for altogether more sophisticated jazz and house influences. “Sometimes you do things that people get on board with and other times they’re not so quick,” says Weller. “Sometimes people come with you, other times they miss it.”
Even his record label didn’t understand what was happening when he delivered The Style Council’s final album, Modernism: A New Decade, in 1989. Fearful of how Weller’s new deep house direction would fare commercially, Polydor decided to drop the band, which subsequently broke up. The following few years were tough for Weller, who was reduced to playing small venues in front of fans still itching for him to play Jam songs.
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No one has laid down any maps. We all make it up as we go along.
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A new dad again at 53, Paul Weller has mellowed with age. And he’s possibly producing his best music ever.
“There was a very depressing, lonely stage after the Style Council,” says Weller. “But then with [second solo album] Wild Wood it’s like we all met again – me and the audience.” Fast forward to 2012 and Weller has just delivered the final piece in a trilogy of albums that might just be his best. Continued on the next page
Culture club “The twins are great, although I’m sleeping a lot less than I used to.” That Dangerous Age is, however, inspired by the reaction to the announcement of his relationship with Hannah, some 28 years his junior. “Oh, the scandal,” he says, mockingly. “And I’ve got children by different women. How shocking! “It’s about how we view people of certain ages. How are people supposed to dress and act when they get older? “No one has laid down any maps. We all make it up as we go along.
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It’s a great leveller, having kids. It’s funny seeing me on stage one minute, this rock god, then washing bottles in the sink the next.
“It’s mainly just about this guy earning all the bucks in his job but regretting all the things he’s not done. But I got my midlife crisis out of the way in my late thirties.”
His creative rejuvenation began back on 2008’s 22 Dreams, a sprawling double album which incorporated pastoral folk, spoken work and free jazz. The follow-up, Wake Up The Nation, a call to arms for the youth to “get your face out of Facebook and turn off the phone”, saw the return of the fire in Weller’s belly. Sonik Kicks, his latest album, continues that line of eclectic experimentation. Taking in Krautrock, dub reggae and Bowie-esque blue-eyed soul, it’s certainly not the record you would expect him to make as he approaches his 54th birthday. “Objectively I can see it has been a creative time, yes,” he says. “I feel liberated to try new things, or at least I want to try other things. Weller’s never been the most autobiographical of songwriters, but with That Dangerous Age, his current single, he comes close. It deals with a character in his 50s, unfulfilled by his comfortable life and well-paid job, going through something of a mid-life crisis. But that’s not Weller – he’s just become a dad to twins JohnPaul and Bowie with his new wife Hannah and sounds happier than he has done in years. “It’s a great leveller, having kids. It’s funny seeing me on stage one minute, this rock god, then washing bottles in the sink the next.
Weller’s excesses are well-documented. He did his fair share of drugs during the ‘90s and started a love affair with boozing while playing working men’s clubs as a teenager. He’s sober now, though, and claims not to have touched a drop in about a year. “Stopping drinking has made me saner. It’s changed an awful lot of things, and now I wouldn’t want to go back to those ways. I’m getting too old for it, and I can’t be arsed with threeday hangovers. “I just enjoy life more now – and I don’t feel terrible in the morning any more.”
EXTRA TIME PAUL WELLER r er got his first guita :: John William Well s d when he wa when he was 11 an m with two friends Ja e 14 he formed Th d its debut single In :: The Jam release fore Weller's 19th The City a month be birthday um eller's 11th solo alb :: Sonik Kicks is W the on e number on and went straight to UK album chart.
Culture club
Just a ‘Stones’ throw away Peter Clarke, Secretary from our St Mary Cray and Dartford Branch, once lived above an unknown band called the Rolling Stones. Here he reminisces about his student days in an open letter to the now world famous group. Did you know anyone before they became famous? Send us your story. Email ezine@oddfellows.co.uk
The Rolling Stones, circa 1963.
Peter Clarke - today and in the ‘60s
(Photo by Steve Lewis/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Dear Mick and the guys, You might not remember me, but I certainly remember you. I used to live above you at 102 Edith Grove. I’m the guy who loved jazz and blues. I was the one who used to wake you up so that you could attend the London School of Economics – or was it Art College? Talk about living the part. The year was 1963. I was 21 and just a little older you. You were hoping to hit the ‘big time’. You said you were going to be bigger than The Beatles. How right you were. One evening my friends and I were at home, listening to the radio. Suddenly we heard the DJ say: “We now have a record from a brand new group, The Rolling Stones, and it’s called Come On. We could hardly believe our ears, we stayed up waiting for you to get home from your gig in Richmond, so we could tell you. You were ecstatic. From then on, whenever we used to leave the house there’d be a crowd of girls waiting outside. Eventually the crowd got so big that we couldn’t get out of the door. And there’d always be a couple of short-sighted girls who would attack anyone leaving the house. What a life you must all have had! But your success wasn’t all down to luck. It was through hard work, determination and a great sound. I can vouch for that. Peter P.S. Can we have our coffee, milk and sugar back now please? I’m sure you can afford to buy your own these days!
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Food & drink “My favourite thing about the Oddfellows is that all the events are aimed at foodies like me. We even went on a tour of an English vineyard recently – I’ll drink to that!” George - Brighton
Good food fights back Andy and Tish Jeffrey could have been forgiven for abandoning the farmshop trade. They launched their business near Bristol in 1991 when they were in their thirties and served 400 customers a week for the next four years – only for a new supermarket to open nextdoor and halve their turnover overnight. It was hardly the reward all their work deserved, and for a while they feared it would mean the end. And yet now, thanks to a remarkable turnaround, the couple are celebrating being crowned 2012 UK Farm Retailer of the Year by the National Farmers’ Retail and Markets Association (FARMA). FARMA describes their farmshop, called Farrington’s after the village of Farrington Gurney where it’s based, as an “excellent example of professional management in farm retailing” – a far cry from the business’s humble beginnings. Andy was a dairy farmer back then, while Tish was producing children at a rate of knots. They decided to set up the shop simply for some extra cash and enjoyment. “When we started we’d get one or maybe two customers a day,” explains Andy. “It was one of those farmshops you could draw a caricature of – straw bales everywhere, freezing cold and with the farmer’s wife coming out of the kitchen to serve the customers.” In time, slowly but surely, the Jeffreys managed to build up a reasonably solid business.
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But then the supermarket arrived – and Farrington’s future was instantly thrown into doubt. “Until that point the farmshop had been supporting the farm, but that was suddenly reversed,” says Andy. “Before we knew it we’d lost half of our custom.” The shop limped on until 1999, when the Jeffreys decided it was do-or-die time and sought out expert advice. They were given a list of 30 things a successful farmshop should do. It turned out theirs wasn’t doing any of them. It was the wake-up call they needed. Determined to succeed, they set about modernising the shop and spent almost two years securing the finance for their ambitious plans. In February 2001, just four months before Farrington’s was due to re-open, the foot-and-mouth crisis hit the UK. But still Andy and Tish remained undeterred. Now Farrington’s boasts a large café and a production kitchen where all the homemade food – from soups to salads, cakes to chutneys, jams, pies and even ready-meals – is created. By inviting smaller start-up businesses on-site, Andy and Tish also have a range of other shops, including a beauty salon, a bakery and a recently opened plant centre. This month they even launched their first ‘Tulip Trail’, allowing customers to pick their own tulips from a field of 100,000 – an idea that has earned national press coverage. They now hope to develop their on-site entertainment and homemade food range even further, with planning permission for more retail spaces and a bigger production kitchen. Continued on the next page
Food & drink now,” he says. “It’s not just about preparing meals from scratch but using healthy, good-quality ingredients. This is something twenty-somethings are getting increasingly savvy about.” But Paul strikes a note of caution at the idea that customers are willing to pay any price. “It’s about choice, of course, but it’s also about how much an individual can afford to exploit that choice with the money in their pocket,” he says. “I think people are forced out of some farmshops because of price, even though they understand the importance of quality. We try not to exclude anyone. We’re not an elitist farmshop where everything for sale has two noughts on the end of it.” Guest chef Tim Martin offers tasters from his range-cooked lunch in the Udder Room “The retail trade is tough,” admits Andy. “People just aren’t getting their wallets out like they used to. But we’re benefiting from having other businesses here, and winning the FARMA award reinforces to our customers that they’re coming to the right place.”
This strategy certainly seems to be working, with honours and recognition – including the Countryside Alliance’s 2011 British Champions of Local Food award – coming thick and fast. The team is also growing. With more than 80 people now employed on-site, Farrington’s is one of rural Britain’s great success stories. But one thing has remained constant throughout the business’s rise from empty barn to industry leader: the couple at the heart of it.
As might be expected, ethically sourced food is considered of great importance. “We’ve always promoted the local side of where and how things are produced, and our success shows people want that,” says Andy. “We try to do everything as best we can,” adds Tish. “And if we can’t do it ourselves then we find someone who can.” Enter Paul Castle, Farrington’s Business Manager since 2009, who jokingly proclaims himself the Jeffreys’ “marriage counsellor”. Credited by his employers with leading the team to their current success, he has his own theory regarding the growing demand for good food. “The younger generation has been brought up in the Jamie Oliver environment, and they understand about food more
The farmshop
Win a fantastic Farrington’s hamper worth £50! The prize on offer provides one winner with a hamper of produce from Farrington’s farmshop up to the value of £50. Delivered straight to your door, the hamper comes packed with home produced seasonal goods from the UK’s 2012 Farm Retailer of the Year. To enter, simply sign someone up to Friendscene magazine. Email subscribe@oddfellows.co.uk with the email address of your friend or family member by Friday 5 May and you’ll both be entered into the prize draw. Good luck! Competition terms and conditions 1) Please ensure you have the permission of the person you are nominating to subscribe to Friendscene before you submit their details. When we have received confirmation of their willingness to subscribe, you’ll both be entered into the prize draw. 2) Only one entry allowed per applicant (aged 18 or over). 3) The deadline for entries is before 5 May 2012 – any entries received after this time will not be counted. 4) The winning entries will be chosen at random from all entries and notified within three weeks. 5) This prize cannot be exchanged for another option. 6) The Oddfellows reserves the right to change the details of this competition without prior notice. Please note prize contents and presentation may differ from picture and final decision rests with Farrington’s. For further details, please contact ezine@oddfellows.co.uk
Food & drink
Guest recipe - Sablé breton with orange cream, poached rhubarb and stem ginger ice cream Supplied by Heather Hurley, awarding-winning chef at the Carpenters Arms, Great Wilbraham, Cambridgeshire The Carpenters Arms Owners Richard and Heather Hurley spent 23 years living in France, running an award-winning restaurant for six years in the southern town of Villefranche de Conflent. Since buying this pub in 2009, they’ve refurbished it extensively and now offer à la carte French food, Sunday roasts and lunch menus. They won a Good Pub Guide award for 2012. Visit the website
Sablé breton Ingredients 225g flour Pinch of salt 1tsp baking powder
160g butter 160g caster sugar 4 x egg yolks
Method Sift the flour, baking powder and salt and put aside. Cream the butter and then add the sugar and cream until light and fluffy. Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time and then fold in the flour mixture. Shape the mixture into a log and then chill in the fridge. Once it’s firm, cut it into slices and bake at 180˚C for 8-10 minutes.
Orange cream Ingredients 1 x 250ml tub whipping cream The zest of 1 small orange (finely grated, less 2 strips peeled off) 1tbsp Grand Marnier
Method Whip the cream until stiff peaks form, then add the zest and the Grand Marnier. Whip it again until stiff peaks form and then put the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a nozzle and chill in the fridge until it’s ready to use.
Poached rhubarb Ingredients
Stem ginger ice cream Ingredients 600ml chilled double cream 1 x carton of readymade custard 450g jar of ginger in syrup
Method Drain the jar of ginger, reserving the syrup, and chop the ginger finely. Mix the custard with the cream, then stir in the chopped ginger and 4 tablespoons of the syrup. Chill for at least 30 minutes before pouring the mixture into a plastic tub and freezing it until it starts to crystallise. Take it out of the freezer and stir well, then put back in the freezer, repeating the process twice more to finish.
5 or 6 good sticks of rhubarb
Method Cut the rhubarb into 1 inch-pieces and place in an ovenproof dish with 2 tablespoons of caster sugar and 2 strips of orange peel. Poach it in the oven at 175˚C until soft but not breaking down. Check after 10 minutes and then every 5 minutes thereafter. It should still be pink but soft.
To serve Take 1 sablé and place it on a serving plate. Pipe the orange cream into the middle and place some rhubarb alongside it. Finish with a scoop of ginger ice cream.
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Around Britain “These days we take ‘staycations’ in the UK to keep costs down. But wherever we go there are always Oddfellows events to entertain us.” Lesley - South Yorkshire
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Bury St Edmunds A guide to the former Villa Faustina, or ‘happy town’, of Roman Britain
What’s worth seeing? Bury St Edmunds has a strong ecclesiastical history, with its abbey ruins and its cathedral proving longestablished and popular tourist attractions. Every May visitors from around the country are welcomed to the Bury St Edmunds Festival, which features several days of events such as concerts, lectures and firework displays.
The town of Bury St Edmunds has a long and rich history. It was once one of the most famous royal towns in Saxon Britain, and this month we pay it a visit to show you why it’s worth you making the trip.
Around and about
In Thetford, on what was once the site of a castle, you can climb the highest Norman motte in England. Visit Newmarket for a flutter on the horses. Or head to Colchester, which dates back to 75 AD and is supposedly Britain’s oldest recorded town.
To sum it up in one sentence…
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No matter where you are, you’ll always receive a warm and entertaining welcome
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Travel a bit further afield and some of England’s prettiest towns and villages await.
And a trip to this part of the world wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Green King brewery or sampling its wares at one of the UK’s smallest pubs, the Nutshell.
(Geoffrey House, Bury St Edmunds resident and Oddfellows Branch Secretary)
John Le Mesurier
Famous children • Bob Hoskins
• John Le Mesurier (pictured)
• James Moore (cyclist)
• Lord Tebbit
• John Peel
• Rose Mead (artist)
The abbey ruins, Bury St Edmunds
Around Britain On the ground: our members from Bury St Edmunds and Colchester
Geoffrey House, Branch Secretary for Bury St Edmunds and Colchester, tells us what’s so special about his local area – and explains some of the exciting events planned for the District.
Vital statistics •
Oddfellows have been meeting in the area since 1840
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The District now has 1,500 members
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Today’s District brings together four historical Branches: Babergh, Castle, Gipping and St Edmundsbury
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For further details contact Geoff on 01284 754345.
“The first thing anyone ever says about our District is how friendly everyone is here. We’ve got members living in Thetford, Sudbury, Brandon and Newmarket, as well as Colchester and Bury St Edmunds, of course. We’re proud of our history here and we’re always looking for ways of combining our rich traditions with new and exciting ways to socialise.
No matter where you are, and what event you’re attending, you’ll always receive a warm and entertaining welcome. We always try to organise interesting events; you’ll find a few examples on the next page to get you started.
Around Britain
Events being organised by the District Wednesday 2 May – 10am Wednesday Walkers, glorious bluebells Join us for a walk through Arger Fen in Suffolk to admire the bluebells and enjoy the woodland. This regular event is open to all. The venue changes each time, taking in the best sights from around the region. Guests are advised to follow the A134 to Assington and park next to the Village Hall. For more details contact diana.randall@oddfellows.co.uk or call 01206 330962. Cost: Free Address: Arger Fen, Assington, CO10 5LQ Thursday 31 May – 12pm Trip to Geldeston Hall Babergh Branch will be spending the afternoon at Geldeston Hall, a country house in Norfolk that was built in 1780. After a tour of the building and grounds, the trip will conclude with afternoon tea overlooking the Waveney Valley. For more details call Margaret Parmenter on 01787 370537. Cost: £14 (members) or £19 (non-members) Address: Geldeston Hall, NR34 0LP © Invitation to View
Monday 11 June – 7pm Barbecue Not a member? Then why not find out more about the Oddfellows as our Stowmarket members hold their first annual barbecue. There will be a selection of food and drink available and the evening will be rounded off with a toast to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. For more details, email david.randall@oddfellows.co.uk or call 01206 330962. Cost: Donations welcome Address: The Old Library, Stowmarket, IP14 1BE
Friday 15 June – 9.30am Trip to Dunwich and Southwold This fabulous day trip will whisk guests away by bus to the famous Flora restaurant, overlooking the beach in Dunwich. The trip will then continue on to Southwold in the afternoon. Here, you will be able to stroll on the pier, visit the lighthouse or just relax by the sea. Don’t forget to book in advance and don’t forget the suncream! Cost: £13pp (members) or £16pp (non-members) Address: Coach travel from Bury St Edmunds If you’d like to attend any of these events, please contact Social Secretary Rose Wojtasz on 01284 754 345 or email rose.wojtasz@oddfellows.co.uk.
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Active Travel “I went to Austria with the Oddfellows last summer. Everything was taken care of – the only thing I had to worry about was making sure to enjoy myself.” Paula - Manchester
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Live like a king We take you to the luxurious Bodelwyddan Castle - venue of the Oddfellows 2012 Summer Holiday Set in 200 acres of pristine Victorian parkland and characterised by the battlements and bastions of authentic Welsh castles, Bodelwyddan Castle is a magnificent Victorian folly that speaks of the luxury and opulence of a bygone era. Listed by English Heritage as nationally important, the building boasts an intriguing combination of Gothic, Greek Revival and Jacobean architecture. Although the public areas have retained a dated splendour, the hotel rooms are classic contemporary and feature all the mod-cons necessary for a comfortable and pleasurable country break.
The Oddfellows run an Active Travel Club and below are details of one of the many holidays organised this year Oddfellows Summer Holiday - Bodelwyddan Castle, North Wales Monday 2 - Friday 6 July 2012 Member rate £249pp (half board) a saving of £155 off brochure price For room supplements enquire when booking Half price upgrades available 2J Break includes • Ensuite Ambassador room • Health suite with swimming pool, sauna, steam room and tropicarium • Breakfast and three-course evening meals • Live entertainment each evening • Full range of leisure activities • Four-rink indoor bowls complex
uly 20 12
(4 nig hts)
For details and bookings click here. Non-member enquiries visit the website or call Paula on 0161 832 9361 ext 2311
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Home & garden “Sorting out the garden is how I like to relax. An expert gave a talk at my local Oddfellows branch – it helped me no end.” Christine - Derbyshire
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Solar panels still delivering 10% return despite cuts
EvoEnergy, the UK’s leading independent solar installation firm, says returns are actually higher now than they were a year ago when the feed in tariff (FIT) – the amount the government pays for every unit of electricity generated – was 43.3p.
EvoEnergy Director Tom Craig is predicting another rush for installations before the 1 July deadline when the FIT rates are expected to drop again to between 13.6p and 16.5p per kilowatt. There are also plans to reduce the payment period from 25 to 20 years and scrap the index linking of payments. He said: “Many people procrastinated about installing when the rate was 43.3p. We’re in another sweet spot where installation costs have fallen sufficiently to make the new FIT rate look very attractive.
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We live in an area of outstanding natural beauty, so I chose black panels with black frames to match the slate roof on our house. They look absolutely beautiful.
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Reductions in solar panel prices and intense competition among installers mean householders who fit solar panels before 1 July can still generate returns of over 10% a year.
“There are less than three months to go before the numbers all change again. Anyone sitting on cash earning under 3% a year should really be considering the solar option and quickly.” Last month’s widely-publicised reduction in the FIT to 21p has led many to believe solar is no longer financially attractive, but further industry-wide installation price cuts have reignited investment returns. EvoEnergy says its own costs for installing a basic 4kWp Solar PV system have almost halved in the space of two years – falling from over £16,000 in April 2010 to £8,500 today. At the current FIT rate householders can expect the system to pay for itself in under nine years and generate a return on investment of 11.7% (index-linked for 25 years).
Pat Lowe, pictured above, from Annesley in Nottinghamshire, was delighted with her solar panels. “We live in an area of outstanding natural beauty, so I chose black panels with black frames to match the slate roof on our house. They look absolutely beautiful,” she said. “The installation team were very polite and they didn't make any mess. And everyone we dealt with was so pleasant and professional.”
Home & Garden
Ask George
Is your garden giving you grief? Well, fear not, help is at hand. George Hill is here to answer your gardening problem. And if we publish your question in next month’s edition we’ll send you a fantastic gardening kit absolutely free! This includes two brand new pairs of dazzling gardening gloves, a stainless steel trowel and ten packs of assorted seeds to get you started. All thanks to Joe’s Garden and Suttons Seeds. Email ezine@oddfellows.co.uk today.
Q: “I would like to grow tomatoes but I’m unsure what variety to plant, what would you suggest? And what’s the best method for planting them?” Robert, Nottingham A: My favourite variety of tomato is Shirley. But if you want a really big tomato with an old-fashioned flavour then moneymaker is still one of the best. To grow the best tomatoes, keep your greenhouse or windowsill reasonably warm but not too hot. If you open the greenhouse door during the day, remember to close it in time to trap some warm air in there overnight. Stake the plants once they’re growing well and try to plant your tomatoes with the trusses facing south – this helps them when ripening later in the season. Feed them with blood, bone and fish as they grow, and then once they’re 2–3ft tall you can give the plants a drink of liquid fertiliser maxi-crop. This contains lots of iron and is a very good feed for tomatoes.
Once the plant has grown roughly 4–6 trusses, pinch the top out to stop it growing any taller. Then remove any side-shoots that emerge after that. When tying supports to the plant, tie the string on to the stake before tying it to the plant. And always tie the string below the trusses so that the weight of the plant is supported throughout the season. Once the plant begins to crop in the summer, ease off on the watering and cut back some of the foliage to help the tomatoes redden.
Home & Garden
George in the garden: April
Things are really moving on this month, but we need some warm rain to help the garden grow. Without it we’ll struggle, so let’s hope we get those traditional April showers before too long. My favourite plant right now The forsythia. It’s a lovely shrub with yellow flowers that’s well worth having in the garden. The flower garden • Take cuttings from the perennials in your herbaceous borders to start young plants off • Finish sowing the last of your hardy annuals • Get your sweet peas planted out now to let the root systems take hold • Continue de-heading your daffodils and violas • If you’ve got plenty of room in your greenhouse, start making up your hanging baskets ready to move outside in June
The fruit garden • Mulch your raspberries and blackberries with well-rotted compost or farmyard manure to give them a liquid feed every time it rains • Spray your raspberries and apples if you see any early signs of disease The vegetable patch • Sow your celery now, as well as carrots, marrows, parsley, courgettes, asparagus and peas • Plant your main potato varieties like Desiree; this is my favourite variety as it makes lovely chips
George’s focus: pruning back spring and summer plants As soon as your spring and summer plants have finished flowering, cut them right back. This will prevent seed heads from forming, which can take vital nutrients out of the plant.
New Member Benefit This fantastic 10% discount offer for Oddfellows members at www.suttons.co.uk will brighten up your garden. Suttons is an internationally renowned supplier of flower and vegetable seeds, young plants, bulbs, fruit bushes and other horticultural products to amateur gardeners. They have a reputation for quality and service that is second to none and a remarkable history that goes back over two hundred years. Members are eligible to receive a 10% discount on anything on the Suttons website, from seeds and bulbs to gardening equipment and greenhouses. To take advantage of your exclusive Oddfellows 10% discount click here*. *You will need to be signed in as a member to access the Members' Benefits page.
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Sport & leisure “I’ve never really been ‘sporty’, but I try to keep fit. My local Oddfellows branch now hosts a walking club. It’s great to get some fresh air, and we always have a good time.” Diana - Essex
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Put some spring in your step There are hundreds of events organised by the Oddfellows going on across the UK every month. Here are just a few to get you started...
See the sea - 24 April On 24 April you can spend the day enjoying the sea air near Lytham. The relaxed trip will begin at 10.30am from King George’s Hall in Blackburn where transport will be arranged. Once by the sea, you’ll get the chance for a coastal walk, some lunch and shopping or a wander around Fairhaven Lake. If you’re interested, please call Nigel on 07966 689 436 before the day.
Rambling on - 27 April For the more adventurous among you, try this three hour walk around Hart Village near Hartlepool on 27 April. Once you’ve worked up an appetite you can finish with lunch at the Horseshoe Inn in Levisham. Contact david.smith@oddfellows.co.uk for more details.
Cracking the code - 2 May Our members from North West Kent will be visiting the famous Bletchley Park on 2 May for a full day out – including guided tours and a buffet lunch. Commonly known as the birthplace of modern computing, the buildings here were home to the brave British code-breakers during WWII and were later made famous through the film Enigma. Tickets for this fantastic day out cost £35 for members or £40 for non-members. For more details, contact Barbara Huntley on 01322 227712 or email blackstonhuntley@talktalk.net.
Come to the rescue - 3 May Visit the Heath House in Oswestry, Shropshire, on 3 May for a three-course meal and a guided tour. Made famous by the TV show Country House Rescue, the house’s grounds and gardens make for a fantastic day out. Contact vivien.byrne@oddfellows.co.uk for more details.
If you go down to the woods today - 5 May Our Tunbridge Wells members will be exploring Hemsted Forest Country Park on 5 May, and the day is open to all. A walk through the pine plantation will be followed by lunch at a nearby pub. Bletchley Park
Contact Brian on 01580 241616 for more details. For more information on any of these events, or to find another event in your area, visit the Oddfellows events webpage or email events@oddfellows.co.uk.
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Discoveries “I’ve promised myself I’ll try new things, and I can do that thanks to the Oddfellows. My friends never thought I’d try paragliding, but it was of the best things I’ve ever done!” Karen - Nottingham
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The latest news from the world around us Running wild: why the great outdoors is more important to children than ever A new National Trust report sheds light on the growing problem of ‘Nature Deficiency Disorder’ (NDD) among mobile-mad youngsters. The findings show that children are losing contact with nature at an alarming rate and this is impacting on their happiness, education and personal development. Anxious parents, the lure of technology and traffic are just some of the reasons why today’s children are less likely to climb trees or build dens than previous generations, says the Trust. According to the report, NDD is on the rise as a result. NDD was coined in 2005 by Richard Louv – co-founder of the Children & Nature Network – to describe the suggested link between “alienation from nature” and “diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties and higher rates of illness”. Stephen Moss, the report’s author, said: “The natural world doesn’t come with an instruction manual, so it teaches you to use your creative imagination.”
Heated debate New research suggests our human ancestors may have discovered fire one million years ago. Scientists in South Africa have found evidence of an early human species using fire 300,000 years earlier than previously thought. The study claims to have found burnt remains of fires and bone fragments at Wonderwerk cave dating back 1.8 million years, when our ancestor Homo Erectus roamed the earth. Determining when humans first began using fire has been historically difficult, and critics believe the remains are the result of natural fires. But the scientists involved say the location – 30 meters from the cave entrance – indicates fires were started deliberately in the same spot regularly.
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Health & wellbeing “The Oddfellows give so much. I wish more people knew about the great services they have to offer.” Paul - London
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The Oddfellows helping to make a difference Which priorities are the researchers focusing on at the moment? There’s some exciting research happening into something called Chondroitinase. This is a biological molecule which breaks down scar tissue inside the central nervous system. It’s a bit like cartilage or the other building blocks found in the body. It’s got lots of different functions, but we’ve learnt that its production is increased after a spinal cord injury. This creates an impenetrable, biochemical barrier that makes it very
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To announce a significant breakthrough in this field would be worldwide news, and I feel we’re in a phase where it’s actually conceivable.
difficult for the central nervous system to repair itself. So we’ve got projects looking at how this happens and how we might overcome it.
2012 marks the end of a three year funding commitment to Spinal Research UK – the leading charity researching the treatment of spinal cord injuries. In total, the Oddfellows is donating just over £90,000 to support clinical researchers across the world, and the results already look promising.
We’re investigating rehabilitation, too, and looking at ways we can encourage natural repair processes that occur after spinal cord injuries. Is there one area of research making particularly good progress? Cell-based therapies are delivering some exciting results. One such therapy involves helper cells called oligodendrocytes that surround the axons – or nerve fibres – and act as
Dr Mark Bacon, the charity’s Director of Research, explains how the money is helping during what are exciting times for clinical neuroscience: Tell us about your role As the Director of Research, my main responsibilities are to manage the grants we receive and ensure our research strategy is based around our key priorities. There are so many things we want to understand about spinal cord injuries and how we might repair them that we have to set priorities. We don’t do any research in-house, but we supply grants to academics and other research centres to fund projects using the best science, regardless of where they are in the world.
Neuron connections within the body Continued on the next page
Health & wellbeing exciting place to be. How have public attitudes changed towards this area of research? I think people are beginning to realise that a spinal cord injury can happen to anyone. But we all have a lot on our minds, so elevating it to a point where the general public recognise it as a high priority – that’s the big challenge.
insulation for the central nervous system. Just like a copper wire in an electrical system, nerves need insulation if they are to work effectively. When a spinal injury occurs, these helper cells get damaged along with the axons and the death of one cell can affect multiple nerve fibres. So we’re developing ways of re-wrapping those nerve fibres with new insulating cells in the hope that some of the lost function will return. What sort of progress has Spinal Research made since it started? Twenty years ago, our research would have looked at what happens physiologically after a spinal cord injury; we knew the effect but not the clear cause. But since then we’ve begun to piece together what goes wrong at a cellular level. We’re moving into a different phase now. In the last 10 years we’ve gone from basic fundamental science to an era where we might actually use that knowledge to develop successful treatments. There’s still the basic science to be done, but we’re at a point where clinical trials are being planned. It’s a really
Ours is one of the most difficult areas of medicine to publicise. Advances can seem slow – even glacial at times – but research is constantly developing. Do you think there will come a time when medicine will actually be able to help someone in a wheelchair to walk again? I think it’s reasonable to conceive of a time where we have much better treatments than we do now. But every individual’s cure priority comes from the perspective of their individual injury. For example, a sufferer who cannot breathe unaided would see the ability to breathe unaided once more as a far greater priority than being able to walk. Inevitably, the newsworthy event will come when medicine gets someone in a wheelchair to walk again. Yet just because we haven’t done that so far, it doesn’t mean we aren’t making progress. Some time in the relatively near future we might have drugs which can be administered soon after an accident to limit spinal cord injuries. And we might improve the arsenal of treatments at our disposal for that patient later on, restoring function further and improving their quality of life significantly. But we must recognise that the treatment people receive now is just rehabilitation – there’s still no effective cure. There’s a broad spectrum of outcomes for someone with a spinal cord injury, and the recovery of anything that gives them a greater quality of life will be a major achievement. Final word... To announce a significant breakthrough in this field would be worldwide news. It would be a game-changer, and I feel we’re in a phase of research now where it’s actually conceivable. Dr Mark Bacon is the Director of Research at Spinal Research. For more information about fundraising, or the charity, please contact Anna Coassin on 01483 898786 or visit www.spinal-research.org. Or you can text SPIN41 £5 to 70070 to donate £5 to Spinal Research.
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Money “When I had money worries the Oddfellows put me in touch with the right people who could help. They were with me every step of the way.” Pam - Cambridgeshire
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Investors advised: be vigilant as boiler room fraudsters get desperate
Warnings over share fraud schemes saved investors up to £1m last year, according to new figures from the Financial Services Authority. Statistics show the number of people contacted by “boiler room” fraudsters – so-called because of the cramped, highpressure offices in which the traditionally work – actually increased by 19% in 2011 compared to 2010. But the message to investors to keep their money safe appears to be getting through, with a 7% drop in the number of people investing in fraudulent schemes. Now, to help people remain vigilant, the FSA has launched a new online video that explains how to spot fraudsters. It details what boiler room fraud is, how it operates and, most importantly, how consumers can avoid becoming victims. View it online now. Jonathan Phelan, the FSA’s head of unauthorised business, said: “It’s encouraging that the number of people who actually parted with their money has dropped. This suggests our warnings about unauthorised firms are getting through.” Boiler room fraud normally involves using phone calls and high-pressure sales tactics to convince investors to part with their money. Victims are persuaded to invest in non-tradable, overpriced or even non-existent shares run by unauthorised overseas companies whose actions aren’t covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Those who fall prey rarely get their money back, losing an average of £20,000 – and the FSA believes fraudsters are developing evermore sophisticated deceptions. Some 450 cloned firms were reported in 2011 – three times as many as in the year before. Phelan added: “A 7% drop in victims might seem small, but it’s possible that around a million pounds in consumer losses may have been prevented. “The strongest weapon against scams remains common sense. Check who you’re dealing with and never forget that if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is.” The FSA advises anyone concerned that they’ve been contacted by a suspicious company to contact 0845 6061234 or report the incident online.
Congratulations! Well done to Terence Johnson from Hull and Audrey Naylor from Ipswich – you’ve both won a fantastic prize package to attend the Springhead Brewery’s first annual beer festival. Thanks to everyone else who entered; keep reading Friendscene every month for more chances to win other prizes.
Special offer for members Members can take advantage of exclusive discount offers, available throughout the year. See below for details about one of the discounts available. To access other special offers, log on to the members’ section of the website www.oddfellows.co.uk and click on members’ benefits.
Offers 10% off French cooking holidays with Cook in France. Learn to cook the way you’ve always dreamed on one of these fun, friendly cooking holidays in South-West France. They offer flexible programmes to suit novice, intermediate and advanced cooks alike. And there’s no washing up to do either.
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Buy one get one free on 100% natural soluble food supplements from ‘Works with Water’. They’re scientifically proven to help maintain low cholesterol, blood pressure and healthy skin.
15% off comprehensive exercise programmes with Home Exercise and Rehab. These video programmes are suitable for all – whether you’re recovering from injury, have muscle or joint problems or just want to stay fit.