Management of verges and grass areas in Bainton and Ashton

The Parish Council is keen to improve understanding of the way that the verges are now managed in the villages. In spring the verges can look untidy to some but there are reasons why this approach has been taken. The City Council agreed with the Parish Council, in line with their adopted policies, for the Parish Council to actively manage the verges and green spaces to support native wildlife. This is necessary as there has been a huge decline in surrounding meadowlands and mature hedgerows, in turn leading to a decline in the wildlife that used to depend on them.
Many species now only have the road verges and private gardens available as their habitats. It means that the old regime of keeping all verges cut short all through spring and summer is now not suitable and conducive to wildlife recovery and so a different, organised regime is adopted. These regimes are evolving and are reviewed as things develop and change even more, but the rewards are already seen in an abundance of new and varied wildflowers appearing. There may be a change to some areas next May, whilst these areas are in a rapid growth period, and this may help improve the area to a tidier look whilst still supporting the objectives to help nature recover.
This project is regularly discussed at the Parish Council meetings and the public are always encouraged to attend and voice any concerns or issues on any items on the agenda. Please see dates on the website and notice boards. Thank you for your understanding. Any comments or queries to the clerk, please, details below.
Next meeting is 25th July at 7pm in the Reading Room.
Jenny Rice, Clerk to the Parish Council
bainton.ashton.clerk@live.co.uk
Tel 07889669550
Like the Facebook page for regular updates and information.
www.baintonandashtonparishcouncil.org.uk

It’s Time for a Barbecue!

It’s been great to see so many families enjoying Messy Church this year, and you are all warmly invited to a Party on Sunday 23rd July from 3:30 -5:30pm at Holly Cottage, Wittering Road, Barnack PE9 3EY. There will be food and games, but mostly a time to relax, have fun and chat!
If you are willing to help with some games, then please contact Mike Mills.
Bring your friends too, but we would like to have some idea of how many to expect, so please let Mike Mills or Carol Summers know if you are planning to come.
Mike Mills 07523312387
Carol Summers 07715460177.
See you there!

St Martin’s Singers Concert

Gloria. A concert in St Andrews Church Ufford on Saturday 8 th July at 7 30 by St Martins Singers.
Music for a summer evening. Tickets £10 to include a glass of wine. ( concessions £7 school children free).
Tickets from Sally Hudson 01780 740475

Bainton & Ashton Festival

Sunday 2nd July
12 o’clock kick off, BBQ & Bar
Come and see the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Hurricane flypast
Come and listen to the Gretton Silver Band play throughout the afternoon
Stalls galore
..and not to be missed …
3pm Childrens Races
Brass Band | Drawings for Sale
Fine Art America
Any donations gratefully received. Cakes on the day, tombola items, bottles and raffle prizes.
Drop off to Westlands, Ufford Road. Graham & Su 740034
See you there….

Flower Festival at St Kyneburgha’s Church

In Castor, we are celebrating the church’s 900th anniversary in 2024
Friday 22nd Sept – Evening Soiree – Flowers plus wine and canapes and entertain ment – £10 per head.
(Contact for tickets – www.castorchurch.co.uk)
Saturday 23rd Sept. – Flower Festival opens officially 10 a.m.to 6 p.m. No ticket needed
Sunday 24th Sept. – Flower Festival open from 12 noon to 6 p.m.

SAVE THE DATE

Barnack Fun Run 2023
Saturday 7th October
“First Saturday in October”!
We will need your help with volunteering for the event. It was a huge success last year, but the event needs lots of volunteers to make it happen. Race marshals, parking assistants, course preparation and setup.
If you would like to help in any way – please contact either Emma Thorp or Sally Hullock
emmathorp@gmail.com
sally@sallyhullocktraining.co.uk

Pilates Classes in Bainton

Pilates Class Monday evenings
Tuesday afternoon class
Friday morning class
All in Bainton Reading Room.
Call Nichola for more detailds 07493338345

Change to the way you order bags for the food collection bins

Previously, in order to request more food caddy liners, you tied a spare bag to the caddy and left it outside on bin day. This system has now changed. You should now order more caddy liners / food bags online. However, finding where to order is not straight forward!
Go to:
https://report.peterborough.gov.uk/waste
Put in your postcode > GO
Select your address > CONTINUE
That brings up “Your Collections”
On the right-hand side of that page you will see “More Services” and a link to “Request more food bags”
You will be asked for Full Name, Phone number and email.
You are asked how many sets of bags you would like.
When you complete the form, you will be sent an email confirming “Your report has been logged” and giving you a reference number.
Alternatively you may phone 01733 747474 to place an order.
The bags should be delivered with you next bin collection.

Barnack Hills and Holes Village Forum

Terms of Reference of the Forum
To bring the Village Community, Natural England and Burghley Estate together to help promote the management of the Barnack Hills and Holes National Nature Reserve, for the benefit of the internationally important grassland habitat, the village, local community and interest groups.

News from meeting held on 7th June
Despite the cold spring, the flowers are putting on a good display in the Hills and Holes. Pasqueflower, Early Purple Orchid and Man Orchid were counted this spring, followed by Fragrant Orchid in June. Pasqueflower showed a decline after a bumper flowering year in 2022 and Man Orchid numbers continued to fall.
Every other Tuesday (11th and 25th in July)a work party meets to tackle tasks such as scrub removal and fence repairs. More volunteers are needed. Just turn up or contact the Site Manager (ross.edgar@naturalengland.org.uk) if you would like to take part or need more information. The workparty assembles in the main car park on Wittering Road at 9.30 am. This car park is in need of repair and will be closed for a short time this summer, to enable Natural England to carryout improvements.
Natural England is looking for old photographs, to help in understanding the changes that have occurred in the Hills and Holes over the past decades and the reasons for these changes. Please inform Ross Edgar if you have any images that may be useful. An aerial photograph of 1953 shows the Hills and Holes almost devoid of trees. In another, taken in 1970,trees cover about a quarter of the site. This transformation took less than two decades, which shows how important it is to maintain the battle against encroachment by hawthorn scrub and the non-native Turkey Oak. About 40 large Turkey Oaks will be felled this year, to reduce the threat to open grassland posed by the prolific production of acorns and to reduce competition with native trees in the woodland area.
This year, a drone will be used to view the Reserve from the air. The extent of the pathway network and its effect on the adjacent vegetation will be recorded. This exercise will be complemented by soil sampling to investigate whether and where nutrient enrichment is occurring.
Visitors to the Hills and Holes in late May and early June were encouraged to complete a questionnaire exploring their behaviour and attitudes towards the Reserve. 230 responses were submitted, 70 of them electronically. The results are being analysed and the conclusions will be made public.

Margaret Palmer, on behalf of Barnack Hills and Holes Village Forum

The Buttercross Club

Our meeting on Wednesday, 8th June,was very well attended. Our speaker, Sue Jakeman is the niece of Peggy Spencer, the professional ballroom dancer who was born in 1920. ‘Come Dancing’ on the BBC was an early forerunner to ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ but different in format. Peggy’s teams of dancers appeared on the programme for many years. She did not begin her working life as a professional dancer. She became secretary in Sevenoaks to Herbert Morrison, the labour politician who later became Deputy Prime Minister. She met and married Jack Spencer and they lived in London. They had two children, Helena and Michael. When London was bombed during World War Two she took refuge in the tube station like so many others. Peggy felt that the many children there needed an occupation whilst they were underground. She began to teach herself dance steps so that she could pass her knowledge on to the children. She decided to continue as a dance teacher after the war. She was given permission to use the upstairs of a Lyons Coffee House as a ballroom. A friend helped her and eventually they taught adults as well as children.
Peggy left Jack Spencer who had been unfaithful and, needing to make a living as she had two children to raise, she decided to make dancing her career. She was an excellent teacher as well as a dancer. She was also very ambitious. She wanted to make a name for herself as an accomplished dancer. She was fortunate to be introduced to Victor Silvester, the band leader. He had a television programme on a Friday and every other Friday she would dance with him. That is how she started her work with the BBC. She did a few small shows and also continued to teach both children and adults. Eventually, with Peggy’s help, a programme called ‘Come Dancing ‘ was launched which lasted some 50 years. Formation Dance Teams from all parts of Great Britain competed against each other. Peggy’s formation team was the South East and they always won.
She became close to her former brother-in-law, Frank Spencer, who shared her love of dancing and they eventually married. They made a formidable professional dance team. Peggy was as good at the choreography as she was at dancing. Their eldest son, Arthur, learnt to dance after having been in the RAF during the war. He had been in the squad which bombed Dresden and so he decided to return to Germany to set up a dance school.
Arthur’s son Michael adjudicates on the German equivalent of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
Frank was some 20 years older than Peggy and eventually he concentrated on managing their financial affairs but Peggy continued her dancing career. She received many accolades. She was on ‘This Is Your Life’.She achieved awards for both teaching and choreography. She and Frank were appointed MBE in 1977. Her work included the choreography of a dance sequence for a Beatles video called ’Your Mother Should Know’ and the tango for Rudolph Nureyev in the film ‘Valentino’. She and her team were twice asked to perform for the Queen at Buckingham Palace. She also won eight Carl Alan Awards, the Oscars of the dance world. In 2004 and in her eighties, she became President of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. She lived in King’s Lynn in her later years and after a long and fulfilling life she died in May, 2016, aged 95.
Diary Date:5th July, a short walk around Stamford with Blue Badge Guide, Jill Collinge. Please meet punctually at 6pm outside the town hall in Stamford for the start of the walk. You can either make your own way to Stamford or arrange with friends to meet at the Reading Room to car share. The cost of the tour is £8 per head.
NB: There is no meeting in August. We resume on the 6th September.