Charity & Community News

Concert band back performing in Eastergate

After their first visit in 2022, the Bognor Regis Concert Band will be back performing in the Beer Garden of The Wilkes Head pub on Sunday 6th August at 3pm for a family-friendly afternoon of live music. There is free admission and everyone is welcome. The Wilkes Head, Church Lane, Eastergate, PO20 3UT. Visit their Facebook page or email brconcertband@gmail.com for further information about the band.

Special events for Arundel Museum anniversary www.arundelmuseum.org 01903 885866

This year is the 10th anniversary of Arundel Museum opening in Mill Road, opposite the entrance to Arundel Castle. To mark this milestone, a series of special events and exhibitions is planned.

The museum is an independent, self-funding charity originally founded in 1962 by local people, and is run by volunteers. It tells the story of Arundel including the castle, river and its people.

A special exhibition which marks 150 years of Arundel Cathedral is on until 11th August. In October, a new exhibition will focus on rebuilding Arundel Castle in the 19th century. Throughout the year there are family activities including art workshops, talks, town walks, craft fairs, heritage days and more. A gift shop and Lavazza coffees are also available. The Museum relies on visitors and supporters. Joining as a member allows free entry, discounted event tickets and newsletter.

Railway bridge objection overturned snails and they first appeared on the planet 550 million years ago, equally at home in the tropics, desert or deep water.

Arun District Council's objection to a new stepped railway bridge to replace the Birch level crossing at Barnham was overturned on appeal. The council had refused the application over accessibility concerns for people with disabilities, cyclists and parents. The Planning Inspector approved it after requiring some design improvements for cyclists but not wheelchair users.

The largest is the African snail with a record of 38cm long and the smallest is .8 of a millimetre.

Shelley has up to 14,000 little teeth that rasp bits of leaf off. They can take about a week to travel one kilometre, have a small lung to breath, and are deaf and almost blind despite their popping out eyes.

Their sexual habits are amazing. Hermaphrodite, they can circle each other for up to 6 -12 hours in a slime fest, and then when they are ready, they shoot love darts into each of their bodies. The mucus on the tip of the dart activates their spurm retaining systems to better aid conception. After

They have represented the Deadly Sin of Sloth in the past, and have been eaten in most cultures, even in Scotland during famines. Some cultures eat their eggs which are known as White Caviar. Shelley hates direct sunlight and their mucus trail, serving as a slimy path to slide on, works best at night when there is no sunlight to dry it up. They will often ride along another snail's slime path. During Winter they block the entrance to their little shell and hibernate underground. They live between 2-5 years but in captivity they can live up to 25 years!

A snail form Egypt lay dormant in a glass cabinet in the British Museum for over 100 years before it started moving again, living for a year and a half.

Whilst we generally hate them, they are a vital source of food to toads, birds, beetles, mice and hedgehogs.

Every Garden Advice show has a snail question. Recently the RHS did a large experiment using all sorts of physical barriers and none were proven to be effective!

My friend recently picked off over 100 from amongst his vegetables, and did this every night for a week. By the 7th day he could hardly find any- so perhaps the best method is to manually remove them. However, if you are thinking of chucking them into your least favourite neighbour’s garden think again. In 2010 Mrs Brooke won the British Amateur Scientist of the Year award by painting snails with nail polish, then carrying them into a nearby woodland. Most eventually retuned, proving they have some kind of homing device. She suggests a 300 foot buffer zone would be effective! There are other methods of reducing the Shelleys of this world. The Soil Association approve Ferric phosphate though the RSPB warns that it also includes other chemicals which aren’t good for worms.

There are the beer, yogurt and fruit traps, nematodes especially effective against slugs, or you could think about creating a lovely lettuce patch for them and so distracting them from the real vegetable patch.

Whatever your relationship with Shelley, they have lived on the Earth more than half billion years. That is something!