August 2020 The Forncett Flyer The wind – friend or foe? OOnn yer bike ––– part 2part 2 The wind can be a cruel mistress. At times she gently caresses your Peter SchmidtSchmidt----HansenHansen back, encouraging you forward and making your cycling life seem full of promise, pleasure and potential. Then you turn the corner and she’s screaming in your face, bringing tears to your eyes as she Recently I introduced the idea of cycling as a joyful way to take breaks your heart. But like hills, it’s a matter of learning to live with it. exercise. This month I want to raise a few questions. Nothing makes me feel as alive as having the wind blow in my face – it’s the complete antidote to the cossetted desk-bound, couch potato Long or short? lives we sometimes live. Is there such a thing as a bike ride that’s too short? Categorically no! Cycling, like walking, is a good way to get from A to B and back again. Hot or cold, wet or dry? So, if you are just popping along the road to the village hall, the There’s a saying that there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad church or to visit a friend you can take the bike. But what about a ride clothes. So weather should never be a barrier to cycling provided purely for pleasure? Again, no ride is too short – you can still take in you’re dressed appropriately. Recently I’ve been out in the hot the view, get the wind in your face and get the heart pumping. In fact, weather and the greatest pleasure has come when, after cycling for a short ride can sometimes be much better, giving a great sense of several minutes in the sun, I’ve been wrapped in the cool embrace of satisfaction and joy whilst not eating too much into the day. the shadows cast by overhanging oaks and ashes. It’s akin to the feeling you get as you slip into the pool on a Mediterranean holiday. Hills or flat? As for the wet, like the wind it makes you feel alive. Noel Coward famously wrote the line “Very flat - Norfolk” in Private Lives. He obviously hadn’t cycled from Cley to Holt or been near Gas Looking down or up? Hill in Norwich. Parts of Norfolk, like the Broads, are undoubtedly flat, With cycling it has to be both. You need to keep an eye on the road to but even here in Forncett there are enough bumps to get you spot the potholes and gravel, but you also need to keep an eye on the breathing hard. But are hills to be feared? Not if approached in the traffic, pedestrians, horse riders and road signs. One of the greatest right way. Firstly, don’t think you have to climb them without stopping. joys of cycling is to look around you at the beautiful Norfolk The joy of hills is that they afford great views, so stop when you feel countryside, but looking down can have advantages too. Recently I like it, look around, congratulate yourself on your progress and enjoy spotted a slow worm crossing the road just north of Bunwell. Looking the view while you get back your breath. Secondly remember what around, you’ll likely see hares, deer, buzzards, partridges, and of goes up, must come down and your reward will be the absolute joy of course all the lovely houses, farms, fields, villages, pubs and freewheeling down, gaining speed without any effort and grinning like churches that make up our local countryside. a lunatic. So, whatever the weather, whatever your route, ON YER BIKE! I had a lovely photo of a yellow field, green trees and blue sky to go here: I can’t remember who sent it to me, and exhaustive research has failed to come up with any answers. It was in position on the page until my computer software started messing me about when page 1 just froze, and wouldn't let me do anything with it: no amount of clicking and pressing ‘delete’ had any effect, so I had to remove the whole page and start again. And then I remembered all the photos I was sent for the virtual Open Gardens edition last month, quite a few of which were worthy of inclusion, but there just wasn't space. So now I can show you - in all its perfection - a lovely red rose taken by Andrew Coleman. Thanks Andrew; you saved the day! FFootpaths,ootpaths, pavements, hedges, brambles, secateurs, bridleways, 2026 ... Brian FrithBrian Frith In the months since 'lockdown' our public footpaths and unusually quiet lanes have been very well used by many more people than normal. This increased 'footfall' has helped keep some of the paths clear and some paths have been cut and hedges trimmed back by a small but enthusiastic group of volunteers who have felt able and willing to do so. Several stretches of some paths also had a major 'haircut' in the last three weeks thanks to a once a year programme organised by Norfolk County Council Highways. At this time of year, the major problem is growth from 'brambles' which shoot out from the hedges at an alarming rate and causing inconvenience and possible injury to the unwary walker. It's practically impossible for our volunteers to keep going out to trim these back so please take secateurs with you on your walks and do your bit to snip off the briars as you pass. Lots of people doing just a little will be a great help! If you are the owner of a property which borders a footpath or the public highway, please, at the very least, keep the new growth on hedges well trimmed back. It is your responsibility, as the owner of a hedge, to ensure that it does not 'overhang the highway' (that's a road, pavement or public footpath). Regrettably there are several properties in our village bordering pavements alongside roads where hedges have not been cut regularly and the hedges are now occupying a major proportion of the pavement - a quick look under the hedge will show how far the path extends. All of that path under the hedge should be available to the public to walk on! We are very fortunate to have a large number of public rights of way in Forncett (there are 30 different 'numbered' paths on the official Norfolk County Council map), and many more in Tacolneston, Bunwell, Wacton and further afield. Lots of people are quite familiar with many of them, but maybe some of 'the older generation' remember paths which are no longer evident. It could be that they were never official 'rights of way' (just a convenient route which the landowner allowed), but if you have an idea of a route which might have been 'lost', please get in touch with the Parish Council * and we can look into it. A regulation was introduced several years ago that says that after 2026 it will not be possible to claim historically 'lost' rights of way. That might seem a long time away, but the legal process of gathering evidence, checking and going through all the processes to get them registered takes a very long time. This applies to Public Footpaths and Bridleways - in fact the British Horse Society is so concerned that it is trying to set up a network of 'researchers' to try make sure Bridleway routes are not lost for ever. Contact [email protected] if you are interested in this aspect of the 2026 deadline. Brian Frith, on behalf of the Parish Council, and all who make use of our walking opportunities. (*Contact Anne Rayner Clerk to Forncett Parish Council 01508 570700) CCommunityommunity Awards 2020 Jessica Ransome We have extended our deadline until 4 September 2020 to nominate your local stars for a South Norfolk Community Award. This is your chance to give volunteers the recognition they deserve and say thank you! Winners will receive £250 to spend in their community. Find out more and nominate easily online at: www.south- norfolk.gov.uk/champions 2 EEARTHARTH MATTERS Ally Rae ([email protected]), Christina Wakeford, Rosemary Horner and Billy Hosea The Private Lives of Bats On warm summer evenings if you go into a garden or a nearby field just after sunset you’re very likely to see a bat out hunting for its dinner. Bats are really remarkably common. The UK has 18 resident species, which make up a quarter of all our mammal species. At least 9 bat species have been recorded in Forncett, the two commonest being the Common Pipistrelle and the Soprano Pipistrelle. NDR! As with many nocturnal animals, it’s easy not to appreciate how In May, female bats form maternity colonies, and in June they give interesting bats are and what an important part they play in the birth to a single pup, about 2.5 cm long. The pup feeds on its ecosystem. In the UK, bats usually fly only between the months of mother’s milk for around 6 weeks, by which time it begins to catch May and September, when the night-time temperature is 9°C or insects and the maternity colonies disband. Males and females above. At night, bats take over from birds and play a key role in mate in September, and from October through to April they controlling the levels of insect pests. One Common Pipistrelle can hibernate, occasionally flying on warm nights in autumn or early consume over 3000 insects in a single night! spring.