Stevenage Dec 2020

VILLAGER The

December 2020

and Town

Life

LOCAL NEWS • LOCAL PEOPLE • LOCAL SERVICES • LOCAL CHARITIES • LOCAL PRODUCTS

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In this issue The History of Writing Christmas on a Budget

Bringing Local Business to Local People Every Month in the Stevenage Area

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Inside this issue...

RSPCA Annual review - The Best Bits......................28 Christmas on a Budget...........................................31 The Science of Snowflakes.....................................32 Hertfordshire Age UK.............................................34 Puzzle Page............................................................36 Fun Quiz.................................................................39 Win £100 in our Christmas Prize Crossword..... 42 The Gift of a Great Book..........................................46 Useful Numbers.....................................................47

Be Canny with Credit Cards

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Discovering Bath

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The History of Writing..............................................4 Ways to support EAAA this Christmas.......................8 Wines worth locating: Hirschmugl!........................13 Colour Therapy this Christmas................................18 Be Canny with Credit Cards....................................20 Discovering Bath....................................................22 Festive Baking........................................................24 Hard-working Ivy...................................................27

Get your business off to a flying start this year

Advertise with the Villager Magazine... prices start from just £30.00 +VAT per month Editorial: Catherine Rose, EAAA, Trevor Langley, Jennie Billings, Solange Hando, Rachael Leverton, RSPCA, Kate Duggan, Louise Addison and Age UK

Advertising Sales/Local Editorial Nigel Frost • Tel 01767 261122 nigel@villagermag.com Photography - Wavebreak Media Ltd Design and Artwork Design 9 • Tel 07762 969460 www.design9marketing.co.uk

Publishers Villager Publications Ltd 24 Market Square, Potton, Bedfordshire SG19 2NP Tel: 01767 261122 Email: nigel@villagermag.com www.villagermag.com

Disclaimer - All adverts and editorial are printed in good faith, however, Villager Publications Ltd can not take any responsibility for the content of the adverts, the services provided by the advertisers or any statements given in the editorial.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored without the express permission of the publisher.

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History

The History of Writing

By Catherine Rose

December brings with it one of the biggest annual tasks – sending out our Christmas cards! But while you are busy penning your festive wishes to friends and family, you are also taking part in one of humankind’s greatest achievements: communication through the art of writing.

Writing has only been in existence for around five thousand years. It was invented a long time after spoken language, which developed tens of thousands of years ago. What is astonishing is that all written languages, although very different in appearance, can be traced back to common origins and a lightbulb moment in writing’s development known as the Rebus Principle.

Universally amongst human cultures, history has always been passed down verbally over time through songs, poetry and stories. The human impulse to be creative has also led to expression through art, and the earliest forms of written communication were through pictographs and pictograms: drawings of objects and illustrations of a concept the artist wanted to communicate.

Illustrations like this can be seen in the oldest cave paintings. Early pictographs were also used as accounts, such as listing belongings that were to be traded or sacrificed; for example, a sheaf of wheat or a cow. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics famously used a variety of pictograms.

However, people quickly found that pictograms alone were not always enough to convey complex ideas, so they were adapted to not only represent what they were, but to additionally stand for

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spoken sounds. Words could then be built up using images that did not necessarily relate to the objects themselves but could be sounded out to obtain another meaning. This was the Rebus Principle – rebus meaning ‘by things’ in Latin. It meant that people’s names could be written down, as well as their possessions and transactions. As an example, ‘sun’ and ‘son’ have different meanings but because they sound the same, they could be represented by the same symbol.

The earliest form of writing using symbols – or phonograms – to represent sounds is known as ‘cuneiform’. It was invented in ancient southern Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) by the Sumerians in order to facilitate trade. Cuneiform used a system of triangular marks made with a reed that were impressed on wet clay tablets. Examples can be seen in the British Museum.

At the same time in China, etched and (later) calligraphically painted characters, which had originally depicted objects, evolved to represent more complex words and ideas. As there are many sounds in Chinese language that are the same but mean entirely different things, extra marks or qualifiers were added to the written characters to explain the correct context of the words.

The earliest examples of Chinese writing have been found on oracle bones. These were animal bones on which a prediction or question was etched. The bone was then heated and the way it cracked could be read by a diviner to confirm the prediction or answer a question.

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In Mesoamerica, glyphs were used to represent the written form of language. Consequently, it is believed that writing was invented in three separate areas of the world along similar principles.

Alphabets we use today have common origins in the Semitic language. The Semites worked as labourers in ancient Egypt and adapted hieroglyphs to represent twenty-four different sounds, producing their own written letters.

The Phoenicians adapted this alphabet and it was spread across the Mediterranean by travelling merchants. The Greeks and Romans also adopted it for their own written languages, Greek and Latin. The discovery of the Rosetta Stone was an important development in deciphering these links, because it was written in three different scripts and could therefore be used as a codebreaking tool.

Today, the origin of our alphabet can still be traced back to Semitic pictographs. The letter ‘a’ or ‘A’, for example, was originally an ox’s head or aleph and was therefore given the sound a. The Greeks subsequently called this first letter alpha. Because of differences between cultures in reading left

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to right or right to left, letters were turned and adapted. If you flip our capital letter A upside down, it still looks like an ox head.

In the same way, the letter ‘b’ or ‘B’ was originally a drawing of a reed house or bet, producing a b sound. The Greeks subsequently called this letter beta. If you look at the original Semitic drawing of the letter, it is a square shape with a slight tail. Once again, flip it and our modern letter b is recognisable.

As with spoken language, written language has evolved over time. Punctuation and the differentiation between capital and lower-case letters were a necessary evolution of reading long texts to indicate pauses, breaths and the separation of ideas for clarity of meaning. As with qualifying marks in Chinese, a comma can make a world of difference! But it was not until the invention of printing that punctuation was standardised.

Writing has not only given us a means to post our good wishes at Christmas. It has also given us the gift of great literature and in our modern world has enabled global communication.

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7

Local News

Ways to support East Anglian Air Ambulance this Christmas 2020 has been an incredibly eventful year and one which none of us will forget in a hurry. It has also been the year that EAAA has enjoyed being Charity of the Year at The Villager. From everyone at EAAA, we’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you and hope that you have found these monthly articles insightful and inspiring.

Not many people realise that EAAA doesn’t receive regular government funding and is almost completely community funded. Some other fun facts about this life-saving charity are: on average, it costs £3,500 per mission, EAAA’s doctor and critical care paramedic teams help almost 2,000 patients a year and the charity is 24/7 by rapid response vehicle from both of its bases.

EAAA has remained operational throughout the pandemic and been active in the Covid-19 response.

Once again, its teams are prepared to support hospitals in the region if they reach capacity in intensive care, by transferring critically ill patients, by land ambulance, to other hospitals with more room.

In order to keep flying and achieve its ambition of becoming the first helicopter emergency medical service in the East of England to fly 24/7 next year, helping hundreds more people, the charity need to raise £13 million, annually.

Thanks to the incredible support of the local community, despite what has been a very challenging year for everyone, EAAA is very grateful to have met this target in ‘19/20. However, it is forecasting a loss over the next year of over one and a half million pounds, and to have to use its reserves to keep its yellow helicopters flying and saving lives. If you can, please do something to help support this incredible local lifeline.

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How can you help? Together we save lives.

There are a number of ways you can safely help EAAA over the festive period. Just visit www.eaaa.org.uk for more information on the following: 1. Attend EAAA’s virtual Christmas Carol concert on Thursday 10 December from the comfort of your own home. Tickets are available for a suggested £5 donation.

2. Support the EAAA crews this Christmas by buying them a virtual gift, such as the gift of reaching people or a blizzard blanket to help keep a patient warm.

3. Having a Christmas Light display this year? Choose to support EAAA and they will support you with a unique contactless donation poster to help keep you safe.

4. Order your Christmas cards and gifts from EAAA’s online shop. Please note, you will need to order by 10 December for delivery in time for Christmas.

5. Buy your Christmas tree from The Christmas Tree Firm in Cambridgeshire and they will donate £1 per tree to EAAA. www.thechristmastreefirm.co.uk Give a gift with a difference? Why not buy a year’s subscription to EAAA’s life-saving lottery as a gift for a loved one for £52. To order, please call: 03450 669 999 and quote The Villager.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article.

Everyone at The Villager and EAAA are wishing you a very safe and merry Christmas this year, however you’re able to mark the occasion.

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Cloudy2Clear, A Local Service With A Smile.

I think we can all agree that the sooner we see the back of 2020 and this dreadful corona virus the better. That said, there are also some heart warming positives that we can take out of this situation. It has often been said that we can only really get to know one another and realise what is truly important in times of crisis. I think few would argue that in this case what has proven to be important is local community spirit.

When talking to the Manager of Cloudy2Clear windows Stephen Moon it became clear that these values have been held dear for a number of years. Since starting the business some years ago Cloudy2Clear have remained true to their core values of

supporting the local community by providing a service that saves the public money.

The Cloudy2Clear service only requires the glass to be replaced and not the whole window once the unit has failed. Stephen commented “Cloudy2Clear were able to assist our community through the last financial crisis in 2008 due to the savings that can be made in using our service. Unfortunately we might be going through something similar again soon and the public can rest assured that we will be there to help again”.

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Food & Drink

Wines worth locating: Hirschmugl Austrian cuisine is now available and very much enjoyed, globally. The popularity of wines, produced in Austria, is now recognised and acknowledged around the world. Many have received awards, at prestigious competitions and events, in Austria and other countries, worldwide.

Weingut Hirschmugl is located in Styria, at Domaene am Seggauberg. The non-poisonous adder snake is incorporated in the company’s logo, as they are considered an indicator of a healthy environment. Grape varieties grown include Sauvignon Blanc, Welschriesling, Traminer, Muscaris, Cabernet Blanc and Cabertin.

Wines produced are classified as Styrian Drinking Pleasure, Nobilis – utilising grapes from the best locations in the vineyards, Aurum – produced in limited quantities and aged, plus Sparkling wine, which is only produced during exceptional years and Natural wine.

The combinations of soil minerals, plus climate (which includes warm days and cool nights), with much knowledge, expertise and devotion, of course, ultimately come together to produce outstanding (not a word I use lightly) wines. The winery is in an area of ancient woodlands. The Domaene Hirschmugl team works in harmony with nature – a philosophy equally as important today as it was at the outset. Included in the range of wines produced by the Hirschmugl winery are some from “PiWi” grape varieties. These “PiWi” varieties have a high, natural fungus resistance. Constantly striving to expand on skills and knowledge, Hirschmugl produces superb wines to a high standard, whilst maintaining traditions.

Decto Rosso is a wonderful brut wine. This salmoncoloured presentation has fine bubbles and a really pleasant, fruity bouquet. An elegant wine and a great appetiser, too. Cabernet Blanc I found aromatic and with a very good mouthfeel and palate sensation. Their Chardonnay and Chardonnay Nobilis (aged), with intense, full-bodied, long palates, are regular selections, for many.

Muscaris has numerous ‘devotees’, also. Dry, aromatic and with a full body, this graces many dining occasions, constantly. RWC is aged and very popular. The deep, red colour, is appreciated and extended, for bouquet, plus great pleasures on the mouth and palate. The wine bottles are eye-catching and impressively adorned with logo and labelling.

Other productions include splendid fruit vinegars, grape pit oil, plus grape pit flour and honey.

For all details, www.hirschmugl-domaene.at

As always, Enjoy!

ey Trevor Langl To advertise in The Villager and Town Life please call 01767 261122

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More importantly they will help you design and create your ideal kitchen using our impressive range of highquality products and can typically reface your kitchen in as little as two to three days.

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and a Happy New Year to all our readers and advertisers.

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House of Colour

Colour Therapy this Christmas “Colour is life; …. Colours are the children of light, and light of their mother” (Johannes Itten ‘The Colour Journal’) I’m not a colour therapist but I certainly see the powerful effect colours can have on us. Whether it’s that magical moment seeing the right colours light up the face or the joy of hearing how much more confident clients feel in themselves when they look good. Colour can undoubtedly give us a boost.

Luckily for us Christmas is synonymous with the most versatile colour in the palette, red. We all look good in red, true red, primary red. It has an equal balance of blue and yellow and works with all our other shades in the palette (I do have some tiny caveats to that which anyone who has had a colour consultation will know, but release any need to worry about this). Embracing red is a great way to offer us a level of mood boost.

• A scarf, some red lipstick, start small and build up to it if you feel nervous about embracing it. It’s a great choice in a belt.

• Review how many colours you have in your wardrobe. Are you repeat buying the same hues,

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what’s missing? Most of us have 11 colours with 7 neutral shades. Can you beat that?

• Bring out your brighter shades – particularly when you don’t feel very bright. Experiment and see if this can change how you’re feeling. You might be surprised.

• Which neutrals could you put with your primary red? Black, grey and navy are often put with red but what about tan, brown and some lighter blues?

• Bring colour into your loungewear. If you’re spending more time in comfort clothing make it good, you deserve it. Embrace the joy that colour can bring to brighten up time spent at home.

• Give the gift of a colour consultation – find out those shades that really light you up inside an out!

Article by Jennie Billings House of Colour House of Colour has a network of stylists to help you update your look.

Find your nearest at houseofcolour.co.uk/find-a-stylist

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19

Finance

Be canny with credit cards Taking out a credit card to pay off a credit card might seem insane at first glance. But that’s exactly what a 0% balance transfer card is all about – as long as you use it the right way. It’s a strategy that’s absolutely not for everyone, but could be worth a look if you have good organisational skills, self-control and a decent credit record.

You may come across two types of card, known as a balance transfer card and a money transfer card. Both work in a similar way: when you take out the card the new lender will pay money into an account you already have. You won’t have to pay any interest on this amount to the new lender as long as you pay it back by a set date, often twelve to eighteen months later.

The difference is where the money goes. A balance transfer card means the money goes straight towards reducing or clearing your outstanding balance on another credit card. A money transfer card means the money goes into your bank account, reducing or clearing your overdraft. (There’s no point using a money transfer card if your bank account is in the black.)

Using a transfer card doesn’t reduce your debt.

However, it does give you breathing space during which you can put more of your spare money into clearing the debt rather than having it eaten up by interest.

Of course, the deal comes with a couple of catches, which answer the question of what’s in it for the company issuing the new card. The first is that you’ll usually have to pay a fee up front when you take out the card. This will usually be something up to three percent of the amount you are transferring. Though this may seem a small sum, bear in mind this payment is a fee and doesn’t reduce your debt.

The second catch is that the lenders issue such cards in the hope that you don’t simply pay off the outstanding debt before the end of the interest-free period. Instead they hope you’ll take advantage of the fact you can make purchases or withdraw cash

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on the balance transfer card just like any other credit card. This spending is not at 0% but rather will usually carry a high interest rate. Meanwhile, any of the transfer money that you haven’t repaid at the end of the interest free period will begin racking up interest at the card’s ‘standard’ rate, which is usually pretty uncompetitive.

So, how to make the most of such cards? Firstly, avoid them unless you are confident you will at best clear the balance and at worst make a significant dent in it before the interest-free period ends.

Next, make sure you never use the card other than to arrange the transfer. To avoid temptation, don’t activate or register it. You could even cut it up. It’s usually best to cancel the card once you’ve cleared the debt.

Make certain you always make the minimum payment each month, preferably through a direct debit. Usually if you ever miss the minimum payment, the interestfree deal is immediately void and the card starts racking up interest right away.

Whenever possible, make a manual payment that’s slightly higher than the minimum payment each month. Any time you only make a minimum payment will show up on your credit history and could be viewed negatively by lenders.

It may be worth avoiding taking out such cards if you’re planning on getting a mortgage (or remortgaging) in the medium term. Lenders may see multiple cards on your credit report and assume you aren’t managing your money well.

Look for online eligibility calculators. These will give you an idea of which cards you are most likely to be approved for, reducing the risk of being turned down or having to make multiple applications, again something that could hurt your credit record.

Finally, take note that you can’t usually do a balance or money transfer between cards or accounts operated by the same lender or by lenders in the same banking group. You may need to check these groupings as they aren’t always obvious.

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21

Travel

Discovering Bath If you’re still not sold on travelling abroad this winter, choose to holiday closer to home with a city break in Bath, one of the UK’s national treasures.

After the year we’ve had, understandably many of us aren’t keen on travelling outside of the UK this winter – but that doesn’t mean you can’t book a holiday closer to home. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bath is a great option for a UKbased city break, where luxurious spas, historical tales and awe-inspiring architecture are all part of the experience. Here’s what not to miss while you’re there.

The largest city in Somerset, Bath is easily accessible by rail or road for anyone living in England and Wales. But, if you did want to fly, Bristol Airport is only 20 miles away. Tempted? Here’s what not to miss while you’re there: Warm up in a thermal spa Bath is best known for housing one of the world’s best-preserved Roman bathhouses, a piece of history so important that it gave the city its name.

Naturally heated to around 46°C, the water comes from the city’s hot springs which are packed with over forty different healing minerals. After being discovered by Prince Bladud around 863 BC, these natural spring waters became a constant theme throughout the city’s history.

The original Roman baths are no longer safe for swimming, but you can still book a tour around the temple and bathing complex. If you do fancy a dip, the Thermae Bath Spa is right next door and uses the same mineral-rich water, treated to make it safe for public use. There’s no better place to warm up this winter; indulge in a treatment or two before bathing in the rooftop pool, drinking in the views of the surrounding cityscape.

By Solange Hando

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Walk in Jane Austen’s shoes For any Jane Austen fan, Bath will conjure up images of the style and sophistication of the 1800s. Not only did the author live here for five years, but she also used the city as a setting for two of her novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion.

You can learn more about her time in Bath at the Jane Austen Centre, where guides in period costumes and a Regency tearoom really help bring her stories to life.

Take an architectural tour Walking through Bath will take you on a journey through centuries of architectural art.

After taking a liking to Bath during the eighteenth century, the Georgians built much of the city you’ll see today. They used the famous Bath limestone to construct elaborate buildings, including Circus, the Assembly Rooms and the Pump Rooms. The Royal Crescent is an absolute must-see: this beautiful, curved row of thirty Georgian terraces is probably Bath’s most impressive piece of architecture.

Visit some museums Bath is a treasure chest of museums and galleries; you’d need a week to visit them all! Two of the most famous are The Fashion Museum, home to over 100,000 items of clothing and footwear, and The Museum of Bath Architecture, the best place to learn about the city’s distinctive Georgian structures.

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Baking

Cinnamon Stars Perfect for a festive sweet treat or a lovely edible Christmas gift these spiced star cookies can be kept in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Makes 20 - Ready in 1 hour, plus chilling and cooling Ingredients 2 medium egg whites 175g icing sugar 250g finely ground roasted hazelnuts 50g mixed peel, finely chopped 1 tbsp ground cinnamon 1 Using an electric handheld mixer, whisk the egg whites in a clean, grease-free bowl until holding stiff peaks. Stir in the icing sugar until thoroughly combined then continue to whisk until thick and glossy.

2 Remove 40g of this mixture and set aside.

Fold the hazelnuts, mixed peel and cinnamon into the remaining mixture to make a very stiff dough. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

3 Preheat the oven to 140C, 120C fan, gas mark 1. Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper. Roll the dough out on a surface heavily dusted with icing sugar to a 1cm thickness.

4 Using a 5cm star-shaped cookie cutter stamp out about 20 stars, re-rolling the dough as needed until it is all used up. Place the stars on the baking sheet, well-spaced apart.

Spread a little of the reserved egg white and icing sugar mixture on top of each star.

5 Bake for 25 minutes or until the cookies are still white and crisp on top but slightly soft underneath. Turn off the oven, open the oven door and leave the cookies to dry out for 15 minutes then transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

TIP - Dust the cookie cutter with icing sugar frequently to prevent the mixture sticking.

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Garden View

By Rachael Leverton

Hard-working Ivy The Holly and the Ivy, When they are both full grown, Of all the trees that are in the wood, The Holly bears the crown.

Holly is much coveted festive greenery but what about ivy, or Hedera to give it the botanical name? It makes up the trio of festive plants, the other being mistletoe, and frankly it’s usually seen as a bit of a poor relation, misunderstood and mostly unloved.

Yet ivy is a great workhorse in the garden. It’s evergreen, it attracts wildlife and is excellent on those north-facing walls and fences where nothing else seems to grow. It’s not just a dark green cloak either; there are many cultivars with different leaf shapes and variegated foliage. The variegated varieties are great in those areas that catch just a little sunlight during part of the day as they suddenly seem to illuminate a usually dull spot.

Ivy is great for disguising an ugly wall, a bare fence, or an old tree stump. It’s a reliable and self-clinging climber if you choose the right variety and remember to prune it correctly. The young climbing stems are slender and flexible with small aerial roots that fix the shoot to a surface. Adult stems are thicker, self-supporting and do not have roots. Unlike mistletoe ivy isn’t parasitic so won’t harm trees but be careful about letting it grow on the walls of your house as it will damage weak mortar and pebbledash.

If growing on a property it needs to be clipped back in spring and summer, so it doesn’t do any damage

to structure underneath. Don’t let it get into gutters because it will clog them then infiltrate under tiles or slates.

Ivy is excellent ground cover. It will scramble over areas of poor soil and brighten the ground between shrubs during the dark winter months. Persian ivy, Hedera colchica ‘Dentata Variegata’, is lovely because of its large, yellow-edged leaves. Hedera canariensis ‘Gloire de Marengo’ is also good. Its red stems and large leaves with splashes of yellow looks rather splendid. If you need an area covered quickly try Hedera Hibernica, which is a vigorous native ivy.

Hedera helix is the other native ivy and this one has numerous cultivars including Goldheart, which has yellow-centred leaves, Green Ripple, with frilly edged leaves and ‘Buttercup’ which is bright yellow.

If you love to support the wildlife in your garden, then ivy is a terrific plant. During autumn and early winter adult ivies produce small greenish-yellow flowers. These are especially rich in nectar so attract bees, butterflies, hoverflies, and other insects, providing them with a place to overwinter. Birds like thrushes, blackbirds and robins enjoy the purple black berries which ripen from late winter to mid-spring, providing a much-needed winter food source.

I hope I’ve made a good case for growing ivy in your garden. Holly might bear the crown, but I reckon ivy deserves a tiara at the very least!

Happy Gardening & Merry Christmas

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Pets

Our Annual Review – The Best Bits (Part 1) As a member of the RSPCA I receive a beautiful publication called ‘The Annual Review’. Contained within the pages are heart-warming stories detailing the incredible work the staff and volunteers carried out in 2019. I learned about some of the animals that have been rescued and rehomed. Expert teams who have rehabilitated animals so that they can be released or rehomed. I read of the education programmes taking place in our schools. In addition, there are several reports about the research, campaigns and new initiatives that are being undertaken by the RSPCA around the UK. Over the next two months, I want to share some of my favourite stories, events, facts and figures from 2019 with you. To give you a unique insight into the amazing work of the RSPCA. “Animal Heroes Save Frosty” - A heart-warming tale of compassion, team work and determination. An RSPCA rescue team was called out to save a young pony who had slipped down a muddy riverbank. With the help of London Fire Brigade and an equine vet they were able to get straps under him and winch him to safety.

Amazingly, he was able to get to his feet and was taken for veterinary treatment. Frosty was taken to RSPCA Leybourne Animal Centre as nobody came forward to claim him. He made a full recovery, and after his rehabilitation he was rehomed.

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“Cliff Top Rescue” – A dog walker discovered a young seal pup that had become stranded at the top of a 50m high sea cliff in Pembrokeshire. The pup, who was thought to be one month old, was underweight and had some wounds on her body. The wonderful team at RSPCA Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre in Nantwich, used their skills and expertise to rehabilitate the young pup back to full health and released her back to her coastal habitat.

“Oil-Stricken Falcon Saved” – An incredible story of a peregrine falcon discovered on Caldey Island near Tenby covered in thick oil. RSPCA Cymru concluded that due to his appearance he must have been suffering for some time. The falcon received urgent treatment at a centre in Sommerset and needed a lengthy period of rehabilitation with their wildlife experts. After some time he was released back into the wild.

“A Second Chance For Jack” – A beautiful chestnut gelding called Jack had been abandoned at a stables in South Wales. After many months of rehabilitation and care, Jack was ready to be adopted. His new owner, Tina was so grateful that his carers had transformed him into a wonderful horse. Tina explained how adopting Jack was the best decision she’d ever made. She was so eager to find a companion for her own horse, who had become very lonely and unhappy.

New initiatives and campaigns made up a significant part of the annual review. The inspiring RSPCA Chesterfield & North Derbyshire Branch teamed up with Pets At Home to open a ‘cat adoption lounge’.

This new initiative enabled customers who were perhaps considering adoption, to actually meet the cats available for rehoming while they were out shopping. Within the first two months 12 cats had found new loving homes! Such a fantastic idea.

If you need to contact our Branch (North Bedfordshire) for any reason we can be reached by the details below, or for an animal welfare issue or emergency, contact; 0300 1234 999.

Lines are open 7 days a week 24/7.

Email: info@rspcabedsnorth.org.uk Tel: 01234 266965 / 01234 930304

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New Builds Extensions Home Improvements Conversions Architecture Windows and Doors Roofing Electrics

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Parenting

By Kate Duggan

Christmas on a budget

Free and low-cost ideas to make Christmas magical

Try a digital advent calendar (£3.70) The Jacquie Lawson advent calendar is a firm favourite in our house. A new game, story or creative activity is released each day throughout December.

The calendar is centred around a Christmassy scene, and many of the activities then become part of that scene. So your child might decorate the tree, dress up the snowman or create a wreath to hang on a shop door, for example. www.jacquielawson.com/advent.

Look for low-cost elves (£1) A branded Elf on a Shelf could set you back over £20, so look for alternatives. I picked up a couple of small bendable elves for £1 each from Tiger a couple of years ago, which did the job just as well as a bigger elf – until the dog got hold of them!

Send a message from Santa (Free) Santa has been wishing my kids a happy Christmas through a Portable North Pole (www.portablenorthpole.com) video for years. The shorter

personalised video is free to create and is pretty much guaranteed to delight younger children. (It’s also worth looking in your phone’s app store for Christmas-themed apps like Santa Spy Cam and Elf Yourself.)

Organise a second-hand scavenger hunt (£10 or under) Most children enjoy a scavenger hunt around the house or garden.

The most successful one I’ve organised for my children involved a load of Shopkins and other mini figures that I picked up secondhand from Facebook Marketplace for under £10. The elves that I mentioned above also create a treasure hunt every year, with a series of clues leading to a craft activity, gift-wrapped sweets or a small toy.

Buy in bulk If you can club together with other families, you might be able to make savings on stocking fillers and activities by bulk buying. Baker and Ross (www.bakerross.co.uk) for example, sell a wide range of craft kits, activities and small toys. They

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mainly sell to schools, so if you bulk buy it works out a lot cheaper.

My son adored the Gingerbread House Kit last year (two for £6.95 or 10 for £22.50).

The Rainbow Wooden Keyring Craft Kits (four for £6.95 or sixteen for £18.40), Racing Reindeers (four for £5.95 or sixteen for £14.88) and Woodland Friends Stationery Sets (four for £6.95 or sixteen for £18.40) would all make great stocking fillers. There’s also usually an offer on whereby you can save more money if you spend over a certain amount.

Look for cost-saving memberships (£1) Membership cards like Kids Pass offer substantial discounts on family experiences. You can get up to 40% off cinema tickets for example, as well as money off days out to safari parks, theme parks, zoos, trampoline parks and so on, plus discounts on restaurants. A Kids Pass membership from www. kidspass.co.uk costs £2.99 a month, but you can get a thirty-day trial for just £1.

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Time of Year

The Science of Snowflakes Are you dreaming of a white Christmas? Have you ever given any thought to the science behind the snow?

The ice crystals that make up snowflakes are patterned symmetrically because frozen water molecules arrange themselves in predetermined spaces known as crystallization, to form a six-sided snowflake.

The basic shape of the ice crystal is partly due the temperature at which it forms, and to a lesser extent, partly due to the humidity of the air. Thus, we see long needle-like crystals at -5C and flat plate-like crystals at -15C. The intricate shape of a single arm of the snowflake is determined by the atmospheric conditions experienced by entire ice crystal as it falls. A crystal might begin to grow arms in one manner, and then seconds later, a slight change in the surrounding temperature or

By Louise Addison humidity causes the crystal to grow in a different way.

Although a snowflake is always six-sided and the arms may branch off in new directions, because each arm experiences the same atmospheric conditions, the arms look identical.

Individual snowflakes are all unique because they all follow slightly different paths from the sky to the ground and thus encounter slightly different atmospheric conditions along the way. So, they all tend to look different, resembling everything from prisms and needles to tiny lace doilies.

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33

Local News

It’s a cold and lonely winter!

But you can make it warmer!

Winter is always difficult for many older people, not everyone has family or friends, and for many long dark nights are a struggle.

Many older people say they feel intensely lonely and Covid-19 has only increased feelings of fear and isolation.

Age UK Hertfordshire want to help older people who might be finding this winter tough.

‘We’re concerned about the mental and physical well-being of our clients,’ says Mark Hanna, Director of Operations, ‘Our InTouch Service which provides emotional support, is receiving a high number of calls from people reporting feelings of anxiety and hopelessness, we urgently want to help as many people as we can.’

The charity which supports over 10,000 people a year provides a number of services for older people, from a free and confidential Information & Advice Service to a number of Befriending Services aimed at reducing isolation and loneliness as well as helping older people with benefits and finances. ’We’ve been running all our services on-line or over the phone,’ Mark continues, ‘We’ve delivered food parcels, comfort packs and taken tech to people who had never used a tablet before. Over the summer our volunteers were able to start

1

visiting (at social distance) – but now with the lockdown and the colder weather many of our clients may go weeks without having face to face contact. Our clients often put on a brave face and tell us they are coping, but this has been a challenging year and many have not seen their family or friends for months.’

Age UK Hertfordshire are asking people to support them by taking part in their 12 Days of Winter Campaign. Roz Wyllie, Head of Engagement, explains the idea behind the campaign.

‘There are over 12 million people aged over 65 in the UK, and one in every 12 older people say they feel lonely, and one third of over

75’s who live alone spend more than 12 hours a day by themselves – our 12 days of winter campaign aims to raise awareness of the issues facing older people as well as giving people in Hertfordshire the opportunity to help us and have some fun while they do!

We’re asking people to choose 12 challenges, big or small, over 12 days in winter. So, on Day 1 you might write a letter to a friend, on Day 2 you could walk two miles, on Day 3 you might take 3 selfies …and you can post it up on social media, share the challenges with friends, and set yourself a fundraising goal, knowing that the money raised will go to helping older people in Hertfordshire.

For more information… contact Age UK Hertfordshire on communications@ageukherts.org.uk or visit their website https://www.ageuk.org.uk/hertfordshire #12daysofwinter

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HERTS OVEN CLEAN Herts Oven Clean is a domestic oven cleaning specialist in Hertfordshire.

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Ovens, Hobs, Grills, Extractors, Agas, Microwaves and Gas Barbeques.

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Codeword 1

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ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Easy Sudoku

Hard Sudoku

Fill in the grid so that each row, column and 3x3 box, contains the digits 1 through to 9 with no repetition. Use your logic to solve the puzzles.

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ROGERSONS

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WINDOW REPAIRS

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Snow and Ice

1. What type of animal is Snowball in the George Orwell novel Animal Farm?

2. What three flavours make up Neapolitan ice cream?

3. What dance gave a band called The Snowmen a UK top 20 hit single in 1981?

4. Which former Wimbledon tennis champion was nicknamed the “Ice Maiden”?

5. According to the Met Office, precipitation falls as snow when the air temperature is below how many degrees Celsius?... a) two; b) zero; or c) minus two?

6. The Titanic left Southampton on its maiden voyage in 1912 on April 10th. On what date did it hit the iceberg?

7. What was the title of the 2012 sequel to the 1982 animated TV special The Snowman?... a) The Snowman And The Snowboy b) The Snowman And The Snowdog c) The Snowman And The Snowmouse 8. What symbol appears on the UK road sign that warns of a risk of ice?

9. Based on a story called The Snow Queen, what was the world’s highestgrossing film of 2013?

10. Which two planets in the Solar System are often referred to as the “ice giants”?

1. A pig 2. Vanilla, strawberry and chocolate 3. The Hokey Cokey 4. Chris Evert 5. a) two 6. April 14th 7. b) The Snowman And The Snowdog 8. A snowflake 9. Frozen 10. Neptune and Uranus

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Call now for a free, no obligation quotation 39

Premier Painters and Decorators

Premier Painters and Decorators are a professional, punctual and hard working company delivering outstanding quality of work to our clients in and around Stevenage From wallpaper hanging, feature walls, coving and cornice work. We even clean facias, soffits and guttering. (PVC or Wood) If you would like to take advantage of our services, require a quote or advise please do not hesitate to contact us. Be assured when Premier quote a job there are NO HIDDEN EXTRAS. Private and commercial, exterior and interior painting services.

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I D Decorating Painting & Decorating Services Painting – Interior & Exterior Decorating Coving No Job Too Big Or Too Small Fully Insured & Free Estimates Telephone: Ian Dunklin 0790 508 3799

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November’s Puzzle Solutions and Winners Last Month’s Crossword Winner Jill Cotterell from Stevenage Easy

Hard

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Win ÂŁ100 in our The winner will be drawn at random from the correct completed entries.

Christmas Crossword

ACROSS 1 Used for measuring (4) 3 Goes before (8) 9 Against (7) 10 Removes sensation (5) 11 Immediate environment (12) 14 Uncooked (3) 16 Edition (5) 17 To colour (3) 18 Very keen (12) 21 Not dead (5) 22 European country (7) 23 Simultaneously (8) 24 Happy (4)

DOWN 1 Item of clothing (8) 2 Writing material (5) 4 Stick, cane (3) 5 Significant (12) 6 Broken (7) 7 Type of window (4)

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The Gift of a Great Book Books to give, add to your wish list or just treat yourself to…

The Thursday Murder Club

By Richard Osman

Retirees Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron have a unique set of skills that they put to good use solving old murder cases. So when a real murder takes place rather close to home, the four are well placed to find the killer.

Funny, warm and with a twist every minute, The Thursday Murder Club will keep readers guessing right until the end. Best of all, a sequel is already in the pipeline. .

Oliver’s Britain

By Oliver Hellowell

From roadside poppies and native wildlife to lochs, lakes and waterfalls, the photos that grace the pages of this coffee table book are a sight to behold.

Oliver has Down’s Syndrome and a natural gift for spotting the perfect shot. Alongside the photos are quotes from Oliver and some of his many fans. A great present for people who enjoy a good ramble through the British countryside. .

Word Perfect: Etymological Entertainment for Every Day of the Year

By Susie Dent

Ever wondered who the original Jack the lad was? Or where a phrase like ‘turn a blind eye’ came from? Susie Dent has been a regular expert on Countdown for twenty-five years. In Word Perfect, she reveals the story behind some well-known words and phrases and introduces the reader to a whole load of new ones. (Personally, I might start calling a hankie by its Victorian slang name – a snottinger.)

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