VILLAGE & COMMUNITY MAGAZINE September Edition - 2019 Connecting the Villages of ALSTONEFIELD ~ BUTTERTON ~ ELKSTONES ILAM ~ WARSLOW ~ WETTON “WHAT’S ON” SEPTEMBER 2019 3rd Mornings Cross Country Running & every Tuesday From Ilam 4th 7.00pm Alstonefield Parish Council Meeting Alstonefield Village Hall 5th 3.30pm Pilates & every Thursday Beechenhill Hay Barn, Ilam 7th 7.30pm Talk by Trevor Cooper, Church Interiors Alstonefield Church 10th 7.00pm Butterton Parish Council Meeting Butterton Village Hall 10th 7.30pm Butterton W.I. Butterton Village Hall 11th Friendship Club Outing Owler Bar 11th 10.00am Free Nordic Walking Taster Session National Trust, Ilam. 14th 7 for 7.30pm Film Night Wetton Village Hall 14th 7.30 for 8pm Live Concert “The Magpies” Alstonefield Village Hall 15th 10 for 11am Charity Tractor Run From Warslow Village Hall 15th 12.30 for 1pm Wake for John Allen Alstonefield Village Hall 16th 7.30pm Butterton Reading Group Various Venues, Butterton 16th 7.30pm Warslow Parish Council Meeting Warslow Village Hall 16th 8.00pm Harvest Supper & Sale of Produce Elkstones 18th 7.30pm Bingo Warslow Village Hall 22nd 3pm – 5pm First Responders 20th Anniversary Celebration Alstonefield Village Hall 23rd 7.30pm Wetton Parish Council Meeting Wetton Village Hall 24th 8.00pm Ilam Parish Council Meeting Ilam School 25th 6.00pm Friendship Club Harvest Supper Alstonefield Village Hall 26th 8.30pm Quiz Night (NEW) Black Lion, Butterton 27th Am & Pm Open Day Manifold School, Warslow 27th 10 – 12 noon Macmillan Coffee Morning Alstonefield Village Hall 28th Afternoon ****Free Live Jazz at.... Tea Junction, Hulme End 28th 7.30pm Manifold/Warslow School 60th Birthday Party Manifold School, Warslow 30th Requests to Alstonefield Educational Trust Close “WHAT’S ON” EARLY OCTOBER 2019 th 4 8.30 - 8 .45pm ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ (Martin Lambert) Warslow Village Hall th 5 10.00am Decorating the Church for Harvest Warslow Church th 5 7.00pm Cheadle U3A Ukelele Band Butterton Church th 5 7.00pm Quiz Night (with refreshments) Warslow Church th 5 7.30pm Butterton Bingo Butterton Village Hall Deadline Date for OCTOBER 2019 All are invited to submit material for the next newsletter but ask that all items submitted in long hand include all names written in BLOCK CAPITALS. Please note that I do not take dictation over the telephone. Costs applicable to some items, i.e. business/private or charities not within our cluster villages, (please telephone if you are not sure & require further information). All hard copy for the Newsletter to be delivered to: The Newsletter, Trees Cottage, Butterton, Leek, Staffs. ST13 7SP. Tel: 01538 304560 and ALL DOCUMENTS TO BE IN WORD ONLY. NO PDF’s /JPEG’s or SCANNED ITEMS & ANY GRAPHICS TO BE IN BLACK AND WHITE. PLEASE DO NOT PUT TEXT INTO A TEXT BOX OR USE ANY BORDERS AS IT COMPLICATES THE EDITING. Cheques made payable to ‘Community Mag’ should be sent to The Treasurer, Melanie Hodgkinson, Middletown Barn, Butterton, Leek, Staffs. ST13 7TD. Note: Editors Decision on Placement/Location/Acceptance of Adverts is Final. Send any items Anytime & the Earlier the Better Please up until: rd 6am on MONDAY 23 SEPTEMBER DO NOT ASK after this time and date as refusal often offends so Please put a note in your diary or on your calendar to save your & my embarrassment at refusal. 1 Thought for the Month In spring and early summer the workers collect mainly insects Youth is the best time to be rich, and the best time to be to feed the growing larvae. Towards summer’s end some eggs develop into fertile male wasps, called drones, and poor. Euripedes fertile females – next year’s queens. These swarm out of the Don’t Twitter – Titter Instead colony and mate. The males die shortly afterwards. As the weather becomes colder all the workers and the old queen WATER IN THE CARBURETTOR die too. WIFE: "There is trouble with the car. It has water in Beware – when a wasp stings or is killed the ‘smell’ of its venom causes other wasps to become more aggressive. the carburettor." Adults feed on the sugary liquid secreted by the wasp larvae. HUSBAND: "Water in the carburettor? That's In late summer, as the larvae have matured, they eat nectar ridiculous " and other sweet substances, eg windfall fruit. Larvae eat carrion and insects. WIFE: "I tell you the car has water in the The sting of a wasp usually wears off within 24 hours but for a carburettor." small minority of people the venom in their sting causes HUSBAND: "You don't even know what a carburettor anaphylactic shock which can be fatal. ( “There is a greater chance of dying when you’re struck by lightning than dying is. I'll check it out. Where's the car? from an anaphylactic reaction.” ) WIFE: "In the river" Do not disturb a nest because their instinct is to defend themselves if they are under attack. They have a chemical Gardeners’ Tip of the Month for August signal between each other and if they are under attack they will send out an alarm to alert other wasps to come and help. 1) Divide Herbaceous Perennials and offer to friends, If you accidentally step on a nest – run !!! Go indoors family and neighbours. immediately, get in the car, even jumping in water is also an 2) Clean out Cold Frames and Greenhouses ahead of option. Autumn Sowing & Planting. Swatting is not advisable, the insects will become more aggressive and will not leave you alone, so it is important to take action and not stay in one position. Household Tip of the Month Scrub Your Showerhead: Removing built-up residue on Regular wasp stings can easily be treated at home. your showerhead is easy: tie a bag of vinegar around it and Wash the sting area with water and soap to remove leave it to dissolve overnight. In the morning, rinse the as much of the venom as possible. showerhead/ It’ll be squeaky clean. Apply a cold pack to the wound site to reduce swelling and pain. Recipe of the Month Keep the wound clean and dry to prevent infection. Cover with a bandage Za’tar Bread. Use hydrocortisone cream or calamine lotion to As a tasty alternative to garlic bread or when you get soothe the discomfort. Ibuprofen can also manage the pain in from work hungry and want a very quick snack, Wasp nests are sometimes highly visible, like in a tree or in a Za’tar bread can be made with nan breads cut in half shed, and other times hidden underground or inside a wall. lengthwise or any fairly thin breads (maybe even a The wasps themselves are commonly found around garbage Staffordshire oatcake). and rotting fruit. They are also attracted to sweet smells because sugar can increase their lifespan and reproductive Preheat the grill to high. function. That’s why you’ll especially catch them Mix equal amounts of za’tar and olive oil and spread hovering around sugary drinks and picnic areas. over one side of the bread. Wasps are not normally a threat during Summer when there Pop under the grill until its hot and enjoy. is plenty of food for them but they become a nuisance in the Autumn when there is less natural food and they are more Za’tar is a Middle Eastern herb containing thyme, likely to be found in the kitchen or around the picnic. Our sesame seeds, wheat and other herbs depending on classic control is an old jam jar with a bit of jam around the the region. Its readily available in most Leek rim and half full of water. Put the lid back on and punch a half supermarkets. inch diameter hole thought it. There are plenty of aerosol sprays to treat wasp nests but use them just as it is going WASPS dark or early in the morning when the wasps are in the nest. Believe it or not, wasps do more good When queen wasps emerge from than harm. They play a vital role in winter hibernation, their mission protecting gardens and farm is to find a suitable place to build crops by controlling pest populations. their new nests. Among their They capture and consume insects favoured locations are sheds, such as flies, caterpillars and beetle larvae. lofts and holes in the ground but choosing the site is just the start Wasps are sociable insects, living in colonies of up to 10,000 of potential problems for homeowners. To build the nest, workers. They build their paper nests in disused animal the queen wasp needs fresh wood which she chews, burrows or in cavities in trees or buildings. Only newly-mated shreds and mixes with saliva to create a papier mache like queen wasps hibernate during winter, and emerge in spring material. Fence panels, sheds, gates and wooden window to begin building a nest. Queens lay eggs that hatch into frames are all ideal places for wasps to nest. In fact, if you sterile females workers. The workers take over nest building notice small white lines on fence panels or sheds, it’s quite and food collection, while the queen continues egg laying. probably a sign that a wasp nest is not far away. The 2 queen has to make sure that it’s secured to something Time went on and for some reason (shift changes maybe) solid like a roof rafter where she’ll build a centre stalk I wasn’t available within the deadlines required. Time around which to add cells. These cells are where she’ll lay passed and in the late eighties I seemed to win back the eggs.