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Please be aware of the increase of thefts of Vehicle Catalytic converters within Gloucester.

By national Statistics (Sept 2019) The prices of certain precious metals have increased. Palladium is now worth £1,300/oz, while rhodium goes for £4,000/oz. These two metals are found within a Catalytic converter.

The catalytic converter is located in a box within the exhaust pipe. Normally the exhaust is removed by sliding under the car and then using some cutting equipment to remove the converter. This equipment could be a power tool or similar.

The main box is then thrown away while the areas of the box containing the precious metal is kept.

All cars can potentially be a target however hybrid vehicles are by national statistics a favourite

due to having two power sources - being electric and petrol or diesel - the catalytic converter in these types of cars used less frequently. Therefore cleaner metals, making a theft from these types of cars attractive and the metals sold on.

Expensive metals are used in these converters as they have a need to efficiently meet emissions standards.

As a preventative measure you can purchase marking kits containing a serial number unique to your car making converters more difficult to sell on.

Park your car close to walls or fences making access underneath more of a challenge.

Park within lit up areas and well used areas.

Keep your car on your driveway and if possible install alarms and CCTV to notify you of persons on your property.

Please report any suspicious activity to the Constabulary via the 101 telephone contact number or the contact form found that can be found on the constabulary website.

Please be aware of the increase of thefts of Vehicle Catalytic converters within Gloucester.

The main box is then thrown away while the areas of the box containing the precious metal is kept.

All cars can potentially be a target however hybrid vehicles are by national statistics a favourite

Expensive metals are used in these converters as they have a need to efficiently meet emissions standards.

As a preventative measure you can purchase marking kits containing a serial number unique to your car making converters more difficult to sell on.

Park your car close to walls or fences making access underneath more of a challenge.

Park within lit up areas and well used areas.

Keep your car on your driveway and if possible install alarms and CCTV to notify you of persons on your property.

Please report any suspicious activity to the Constabulary via the 101 telephone contact number or the contact form found that can be found on the constabulary website.

Some readers may wonder how we manage to deliver the magazine regularly to your post box every month? Well it starts with one of our volunteers collecting all 2500+ copies from the printers on the third or fourth Wednesday of the month. Prepacked boxes of the magazines are distributed to a number of volunteer distributors who in turn deliver ‘batches’ of magazines to the deliverers. Each deliverer covers an area of the Parish and delivers the magazine to each doorstep in their area. They aim to get the magazine to your doorstep not later the first of each month.

We could not do this without our dedicated team of over fifty volunteers who give up their time every month to ensure that you get your copy.

The Hardwicke Matters Committee are extremely proud of, and grateful to, our team of distributors and deliverers.

The facility transitioned from commissioning to operations at the end of October 2019 with the remaining project construction team working since then to address snags and complete the outdoor wildlife area. Urbaser Balfour Beatty (UBB) is working on behalf of Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) to treat the County’s residual waste, that is waste that is not readily reused or recycled, and is under contract for the next 25 years.

With the facility now in full operation, the county has minimised its reliance on landfill, thereby avoiding the production of methane, one of the more harmful greenhouse gases, as well as being able to generate enough electricity to power around 25,000 homes. In addition, the facility recycles aggregates and metals recovered from the process.

Furthermore, the site has a dedicated Visitor Centre which will be ready for use next month. Educational tours, courses and workshops on the waste hierarchy and recycling, climate change, and sustainability will be available for schools, colleges, universities, , as well as adult and community education groups to support sustainability-themed courses. The Visitor Centre also provides an area for community meetings and events, wildlife and outdoor amenities, and a location for business network events and meeting spaces. Use of the Visitor Centre, site visits and tours must be arranged and booked directly through the project website.

Commenting on this milestone, General Manager, Stacey Wright said: “We are pleased to have advanced to being fully operational from the commissioning phase and that the first few months have proceeded as planned. We are now making great progress on our Visitor Centre, living wall and and our commemorative mural depicting the history of the site. From next month onwards, we hope to begin hosting visits and tours for community and educational groups to show how the County’s waste is being treated and converted into energy and useful byproducts, and how the Facility supports Gloucestershire’s recycling activities.”

Cllr. Nigel Moor, cabinet member for environment and planning for GCC said: “Javelin Park is a cost-effective and environmentally sound solution for processing the county’s waste that can’t be recycled. It will generate enough power for 25,000 homes, massively reduces carbon and saves the tax payer £100 million over 25 years.”

The facility began its commissiong process in June 2019, when it first received waste to test the treatment processes. In October, the commissioning phase was signed off by Urbaser Balfour Beatty, and moved from construction to operations.

Gloucestershire Energy from Waste Facility operates under an Environmental Permit which was issued and is monitored by the Environment Agency.

For more details on how to visit the Facility, please visit: www.ubbgloucestershire.co.uk or email: info@ubbgloucestershire.co.uk.

Photo credited to Andrew Dixon Photography

Energy From Waste Facility - Emissions from Incinerator

Note from the Environment Agency issued Janury 2020

Emissions from an incinerator are controlled by a combination of good combustion control and effective abatement. Water vapour and carbon dioxide are products of the combustion process. Therefore the exit gas from the stack at Javelin Park incinerator is a wet, hot gas. This means when the atmosphere is warm we don’t usually see a large plume, however in winter as the hot wet gases meet with colder air, the water vapour in these gases condenses rapidly to steam and produces what we term as a visible plume. The sites environmental permit set the limits pollutants can be emitted at and the site is required to continuously monitor oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, total organic carbon, sulphur dioxide, hydrogen chloride and particulate matter. These limits are set at levels to protect the environment and human health in all weather conditions. Smaller plumes can also be seen at the top off the site, not from the main stack. This is small losses of steam used to drive the site turbine. This is virtually a closed loop system, which enables energy recovery. The water is passed through a chamber (the Boiler) through which pipes containing the hot gases from combustion pass through. The resulting steam produced after it has passed the turbine is condensed and the water is returned back to the boiler. The gases from combustion and steam in the boiler do not come in to direct contact with each other.

Hardwicke Matters Distribution Co-ordinator - A personal tribute

It is with great sadness that I tell you that Ray Mackie died in his sleep at 1.15 am on 27th December at Chapel House, Care Home in Gloucester.

Ray had been Hardwicke Matters’ distribution coordinator for twelve years. In January 2006, he joined us on the HM committee following a request for more help with the magazine. His wife, Joyce, had already joined the committee in April 2005. Ray continued in this role with great diligence until January 2018 when ill health forced him to give up the responsibility. He was well organised, establishing rounds for distributors and deliverers alike and built up a reserve list of deliverers for when regulars were unavailable. Every December, he personally wrote out the Christmas cards for every volunteer to accompany a tin of biscuits from HM as a small way of thanking them all for contributing to the success and delivery of the magazine to every house in the village during the year.

Born in Birmingham on 8th April 1938, Ray took up an apprenticeship with BMC in Birmingham, before a move to this area in 1967 to work at Dowty’s as an aircraft engineer.

In 1976, he and his wife, Joyce, moved to Hardwicke with their children Karen and Ian. Having met in 1955 at a college dance, Ray and Joyce were married 4 years later and celebrated their Diamond Wedding in 2019.

Ray was an avid football fan, playing for Sutton Royals amateur football club until a leg injury cut short his own playing days. However, he continued his interest in sport by watching football and rugby and was a great supporter of Birmingham City football club. He also enjoyed playing skittles for 15 years.

In addition to knowing him as a member of the HM team Ray, along with his wife Joyce, was a personal friend. Amongst his other interests was gardening and he and I would swap tips, seeds and plants. His garden, needless to say, was always a picture. Another interest was his love of their dogs, though Livie, their last dog sadly went to sleep just 2 weeks before Ray himself passed away.

Ray was a very gentle, kind man and a passionate supporter of Hardwicke Matters and I, personally, enjoyed working with and knowing him for many years.

Condolences go to Joyce, Karen and Rob and Ian and Goretti together with his granddaughter Sabrina. Ray’s funeral took place at St Nicholas Church, Hardwicke on 13th January.

Pat Gilbert

Retired Editor

Gloucestershire County Council is responding to this need for specialist support for the county’s young people by working with West Mercia Women’s Aid, who are partnering with Gloucestershire Domestic Abuse Support Service (GDASS), to provide a new service called STREET (Safe Teen Relationship Education and Empowerment Team) Gloucestershire.

Whilst the service has been providing support since the summer, the launch event brought together professionals working with young people to learn more about it. Key partners - Gloucestershire Domestic Abuse Support Service (GDASS), Victim Support, youth support services Prospects, Gardeners Lane & Oakwood Federation (GLOWFED) children and family centres, Stroud Beresford Group, No Child Left Behind, Gloucestershire Rape & Sexual Abuse Centre.

NSPCC statistics are available at http://safelives.org.uk/sites/default/files/resources/Safe%20Young%20Lives%20web.pdf

Saint David's Day is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March, the date of Saint David's death in 589 AD. Traditional festivities include wearing daffodils and leeks, recognised symbols of Wales and Saint David respectively, eating traditional Welsh food including cawl and Welsh rarebit, and women wearing traditional Welsh dress. An increasing number of cities and towns across Wales including Cardiff, Swansea and Aberystwyth also put on parades throughout the day.

The what

A leap year has 366 days instead of the usual 365 days, and occurs nearly every four years. The extra day during leap years is on February 29.

The when

The last leap day was February 29, 2016. The next leap day is February 29, 2020.

The why

A Year is Not 365 Days Long. A year is defined as the time it takes our planet to complete a full orbit around the Sun. This takes approximately 365.242189 days (or 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 45 seconds) on average and is known as a tropical year. Because the Gregorian calendar used today has 365 whole days, a leap day is regularly added to synchronise with the tropical year. Without leap days, our calendar would be off by 1 day approximately every 4 years. In less than 50 years, the March equinox would be in April and the June solstice would occur in July. After only 100 years, our calendar would be off by around 24 days. There are other calendars around the world, none of which perfectly reflect the length of a tropical year. However, there are calendar systems that are more accurate than the Gregorian calendar we use today. One of them is the Revised Julian calendar.

The how

The Leap Day is always added to the shortest month - February. It’s a leap year if any of the following three criteria are met:

The year can be evenly divided by 4; If the year can be evenly divided by 100, it is NOT a leap year, unless; The year is also evenly divisible by 400. Then it is a leap year.

According to these rules, the years 2000 and 2400 are leap years; while 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200, 2300 and 2500 are NOT leap years. The year 2000 was the first instance when the third criterion was used in most parts of the world since the start of the transition from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian in 1582.

The who

The leap year was first used by Julius Caesar over 2000 years ago but the original rule was that any year evenly divisible by four would be a leap year. This produced a lot of leap years but was not corrected until the introduction of the Gregorian calendar more than 1500 years later. Apparently, the ancient Roman Calendar added an extra month every few years to maintain the correct seasonal changes, similar to the Chinese leap month.

Now you might be wondering about the where…so am I!!! …and for the scientific minded among us, next month we will look at the Leap Second.

What if? is an interactive theatre and film event, telling the tale of two young men who were involved in a crash in the Forest of Dean in 2015. The pair take the audience on a journey through their experiences, exploring their emotions and the impact the crash has had on their lives.
The story will be accompanied by on-stage talks from the emergency services, road crash survivors, family members who have lost loved ones and paramedic lecturers from the University of Gloucestershire.
The What if? roadshow will be viewed by more than 5,500 students aged 16 to 24 in Gloucestershire throughout February, March and May.

It is jointly funded by Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service (GFRS)

and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) and has been running since September 2016.

The first show will be on Monday 3 February at Cirencester College and other venues will include EDF Energy in Barnwood, Gloucester, Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Parabola Arts Centre in Cheltenham and Hartpury College in Gloucester.
Cllr Dave Norman, Gloucestershire County Council cabinet member with responsibility for the fire and rescue service, said: “This roadshow aims to make young people fully aware of the impact a road traffic collision can have. It is a powerful way of raising awareness of the risks they face on the roads and how they can keep themselves and others safe.
“We hope that alerting them to these dangers will have a positive effect on the way they drive in the future.”
Martin Surl, Gloucestershire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “It is very brave of the boys to put themselves through this process to help others and I am very grateful. This kind of emotive education has already proven to be effective since we started What If? back in 2016 and our research suggests in-car distractions and low awareness of risk contribute to road traffic collisions (RTCs) where young people are behind the wheel. This is why the roadshow will focus on such important issues.”
As well as funding from GFRS and the OPCC, the What if? project is supported by Gloucestershire Constabulary, South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT), University of Gloucestershire, Severn Major Trauma and Great Western Air Ambulance Charity.

Anyone been warned not to mention the bears when in the Forest of Dean? particularly when around Cinderford and Ruardean. I suspect many have, but do you know the story behind it. Apparently the sad story of the bears of Ruardean still arouses strong feelings among some locals, over a century after the events took place.

On April 26, 1889 Frenchmen Gabriel Yas, Gabriel Huguet, Thomas Sirgent, and Alfred Gerard spent part of the day in Cinderford displaying two heavily chained and collared bears on the streets. As the troupe made their way towards Ruardean a rumour started to spread that the animals had killed a child and mauled a woman in the village. At some point on the route a hostile crowd armed with various weapons launched a vicious attack, slaughtering the innocent animals and brutally beating two of the Frenchmen. Individuals from Ruardean witnessed the violence, and came to the rescue. They sheltered and nursed the injured itinerants. Some assailants were later fined £5 for their part in the attack, but were apparently erroneously described as being residents of Ruardean.

Folklore has it that townsfolk in Cinderford and Ruardean still point the blame at each other for the killing - and the story was even turned into a Dennis Potter play, the Beast With Two Backs, which aired in the 1968.

Which is why we are advised not to mention the bears when in the area.

8th March 1122 - A fire burned in Gloucester whilst the monks in the Abbey of St. Peter sang mass. The flames reached the Abbey and took hold of the steeple. The Abbey was burned down and all the treasures destroyed except a few books and vestments.

10th March 1538 - On this day, the Prior and canons of Llantony Secunda Priory, Gloucester, signed a deed of surrender, handing over the property to King Henry VIII. This Priory was the first in England to accept the Dissolution and surrender. The Prior and canons all received a pension.

14th March 1885 - At Gloucester Petty Sessions, George Pocket was summonsed for trying to kill a salmon using an “improper instrument”. A water bailiff saw him shooting at the salmon with his gun. He pleaded that he thought the salmon was a duck. Case dismissed.

Fun Facts

• The phrase ‘mad as a March hare’ comes from the view that a hare will behave oddly during the breeding season, which is in March.

• March was known as Hlyda, or Lide in Old English, which means ‘loud. This was referring to the March winds, which were considered very noisy.

• It was on 29 March 1886 that Coca-Cola was developed. The original formula included a small amount of cocaine to give the drinker a bit of a buzz.

• The Eiffel Tower was officially opened to the public in March 1889.

HELP!

Distributors Needed

Hardwicke Matters is currently seeking volunteers to spare an hour or so each month supplying magazines to the deliverers.

As a Distributor, you will receive a quantity of magazines every month which you will then split up and take the required number of magazines to approximately six deliverers.

This is an important link in the delivery chain and if you would like to volunteer, Please contact Peter Hill on Tel:

07578 364686 or email:distributor@hardwickematters.co.uk

We are open Monday through to Thursday starting at 9.15 until 12.15. We also run an afternoon session on Monday and Thursday for children I the final year at playgroup from 12.15 to 2.45.

Current session fees are £5.00 per hour for children agd 2 and £4.50 per hour the Term after children turn age 3.

We are open for a total of 17 hours a week term time only (38 weeks a year) and were rated GOOD by Ofsted in May 2018.

We accept A2YO funding, free 3 and 4 year old and 30 hour funding all with no extra charges or fees.

Please call us on 07724 139217 or e-mail us at hardwickeplaygroup@eygloucestershire.co.uk so that we can confirm our availability as soon as possible.

1959 Rock 'n' Roll singers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) died in a plane crash

1936 The British fighter plane Spitfire made its first test flight

1987 The ‘Herald of Free Enterprise’ capsized, killing over 180 passengers.

1876 The Scottish-born Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone.

1904 Britain’s first mainline electric train ran from Liverpool to Southport.

44 BC “Beware the Ides of March” – Julius Caesar is stabbed by Marcus Brutus.

1872 The Wanderers beat the Royal Engineers 1–0 in the first English FA Cup Final

1834 Six farm labourers from Tolpuddle, Dorset, transported to Australia for forming a trade union.

1 Feb 1915 Sir Stanley Matthews

2 Feb 1650 Nell Gwyn

3 Feb 1928 Frankie Vaughan

4 Feb 1920 Sir Norman Wisdom

5 Feb 1985 Christiano Rinaldo

6 Feb 1665 Queen Anne

7 Feb 1812 Charles Dickens

10 Feb 1894 Harold Macmillan

11 Feb 1969 Jennifer Aniston

12 Feb 1809 Charles Robert Darwin

17 Feb 1934 Alan Bates

18 Feb 1517 Mary Tudor

20 Feb 1988 Rihanna

22 Feb 1857 Sir Robert Baden-Powell

23 Feb 1633 Samuel Pepys,

24 Feb 1500 Charles V.

25 Feb 1943 George Harrison,

27 Feb 1932 Dame Elizabeth Taylor

Mothering Sunday – or Mothers Day – is on Sunday 22nd March 2020

In the UK, we celebrate Mothering Sunday, a festival that's religious in origin which is also celebrated in Guernsey, Ireland, Nigeria, Jersey and the Isle of Man. It falls every year on the fourth Sunday of Lent, because this was Christians would visit their 'mother church', which is also why we often refer to it as Mothering Sunday.
Other countries like the US specifically refer to the day as Mother's Day and theirs wasn't founded through religion

As you are aware I have had the honour of representing you from 2011 to 2014 as Parish Councillor and latterly Chair, and since 2014 as your District Councillor. It has been a great time and together we have got lots done, for example the One Stop Shop, the Super Surgery and the Neighbourhood Development Plan to name just a few. However due to my ill health I have had to decide not to stand again in the May elections. I have put together a new team of experienced Councillors, who I hope you will support in the forthcoming elections, as you have supported me in the past. It is hard to say goodbye but my health dictates it. All the best to all of you.

David Mossman

“While we are between the General Election last December and the Local Elections in May I thought it would be useful to try and explain some of the different functions within Local Government. I am your County Councillor and the County Council has responsibility for Adult Social Care, Children Services and Highways. It has some responsibility for Education although many schools are now Academies and have a level of autonomy. They also play a role in planning and work on Economic Development. I am also a District Councillor (although not for Hardwicke) and District Council is responsible for collecting the rubbish, planning, some local services like the Neighbourhood Wardens and in the case of Stroud District Council, the provision of affordable housing. Stroud District Council is up for re-election in May. Other entities include Parish Councils who have a role in Planning and raise funds for local services including footpaths and other local services like play grounds etc. They also do an excellent job in escalating local issues to District and County Council. The Police report to the Police and Crime Commissioner, who is up for election in May. There is also a Local Enterprise Partnership that is involved in investing money in developing the local economy. It is often a challenge navigating these different authorities but if you need any help please get in touch at Stephen.davies2@gloucestershire.gov.uk or on 07802 595 307.”

Cllr Stephen Davies Hardwicke and Severn

Email : Stephen.davies2@gloucestershire.gov.uk

In this issue there is an article from Councillor Dave Mossman announcing he is standing down at the Elections in May. I would just like to add my thanks to Dave who has championed so many issues in Hardwicke from the big challenges of planning and the Energy for Waste facility, to helping individuals with their specific issues. He has always been the person I call first when I want advice. It is that time in Local Government when budgets are set. At County Council this will result in an increase of Council Tax of 1.99% and a 2% increase ring fenced for Social Care. Other components of your Council Tax are the District Council, Parish Council and the Police. This will result in a County Council budget of £412.9 million. This includes: £133.172m on Adult Social Care, an additional £2.5m £102.924m on Children and Families, an additional £16.3m. The continued investment of £150m in roads and £0.47m for electric vehicle infrastructure. Local Government finances are under constant pressure but this budget reflects efficiencies made allowing focusing on the priorities that matter. If you have any questions on this or anything else please get in touch with me, you can email me at Stephen.davies2@gloucestershire.gov.uk or call me on 07802 595 307.

Cllr Stephen Davies Hardwicke and Severn

Email : Stephen.davies2@gloucestershire.gov.uk

‘…An equinox is commonly regarded as the instant of time when the plane (extended indefinitely in all directions) of Earth's equator passes through the centre of the Sun.[3] [4] This occurs twice each year, around 20 March and 23 September. In other words, it is the moment at which the center of the visible Sun is directly above the equator…’.
This is scientific explanation for it…to me it has always been the day when the amount of day and night are equal.
The word equinox comes from the Latin aequinoctium; derived from aequus (equal) and nox (genitive noctis) (night).

On the day of an equinox, daytime and night-time is indeed approximately equal duration all over the planet. They are not exactly equal due to the angular size of the Sun, atmospheric refraction, and the rapidly changing duration of the length of day that occurs at most latitudes around the equinoxes.

The March equinox is called the spring equinox, while the September equinox is called the autumnal equinox. In the Southern Hemisphere, the reverse is true. The dates slightly vary due to leap years and other factors.
‘…Since the Moon causes Earth's orbit to slightly vary from a perfect ellipse, the equinox is officially defined by the Sun's more regular ecliptic longitude rather than by its declination. The instants of the equinoxes are currently defined to be when the apparent geocentric longitude of the Sun is 0° and 180°…’
Putting this last paragraph in everyday terms…afraid I have not a clue…answers on a postcard please to…

The training is run in partnership with Gloucestershire County Council’s Fastershire project and Adult Education in Gloucestershire and will now being offered at Prestbury, Chipping Campden, Newent and Nailsworth Library.

The aim is to help reduce digital exclusion and ensure that more people have the confidence to use the internet.

Natasha Panchbhaya, Adult Education Delivery Manager, said, “The joint work between Adult Education in Gloucestershire and the Fastershire project has been a great success and in the last few months alone we have supported over 100 learners to gain new skills and learn about online safety, which seems to be a key development area for a lot of our learners.”

Fastershire is a partnership between Gloucestershire County Council and Herefordshire Council to bring faster broadband to the two counties.

Councillor Patrick Molyneux, Cabinet Member for Economy, Education and Skills, said, “We’ve been delighted by the success of these courses so it made sense to offer this programme in more areas. We often hear how keen some people are to be able Skype or FaceTime with family or benefit from what the internet has to offer but say how they feel nervous or intimated. It’s amazing how quickly that can change after just a little bit of support and training."

Over 95 percent of Gloucestershire homes and businesses can access superfast broadband and speeds of 30mpbs or above and this is set to increase to over 97 percent by 2022.

To book a place or for more information, please contact Adult Education on 0800 542 1655 or visit www.fastershire.com.

NOTE TO ADVERTISERS and CORRESPONDENTS - Data Protection Statement

All personal data is held securely by Hardwicke Matters. Data will be treated confidentially and will not be disclosed to external organisations. The data will only be used for Hardwicke Matters business. You have the right to view, amend or delete any of your personal information we hold. Requests to do this must be made by email or in writing addressed to the editor and dropped off in the box at the One Stop Shop on Elmgrove Road East, or Westbourne News on Westbourne Drive, Alternatively. Please send E-mails to

editor@hardwickematters.co.uk The Hardwicke Matters Data Protection Policy conforms to the The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018.

This month’s garden jobs are mostly about getting things ready for the spring.

1. Clean, sharpen and check your garden tools and equipment, giving them the “once over” and apply a little TLC to anything that needs it.

2. Wash empty pots, scrub them with hot water and a mild detergent. Rinse them well afterwards.

3. Keep feeding the birds. The weather is still cold this month so hang fat balls and keep bird feeders topped up. Trim deciduous hedges before the birds start nesting.

4. Find out what type of soil you have. Invest in a soil testing kit to help you choose the right plants for your garden.

5. Have a gardening plan for the summer, what seeds, plants, vegetables etc you would like.

6. Think about planting a tree now in early spring. If space is limited dwarf fruit trees could be an option.

Feed and prune roses

Prune clematis - prune early-flowering varieties once their flowers have finished and summer-flowering ones before they start into active growth.

Finish cutting back dead foliage from perennials to make way for new growth.

Keep an eye out for slugs as the weather warms. Pay special attention to soft, new growth, which slugs love.

Deadhead daffodils as the flowers finish and let the foliage die back naturally.

Deadhead hydrangeas before new growth appears. Cut to about one third of last season's growth

Begin weeding as the weather warms - it’s easier to control weeds if you remove them while they’re still young.

Re-pot House plants

Divide old herbaceous plants

Move plants from the greenhouse to a cold frame before planting out to give them time to adjust to cooler temperatures.

The what

The Earth’s rotation is slowing at an uneven rate. Every now and then, a leap second is added to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)*^{(see below)} in order to synchronize clocks worldwide with the Earth's ever slowing rotation.

The when

In Gloucester, the previous leap second occurred on Saturday, 31 December 2016,

23:59:60. The next possible date is December 31, 2020.

The why

Two components are used to determine UTC

International Atomic Time (TAI): A time scale that combines the output of some 200 highly precise atomic clocks worldwide, and provides the exact speed for our clocks to tick.

Universal Time (UT1): also known as Astronomical Time, refers to the Earth's rotation around its own axis, which determines the length of a day.

Before the difference between UTC and UT1 reaches 0.9 seconds, a leap second is added to UTC and to clocks worldwide. By adding an additional second to the time count, our clocks are effectively stopped for that second to give Earth the opportunity to catch up.

Atomic clocks tick away at pretty much the same speed over millions of years compared to the Earth's rotation, atomic clocks are simply too consistent.

The how

How Often Are Leap Seconds Added?

Before the first leap second was added in 1972, UTC was 10 seconds behind Atomic Time. So far, a total of 27 leap seconds have been added.

However, this does NOT mean that the days are 27 seconds longer nowadays. The only difference is that the days a leap second was added had 86,401 seconds instead of the usual 86,400 additional 27 seconds compared to atomic time since then.

The who

Upcoming leap seconds are announced by the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) in Paris, France.

Now you might be wondering about the where…so am I…again I!!!

*Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the basis for civil time today. This 24-hour time standard is kept using highly precise atomic clocks combined with the Earth's rotation.

You might be surprised to know that in the northern hemisphere the Earth is closest to the Sun during winter. Around 3 January, the Earth reaches perihelion (peri meaning 'near' and helion meaning 'sun') and the Earth is 3.1 million miles closer to the Sun than at aphelion (around 5 July when the Earth is furthest from the Sun).

Earth's distance from the Sun is not what causes the seasons but it does affect the length of them. Around perihelion, the Earth is moving around 1 kilometre per second faster than at aphelion which results in winter being 5 days shorter than summer. The coldest temperature ever recorded during a UK winter was -27.2 °C, which has been recorded 3 times. It was twice recorded in the village of Braemar, on 11 February 1895 and again on 10 January 1982, and once in Altnaharra on 30 December 1995. Both sites are in the Scottish Highlands.

The winter of 1963 is one of the coldest on record and the coldest since 1740. Temperatures consistently reached lower than - 20 °C with blizzards, snowdrifts and even the sea freezing around the coast.

The severe cold began just before Christmas in 1962 as a high pressure system sat to the northeast of the UK for much of the winter, dragging cold polar winds over the UK. On 29 and 30 December, a blizzard struck the UK with snowdrifts up to 6 metres deep. Snow continued to fall frequently and until early March 1963, much of the UK remained covered in snow. The exact amount of water contained in snow can vary quite significantly depending on how the snow formed, but as a general average, every 12 cm of snow would provide 1 cm of water.

Editor comment - I remember 1963 well; walking along the top of the snow alongside the lanes that had been cleared by the snow blowers (...yes, we had them in those days…) and looking down onto the top of buses passing by. Anyone have any anecdotes about 1963 or other particularly bad winters?

3rd February 1959

Rock 'n' Roll singers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) died in a plane crash

4th February

1926 Malcolm Campbell sets a new world land speed record of 174 mph (278 kmph) in Wales.
1952 King George V1 Dies
1958 Manchester United Football Club Disaster
1996 IRA Bomb Docklands In London

2004 Facebook, a mainstream online social network is founded by Mark Zuckerberg.

5^th February

1958 Parking meters first appear on the streets of London’s exclusive Mayfair district.

9^th February

1964 73 million Americans tune in to the Ed Sullivan Show to watch four lads from Liverpool appear for the first time – The Beatles.

11th February
1990 Nelson Mandela is released from prison after 27 years.

14th February
1929 Sir Alexander Fleming discovers Penicillin
1929 St. Valentine's Day Massacre

22nd February

1797 Over 1,000 French troops attempted to invade Britain, landing on the Welsh coast. The brave ladies of Fishguard saved the day!

25th February

1570 Queen Elizabeth I is excommunicated by Pope Pius V.

The current county recycling level is 50%, but as a county we need to do better to protect the environment and deal with our waste more sustainably to improve the environment. All district councils offer kerbside recycling services, which the county council helps to fund and most residents live within easy reach of a household recycling centre. This means recycling is easy and accessible for most people. The county council aims to hit a 70% recycling rate eventually – and has made it clear that, if this isn’t achieved, the Javelin Park facility risks being too small for all of Gloucestershire’s predicted black bag waste. Cllr. Nigel Moor, cabinet member for environment and planning said “We work hard with our district council partners to promote and increase recycling rates, but we need residents to work with us to reduce waste and push our recycling rates up even higher. This will ensure we continue to have the capacity to process black bag waste and more importantly, keep up the our fight against climate change. He continued “Without Javelin Park this waste would be landfilled, creating CO2 contributing to climate change so as a ‘treatment’ method of ‘black bag’ waste it’s a better option. However, this survey shows there is still scope for Gloucestershire residents to help us do more.” To find out how residents can reduce, reuse and recycle there is plenty of information available at www.recycleforgloucestershire.com

The full report on the composition of ‘black bag’ (residual waste) is available here.

Minutes of a meeting of the Parish Council held on Monday February 3rd 2020

Present
Cllr John Perkin (Chair)

Cllr Mark Ryder

Cllr Darren Morris

Cllr Jill Brearley

In attendance

District Councillor Gill Oxley,

County Councillor Stephen Davies,

Katie Markwick, Neighbourhood Warden

Kevin Lee, Clerk

17/20 Apologies

Apologies were received from Cllrs Fran Welbourne, Demelza Turner-Wilkes, Denise Powell and Graham Brearley. Members wished Cllr Denise Powell well for a speedy recovery

18/20 Parish Councillor Lyn Welbourne

Members observed a Minutes silence in memory of Lyn Welbourne. Lyn had recently passed away. Members noted all the service Lyn had given to the Parish Council and previously to the Village Hall and to the Youth Club. Lyn had been a longstanding Member of the Parish Council and had given many years of invaluable service for the benefit of the Village and residents.

19/20 Declarations of Interest

None declared

20/20 Minutes of Previous Meetings

Resolved; to approve as a correct record the Minutes of the Meetings held on January 6th and January 20th 2020

21/20 Neighbourhood Warden

Katie Markwick was welcomed to the Parish as the new Neighbourhood Warden for the area. She informed Councillors that she had recently taken up her role and had shadowing other wardens to familiarise herself with the area. She had been made aware of some local issues and would be following up on them and reporting back to the Council.

22/20 County Councillor and District Councillor Reports

County Councillor Stephen Davies advised the Council that the County Council had published a Transport Plan and that this was open for public consultation.

An inspection had been undertaken of the County’s Fire and Rescue Service which had noted that there had been some improvement in the service.

A further Ofsted report into the County Council’s Children’s Services was due to be delivered fairly soon.

Cllr Davies gave details of the County Council’s Budget which included £1m to tackle climate change and additional funding for flood alleviation.

County councillors would also be allocated a budget for specific projects in their divisional area.

Parish Councillors raised questions about the planned highways works for Pound Lane, Green lane and Church Lane and the extended road closures.

Cllr Davies agreed to raise the concerns with the Highways Project Manager.

Parish Councillor Jill Brearley informed Cllr Davies of the severe flooding of Church Lane and the actions she and graham Brearley had taken to advise motorists of the flood risk to vehicles. Cllr Davies agreed to report the issues to the area Highways Manager.

District Councillor Gill Oxley reported on the concerns expressed by residents of Bath Road and the hazard and light pollution caused by the lighting at Costa. She had asked the enforcement officers to investigate. The Chair, John Perkin commented that the light was also a hazard to motorists.

Cllr Oxley informed members of the ‘Mummy and Me’ classes that had been organised by the District Council. Posters advertising the classes were available for display at the Village Hall.

There had been issues of fly tipping which and abandoned vehicles which had now been dealt with.

Resolved; to note the reports

23/20 Planning Applications

The Parish Council considered its response to the following planning applications;

S.20/0085/HHOLD 16 Orchard Close Resolved;

No objections

S.20/19/2623/REM Hunts Grove

Resolved; No objections

S.20/0002/FUL Quadrant Distribution Centre

Resolved; No Objections but to ensure operating hours, car parking and noise be reviewed

S.20/0103/REM Hunts Grove

Resolved; to object to the application. The View of the Parish Council and residents is that the community building is not fit for purpose. The Planning Permission states that (as a minimum) the building must meet Sport England guidelines at Stroud District Council’s specification for spaces and uses. The proposed scheme varies from the proposals previously presented to the Parish Council and Residents. The Parish Council requested that the matter be referred to the district councils Development Control Committee

S.20/0087/REM and S.20/0088/REM Hunts Grove

Resolved; No objections

S.20/0079/REM Hunts Grove

Resolved; The Parish Council requests that that the main footpath has lighting installed for security and safety whilst ensuring the lighting is not intrusive on neighbouring properties

S.19/2696/DISCON Hunts Grove

Resolved; To object to the application. The Parish Council is not satisfied with CEMP Plan to discharge condition 23. Construction traffic is a considerable risk to children attending Hunts Grove School. Traffic using the incorrect route will pass by the school. Construction traffic routes should be enforced by a traffic marshal. The Parish Council also requests that a system of fines be imposed on traffic not adhering to the approved route. ( A system of fines has proved effective in other developments in the area and the income from fines donated to local charities)

S.20/0106/FUL 62 Elmgrove Estate

Resolved; No Objections but to highlight that the land is adjacent to open space area 14 as identified in the NDP. This is a designated open space important to the Hardwicke Community. Any such development must ensure that any impact on the open space or its setting is mitigated.

S.20/0068/LAC Telephone Kiosk Springfield Resolved; to Request that the kiosk be offered to the Parish Council so that it can be retained as a community facility

24/20 Gloucester Road Race

The Parish Council raised no specific objections but questioned why there were a large number of road races in this area particularly as they were designated ‘Gloucester Road Race’ and were being held in part of Stroud District as opposed to parts of Gloucester

25/20 Finance Report

The Clerk presented the finance report for the period ending January 31st 2020 and the list of monthly payments.

Resolved; to approve the report and payments

26/20 Community Infrastructure Levy

Further to discussions at previous council meetings it was confirmed that a sum of £2700 was available for CIL projects. Parish Councillors had visited the Church to meet with a Church Warden to learn of the proposed community project which would be of benefit to the wider community in the village.

Resolved; to approve the grant of the CIL Money to the Church to support the community project

27/20 Severn Trent Community Fund

Parish Councillors noted that the fund was available to community groups and would seek to advise local groups of the availability of funding. Information on the fund is available from. communityfund@severntrent.co.uk

28/20 Summer Family Fund day

Members agreed to hold a family fun day in June 2020 the date would be confirmed so as not clash with the Armed Services Day. The Council would also welcome offers of help for the day from local residents. Resolved; to hold a family fun day in June 2020

29/20 Parish Councillor and Lead Member Reports

Cllr Darren Morris reported that there had been a very low level of support for the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme, for the scheme to be effective more residents were needed to offer support for their own area.

The Chair, Councillor John Perkin suggested that a ‘stop and chat bench’ be provided in the Village. Members were asked to consider a suitable location, residents could also put forward suggestions.

Cllr Perkin asked if the Clerk would investigate the cost of providing an outdoor table tennis table which could be located in the field near to the basketball court.

30/20 Local Elections

The Clerk reported that he would be attending a meeting at SDC on the programme for the Local Elections in May. Nomination papers would be available for residents wishing to stand for election to the Parish Council. Residents wishing to stand for election would be able to contact the Clerk for nomination papers

Meeting Closed at 21.00

None of us like to get sick but at this time of year, it can sometimes seem inevitable - we all know someone that’s suffered with a cough or cold recently! Whilst occasionally getting sick is a fact of life, we can help support our immune system and ability to fight off minor bugs by keeping ourselves hydrated. Keeping up with our water intake helps to keep our kidneys functioning and able to flush out any unwanted toxins through urination. It also helps in the production of lymph - a fluid that passes around the body collecting bacteria and transporting it to the lymph nodes, where it can be destroyed.
Every glass of water really does help your body to flush out the toxins! Whilst all drinks count towards the recommended daily goal of 2 litres of fluid, water is regarded as the best. If the idea of drinking tap water brings you out in a cold sweat, why not add a slice of lemon to not only change the taste but also give yourself a Vitamin C boost.
Or, if you really can’t bear the idea of giving up one of you cuppa’s, why not have a glass of water at the same time? We know that changing any habit takes time and perseverance, but drinking more water can have a big impact on your overall health and wellbeing. Don’t let the bugs win this winter!

Those of you who are as old as the hills, like me, may well remember wooden school desks with lift up seats and sloping desk lids. Long ago, inkwells were filled with black or dark blue ink and there was a recess for your pens.

The inkwells were in the right-hand corner of the desk lid making access to the ink difficult for left-handed Victorian children, who were often taught to write with their right hand, even if they were naturally left-handed. Some were even physically punished for using their left hand!

Long before biros, gel pens or even fountain pens, these dip in pens, with replaceable metal nibs, were used in schools and elsewhere and were a development from quills. The saying ‘To Blot one’s copybook’ comes from the time when children progressed from writing with chalk on a slate to using pencils and then dip-in pens.

It was a very messy business and took a lot of skill to use these pens to write in their copybooks (exercise books). Sometimes the ink splattered leaving blots of ink on the page which couldn’t be erased resulting in the teacher deducting marks for messy work. The child would have blotted their copy book. Special paper, blotting paper, was used to blot/dry the written work.

How much easier it is today with computers that will correct your spelling and grammar and never leave a blot on the page.

Pat Gilbert

A popular Yorkshire school teacher passed away, and her family decided on a headstone for her grave. The teacher was quite devout so the family wanted an appropriate inscription, saying “Lord, she was thine.” The stonemason gave this job to an apprentice as the inscription was quite simple.

The family were devastated to find the inscription had been carved to read “Lord, she was thin.”

They complained to the stonemason who gave the apprentice a “thick ear” and told him to “go and put the ‘e’ in”. The family were even more devastated to find the inscription now read “E, Lord, she was thin.”

Hardwicke Parish Council

Minutes of a meeting of the Parish Council held on Monday January 6^th 2020

Present

Cllr John Perkin (Chair) Cllr Fran Welbourne

Cllr Graham Brearley Cllr Mark Ryder Cllr Jill Brearley Cllr Denise Powell

Cllr Darren Morris Cllr Demelza Turner-Wilkes

In attendance

District Councillor Gill Oxley, County Councillor and Kevin Lee, Clerk

1/20 Apologies

Apologies were received from District Councillors Gill Oxley and David Mossman and County Councillor Stephen Davies.

Cllr Fran Welbourne informed the Council that Lyn Welbourne would be resigning from the Council due to ill health. Members placed on record their thanks for all the hard work and commitment that Lyn had given to the Parish Council and the Village of Hardwicke for over 14 years. Members wished Lyn well and hoped that he would be able to become active within the Parish at some point in the future.

2/20 Declarations of interest

There were none

3/20 Public Consultation

A resident raised concerns that he had heard that the post office facility at the One Stop Shop would be closing. It was agreed that the Clerk would make enquiries and report back. The resident also asked whether a dog bin could be provided along Elmgrove Road East. Members noted that it was difficult to identify a suitable place to site a bin away from houses and the shops.

4/20 Minutes of Previous Meeting

The Minutes of the Meeting held on December 4^th were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair

Resolved; to approve the Minutes of the previous meeting

5/20 County Councillor and District Councillor Reports

Both Councillors had submitted update reports which had been circulated to Members.

Resolved; to note the reports

6/20 Planning Applications

The Parish Council considered its response to the following planning applications;

S.19/2658/REM Hunts Grove, Public Open Space

Resolved to propose the following amendments and modifications;

See-saw far too easy for a child to slip/roll off. Request a flat board see-saw is provided.

Junior swing No 1, request solid a flat seat.

There is no toddler cradle swing. Would ask a cradle swing be substituted in lieu of the second flat swing. Basket swings are not suitable for the very young child.

Self-closing gates. Request that the self-closing unit is sited at the bottom of the gate.

It is suggested that metal equipment should be provided instead of wooden, this will also be more robust and lower ongoing costs for residents/management company

S.19/2622/REM Hunts Grove Spine Road Driveways

Resolved; to express the Parish Council’s concern that the proposed layout will encourage parking and obstruction on the primary through route and;

We request that dwellings are accessed only from secondary roads interior to the parcel to reduce parking concerns on the main spine road route.

VISITOR PARKING PROVISION - The layout includes no visitor parking provision, unless borrowing from adjacent parcels outside of this application. We request that at least 12 visitor parking spaces are provided distributed across the layout.

NO-MANS-LAND ALLEYWAYS - The layout includes long narrow alleyways to access rear gardens. These alleyways are very narrow, have high fences, no lighting and no sense of ownership. They become a dark, unsafe space and could attract anti-social behaviour. We suggest the layout is adjusted to remove these alleyways. If they need to exist in some form, then each access alleyway should be for one property, with clear ownership by the property and gated from the street or parking court approach. The Parish Council would welcome a site visit by planners and local police security representatives to consider this issue.

It is noted that the level of density is higher than in original design and access statement

S.19/2621/REM 163 dwellings, Parcel R3, R3EL, R5 & R7, Hunts Grove Phase 4

Resolved; to express the Parish Councils concerns as follows;

Over Development, The development density is non-compliant with the Design & Access Statement of 2015, which states these parcels should be medium density, i.e. 35-45 dwellings per hectare.

There appears to be confusion in interpretation of the Design & Access Statement as

Section 4.3 suggests compliance at 44.6 - 48 dwellings per hectare, whereas Section

5.1 states “a medium density area”.

The comments made in respect of application S.19/2622 and alleyways applied to this application also

S.19/2524/DISCON Parcel R11, Hunts Grove Phase 4, Discharge of condition 10 (noise), 12 (contamination), 23 (CEMP), 26 (Access) on permitted application S.15/1498/VAR

Resolved; to seek additional monitoring measures regarding two aspects of the Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) following significant previous issues reported, “Section 3 - Pollution Control Measures”, and “Section 4 - Vehicle Routing”.

Section 3 - Pollution Control Measures

There appears to be insufficient monitoring of discharges to watercourses. In the past twelve months there have been two major discharges of mud / slurry to the Shorn Brook watercourse that have ended up in the balancing pond (SUDs) adjacent to the school, filling the pond with slurry and killing fish as can be seen from pictures available. We request monitoring measures of all contractors on-site to ensure compliance. For example, it appears to be possible that the road-sweeper vehicles can dump their collected slurry in to a road drain that ends up in the watercourse. How is it possible that this happens? Why were no pollution control measures in place to mitigate such an event? We request additional input from the Environmental Health Officer to impose monitoring or conditions to prevent further occurrences.

Section 4 - Vehicle Routing

The CEMP document defines construction routes for vehicles arriving and leaving site and that all Phase 4 construction traffic must use the new construction route via the B4008 marked in blue on Appendix A. However, there is no monitoring protocol defined. What happens if 99% of arrivals continue to use the old route that has been open for the last 10 years? We feel this is likely. The old route (Waterwells Drive / Marconi Drive) results in substantial disruption and safety issues for residents of the completed parts of Hunts Grove on Phase 1 and Phase 2. Further, the consequence of Phase 4 construction traffic continuing to use the old route is that it passes directly in front of the school - this is a significant safety concern! The developer should be required to actively monitor arrivals and departures to ensure compliance and protect the interests of residents and school children and to take action in cases where the incorrect route is used. For example, this could be a registration scheme and ANPR camera (as used at other Crest sites) or alternately a traffic marshal stationed on Waterwells Drive or Marconi Drive for the site operational hours. The CEMP document plan on Appendix A indicates that the

Marconi Drive (original construction route) is applicable for Crest and David

Wilson Homes construction traffic. As the Crest developments at Phase 2 are complete, and the new development parcels by Crest are located off the new construction route (B4008) we do not see any requirement for Crest construction traffic to be using the original construction route through the completed residential areas. We request that the Marconi Drive route is only used by David Wilson Homes until their Phase 2 development is completed.

S.19/2502/DISCON Parcels R11 & R12, Hunts Grove Phase 4, Part discharge of condition 37 (sustainable design) from the application S.15/1498/VAR for parcels R11 & R12 only

Resolved; to record no objections

S.19/2505/ADV One Stop Shop Fascia signs x 4, graphic signs x 6 & 1 gantry sign (380566 - 212957) | One Stop Shop Community Store Elmgrove Road East

Resolved; to record no objections

S.19/2651/CPE Villas Barn, Longney - Lawful Development Certificate to demonstrate the use of land for over 10 years for the siting of caravans

Resolved; the Parish Council is aware of the previously expressed views of residents and does not therefore support the application

7/20 Local Plan Review

The Parish Council discussed the draft local plan and the observations made from the public consultation events held. It was noted that the district council had granted Redrow to appear at the roadshow and this appearance had not been instigated by the Parish Council.

Members reaffirmed support for its Neighbourhood Development Plan which established that major development in Hardwicke should be concentrated at Hunts Grove. The NDP had been supported by residents of Hardwicke and the Parish Council would maintain its opposition to future large scale development in the village of Hardwicke

Resolved; to maintain opposition to large scale development in Hardwicke and to develop a formal response to the district council outlining this opposition

8/20 Finance Report

The Clerk presented the finance report for the period ending December 31^st 2019 and the list of monthly payments. Members were also asked to consider ideas for future projects as part of the budget setting process for 2020/2021

Resolved; to approve the report and list of payments and to submit to the Clerk proposals for any future projects

9/20 Buckingham Palace Garden Party

Members considered the options for nominations and unanimously agreed that the former Chair and District Councillor, David Mossman be proposed. Members wanted to recognise the longstanding commitment and hard work that David had given to Hardwicke and its residents over a number of years.

10/20 Parish Councillor and Lead Member Reports

Councillor Demelza Turner- Wilkes reported on the extent of mud on the roads and the works being undertaken in Pound Lane.

Councillor Mark Ryder commented that much of the work had been taken up with planning applications for Hunts Grove. He expressed concern that developers had known about the proposals but had left it until the last minutes before submitting the formal planning applications which gave the Parish Council less time within which to make comments.

Councillor Darren Morris gave an update on the establishment of Neighbourhood Watch for Hunts Grove, residents had been leafletted but there had been a poor response. It was noted that there may have been some confusion with the Community Alert Scheme.

During the update on the possible work at the village hall (part funded through the UBB community fund) Cllrs Denise Powell and Darren Morris declared their interest in the item as Members of the Village Hall Committee and took no part in any decision making.

Members agreed to seek funding from S106 money up to £6,000 to complete the works.

The Chair, Councillor John Perkin, reported that the Church had been unsuccessful in obtaining a grant from the UBB fund. Members of the Church were seeking funding to allow alterations to the kitchen area which would allow opportunities to attract and provide for wider community use. This was just a small; part of wider planned developments to enhance community use. The Chair asked for Members to support a grant of £2700 to allow the works to progress. The Clerk reported that this sum of money was available through the CIL contributions and the district council had confirmed that CIL money could be used for this purpose.

Members said they would like to see more information of the proposal before agreeing to the grant. The Chair agreed to speak to the Church Wardens.

Resolved to note the reports and agreed actions

11/20 Date of April meeting

Resolved; to vary the date of the April Meeting from April 6^th to March 30^th 2019

The Meeting Closed at 21.15

The Importance of Balance Poor balance is often seen as a normal part of aging but most of us underestimate its importance at all stages of our lives. Good balance reduces the risk of falls, improves posture, joint stability, coordination and reaction times, so balance training should probably be on your ‘to-do’ list. Balance is the even distribution of your weight enabling you to remain upright and steady. It relies on your visual and vestibular system (eyes and ears) and proprioception (receptors in your skin, joints, ligaments, tendons and muscles). These systems send information to your brain about your body's position, so when you lift your right leg you are able to remain standing by unconsciously shifting your weight to your left leg. Injuries, illnesses, neurological conditions, medications, and advancing age can affect all the systems involved in balance, but improving it may be easier than you think! Balance training usually doesn’t involve any equipment, can be tailored to your ability level and can be seamlessly added to your normal routine; for example, try getting in and out of a chair without using your hands. Your safety should always be considered before starting any training to prevent falls. For a more indepth look at balance and the training we recommend, head to the Insights page of our website www.spinavita.co.uk for the full article written by our Chiropractor Jess.

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Ingredients

• 2 onions peeled and finely diced

• 2 carrots peeled and diced (if you want softer carrot pieces boil in water for 10 minutes before using)

• 400gm can of chopped tomatoes

• 900ml vegetable stock

• 60gm dried pasta (my preference is fusilli but other pastas are fine)

• 400gm can mixed beans, drained and rinsed

• Salt and pepper to season

Optional ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

• 3 celery sticks, cut and trimmed into 1.5cm lengths

• 4 tbsp chopped parsley

• Bacon or Chorizo

A Village Magazine produced by volunteers for the village of Hardwicke Delivered free to 2,500 homes monthley since 1989.

Gloucestershire Energy from Waste Facility

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February in the Garden

It’s still cold outside, but there are signs of spring’s arrival everywhere you look. Bulbs are slowly emerging from the ground, and the days are getting longer at last.

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