Hitchin Jan 2020 by Villager Mag

VILLAGER The

Issue 22 - January 2020

and Town

Life

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

In this issue Shop Local in 2020

Win tickets to see

Josie Long Win £25

in our Prize Crossword

Bringing Local Business to Local People Every Month in Hitchin, Great and Little Wymondley, St Ippolyts, ur Charlton and surrounding areas Yo EE y

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Inside this issue... East Anglian Air Ambulance

Witch Hazel..............................................................................37 Our Eccentric Inventors: Are they having the last laugh?..........39 RSPCA Hertfordshire East News................................................40 Nick Coffer’s Weekend Recipe...................................................43 Making family life that little bit easier.....................................45 Sidings Acapella.......................................................................46 Puzzle Page..............................................................................48 Funeral Costs: Does it pay to plan ahead?.................................50 What’s On.................................................................................52 Start a New Year’s Revolution...................................................55 Villager Prize Crossword............................................ 58 Book Review............................................................................61

The History of Dentistry.............................................................4 Shop Local in 2020.....................................................................8 Dear Diary................................................................................10 Win Tickets to see Josie Long..................................... 12 Charleston................................................................................17 Your 2020 Vision for 2020.........................................................19 A Taste of Mexico......................................................................20 Style and Colour at your Wedding -Q&A...................................23 How I beat Type 2 Diabetes......................................................24 What should we make of Astrology?........................................26 East Anglian Air Ambulance.....................................................29 Five Tasks for an Organised Financial Life in 2020.....................30 Choose BMAS for safe, easy-access bathrooms.........................32 High-Rise Edibles.....................................................................35

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Editorial - Catherine Rose, Anne McCarthy, Sarah Davey, Solange Hando, Anne McCarthy, Trevor Langley, Jennie Billings, John Spring, Louise Addison, Ann Haldon, Pippa Greenwood, Rachael Leverton, Kate McLelland, RSPCA, Nick Coffer and Kate Duggan.

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

easy-access bat Publishers Villager Publications Ltd 24 Market Square, Potton, Bedfordshire SG19 2NP Tel: 01767 261122 Email: nigel@villagermag.com strugglingwww.villagermag.com to get in or out of the

Are you bath or into the shower? You may even be worried abou you or aDisclaimer loved one are experiencing bathing difﬁ - All adverts and editorial are printed in good faith, speak however, withVillager a specialist making any Publications Ltdbefore can not take any responsibility for theadapta content of the adverts, the services provided by the advertisers or any

statements given in the editorial. No part of this publication may be whilst assess Trust the mobility bathing experts reproduced or stored without the express permission of the publisher.

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History

The History of Dentistry Although most of us hate visiting the dentist, twenty-first century dental practices are a walk in the park compared to what our ancestors endured. Common perception is that our ancestors must have suffered from terrible teeth. In fact, the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans probably had better teeth than we do today due to the lack of refined sugar in their diet. Like us, they cleaned their teeth with abrasive and breath-sweetening concoctions. Made from eggshells, soot, bones, pumice, myrrh or mint, they were usually applied with a cloth or the fingers. The ancient Chinese had invented toothbrushes using pigs’ bristles but although toothpicks and even dental floss were around, they weren’t in common use in Europe until 1780, when William Addis manufactured the first toothbrush. Toothache has long been a human scourge and there have been many outlandish remedies. Scribonius Largus, (his real name, not a Monty Python invention!) was physician to the Roman Emperor Claudius. To treat toothache, he would fumigate the mouth with smoke produced by burning henbane seeds followed by an oral rinse with hot water. This was supposed to evict the

tiny ‘tooth worms’ that for hundreds of years were believed to be the cause of cavities and toothache. False teeth were also around in ancient times, usually made of animal bone, ivory or wood. The Etruscans, a pre-Roman civilization, were apparently particularly skilled at dentures using ox bone fixed in place by gold wire. Traditionally, physicians would treat tooth problems but the medieval era saw the arrival of specialist ‘tooth drawers’, the best being retained by royalty (King Henry VIII was said to have one). Travelling fairs and markets often featured a tooth drawer, usually identified by jester’s clothing and a string of teeth hanging around their neck. Blacksmiths, jewellers and apothecaries would also pull teeth as a sideline using whatever instruments they had at their disposal. In 1540, the Company of Barbers was merged with that of surgeons to create The United BarberSurgeons Company. Subsequently, high-street barbers were able to carry out rudimentary surgery that included dental work (hence the striped ‘blood and bandages’ barbers’ pole). The first English book on dentistry was The Operator for the Teeth by Charles Allen, published

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in 1685. ‘Operators for the teeth’ were in fact the earliest dentists, as they were not only skilled enough to extract teeth but could also replace them with dentures or false teeth made from materials like gold, silver and ivory (from walrus, elephant or hippo). But by far the best material for false teeth was other human teeth! Consequently a market quickly sprang up where teeth were either robbed from corpses or bought by extraction from the mouths of the destitute (as in when young Fantine sells her teeth in Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables). Allen also invented a recipe for whitening toothpaste made from powdered coral, rose water and a tree resin called ‘dragon’s blood’. During the seventeenth century, French physician and dental pioneer Pierre Fauchard was one of the first practitioners to explain how sugar in the mouth forms acids that decay enamel and cause cavities. He also wrote about methods to straighten teeth using orthodontics in his book The Surgeon Dentist, published in 1728. Alongside other French dentists, Fauchard used dental fillings made from mercury heated together with other metals. This was later refined by an English dentist named Bell to produce amalgam. The earliest dentistry lectures were by James Rae in 1764 at The Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh. By the nineteenth century, dentistry had become a recognised apprenticeship, so in 1858 The Dental Hospital and National Dental Hospital Schools opened in London. There were still many rogue dentists around so in the 1870s the newly founded Dental Reform Committee decreed that practicing dentists had

to complete a License in Dental Surgery in order to be officially registered. Unfortunately, the licence was only open to men so Lilian Murray, the first official female dentist in the UK, managed to qualify in Scotland where the barrier didn’t exist. Many dental innovations were made during the Victorian era. By 1840 it was possible to have ether as a general anaesthetic and four years later nitrous oxide or laughing gas was introduced, whereas previous painkillers had been whisky or cocaine. The invention of the foot-operated dental drill made filling teeth much easier, although with its slow cord-driven, skull-shaking vibrations, one can only imagine how unpleasant it still was. Following in the footsteps of an American company, in 1896 Colgate mass-produced the first commercially available toothpaste in a collapsible tube in the UK. Despite this, tooth health among the general population was far from ideal. In 1942 the Beveridge Report highlighted the need for regular dental check-ups for everyone, and in 1948 the formation of the NHS gave people free access to dental treatment for the first time. So many opted for dentures that the NHS was forced to charge for them from 1951. These days, dentures have largely been replaced by dental implants, many children now have braces to straighten their teeth and most of us have a healthy smile. But who knows? Our descendants may look back at dentistry today and consider it as crude as a blacksmith yanking out a rotten molar.

By Catherine Rose

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Shopping

By Anne McCarthy

Shop Local in 2020 Why? Personalized Service - A small business owner will go the extra mile to make you happy. Local businesses are owned by your neighbours and friends. They care about you and are invested in your community. Unique Products - A national chain will sell hundreds or thousands of identikit products. Local stores sell unique merchandise in smaller numbers so you will buy something truly individual. It supports the arts - Small local businesses support creativity! Look for art on display created by local artists. These are one-of-akind pieces you won’t find anywhere else. It helps the local economy - The money you spend in a local business stays within your town and community, thus improving its future.

How? Instead of purchasing items from national chains, try to purchase things from a business local to your area. Buy a gift or a gift card at a local business in your area and give to a friend, family member, or co-worker. This will introduce the company to someone new and allow for the “shop local” mantra to spread. Promote their business! If you like a particular shop or independent restaurant share and like their social media accounts. Spread the word. Give them a great review. Send them a thank you. Say why you love them and let them share your testimonial.

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Award-winning jewellers, Gatwards. Putting the Sparkle into Hitchin since 1760.

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Lifestyle

Dear Diary… Did you ever keep a diary when you were younger? I did. I poured my angst-ridden heart out to its blank pages. I look back on those fat notebooks with a mixture of fascination and horrified amusement. They are a funny, embarrassing, touching testament to my teenage turmoil and inner weirdness. I stopped journaling my thoughts at some point, but a few years ago, when I was gifted a rather beautiful notebook one Christmas, I started again. It was a good call. Writing in my diary helps me in many ways. I track my moods, my anxieties, the funny things my kids say, and the daily routine of writing helps me thrash out solutions to some of life’s challenges. There are many benefits to keeping a diary. It organises your thoughts - most of what we think and feel would be incomprehensible to anyone able to look inside our heads. Writing helps to articulate thoughts and make them comprehensible to our conscious mind. It improves your writing - Not everyone aspires to be a journalist or a writer. But many of us have to produce handouts, talks or web content in the course of our jobs. Writing daily in a diary helps us improve our style and fluency. It helps set and achieve goals - A diary is a good place to write down ambitions, aspirations and new year resolutions. Writing them down makes them real. They can then be used as a reminder, and to monitor progress. You can record ideas - It could be ideas for birthday gifts, holiday destinations or the name

By Sarah Davey of the shop in which you saw the perfect curtains for the bedroom you’re currently decorating. The benefit of a diary is that it can all be recorded in one place, whenever it comes to mind. It’s a stress-reliever - It can be helpful to ‘braindump’ anxieties, frustrations and pains into a diary. Teenage me waxed lyrical about problems with my parents, teachers and how worried I was that no boy would find me attractive while I had braces on my teeth. Adult me expresses concerns in my diary as a good way to free up any tension that prevents me from feeling content in my life today. You can reflect - Life races by at breakneck speed. We get caught up in day-to-day responsibilities and expectations. Journalling our thoughts is a good way to hit the pause button, take a step back and reflect. Whether it’s gratitude for something someone has done for us, or simply what we achieved today, a little daily reflection means can look back at our life after a few months or years and see how we’ve changed. We can note how our priorities have shifted and what we might do to be a better person in the future. It’s a memory prompt – Our brain is more likely to store information that we write down. Teachers know that when you write new knowledge down your brain makes stronger connections with the information which means you’ll be able to recall it more easily in the future. It boosts creativity - Diary-writing a great way to unleash creativity. Everyone has the potential to be creative, but most of us don’t take the time. You can start a novel, jot down ideas for outfits, plan a themed party, doodle or sketch. It’s your diary...have fun with it.

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advertorial

Has Your Double Glazing Steamed Up? Established for over a decade Cloudy2Clear windows have become a leading company for glass replacement. Issues with double glazing can often be gradual and may only be noticed during a clear sunny day or during the winter. A failed glass unit may no longer provide you with the protection you need or be energy efficient. Why not spend a few minutes checking your home to see if you have any failed double glazing? If you act now you can avoid these problems. Now, you may think you need to replace

the whole window including the frames and all the hardware, however Cloudy2Clear have come up with a simple and cost saving solutionâ&#x20AC;Ś Just replace the glass!! If you see condensation in your windows just visit our website or give us a call on 0800 61 21 118. We will send out our highly experienced engineers for a free no obligation quote. A Cloudy2Clear quote takes on average no longer than 20 minutes. Once the quote is completed, we will sit down with you and explain the problem and tell you

how we can fix it. With years of experience Cloudy2Clear have a wealth of knowledge and are recognised as a Which Trusted Trader, plus our work is backed by an industry leading 25 year guarantee. Cloudy2Clear also replace faulty locks handles and hinges on all windows and doors. Your friendly local Cloudy2Clear specialist is Stephen Moon and he services Hitchin and surrounding villages. So, if your windows are steamed up, broken or damaged give Stephen a call for a free quotation on 0800 61 21 118.

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Photo: GILES SMITH

WIN a PAIR of TICKETS to see JOSIE LONG at the JUNCTION, Cambridge on 17th JANUARY 2020 Three-time Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Josie Long is finally back on the road with a brand-new show about the mind-bending intensity of new motherhood, but it is also about kindness, gentleness and joy. A cult-optimist herself, Josie wants her audiences to feel optimistic about the future, although in this current day and age, that’s a big ask. But at the very least there will be some silly voices. Of course, its Josie Long: society’s biggest issues that we’re facing today, from climate change to Boris Johnson, cannot be ignored, but Tender’s main focus is about bringing new life into this ever-changing world. Having started performing comedy at just 14, Josie went on to win the BBC New Comedy Award, Chortle Best Newcomer, Best Newcomer at the 2006 Edinburgh Comedy Awards and then was nominated for Best Show at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards three years running. She has since sold out West End runs, performed at the most prestigious comedy festivals in the world, written five solo tours and sold out shows in LA and New York. On screen, Josie has been seen on 8 Out of 10 Cats (Channel 4), Never Mind the Buzzcocks (BBC2), You Have Been Watching (Channel 4) and Skins (Channel 4), for which she also wrote. She has presented on BBC 6Music, was nominated for a Radio Academy Award for her adventurous short documentaries Short Cuts on Radio 4 and earned a BAFTA Scotland New Talent Award nomination for her two short feature films, Let’s Go Swimming and Romance and Adventure and her recent feature film, Super November, was nominated for a BIFA Discovery Award. We have a pair of tickets to give away for Josie’s Cambridge Junction tour date on Friday 17th January. All you have to do is send in the answer to the below question!

JOSIE LONG COMPETITION ENTRY

How many times has Josie been nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award?



For a chance to win tickets simply answer the question and complete the form below and send to: Josie Long Competition, Villager Publications Ltd, 24 Market Square, Potton, Bedfordshire SG19 2NP. Deadline: 14th January 2020

Name: Tel: Email: Address:

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Travel

Charleston By Solange Hando

Down in South Carolina, on the edge of the Low Country, the pretty town of Charleston sits among creeks and waterways at the confluence of three rivers as they join the Atlantic Ocean. Spreading across islands and peninsula it is full of history and charm, an ‘American treasure’ founded in 1670 and named after Charles II of England. Beyond the tree-lined avenues on the peninsula, the Old Town is a delightful network of cobbled lanes and alleyways festooned in traditional buildings, some with weather-boarded façades, all gleaming white, others draped in pastel colours: mint-green, ocean-blue, pink, yellow and more. There are wooden shutters and wrought iron gates, quaint cottages and stylish mansions with colonnaded balconies and fabulous gardens, oleander, magnolia and roses blooming among water features and trees such as the flowering crepe myrtle and palmetto, the local emblem. During the Festival of Houses and Gardens held in early spring some of these private wonders are open to visitors, but at any time of year you can ride a horse-drawn carriage in this most beautiful area. It feels almost like a village, nothing disturbing the peace but the distant chiming of church bells. Meanwhile back in the bustling town, King Street beckons with a wide range of architectural styles and antique and designer boutiques, parallel to Meeting Street where the city’s vibrant market dates back to the 1790s. From the Great Hall to the open air sheds, it’s a vast colourful complex selling anything you ever wanted, including handmade souvenirs such as southern jewellery and sweetgrass baskets produced by the Gullahs,

descendants of the African slaves. To learn all about this troublesome though successful era, visit Middleton Place, a former plantation-cummuseum proud of its restored buildings, gardens and lakes. Slavery, independence, civil war and modern times, Charleston’s harbour played a major role in the country’s history, remembered in the Patriots’ Point Naval Museum on Mount Pleasant and in the sea forts of Sumter and Moultrie. Charleston’s most scenic promenade is in fact the Battery, the fortified sea wall leading to the peninsula’s southernmost tip, named White Point after the bleached oyster shells which covered it long ago. There are also great harbour views from the pier and the waterfront park where a sparkling ‘Pineapple Fountain’ symbolises hospitality, recalling the fruit displayed by travellers to signal their return. It’s a cool place to relax, watching brown pelicans diving for food and all sorts of crafts, from tall ships and cruisers to sailing yachts, fishing vessels, power boats and more. Crossing the river Cooper just upstream, the Ravenel bridge dazzles you with lofty towers and fan-shaped cables, while beyond the harbour the Atlantic coast is strung with lovely beaches and islands. Nearest to town are Folly Beach and Sullivans Island, praised for its window boxes and flower gardens, and the Isle of Palms boasting a marina, protected sea oats and wild dunes resort. Lots to do, lots to see but if time is short, cruising around the harbour is a must, especially at sunset when water and sky are ablaze with amazing colour.

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Time of Year

Your 2020 Vision for 2020 Hindsight is a wonderful thing. We often reflect on the past year and mourn chances we didn’t take or connections we didn’t make. Instead of looking longingly backwards, perhaps 2020 is a good year to develop your vision for the future so that it’s… well…20/20! Review your goals — short and long-term Are your everyday activities helping you to accomplish your short-term goals? Are you working on meaningful projects? Make sure at least some of your daily activities help you to accomplish your short-term goals, and that those short-term goals can build to let you accomplish larger goals and objectives. But don’t be a slave to your goals. It’s okay to change directions and shift deadlines. January is a great time revaluate. Are your long-term goals from six months ago still relevant to you today? It can be helpful to write down your goals using pen and paper, and then hang them in a place where you can see them. This acts as a visual prompt to remind you and inspire you during the day-to-day grind. Nurture relationships Sometimes friendships and family relationships get placed on the backburner when we’re busy. Are there If there friends and relatives in your contacts list who you haven’t spoken with lately?

Use this season to catch-up, reconnect, and nurture the relationships that matter. Request a planning meeting It could be with your boss, or your partner! When you think about the next year — do you see yourself staying at the same job? If so, do you want to be considered for promotion or a transfer? Would you like to plan a big trip with your partner, or start a family? With your boss you might mention projects you’d like to lead, qualifications you’d like to study for. With your partner you might want to talk about joining a gym together, planning a safari, or taking up ballroom dancing. These discussions are useful in both your work and your private life. They can help you understand points of dissatisfaction in your work or relationship and give you the clarity you need to explore a change. Invest in yourself There’s a difference between being comfortable and being complacent. Try stepping out of your comfort zone and take an online course, sign up with the Open University or night classes at college. Try out a yoga class or a massage, or simply go away with a friend or a partner to a spa for a few days. Reflect on lessons learned January is not all about new beginnings. It’s nice to think about all you accomplished during 2019. What did you learn? What did you achieve? A lot probably happened in the past 12 months, but life moves so fast that too often we don’t take time to reflect on all we’ve learned. Take note of your discoveries and think about ways you can apply those lessons with intention as you move into the new year.

By Anne McCarthy

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Food and Drink

A Taste of... Mexico Mexican cuisine can be traced back several thousand years. Over the different regions, beef, pork and chicken, plus seafood, are extremely popular and some of the same dishes are often found throughout Mexico. Mexican foods offer ingredients of beans and corn, plus chilli peppers. These are regularly presented with meats, rice and spice. Red snapper, sea bass and prawns are very popular, too.

Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross, London, is a redeveloped retail area. During the 19th Century this site was London’s coal store and has a very interesting history. www.coaldropsyard.com Today, this area provides popular shopping and dining experiences, that include independent shops, businesses, bars and restaurants. Casa Pastor and Plaza Pastor offer a warm welcome from Alejo and authentic Mexican dining, with dishes that include Tuna Tostadas, plus Tacos filled with marinated pork shoulder or fish, for example and their hugely-popular Ceviches. Starters include various Botanas, then on to Tostadas, that have Cochinita, Chicken Tinga and Tuna presentations. Very flavoursome Tortas (Mexican toasted sandwiches) are available, also. For Tacos the key is the salsa. Made fresh, in-house, these have Morita (Chipotle, tomatillos), Verde Fresca (Serrano chillies, tomatillos, coriander), plus Mexicana and Maya choices and more, through to El Diablo, which is made with some of the very hottest chillies known. Tacos offer Baja Fish (Corona-battered sea bass, shredded cabbage, pico de gallo, coriander) and Choripapa (Chorizo, potato, salsa verde, coriander), which are very popular, amongst an excellent array, with mushroom, prawn and chicken inclusions, plus Al Pastor (Mexico City favourite and inspiration for this restaurant’s name). From the Mexican-style rotisserie, half and whole chickens are often selected, with different marinades and accompaniments. Exceptional, complementing flavours and splendid presentation definitely warrant ‘Compliments to Chef!’ If sharing plates are favoured, then Hake, Short Rib, Steak and more, will most certainly impress and satisfy. Dessert selections include creations of Fresh Pineapple, Corn Cake and Queso Fresco Cheesecake. Desserts pair wonderfully with cocktails and digestivos, too. Thank you to Lily and Maureen, for excellent service throughout. Popular with locals (always a good sign), a recommended restaurant to return to. Casa Pastor and Plaza Pastor Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross, London N1C 4DQ Tel: 44 (0) 20 7018 3335 Email: info@tacoselpastor.co.uk www.tacoselpastor.co.uk

As always, Enjoy! 20

ey Trevor Langl

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AFTERNOON TEA AT THE HOUSE Savour the quintessential English past-time of taking tea in the grand setting of The House, Shuttleworth. Â£30.00 per person Sunday 26 January Sunday 31 May

2020 Dates

Sunday 19 July Sunday 20 September

Pre-book via - www.shuttleworth.org/afternoontea The House at Shuttleworth, Old Warden Park, Biggleswade, SG18 9EA

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House of Colour

Style & Colour at your Wedding

Q&A

Q. How do I know what shade of white to choose for my wedding dress? A: Prior to dress shopping, if you can see a colour stylist to establish which colours naturally complements your individual skin tone to make you look radiant and your eyes shine brightly on your big day. For example Winter palettes can wear pure white or silvery finish dresses whilst summers suit soft white and delicate powder pinks. Springs look best in creams or perhaps a dove grey, and Autumns suit oyster or a light sage perhaps. It makes wedding dress searching quicker and even more pleasurable to know exactly what suits you before you even go start wedding dress shopping. Q. My partner feels stuffy in a suit, what are the wedding attire alternatives for him whilst still ensuring he looks smart? A: There are lots of great alternatives for men, both contemporary and traditional. If you are getting married in warmer climes, perhaps he can work a linen shirt and chinos for the beach? Colourful, patterned pocket squares add interest as do unique button holes for more formal looks. Some people ditch the jacket altogether and wear a waistcoat or braces for a fun twist. The key is to for the clothes to fit well and suit his body architecture and for it to be the right style to suit his personality. A great fit means the right sleeve, jacket length, button arrangement, shirt and trousers, but the texture and material are both key too. Q. I want to look gorgeous for my partner when we are on honeymoon, what are your top tips? A: Your partner will already think you gorgeous, but it is lovely to feel confident and chic on honeymoon to keep the wedding dream going! Be organised and pair several gorgeous tops, skirts, trousers, shorts, swimwear and scarves in your wow colours and seasonal neutrals so you can mix and match to create a number of outfits. Don’t forget to pack some great jewellery to lift any look. It is fun to get a new dress for a romantic dinner on your honeymoon to grab your partner’s attention and don’t forget to choose some gorgeous, well-fitting lingerie!

Q. What quick tips do you have for bringing colour to the wedding venue? A: Choose accent colours for your flowers, beautiful satin sashes on the wedding chairs and other decorations but everything doesn’t need to completely match. Choose maybe three colours that complement each other from your own season palette or have a range of similar tones so that there is coordination, but still some individuality. Use wedding menu ribbons, table decorations, wedding favours, flower centre pieces and napkins to add a pop of colour. Of course your own beautiful bouquet can have a stunning colourful impact. Q. I am doing my own wedding make up, what are your top tips? A. Make sure you choose cool make up colours if you are cool toned and warm make up colours if you are warm toned. Wear waterproof eye makeup and a good primer to ensure your make up stays on for most of the day. Add translucent powder in your perfect shade for extra staying power. Consider an illuminator on exposed shoulders, collar bones and cheekbones to bring a subtle but beautiful sheen. Always have access to top-up make up for a tidy up or after happy tears on the day. By Jennie Billings, Colour and Style Consultant, House of Colour www.houseofcolour.co.uk/jenniebillings e:jennie.billings@houseofcolour.co.uk

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Health

By John Spring

How I beat type 2 diabetes When his diabetes doctor suggested he should share how he put his diabetes into remission, John Spring went one better, he wrote a humorous book about it. I’ve now been in remission from type 2 diabetes (T2D) for eight years, so I guess I must be doing something right. Being in remission means that T2D isn’t damaging me anymore. The newly diagnosed will have been made well aware of the longer-term havoc it can do to their bodies. Unless, when they were told, they put their fingers in their ears and started humming, “La, la, la, I’m not listening”. Which is exactly what I did for several years. 5% of the UK’s adult population have been diagnosed with T2D, and another 1.3% don’t know they have it yet. By the year 2035, 10% of us will be type 2 diabetic. That might make the recently diagnosed feel a little better, as there is some safety in numbers, but the NHS isn’t too keen on the prospect. New patients may not be feeling any immediate effects of T2D, so it becomes easy to be complacent. You can liken it to a mild acid flowing around your body, slowly eating away at your nerves, your organs and your eyes. It is the end of this slow production line of diabetic damage that the NHS is now contending with. I’d read about rapid weight loss having a high success rate in putting T2D into remission and the NHS is now trialling liquid-based diets of 800 calories per day. There’s also bariatric surgery, but it isn’t infallible as a patient’s bad eating habits can find ways around it. Likewise, you probably don’t want to survive on liquids for the rest of your life, especially if they don’t contain alcohol. I devised my own practical regime for losing weight fast. The most positive benefit of this

workable approach was that I learned how to avoid temptation by becoming the master of my own food. I also learned how to fit exercise into my busy life. These are the lessons that have kept me in remission. I started by identifying the heavy hitters in my diet. I then developed workarounds to drastically reduce my consumption of those. I also preprepared my own breakfast and lunch, thus avoiding the calorific temptations lurking in coffee shops and lunchtime sandwich bars. My home cooked dinners featured healthier ingredients and I soon realised that there really is no such thing as a low-calorie takeaway. They are all evil. I discovered convenient exercise by walking set routes every day and I built up to being the world’s most unlikely runner. After four months I had lost four stone and my blood sugar came down from 60 mmol to 42mmol (48 mmol is the diabetic threshold). Most importantly I’d also equipped myself with the knowledge of how to maintain that weight loss. The low-calorie liquids or the surgeon’s knife may well kick T2D into remission, but they’re arduous procedures to undertake. Staying in remission is also hard work, but that has been made easier for me by using a new lifestyle to beat this lifestyle related disease. ‘How I Beat Type 2 Diabetes’ by John Spring is available on Amazon. £7.99.

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Astrology

By Louise Addison

It’s Written in the Stars…or is it? What should we make of astrology? As the new year begins, those who enjoy astrology will check the heavens to see what the future might have in store. Astrologers look for answers, signs and predictions in the movements of the celestial bodies. There is a long history of humans using the stars to plan their lives. Farmers used the skies as a calendar as long ago as Ancient Egyptians, when the rising of Sirius, the Dog Star, around mid-July, was seen as a marker of the imminent annual flooding of the Nile; and Sailors have long used the night skies to aid navigation. We don’t know who first came up with the idea of looking at divining the influences of nature on humans, but some form of astrology shows up in the various belief systems of ancient cultures. In Ancient China, noblemen looked at eclipses or sunspots as portents of good or bad times for their emperor. The Sumerians and Babylonians watched planets and stars as a way to keep track of where gods were in the sky. The ancient Egyptians contributed the idea that patterns of stars made up constellations, through which the sun appears to “move” at a specific time during the year. It’s thought that all of these ideas came together when Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in around 330 BC. The Greek logisticians and mathematicians worked out rules for how divination by the stars could work. Imagine a straight line drawn from Earth through the Sun and out into space beyond our solar system to where the stars are. As the Earth follows its orbit around the Sun this imaginary line

rotates, pointing to different stars throughout one complete trip around the Sun — or one year. All the stars that lie close to the imaginary flat disk swept out by this imaginary line are said to be in the zodiac. The astronomer Ptolemy helped popularize the 12 signs in his book The Tetrabiblos. They are: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. Ptolemy also developed the idea that signs along the zodiac that were 30° wide, and that the sun moved through them regularly during the year. For centuries, astrology was considered basically the same thing as astronomy - the scientific study of celestial bodies. This only changed around the beginning of the Enlightenment in the late 17th century with Sir Isaac Newton’s work on the motion of the planets and gravity. He started a whole new mathematical and scientific approach to looking at the sky and the motion of planets and the earth. But the appeal of looking to the stars for answers has never waned. Astrology remains popular today, probably due to the fact that humans tend towards romanticism and also towards a psychological phenomenon known as confirmation bias where we search for interpretations that match what we already hope to be true. We latch on to events that corroborate our beliefs and ignore those that don’t fit the pattern. But if nothing else, astrology is fun, and scientist that I am…I still read the horoscopes!

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Local News

East Anglian Air Ambulance East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) is an incredible community-funded service in Cambridgeshire and here at The Villager, we are proud to announce that we have chosen to support this lifesaving charity as our charity of the year in 2020. We will be bringing you regular features to learn more about the team at EAAA and all the amazing work they do, as well all the different ways that you can get involved and support the air ambulance. You may not be aware, but over the last year (2018 / 2019), between its two bases and two helicopters (Norwich and Cambridge) the East Anglian Air Ambulance was tasked 1,798 times by helicopter, 1,023 times by rapid response vehicle and attended 1,664 patients in total. Of these patients there were 480 cardiac arrests, 355 road traffic collisions, 256 accidental injuries, 340 medical emergencies, 73 intentional self-harm incidents, 70 sporting incidents and 54 assault patients in the region. On top of this, the charity is striving ahead to become the first air ambulance in the East of England to fly 24/7. EAAA is already incredibly well equipped to fly in the hours of darkness, landing at unlit sites, however they currently only fly until 1:30am in the morning, coming back online by helicopter at 7am. This means there is a five and a half hour gap in the region where there is no helicopter coverage if needed. EAAA Strongly believe the time of day should not dictate the type of emergency medical care available to you, and are passionate about raising an additional £1 million a year in order to fund the extra flying hours to

Barbara McGee Fundraising Manager

provide a 24/7 helicopter emergency medical service. Barbara McGee, Fundraising Manager for Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire, said: “The level of care our medical teams provide is absolutely outstanding and with the helicopter they can reach anywhere in East Anglia in 25 mins, taking the hospital to the patient and getting that patient the care they need as quickly as possible. “We’re passionate about being able to provide this service, by helicopter, 24 hours a day and estimate that by doing so we could help hundreds more patients each year, which would be amazing. But we can only do this by raising more money, so we’re incredibly grateful to all of the support we get from the community – and to Charity of the Year partnerships such as this one – which help us to be there for our patients. So please come to one of our events, play our lottery, play our raffle, volunteer for us - anything at all that you can do to help us will make a huge difference to our work.” Find out more at www.eaaa.org.uk/get-invovled

Sunrise at Cambridge Airport with Anglia Two, taken by Critical Care Paramedic Liam Sagi on a day shift in December

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Finance

Five Tasks for an Organised Financial Life in 2020

By Ann Haldon

January is the perfect time to organise your financial life and carry out those onerous or boring tasks you’ve been putting off for so long. Making a will, setting up a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) and checking your credit file are just three important ‘bigger picture’ jobs that can set you up for a secure future, and offer a little protection from life’s uncertainties. So here are the five tasks in more detail – tackle them in any order, and get your financial life organised in 2020. 1. Check your state pension forecast Checking how much state pension you might receive provides a clearer picture of how your financial situation could look in retirement. It also allows you to see if there are any gaps in your National Insurance (NI) record. This is important, as you may be able to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions to fill those gaps and complete your NI record before you retire. At the time of writing you need to make full contributions for 35 years to be eligible for the new full state pension,¹ so it’s definitely worth investigating. 2. Make a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) A Lasting Power of Attorney is an official document whereby you appoint one or more attorneys to help you make financial or healthrelated decisions, or to make them on your behalf if you lose mental capacity in the future. You need to be over the age of 18 to make an LPA, and have the mental capacity at the time to make your own decisions. Drawing up an LPA is often regarded as unnecessary until later life, but it’s well worth considering at any time. 3. Write a will Making a will ensures your assets are passed down according to your wishes when you die, and with today’s complex family structures it can prevent a great deal of stress for those left behind. It’s advisable to seek professional assistance when making a will, particularly if you have a young family or your circumstances aren’t straightforward. 4. Take out ‘life event’ insurance Adverse life events such as chronic illness or

serious accident can derail your plans for the future. You may not be able to work or function in the way you used to, for instance, but if you’ve taken out appropriate insurance it can reduce some of the devastating financial impact for yourself and your family. 5. Check your credit report The state of your credit report affects your ability to borrow and obtain credit, and is a fundamental part of your overall financial situation. Lenders and credit card companies assess your creditworthiness by checking your credit file, and decide whether or not to sanction loans or grant credit based on its contents. If you blitz these jobs in January, you can relax for the rest of 2020 knowing that some of the mundane but very important financial issues that can affect your life so seriously are all under control. www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/your-nationalinsurance-record-and-your-state-pension www.moneywise.co.uk/work/everyday-life/10financial-chores-you-need-tackle-now www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article6422421/I-incomplete-years-NI-record-late-fill.html www.moneywise.co.uk/news/2019-0301%E2%80%8C%E2%80%8C/deal-week-get-free-willwritten-you-march

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Hitchin Showroom

Bathing Mobility Specialist

Helping you bathe independently again Wet Rooms • Walk-In Showers • Walk-In Baths

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Free In-Home Design Consultations Available Now 32

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Choose BMAS for safe, high-quality

easy-access bathrooms Are you struggling to get in or out of the bath or to manage the step up into the shower? You may even be worried about slipping or falling. If you or a loved one are experiencing bathing difﬁculties, it makes sense to speak with a specialist before making any adaptations to your bathroom. Trust the mobility bathing experts

When using the Bathing Mobility Advisory Service, you really are in expert hands. Unlike some bathroom companies, we specialise in mobility bathing and are passionate about helping people bathe safely in their own home. With over a decade of experience, BMAS have installed hundreds of wet rooms, walk-in showers and walk-in baths. Built on family values, we put you at the heart of everything we do and pride ourselves on the personal service we offer.

We take care of everything from design to completion

We manage every aspect related to creating your perfect bathroom. We start by listening to you and ﬁnding out about your needs

whilst assessing your current facilities during a free in-home visit. We don’t believe in hard sell and our advice is provided without any obligation. Your bathroom will be meticulously designed and our products are of the highest quality. All work is completed on time by our own tradespeople who will respect you and your home.

Introducing our Hitchin showroom View the quality of our products and workmanship for yourself in our brand new showroom.You can also receive free advice from our experts. We look forward to welcoming you.

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THE GARDEN ROBIN

GARDEN DESIGNERS

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Gardening

High-Rise Edibles By Pippa Greenwood Use high-rise gardening to give extra space, with hanging baskets, wall troughs and window boxes as homes for vegetables, herbs and even fruit. So, what does it take to succeed? Larger containers allow for more room for your crops’ roots and easier maintenance, as they will run out of moisture and fertiliser less frequently. Use suitable supporting brackets and screws for hanging baskets, window boxes and wall troughs, as they must support the weight of fully grown plants laden with crops, which will be heavier after watering. Check walls, balconies and windows sills will not be overloaded and consider using lighterweight loam-free or peat-free composts with lightweight containers made of bamboo, plastics or fibre glass. You’ll need to use good quality compost and feed crops in high-rise planters regularly and, as they’re more susceptible to drying out, regular watering is essential. The dwarf runner bean ‘Hestia’ is perfect for containers and can be sown directly into the compost in April, or raised in small pots or trays and then planted out into the high-rise planter. Dwarf French varieties such as ‘Duel’ or the purplepodded ‘Purple Tee Pee’ do well in a good sized window box Wall baskets, troughs and hanging baskets can play host to strawberries, which trail naturally over container edges. Plants can be bought from garden centres or by mail order at this time of year. There’s a huge selection of lettuce and other salad leaves available in a wide range of colours and leaf shapes. Fast-germinating and fast-growing, you can either buy small plants or sow the seed

directly into the compost. Creeping or trailing forms of herbs are a must for a basket, trough or window box, and thyme in particular is ideal for a container in a sunny spot. As it’s hardy it can be planted out at any time of year. Parsley, sage, tarragon, chives and basil all look good in wall baskets or window boxes and thrive in a sunny spot. Most oriental vegetables, such as the pak choi varieties ‘Red Choi’ and Mizuna (including the purple-veined ‘Mizuna Purple’) do well in a sheltered window box or wall trough. The two look stunning combined together, with the Mizuna positioned to ‘flop’ attractively over container edges. For a red and spicy theme use ‘Mustard Red Giant’. There are several varieties of tomatoes well-suited to containers such as hanging baskets, including the classic ‘Tumbling Tom’, available in both red and yellow varieties, and the red-fruited ‘Tumbler’. Raise them from seed sown now or buy plants to put into containers in late April or May. If you like tiny fruited tomatoes, consider ‘Hundreds and Thousands’. Chilli pepper plants such as ‘Super Chilli’ packed in a window box or wall trough will look stunning when covered in their glossy fruits. Chillies are tender so buy plants in May or June or sow seeds now. At Pippa’s website (www.pippagreenwood.com) you’ll find natural pest controls, stylish cloches, practical and pretty plant supports, the fantastic SpeedHoe, tools, planters, raised bed kits and the ‘Grow Your Own with Pippa’ system. Or book Pippa for a talk at your gardening club.

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y Rachael Leverton

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Garden View

By Rachael Leverton

Witch Hazel January is a great time to plant deciduous trees and at this time of year a tree with added winter interest is always a welcome sight. Enter the witch hazel. These lovely trees with their citrus-scented spidery flowers are widely sold in garden centres as container-grown plants Look for plants with a number of evenly distributed well-placed branches and avoid those showing signs of stress, damage or disease. Ideally choose an open, sunny position in the garden. They also work well if planted next to pathways and doors where you can enjoy their gorgeous scent on wintery days. Avoid very shady sites though or the plant may become straggly Witch hazels need free-draining soil that doesn’t dry out in summer. A light soil mixed with plenty of organic matter, such as well-rotted manure or compost, is best. They will also grow on heavier clay soils but make sure that as well as digging in plenty of organic matter you ensure good drainage by planting on a slight mound, about

25-30cm (10in-1ft) high and 1m (3½ft) in diameter. The only soil witch hazels won’t tolerate is a shallow chalky soil. And make sure you don’t plant them out if the ground is waterlogged. Witch hazels grow slowly but eventually make large spreading shrubs. They aren’t fond of pruning so make sure you leave enough space around your plant for it can develop naturally. Make sure they are well-watered throughout the first couple of springs and summers as they take a long time to fully establish and lack of moisture can cause flowers to drop. They don’t need regular feeding but applying a top dressing of a general in late winter or early spring will help young plants to grow.

Happy New Year and Happy Gardening!

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Quirky Britain

By Kate McLelland

Our eccentric inventors: Are they having the last laugh? They might have been created the best part of a century ago, but William Heath Robinson’s delightfully wacky cartoons have a special resonance for us today, in our technology-obsessed age. Born in 1872, the famous British illustrator became a household name with his tonguein-cheek drawings of imaginary, labour-saving contraptions assembled from old bicycle wheels, bits of wood, lengths of piping and lots and lots of string. Heath Robinson used gentle humour to celebrate the kind of well-intentioned amateur inventor who spends hours tinkering with various odds and ends, dreaming of commercial success. Times may have changed, but thankfully we still have inventors who are happy to keep plodding away in the hope of a big breakthrough – even if some of their ideas are almost as wacky as those in Heath Robinson’s drawings. John Ward and the window cleaners’ friend Eccentric inventor John Ward is known for inventions such as the musical frying pan, the revolving teaspoon and the portable bra warmer. Starting out as a trainee painter and decorator, John tried several occupations before deciding to build a career around his barmy inventions. Like the contraptions in Heath Robinson’s famous cartoons, John uses recycled materials to create many of his inventions. These include a ‘helicopter car’ and the ‘ladder-bicycle’: a bike which can be ridden, but when turned through ninety degrees becomes a handy stepladder for cleaning windows. Although John doesn’t take his work too seriously, he has been invited to showcase his inventions on TV in the UK, America, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Russia. He has also been involved in all kinds of promotional work, and is often asked to create props, store displays and contraptions to be shown at county shows and exhibitions. Willy Johnson’s bottle top brainwave Willy Johnson is another British inventor who has patented a number of weird and wonderful ideas, including the ‘expanding plant pot’, a pleated plastic container “which can be expanded progressively to accommodate

increased root growth.” He has also invented a floating soap containing a compressed sponge (that only becomes accessible once the soap is used up), and a television that can be turned off by means of a ‘soft missile’ thrown at the screen. Although none of these inventions has yet reached a mass market, one of Willy Johnson’s recent inspirations – providing a further life for the humble bottle top – has attracted considerable media interest. His invention, known as a ‘ToPo®’, has been designed to become a fun educational toy once the bottle is empty. ToPo® bricks can be joined together in various ways, creating all kinds of shapes, and the addition of a single letter on each brick means they can also be used to spell out words. While William Heath Robinson’s work satirises the lengths some inventors will go to in order to develop a winning idea, it’s great to see two British inventors whose slightly off-the-wall approach and quirky creativity has paid off. It shows how far you can go with a few recycled bits and pieces … and a lot of string.

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Pets

RSPCA Hertfordshire East News

Happy New Year to all our readers and animal lovers. We really need your help. This time of year is always busy and our charity shop is short of volunteers. No experience required, any necessary training will be given; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s easy and exceedingly rewarding, knowing you are making a big difference to the vulnerable animals in our care throughout the year, not just at Christmas. Work upstairs in our stock room or downstairs on the shop floor. Talk to our friendly team, Bonnie or Maria, on 01462 433369, or visit the shop at 19 Churchyard, Hitchin SG5 1HP. We would love to hear from you. Not a lot of people know this, but cats prefer their water bowls separate from their food bowls, ideally in a different room. Some cats will not drink water if it is next to their food bowls because the water may smell like their food. Wild cats never drink water that is contaminated. Check if your cat is drinking enough water by pulling the fold of skin at the back of his neck. If it returns immediately your cat is hydrated, but if it stays bunched your cat needs more water. Also, do not put ice cubes in their water bowls in summer, however good the intention. If you have any unwanted Christmas gifts, please consider donating them to our charity shop, so that the proceeds can be used towards the animals in our care. We are a self-funding branch and our only financial support comes from the generous general public. Check out our top ten cat facts. No two cats are the same, but insight into their biology and behaviour can help you understand your pet better.

1. Cats have highly developed senses. They can detect higher frequencies of sound than dogs or humans, have a highly developed sense of smell, can see better in the dark, and their whiskers are highly sensitive to vibrations. 2. Cats hunt alone in the wild spending 6-8 hours a day hunting. 3. Cats are agile, powerful, with tightly controlled muscles and fast reflexes. 4. Cats use a range of methods to communicate: meows, trills, chirrups, growls, yowls and hisses, and visually using different body postures. 5. Cats are territorial, leaving visual markers such as scratch marks, spraying urine and deposition of faeces to protect their territory. 6. Cats are independent, self reliant for food, shelter, grooming and territory defence. 7. Cats are meat eaters and cannot survive without nutrients found in animal-derived materials. 8. Cats love naps and domestic cats sleep for 12-18 hours a day. 9. Cats are playful, needing both mental and physical stimulation which encourages social behaviour. 10. Cats are clean animals. Tiny abrasive hooks found on their tongues help them to groom, keeping their coats in good condition, removing fleas and parasites.

In the event of an emergency or cruelty, please call 0300 1234 999 Branch Office: 01462 672278 Why not follow us on Facebook:www.facebook.com/hertfordshireeastbranch or on our website:www.rspca-hertfordshireeast.org.uk

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IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A HIGH-QUALITY KITCHEN MAKEOVER FOR UP TO 50% LESS THAN A NEW FULLY FITTED KITCHEN, WHY NOT PAY A VISIT TO DREAM DOORS EAST HERTS SHOWROOM IN WARE Highly-experienced owners Carly and Tom promise you a warm welcome. 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. Dream Doors is the UK’s #1 kitchen makeover specialist and we take the hassle out of your kitchen revamp from the very beginning. Once we’ve arranged a free, no obligation visit to your home - at a time that’s convenient for you we will measure up your kitchen. Our experienced kitchen designers can then talk you through our extensive range of products and help you narrow down your selection. No matter if your style is traditional, contemporary, exclusive, modern or classic we have a range of doors and worktops that will suit you and your style.

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Food & Drink

Portuguese Custard Tarts It’s been said over and again, food takes us back to a place, back to a memory, back to a moment in time. Whenever I smell fresh biscuits baking, I’m right back to my grandma’s kitchen. Whenever I smell a fresh baguette, it takes me back to my time living in France and that unmistakable early morning aroma which fills the villages and towns (often mixed in with the smell of strong coffee too!). So often on my Weekend Kitchen radio show, I am taken back to happy places by the food which my guests make. One such happy place is Portugal, and the Algarve in particular, where I have spent days and days enjoying the perfect weather, wonderful hospitality and amazing fresh food. And nothing personifies Portugal better than their traditional custard tart - moreish, light, and with the signature dark brown top crust, they will brighten any dark day. They’re also surprisingly easy to make - as shown in this brilliant recipe by Victoria Chidgey. She’s a highly talented young cake maker and baker, with her own thriving business called The Tring Cake Company. These tarts will put a smile on your face. Ingredients 1 block of puff pastry Icing sugar for dusting 6 egg yolks 185g caster sugar 50g cornflour 600ml whole milk 10g vanilla extract 1. In a pan, bring together the yolks, sugar, cornflour and vanilla. Slowly stir in the milk. 2. Put the pan onto a moderate heat and stir continuously until big bubbles appear in the middle.

3. Take off the heat, pour the mix into a bowl and cover with clingfilm. 4. Put this bowl in the fridge to chill while you roll your pastry. 5. Roll out the puff pastry using the icing sugar to dust the surface and rolling pin. 6. Cut the pastry in half and place one half of the pastry on top of the other. 7. Roll the pastry again until 5mm thick. 8. Roll the pastry into a tight sausage and cut into 16 discs. 9. Push the pastry into each hole of a cupcake tray, applying pressure around the sides so that they are evenly covered, all the way to the top edge. 10. Dust with icing sugar.

Hear wonderful recipes on Nick Coffer’s Weekend Kitchen every Sunday morning on BBC Three Counties radio at 11am. You can also join Nick every weekday afternoon at midday for brilliant local guests with great stories to tell and all the music you want for your early afternoon.

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Parenting

Making family life that little bit easier Ever feel like you’re trying to juggle too many balls, half of which are on fire? Here are a few ideas that might help… Plan like a pro If you have school-age children, you no doubt find yourself wishing they had their own personal assistant at times. (And a cook, cleaner and driver.) Between them, my two have drama, yoga, maths club, choir, piano, Taekwondo, dance, computer club, youth club and swimming lessons. And that’s before you factor in play dates, homework and school projects. I find the easiest way to remember who needs what, where and on what day, is through a Google calendar that I share with my partner. It means we constantly have notifications pinging at us, but we can remind the kids to grab their piano book or swim stuff in the morning. A wall planner is also handy, particularly a wipeclean weekly planner hung next to the front door or on the fridge. Use it to keep track of clubs, play dates, homework deadlines, whether they’re on school dinners or packed lunches and so on. I bought ours from Amazon for £5. Now I just need to get my kids to remember to check it… Encouraging children to put things away Fed up of the kids dumping their bags and coats on the floor when they walk through the door?

Make it as easy as possible for them to hang things up by installing extra hooks in your hallway. If the hooks are low enough to reach easily, and only for your kids’ coats and bags, it’s more likely they’ll get used. Once you’ve reminded your children to go back and hang their things up a dozen or so times, it becomes habit. Help babies to sleep outside your home When you’re a parenting journalist, you get sent a lot of press releases. The one new product that’s really stood out from the crowd for me recently is the POD Travel Crib. In short, it’s a travel cot that folds up to become a changing bag. The bag can be used to carry nappies, wipes and spare clothes, and the cot mattress doubles up as a changing mat. Genius, right? It takes less than a minute to turn it from bag into cot (and we all know that every second counts when it comes to sleeping babies). And, unlike a lot of baby products, this one looks rather stylish. Think designer laptop bag, but on a larger scale. I ordered one for my sister the day I received the press release, and it now goes with her pretty much everywhere. My niece sleeps better in it than the car seat and it means my sister doesn’t have to lug the pram around. It’s£65 from www.bizzigrowin.com.

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By Kate Duggan - www.kateduggan.co.uk

Local News

Sidings Acapella Thank You for your support Sidings Acapella is a successful eight man acapella singing group, a branch-line from Shannon Express Barbershop Harmony Club. Our style of singing is pure vocal, with no musical instruments to accompany. Our sound is four-part close harmony that gives a unique sound that goes down well with our audiences. Sidings sing a variety of songs, old and new, around the Pubs, Restaurants, Care homes and any charitable organisations that want us in the surrounding area. We sing because we love our hobby, but in the process collect for MacMillan Cancer Care. We have sung in many of the local pubs and restaurants this year and passed the bucket around collecting for MacMillan Cancer Care. The clientele in the establishments have been so generous, and we have just recently handed over a cheque for the sum of £1185 - not bad for doing something we love to do anyway!

Sidings would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has so generously supported us throughout the year. Shannon Express is currently having a recruitment drive by running a free 5 week Acapella Harmony Singing course for men who may enjoy the challenge. Everyone says that they can’t sing, but it’s not true, come along and have a go, you will be surprised at just how infectious it is and what a great hobby to have. We like to give everyone a chance, you do not have to be musical or read music, just enjoy singing and we will help you reach your potential. The course starts 7.30pm on 30 January 2020 at Potton Lower School, SG19 2PB. Phone 07771993896 or email sos@ shannonexpress.org.uk to reserve your place.

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T J Lee

Chimney Builders (Hitchin) Tel: 01462 234717 Mob: 07966 404469 Email: terryjleebuilding@gmail.com T J Lee Chimney Builders

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Codeword 1

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Easy Suduko

Hard Suduko

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. 48

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Life Begins...

Funeral costs:

By Kate McLelland

Does it pay to plan ahead? According to the Money Advice Service (moneyadviceservice.org. uk) the average price of a funeral, even without optional items such as flowers and catering, is around £4,300. That’s not exactly small change for most people, and if you don’t make some kind of financial provision for your funeral, your children or close relatives may have to foot the bill. If you don’t believe there will be enough money in your estate to pay for a funeral when you die, and your relatives can’t afford to chip in, there are several options open to you. Sign up to a prepaid funeral plan With a prepaid plan, you will choose the type of funeral you want (so long as it’s in the UK) then pay the funeral director or plan provider either in a lump sum, or in weekly instalments. The costs will be frozen at today’s

prices from the moment the plan takes effect, which means the costs won’t be subject to inflation, but you should be aware that your plan may not provide everything you want. Over 50s plans Although this is a form of insurance, there’s no requirement for medical underwriting. That means if you are in poor health at the time of drawing up the plan it won’t affect the pay-out, provided you survive beyond the first two years of the plan’s start date. On the down side, once you’ve paid the money in, you won’t get it back and you risk losing the whole investment if you don’t keep up to date with payments. Life Insurance According to the consumer association Which?, life insurance could potentially pay out 40% more than an Over 50s plan. However the lump sum provided

by life insurance can take several weeks to come through. The Association of British Insurers says that payments generally take about a month to arrive after a death, but they can take longer if the death needs investigation. Government-funded funeral payments If the person responsible for arranging your funeral is receiving certain benefits, they can apply to the government for a Funeral Expenses Payment. The money offered will cover things such as cremation fees or the cost of a particular burial plot, death certificates and other documents, but it is unlikely to cover the full cost of a funeral. Save up with a bank account You can always set up a separate bank account to pay for your funeral, paying in gradually to build up the amount you need, although there’s a risk that you might die before you accumulate your target sum. At your death, the money you’ve saved will be considered part of your estate, which means it won’t be released immediately to pay for your funeral costs. If you’ve been concerned about how you will pay for your funeral, the five options listed above should provide some comfort. Fortunately there’s lots more advice available from organisations such as the Money Advice Service and Citizens Advice. Finally, it always helps to discuss your plans with your family or close friends, as any arrangements made now could save them a lot of worry in future.

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WINDOW REPAIRS

Serving all of Herts - Based in Stevenage Specialising in replacing misted units

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n O s ’ t Wha In January

This is a small selection of the What’s On for the full listing please go to our website www.villagermag.com

2, 9, 16, 23 & 30 January The Hitchin Thursday Club 9.30am-12 noon St John’s Community Hall, Hitchin A friendly group which meets every Thursday morning for recreational painting, drawing, etc. The group is very easy going in its attitude to art - only doing your own thing. Still Life and raffle every month. No qualifications required - just come along with your drawing gear and you’ll receive a very warm welcome. Tel: Pauline 01767 315553 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30 January Stevenage Bridge Club 7.30pm Priory Nursery, Stanmore Road, Old Stevenage To play Duplicate Bridge. A host system is run to find partners, if required. A wide level of ability play at the club. Tel: Phil Cooper 07957 813434

2, 9, 16, 23 & 30 January Stevenage Plus Social Group 8.15pm for 8.30pm Holiday Inn Express (opposite Matalan), Stevenage £2 - first night free Stevenage Plus Social Group is a fun and friendly social group with members in their 30s and 40s from Stevenage, North Herts and surrounding areas. We have a varied programme of events on Thursday and Saturday evenings as well as day trips and weekends away. New members always welcome. Tel: 01438 231550. Email: welcome@stevenage.plus Web: www.stevenageplus.co.uk 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30 January Sapphire Social Club 8.30pm The Orange Tree, Hitchin A small and friendly group for single people generally aged 50 and above, offering a variety of social events during the month and the opportunity to meet and make new friends. Potential new members are warmly welcome to come along with no joining fee for the first two months. Tel: Joyce 07952 678021 or Ian 07900 890583 for info Web: www.sapphiresocialsinglesclub.co.uk

3 January RSPB Hitchin & Letchworth Local Group 7.30pm ‘The Settlement’, Nevells Road, Letchworth Garden City Local group members free, Visitors £3 ‘My journey in wildlife photography’ by Ben Andrew. Ben is an amateur wildlife photographer and RSPB staff member (he runs the RSPB’s photographic library). He details his journey into photography, successes and failures and how he has developed specific photo projects to tell stories through imagery. Tel: 01763 249459 Email: martinrjspc@hotmail.com

6, 13, 20 & 27 January Staplers Country Dance Club 8-10pm St John’s Community Hall, Hitchin Staplers is a social folk dance club. It’s easy to start as all the dances are walked through first then called and you don’t need to come with a partner; lots of us come on our own. We are a friendly group and you will be made very welcome. Car parking is available next to the hall. Meets every Monday apart from bank holidays and some school holiday dates. Tel. 01462 624144 or 01462 680995 Web: www.staplers.org.uk

3, 10, 17, 24 & 31 January Springfield House Friday Bridge Club 1.30pm Springfield House (the home of the Old Stevenage Community Centre) To play cut-in Chicago Bridge. Play is informal and friendly. Tel: Richard Bean 01438 221517

6, 13, 20 & 27 January Branch Out Social Club for Single People 8.30-11pm Cromwell Bar, The Sun Hotel, Hitchin Branch Out meets every Monday night and is a medium-sized social club for single people. The club organises regular events, such as dinners, discos, meals, parties, Sunday walks, theatre and concert visits, day and weekend trips and holidays. Tel: Lorna 01438 233657 Web: www.branch-out.org.uk

5, 12, 19 & 26 January Hare & Hounds Hash House Harriers 11am H5 are a social running and walking club for mixed abilities, meeting every week in the Bedfordshire area. The trail is set by our hare from a local pub and typically lasts 1 hour covering between 3 and 4 miles. Family and dog friendly. Full details of the trails can be found online or via email. Email: info@h5hashers.org.uk Web: www.H5hashers.org.uk 6, 13, 20 & 27 January Stevenage New Pathways 1-4pm Friends Meeting House Cuttys Lane, Stevenage £2 inc. hot drink & biscuits A friendly place to meet and talk over issues in a positive way. Maybe go for walks, bring in speakers, form a craft group. Email: katiewilsonmind@gmail.com 6, 13, 20 & 27 January Stevenage Choral Society 7.45-9.45pm Stevenage Music Centre, Nobel School, Stevenage The society meets every Monday during term time. Free the friendly choir with a free session. No audition necessary. Meet like-minded people of all ages and abilities. Try out a wide range of music, from the classics to show songs and be part of a friendly and supportive team, putting on excellent performances whilst having fun. Tel: 01438 365769 Email: info@stevenagechoral.org.uk Web: www.stevenagechoral.org.uk

8 January North Herts Association of National Trust 7.30pm Christchurch, Bedford Road, Hitchin Visitors £2 ‘The Arts & Crafts Movement in North Hertfordshire’ by Ros Allwood, Cultural Services Manager at North Herts Museum. Visitors welcome. Membership of National Trust not necessary. Second hand books and homemade preserves on sale. Tel: Secretary Mrs Colette House 01462 815585 Email: colettehouse@gmail.com 9, 16, 23 & 30 January Roundabouters Country Dance Club 8-10pm Friends Meeting House, Cuttys Lane, Stevenage £3, annual membership £5 Friendly club for English country dancing – enjoyable, easy to learn and very sociable. We welcome new members, both beginners and experienced, couples and individuals. All dances walked through; club and guest callers ensure a varied programme. Tel: 01438 727239 Email: roundabouters@live.co.uk Web: www.roundabouters.org.uk

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n O s ’ t Wha In January

Deadline for What’s On entries is the 12th of the previous month. What’s on entries to whatson@villagermag.com

14 & 28 January Hitchin & District Probus Club 12 noon for 1pm Priory Hotel, Hitchin Social club for retired and semi-retired professional and business men which meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month for lunch. Organised visits and events throughout the year. New members welcome. Tel: Roger Burt 01438 351891 Email: roger@mazda20.plus.com 15 January Hitchin Flower Club 7pm for 7.30pm Church House, Church Yard, Hitchin Facebook: Hitchin Flower Club-NAFAS 19 January RSPB Hitchin & Letchworth Local Group Trip Coach Trip to RSPB Lakenheath Fen. This excellent reserve in Suffolk, with huge reed beds, river and woodland, is good for wintering birds. Pick-ups Hitchin 8.00am, Letchworth 8.15am and Royston 8.35am. Leader: Malcolm Ingram. Tel: 01763 249459 Email: martinrjspc@hotmail.com 19 January Stevenage RSPB Local Group car trip to Rainham Marshes 10am Get the new year off with a bang with an all-day car trip to this superb reserve close to the Dartford Crossing (but this side). Meet in the car park at 10am. Leader Graham Beevor Grid Ref 177/TQ 551790. Postcode RM19 1SZ. RSPB card required. Tel: 01438 226014. Web: ww2.rspb.org.uk/groups/stevenage

21 January Stevenage RSPB Local Group 7.30pm The Friends Meeting House, Cutty’s Lane, Stevenage RSPB Members £3, Non-members £4, Under 18s 50p ‘Farming, Birds and the Countryside’ with Alice Groom, Senior Policy Officer in the Land Use team of the RSPB. Tel: 01438 226014 Web: www.rspb.org/groups/Stevenage 25 January Join the Dots Forest School Great Wymondley Village, near Hitchin For children 2+ years, with additional dates in school holidays. Come and join our fun filled sessions involving games, den building, flora and fauna identification and much more. 2-5 years, 10.30am-12.30pm £16, siblings £12. 6-11 years, 1.15-4pm £20, siblings £18. Everyone welcome. Email: alison@jointhedotsforestschool.co.uk Website: www.jointhedotsforestschool.co.uk

31 January Hitchin Book Club 5pm Orange tree, Hitchin £2.50 A friendly group who meets the last Friday of each month. No pressure to read books just turn up for a drink and chat. Web: https://hitchinbookclub.simdif.com or https://www.meetup.com/Hitchin-Book-Club/

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31 January, 1, 2, 7 & 8 Feb Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves 31 Jan, 7 & 8 Feb 7.30pm; 1, 2 & 8 Feb 2.30pm The Oak Hall at Meppershall Village Hall, Walnut Tree Way Adults £10, Children £7, Family (2a + 2c) £30 HATS Drama Group present Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, a hilarious family pantomime by Ben Crocker. Doors open 30 mins before performances. Licensed bar. Web: www.ticketsource.co.uk/hats-drama Hitchin & Surrounding Areas Fun & Social Stuff A welcoming social group based in Hitchin, but, also includes the surrounding areas. We arrange monthly socials, drinks socials, live music, pub quizzes, cinema, etc.. The group is a variety of people over 18 getting to know others in a social and friendly setting whilst also enjoying themselves. Email: meetup3@outlook.com Web: https://www.meetup.com/meetup-groupHVrvZZiQ Hitchin Bridge Club Hitchin Bridge Club plays duplicate bridge several times each week. All levels of experience welcomed, hosts are available at some sessions for players without a partner. Workshops each month on topics for improving players. Beginners courses are run every year starting in October. For further information please contact Margaret or visit the website Tel: Margaret 01462 623447 Email: mee.hitchin@ntlworld.com Web: hitchinbridgeclub.org.uk

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Technology

Start a New Year’s revolution

High-tech ways to keep your New Year’s resolutions

The decorations are down, the gyms are going to be packed for the next few weeks and many of us have vowed to sort ourselves out. We’re going to get fitter, happier and more productive – and technology can help. One way technology can help is by making fitness more fun. For example, instead of a pricey gym subscription, why not buy yourself an e-bike? While some electric bikes are incredibly expensive, prices are falling fast: for example, Halfords sells a number of electric bikes for less than £600 and one is just £479. By comparison, a year’s membership of a very wellknown gym chain is £672. Whether you’re cycling down the streets, pounding the pavements or hitting the gym, it’s useful to track your progress to help with your motivation. There are tons of apps for everything, from recording the calories you consume to giving you challenging workouts. Some are incredibly focused, such as Seven: it gives you workouts you

can do in just seven minutes. Phones can track your movements through the day but if you really want to track your progress, a fitness tracker or a smartwatch can give you all kinds of information about what your body’s doing. The big daddy of the fitness tracking world is the Apple Watch, which comes in two flavours: the Series 3, which starts at £199, and the Series 5, which starts at £399. The series 4 was discontinued last year. If you have an iPhone, they’re the best smart watches you can buy. If you don’t have an iPhone or just don’t need a £400 Apple Watch, there are plenty of other options. Samsung makes a range of Galaxy Active watches from around £200 up that work really well with Android phones, and it also makes a simple fitness tracker called the Galaxy Fit. That’s currently £89. Fitbit has the £199 Versa 2 smartwatch and a range of fitness trackers including the £119 Charge 3 and the £69

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Ace 2 for children. Garmin has fitness-focused smartwatches at all price points plus the cute and sub-£100 Vivosmart 4 trackers, and firms such as Huawei offer budget bargains such as the £59 Band 3 Pro. Every device is different, of course, but the main difference between a smartwatch and a fitness tracker is apps. Smartwatches generally have them and fitness trackers generally don’t. Not all fitness technology goes on your wrist. Smart scales have become even smarter recently and many of them now connect to the health app on your phone, so you can see changes to your body composition and your weight over time. If you don’t feel like dropping £130-plus on a Nokia / Withings smart scale, the budget technology brand Eufy makes some really nice smart ones for much less: its Bluetooth-connected smart scales are currently £39.99 and work brilliantly.

N O T YO U R AV E R A G E H O M E I M P R OV E M E N T C O M PA N Y

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Crossword Solution for The Villager December Edition Last Monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Crossword Winner - Heather Urquhart from Hitchin Cambridge Gliding Competition Winner - Mrs Beverley Sale-James from St Neots Christmas Quiz Competition Winner - Mrs P Davies from Biggleswade

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Easy

Hard

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The Villager Prize Crossword

Complete the crossword, fill in your details below, cut out this page and send to the address below before

16th January 2020 Prize Crossword, Villager Publications Ltd 24 Market Square, Potton, Beds SG19 2NP

Prize

ÂŁ25

Across 1 Demand (6) 4 Swollen (5) 9 Tract of level high ground (7) 10 Examinations (5) 11 Restored to health (5) 12 Exact (7) 13 Arguing (11) 18 Sudden bursts of light (7) 20 Contest (5) 22 Strongly flavoured edible bulb (5) 23 Interconnected system (7) 24 Traffic light (5) 25 Changes to fit purpose (6) Down 1 Collision (6) 2 Step (5) 3 Slim (7) 5 Loosen (5) 6 Popular style (7) 7 Keeping down (11) 8 Pale or colourless (5) 14 Ingredient of nuclear power (7) 15 Restricted (7) 16 Happening, underway (5) 17 Trembles (6) 19 Thus (5) 21 Unit of soldiers (5)

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Your Perfect Loft Access and Storage Solution Our services include: Loft Ladders Loft Hatches Insulation Loft Boarding Loft Lighting Balustrades We are a family run business who comply to building regulations, where our fitters are fully insured and all of our work is guaranteed. Covering Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Essex.

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Call now for a free, no obligation quotation

ROGERSONS

REMOVALS

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Book Review A Year of Reading Aloud by Georgina Rodgers (editor)

If you love poetry, try this collection of ‘52 poems to learn and love’, where you’ll find well-known names such as Sylvia Plath, E.E Cummings, William Blake and Maya Angelou alongside newer poets. Most of the poems are short enough to learn without too much difficulty, and they’re accompanied by a paragraph about the poet and the reason why the poem has been selected. Take up the challenge of learning one each week, or just dip in and out when you need an extra dose of beauty in your life.

Grow Cook Eat Diary 2020 by Sarah Raven

If you love gardening and cooking this could be the diary for you. Each month has a short list of what to sow, plant and harvest in your garden, along with other garden-related tasks and a simple recipe using in-season produce. Dishes range from Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry to Beef Carpaccio with Fennel Flowers. As you’d expect, there are plenty of stunning flower photographs throughout the diary, with one image for each week.

A Year of Living Thankfully by Lois Blyth

Can being more grateful change your life? According to this book it can, and Lois Blyth is on a mission to show you how. Each week, you’ll work through an activity to help you embrace gratitude and take pleasure in the little things. There’s guidance on turning negative thoughts around, learning to appreciate what you have and not letting others spoil your mood.

Books By Kate Duggan

365 Days of Creativity by Lorna Scobie

As the blurb says, “Creativity is not just about making your mark on the paper. It’s about looking at the world a little differently.” If you’re stuck in a creative rut, this book might help you get out of it. The daily artistic challenges are split into how they help you feel, so you can choose one based on whether you want to feel calm, inspired, energetic or reflective. They range from drawing patterns on a snake to capturing the view through a doorway. Whether you take five minutes or five hours on each one is up to you.

Farrow & Ball Recipes for Decorating by Joa Studholme

Planning to redecorate this year? This book might help you come up with a plan. There are thirteen case studies, from city centre apartments to a classic Georgian house, as well as tips and tricks for decorating each room of your home. There’s also plenty of advice on decorating in general, including making small rooms look bigger and using colour to make an impact.

Booker Prize Shortlist 2019 Various

Looking for a new fiction book to lose yourself in on a long winter’s night? Fancy trying something a bit different to your usual genre? Treat yourself to the six novels from the Booker Prize shortlist. Stories range from Chigozie Obioma’s An Orchestra of Minorities to Elif Shalak’s 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World. Read them all to see whether you agree with the judges’ final decision.

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Classifieds Appliance & Electrical Repairs

Roofing

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Property Improvement

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and Town

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