Stoke Orchard and Tredington Newsletter

August 2020

Photo-Harvest 2019—North Hampshire Dear Friends, A Monthly Message Things are moving quickly!! With risk assessments completed; hand sanitiser, social distancing signs, and black and yellow cordoning off tape in place; and a sheet requesting contact details for track & trace reasons only at the entrances, the following churches can be accessed again: Priory Church of St Mary, Deerhurst is open daily between 9am-5pm Holy Trinity Church, Apperley is open on Wednesdays and Sundays between 10am-6pm. St John the Baptist Church, Chaceley can be accessed by arrangement. (Please contact the warden Mr Nigel Horner, on 01452 780347.) Last Sunday, the first services in church buildings took place: Holy Communion in Stoke Orchard and evening prayer in Chaceley. The ser- vices were well attended and although the interiors look different with the tape cordoning off all pews other than the ones where you can sit, it was good to gather in person. This Sunday, Deerhurst will have its first service since lockdown and here are some reminders on how ser- vices are different from before: There will be no hymns, the responses will be said in a quiet voice, certain pews will be cordoned off the ensure social distancing and the taking of bread will be carried out in silence with no contact. And whether this is good or bad news I’ll leave to you, the sermons are to be as short as possible. During this time of disrupted Worship in Church—Please contact Vicky Fowkes for the Weekly Pew Sheets containing so much information. Severnside Benefice will meet weekly on zoom every Sunday at 11am. and the Monday Morning Discussion group also meets on Zoom. Please contact Vicky Fowkes for details. —[email protected] for both Zoom log-on details and passwords. Peace and blessings to you all, Ilse

Tredington and Stoke Orchard Parochial Church Council

Stoke Orchard Church of St James the Great. We bring you news of some extensive conservation work which is shortly to commence to the interior of St James Church, Stoke Orchard. The work involves decorating the nave ceiling and with new lighting, but the main works involve the restoration and conservation of the highly regarded and historic wall paintings. As you may be aware your beautiful church is nearly 900 years old and the wall paintings, though somewhat difficult to interpret, depict the life of St James for which there is also evidence of ancient pilgrimage routes through to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The forthcoming work is being carried out by the internationally famous Perry Lithgow Partnership and starting later in August for some eight to ten weeks. Whilst this work is taking place, the church has been officially closed by permission of the Bishop, with services transferring to Tredington. We will bring you a further update in the September Newsletter. Roger Grimshaw—Tredington and Stoke Orchard. P.C.C. News Pages TheThe Tredington Tredington News Pages News Pages Tredington News Pages

The Tredington News Pages Tredington News for August 2020 Tredington & Stoke Orchard WI. We will be holding a Coffee Morn- ing at York Barn & Garden (Home Farm) on Tuesday, August 11th at 10.30am. We do hope as many members as possible will attend as at this event decisions will be made regarding our meeting in the Tred- ington Village Hall on Tuesday, September 8th & our provisionally booked visit to the Royal Mint on September 10th. We can all be so- cially distanced in York Barn or the garden if the weather is kind. ************************* Tredington & Stoke Orchard Gardening Club have decided to go ahead with their Fund-Raising Strawberry Tea on Saturday, August 22nd at York Barn & Garden. To make sure we can be safely socially distant we are selling tickets for two sittings of only 25 per sitting. Please contact Paddy on 01684 294053 for your chosen time. Tickets are £5 per person & £3 for children under 10 years. (See Poster.)

TREDINGTON AND STOKE ORCHARD GARDENING CLUB

Welcome you to their

StrawberryStrawberry TeaTea

At York Barn, Home Farm, Tredington On Saturday 21st August. All seats will be bookable at two sittings (to ensure Safe, Social Distancing) 1st Sitting - 2.00pm to 3.30pm 2nd Sitting—4.00pm to 5.30pm Entry by ticket only £5.00 Children under 10 £3.00 Tickets available from Paddy—tel 01684 294053. Parish Council News. July 2020

STOKE ORCHARD & TREDINGTON PARISH COUNCIL Parish Councillors from 20th February 2020 are:- Cllr Richard Chatham, Cllr Andrew Troughton, Cllr James Gilder, Cllr Alan McDonald Cllr Phil Ternouth Contact Details – through the Clerk - Mrs Jules Owen S.O and T P.C. phone:-07763 250303 email- [email protected] Minutes of Past Meetings are to be found on the Parish Council Website.

In accordance with the latest instructions from the Government, ad- vice from the National Association of Local Councils (NALC), the Socie- ty of Local Council Clerks (SLCC) and Association of Parish and Town Councils (GAPTC) regular Parish Council Meetings continue to be suspended. However, on 7 July 2020 a Parish Council Meeting was convened and held online with a limited agenda, the main purpose being for the Parish Council to complete the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR). As usual, members of the public were encouraged to attend the meeting, full details were given on how to attend on the Agenda No- tice published on the village notice boards and on the Parish Council website, www.stokeorchardandtredington.org.uk. They were also invited to submit comments/questions for the meeting to the Clerk via email or post and also to respond to the planning consultation to be considered at the meeting. None had been received. The Clerk’s Report included the following: Update on the potential reopening of the Community Centre fa- cilities. The Parish Council Hall Committee were in the pro- cess of completing the Covid-19 Risk Assessment and the Council agreed the facilities would not reopen until they were confident it was safe to do so, despite the financial implica- tions. Reopening of the Children’s Playground and MUGA. Due to ur- gent action required, it was agreed to discuss this item in de- tail to enable the Council to agree on the safety procedures required. The Chairman had circulated a report prior to the meeting with full details of the proposed reopening together with images of signage. Following a discussion, the Council agreed to open the facilities on 8 July 2020 with the agreed signage in place The Newsletter had been prepared by the Chairman for the last few months, thus reducing the production cost by some £125.00 per edition. Many thanks to the Chairman for his time and also Matt McGovern of Typecraft for his assistance The Council approved the Annual Accounts for the Year End 31 March 2020 together with the bank reconciliation. It received the Internal Auditors Report and approved Section 1 and 2 of the AGAR. The Council agreed the dates of Notice of Public Rights and Publica- tion of Unaudited Annual Governance and Accountability Return would be 13 July to 21 August 2020. With regard to Planning Consultation No. 20/00213/FUL Manor Farm Yard, Stoke Road, Stoke Orchard, members agreed the application in its present form was not acceptable for several reasons, full details are available from the Clerk. The next meeting is to be confirmed, due to Covide-19 and Govern- ment Regulations. The draft minutes of the meeting held on 7 July 2020 are available on the village notice boards and are also on the Parish Council website, www.stokeorchardandtredington.org.uk

Richard’s Ramblings - August 2020. A Difficult Season!! Yesterday, I went to take some photographs of the land along the Dean Brook that we will be soon adopting as Public Open Space and I came across a teasel plant. Now growing as a weed, this plant was once cultivated in this area to be used in the woollen industry situated along the Stroud Val- ley. The common suggestion was that it was used for carding or combing the wool but in fact it was used to raise the nap on the finished material. The cloth in question was one that we see on the television a great deal, the green cloth of the snooker or billiard table. You will often hear one of the commentators saying the ball runs better with the nap. The Teasel grows well on heavy soil and up until the late 70s, several acres of the plant were grown in Elmstone Hardwick for the mills in Stroud. Just to set the record straight, the green baize used for card tables is a wool /cotton mix material, whereas the cloth used on snooker tables is a specialist high quality pure wool material with a raised nap and is a much more costly product to produce. A far superior materi- al than the standard baize! So how are teasels used to raise the nap? Looked at under a mag- nifying glass it can be seen that every point of the seed head has a tiny hook on it so when it is brushed over the material it combs woven sur- face to lie the same way. In similar fashion, when you brush past it, it clings to your clothing in the same way the burr of the burdock plant do. The inventor of Vel- cro, George de Mestral returning from a hunting trip noted the burrs hanging on his dog’s coat and his own clothing and looking under a microscope, he discov- ered the little hooks - the rest is history. However, here in Gloucester- shire the indigenous teasel with it’s hooked spikes has been used in the same way for hundreds of years. In the August issue I am normally waxing lyrical and advertising the Vintage Tractor Show which the Severnvale group hold over the second weekend in August on the field at the corner of Stoke Road and the road to the Old Spot. Sadly , Covid 19 has claimed another event but nature still allows us to rest one foot on the bottom rail , two arms on the top rail and look over the gate into the field next door. In our Parish we are treated to a showcase of a mixture of the most modern farming and within a few yards, the more traditional methods. Dairy farms range from one with over 500 cows with their daily ra- tions prepared and served to them every day to the more traditional farm where the cows go out to graze in the fields. We have one arable farmer producing live-stock feed for local farmers from home grown grain, while another dries his corn his corn using a Bio Mass boiler fuelled with home grown Miscanthus (elephant grass.). Over the gate we also see fields with single suckler herds - calves stay with their mums and - of course the occasional rare breed!! However, what we are still unable to control is the weather and this year has been extremely difficult for farming. A friend of mine in Forthampton saw all his early grass for silage under the floods from the River Severn in March and yet was having to irrigate the same land in May. Hundreds of thousands of acres of land lay fallow during the winter as land was either too wet to plant in the autumn or those seeds that were planted rotted in the ground. Crops planted last winter have failed all over the country and farmers have had to change to accommodate these times. Fields have already been cultivated ready for next year - this was happening down the Fiddington Lane this afternoon. Break crops have been planted to prepare the ground for growing next year’s crops. This buckwheat crop was plant- ed two weeks ago and will die as soon as we get an early frost but it will have provided protection for next year’s rape seed ……….. which will be planted amongst it in a couple of months’ time. Strangely enough these failed harvest have brought reminders of past times. This photograph is of the field up Bozard lane next to the Motorway. I admit to thinking it was a field of rape that had been plant- ed very late, but it is charlock, an old World Mustard plant which is similar to wild Radish and has become a persis- tent weed in arable crops. The fasci- nating thing is that this field used to belong to us and after a few years as and arable field growing wheat and mangels - (mangel wurzels) - the field was put to grass and back to corn 20 years ago. In all that time the charlock never showed but because the season was right, the seed that had lain dormant in the ground for well over 60 years suddenly germinated. We have so many ancient plants lying dormant. The mangel was a root crop which were planted with a very old single row seed drill and then someone had to spend hours with a hoe taking the weeds out until the plant had become established. The nutrition value of the mangel was never very high but the cows loved them and they were recognised as digestive. In those days, back in the 1950’s, they had to be pulled by hand, the tops cut off with a bill hook and thrown into small heaps which were then protected by the leaves. The following week they were loaded by hand and brought home and stored in a massive “berry” covered with straw. Mangels represented hard work, frost bitten fingers and muddy boots! The weather could be quite similar back then and the last time we grew them, harvest time was so wet, we had to get Grandfather to drive his horse and cart over from Uck- ington, as a horse was the only thing that would not get stuck in the mud. So you see - we have been there before!! I remember hauling straw in November after a dreadful late wet harvest. One crop that seems to thrive in any weather - well in the weather we are experiencing at present—is maize and that is still growing against all odds. Looking at the crops we grow it is interesting to see how plant breeding has changed the crops that grow in the fields. We now have rape that seeds much earlier in the year and has much shorter stalks. This helps as when it is ready to harvest any rainstorm or wind that might disturb the seed pod causes the pod to open and the seed to fall on the floor. Then we look at wheat and barley. In the 1950’s and 60’s. any storm of rain would cause the straw to buckle under the weight of the ear sodden in rain and the corn would lie flat on the ground. New varieties were grown that had shorter straw to prevent the corn going flat. This shorter straw caused problems for the Thatcher as he need- ed long straight hollow straw for thatching and some of the old strains like Widgen and Huntsman are still grown (see the front cover). This is harvested with the binder before it is ripe so keeping the straw pliable during cutting. The sheaves were then stored flat in the barn ready for thrashing with a drum that was gentle with the straw to keep it straight and long for Thatching. Over my lifetime, there have been many changes on the farm from machinery to techniques, from seeds and plants, grain and grass. Grass is grass - no - there are dozens of different types and hundreds of different strains and cultivars of each strain. Each cul- tivar has its place depending on where you are in the country and what you want it to do it. Farming is a science which updates every year and the farmer has to balance many things to produce your pint of milk and your daily bread. A country science that is always evolving. So please remember that when you walk along a footpath in the countryside. Enjoy the view, see what is happening, check the difference from field to field, but please remember not to leave any rubbish, tidy up after your dog, as you may be walking through the area that produces your breakfast cereal and the milk you pour on to it - you want your food to be safe and top quality. That is up to you!

Message from the Police over speeding Drivers. Over 850 speeding drivers stopped as part of Oper- ation Haste speeding campaign - Please save lives and slow down.

Following last months letter from the Police about Speeding, I am pleased to be able to report that a Police Speed team has visited the Parish on several occasions and carried out a stop and inspect event. It appears that vehicles recorded as speeding were taken off the road and Inspected as to road worthiness. I hope we can expect more of the same.

We are also thrilled to report that we have had two more volunteers come forward to join our Speed Awareness group under the lead- ership of our PCSO Pippa Roberts. If there are still more out there willing to help and make a difference please Contact Pippa

Community Speed Watch Group, Why don’t you join and make a difference. We already have volunteers - Please contact Pippa—her contact details are below. - The offer is there. Please Contact PCSO Philippa Roberts at Tewkes- bury Police Station. [email protected] The Community Centre, Muga and Playground. The Playground and the Muga are open sub- ject to Conditions and we are thrilled to see youngsters back playing and using them. Parents—most sincere thanks for the way you arte helping by supporting your children. Over the last few weeks we have been working hard to produce the necessary Risk Assessments and Terms of Use - Methodology - re- quired to be able to re-open the Community Centre. Please believe that it has taken many hours of referencing dozens of documents to ensure that the use of the Centre will be safe. We have done our part—all we ask is that when the classes and events start those us- ing it will play theirs. Covid 19 is not a game—it is still around - we have to get a life but not at the forfeit of others.

The Orchard Stores. We—the Committee and yourselves, our Cus- tomers, have four special people to thank. Jo, Ann, Jane and Sunil, have been there all the way through Lockdown to support us and to serve you. When you are in next time— Please say “Thank you” - we could not run the shop without them.

Editors Notes. I apologise for the long Rambling but I was faced with a shortage of copy for print so have written much of the Newsletter myself. Please help me by sending in any interesting items you may have. I would love to start a Recipe Page. Even a Keep Fit page. Any news and sto- ries please send them in. A date for your Diary—as we lost our May 8th Celebrations please keep Sunday Nov 8th free as we hope to unveil our plaque to those local persons involved in the war effort on that day. WE ARE REPEATING THIS PAGE DUE TO THE NUMBER OF SCAMS EXPERIENCED IN THE PAST WEEKS _ TAKE CARE.

Scam Warning

Action Fraud have reported a 400% increase in coronavirus related fraud. These scams take numerous forms, for example:

1. Telephone— BEWARE—I HAD 7 SCAM CALLS THIS MORNING! suggesting there is a problem reference, bank account or some legal or local problem suggesting you should Press 1 on the Keypad— BEWARE.

2. Computer/Ipad/Mobile Phone—A message, email or a warning that your computer has been hacked or problems with the system. If you do not recognise the sender - DO NOT REPLY. I get at least 4 scam emails from BT every week. BEWARE.

3. Bogus Callers at the front door Always ask for identification and if you are not confident, Do NOT let them in. BEWARE. If they are gen- uine, they will understand. Be alert to fraudsters looking to take advantage. Treat ALL unsolicited messages with a degree of suspicion.

Anyone who has fallen victim to a scam or believe that they have been contacted as part of a scam can report it via 101 or Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040. Or through the council’s web page www..gov.uk/covid-19-fraud-advice. More information on fraud types can be found at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

Domestic Abuse Being in lockdown with someone who is mentally or physically abusive is a scary reality for people across Gloucestershire. If you are dealing with domestic abuse or violence, please know that support is available. Visit gloucestershire.police.uk, call 10, or in an emergency always call 999.

As has been mentioned elsewhere, all formal Church Services have been suspended until further notice.

Curate Rev. Kay Mundy 01452 780634 [email protected] Priest in Charge Revd Ilse Ferwerda 01452 780880 [email protected] Church Warden Tessa Mills 01452 780434 Hon Associ- Rev. Tom Curtis, 01684 295298 ate Minis- Stonehills , ter GL20 5FB Readers Mrs Vivienne Trough- 01684 293540 ton Tredington, Tewkesbury GL20 7BW 01684 293540 Children & Young Vivienne Troughton 01684 293540 People’s Church Tredington Cath Pollard 01684 293617 [email protected] Primary Head Teacher www.tredington.gloucs.sch.uk School Treding- Tina Taylor – Play 01684 293617 [email protected] ton Ted- leader/Manager dies Play- Children aged 2 years www.tredingtonteddies.org.uk group & to school age Treding- ton Ted- Monday to Friday Stoke Orchard Community Cen- dies 9am – 3pm Morn- tre Wednesdays, 9.30am – Baby & Toddler ing sessions 11.00am Group 9am – 12.30pm £1.50 entry, no need to book Village Hall Frank Juckes 01684 294053 [email protected] Stoke Orchard Helen 07437 533 132 [email protected] Community Centre Bookings Recycling and Waste Collection Dates for August - Stoke Orchard and Tred- ington. Blue - Thursday 13th , Thursday 27th Green. Thursday 6th, and Thursday 20th

FLOWER Volunteers are needed to help with flowers and decorating Stoke Orchard Church, especially at Christmas, Easter and Harvest. No skill is required - just a love of flowers! Please contact Tessa Mills (Churchwarden) if you can help. Thanks! Tessa’s contact number: 01452 780434 Tredington Flower Rota. Aug 2nd Tessa Mills Aug 9th and 16th Val Palmer

Aug 23rd and 30th Sue Midgley