News, comment and gossip for Horsington, the Cheritons and surrounding villages in Somerset
News and events in the Horsington area
Many Blog readers will be saddened by the death of Robert Neave. We are hoping that someone who knew him well will write an obituary for the Blog, but in the meantime we are re-printing the notice of his death published in “The Times”, which sums up his character and his sense of humour.
We send our condolences to his family.
Intrepid cyclist Chris Bailward is heading off on a mammoth cycle trip through all the County Towns of England. He leaves by train from Bristol on 1st June and starts cycling from Carlisle on the 2nd. If all goes according to plan he will finish in Truro on 30th June, having covered 2016 miles.
Chris is raising money for Sport Relief on the way and hopes that you’ll dip into your piggy bank to help him raise at least £2016. Full details of the trip can be found on his blog at www.bailward.co.uk and there is a button which will take you to his Justgiving page https://www.justgiving.com/Chris-Bailward1.
Good luck Chris
The Blog will keep you informed with regular updates.
Last Year Chris covered 1800 miles in an epic tour of France, travelling from the Channel to the Mediterranean via the alps, and then along the canal du Midi and up the Western flank., an incredible journey.
The Parish Council has been working hard to resolve the future of the pond and has come up with an imaginative scheme to transform it from a lifeless splodge of mud into a living pond of which we can all be proud.
The problem with the present regime is that the pond silts up, and has to be cleared every 7 years or so. It is no longer permissible to simply cart it away and spread it on fields and lawns – it has to be tested and analysed and taken away by licensed operators, and that means expense. Furthermore, once it has been cleared, it is lifeless, and plant and animal life has to start all over again.
You may be wondering why Horsington Pond has remained empty and choked with silt for the past few months. During the planning process, led by Charles James and Ian Snowden, they found that the roadside wall has been undermined by the water. So SSDC has agreed to repair the wall and complete the stone facing, which was never done when the concrete was installed some years ago.
The pond has remained empty, in order to arrange quotes and for inspections, and it will remain empty until the roadside wall has been repaired. Then, subject to successful funding, until the project is completed.
The Proposal: A living sustainable habitat
Charles James (who installed the new sluice gates supplied by Kev Wigley) did some research and took and advice from DEFRA, The Pond Conservation Trust (now the Freshwater Habitats Trust), the Environment agency, and various other specialists in the field of pond life and aquatic plants and wildlife. He has formulated a plan that entails creating three specific areas to create and maintain the freshwater habitat.
At the lodge end, where the water enters, a silt trap will be built. The natural level of the pond will allow the silt to be removed while still maintaining sufficient depth to allow the pond life to survive.
At the other end there will be a still water frog and newt pond. This will attract a host of aquatic creatures, and provide a fantastic educational resource for the school, and for visitors to the village.
The main body of the pond will be relatively silt free and provide a home for native fish such as minnows, sticklebacks, and all associated pond life naturally found in a freshwater pond with natural floating aquatic plants.
The Parish Council’s aim is to educate people, and at the same time enhance Horsington’s most precious asset.
There is a cost involved, and help is being sought from the National Lottery and Viridor. The funding is being co-ordinated by Ian Snowden.
There will be an exhibition at the Village Fete on 11th June, where all questions will be answered. And no doubt you will be able to contribute to the cost.
The Blog has sometimes criticised the Council, but this time we say “well done”.
Faster Broadband will soon be on its way for the many people in Horsington who do not live within the reach of BT’s superfast service. This will include most, if not all residents of Horsington Marsh, Cucklington and Stoke Trister. And the good news is that a £500 installation grant is available to every household which applies NOW.** This will cover installation costs, and the necessary Wi-Fi infrastructure.
And the better news is that, once installed, the Wi-Fi system appears to be only slightly more expensive than BT’s superfast service.
Your editor, who has a telephone and painfully slow broadband service, will probably save around £20 a month, since his current package does not include calls, but they are included in the combined broadband and phone package offered by Wessex Internet and Vonage.
Penny Nagle, who lives on Horsington Marsh, has been working tirelessly for several months to contact potential suppliers, organise grants and battle with the powers that be. She has received assistance and moral support from local councillor Tim Inglefield, and our MP David Warburton.
The details are a bit complicated, and set out in a consultation document from Wessex Broadband, which you can download here.
It can be summarised thus:
The main wi-fi point will be erected at Coneygore Hill, Stoke Trister, and this will serve subsidiary points at Foxcombe Lane and South Cheriton. Households will be served by one of these, based on signal strength. An existing Wi-Fi point on Henstridge Marsh will complete the coverage down to Buckhorn Weston, Nyland and beyond. Buildings and trees can affect the signal.
The Coneygore Hill Wi-Fi point is expected to be in service by the end of June and households in range will be able to connect shortly after completion. The others (Foxcombe Lane and South Cheriton) will have to wait until the subsidiary Wi-Fi points are confirmed.
We understand they are still trying to obtain a site. Suggestions and volunteer equipment hosts wanted. They are very unobtrusive. (See previous articles).
If you have not registered your interest, contact Penny Nagle as soon as possible. Registering an interest does not mean a financial obligation at this stage.
If you decide to come on board at a later date the voucher scheme may have expired, and you will face a big bill for installation.
**You will receive the voucher if you have speeds of less than 2Mbps. If you do, please take a screen grab (or photograph!) to send to Penny. This is all that the voucher scheme requires to claim.
| Monday | Pilates | 6pm |
| Tuesday | Upholstery | 10.30am |
| Badminton | 8 pm | |
| Wednesday | Adult Tap dancing | 10am |
| Thursday | Art | 10am |
| Friday | Art | 10am |
| Tues 3rd | BV U3A Talk on Citizen’s Advice Bureaux. Henstridge Village Hall |
2.30 pm |
| Ladies lunch Group. Tea at Cole Manor | 3pm | |
| N.Cheriton Garden Society discount shopping at Castle Gardens, Sherborne |
7.30pm |
|
| Wed 4th | Music Night at Half Moon Inn | 8.30pm |
| Thurs 5th | W.I. Dierdre’s Buckingham Palace Garden Party | 7.30pm |
| Wincanton Races. Evening meeting | 4 pm | |
| Tues 10th | Wincanton Races. Ladies Day | 12pm |
| Thurs 12th | Parish Council. Village hall | 7.30pm |
| Sat 14th | Childrens’ Society Coffee morning. Village Hall | 10-12pm |
| Yarlington House Plant Fair | 10-4pm | |
| Wed 18th | Film. 45 Years. King Arthur’s School | 7.30pm |
| Sat 21st | N. Cheriton Garden Society Plant Sale. HorsingtonVillage Hall |
10am |
| Sun 29th | Horsington XI v Tabard Pilgrims. Cricket Field | 2pm on |
| Quiz at Half Moon Inn | 8.30pm |
Andrew and Jeanne Lakeman, who used to live at South Cheriton are hosting a Summer Fair in the garden of their new home at Fifehead Magdalen, just a few miles away. The date is Sunday 22nd May. From noon.
Music will be provided by the blue grass band The Old Boston Tea Party.
There will be a barbecue, tea ,cakes, a tombola, plant sale and much more.
Entry is by donation, in aid of Fifehead church.
Andrew and Jeanne look forward to welcoming old and new friends
The address is Highview, Fifehead Magdalen SP8 5RR
We are grateful to Milborne Port Computers for some timely advice on the latest scam- Ed
Over the past month a new version of an old scam, fraud, virus (whatever you want to call it) has cropped up. Ransom-ware is when your computer becomes infected by a piece of software that encrypts all your data (documents, pictures & music etc) and demands payment of a substantial fee to unlock your stuff. The virus also recursively scans USB storage and network drives, including Dropbox etc. The new development is that the scam email that you receive to start things off now includes your name & address, as well as being well written without the usual spelling mistakes and Americanisms.
The email says that you owe money to a variety of well known British companies and charities and invites you to download the offending invoice: Following the download link is what infects your computer. Within a few seconds, much of your data will have been encrypted and a ‘ransom note’ is displayed on your screen telling you to pay up or loose your data forever. The longer you leave it, the more you have to pay!
Now, I have always advocated NEVER to pay the ransom as there is no guarantee that you’ll get your data unlocked and your money will just disappear into the ether; however the choice is yours. If you do choose not to pay then removing the virus and cleaning up the computer is usually fairly straightforward but history tell us that your data is gone for good. It may be inconvenient and it may be upsetting, but is it really life changing?
On a more positive note, email is rarely affected as many of us now use webmail and on-line mailboxes that cannot be accessed by the virus. As much of your data may be sent and received by email you are often able to recover a goodly bit.
How could you avoid this? You can’t stop the incoming email if you are unfortunate enough to get one but you can be vigilant and be savvy enough to realise that it is a scam. Just delete the email! Secondly you should have good anti-virus software to block the virus if you do follow the download link, and finally you should have a good backup system on-line or on a removable drive that is not permanently connected to your computer.
Computer advice in Horsington is available from Gregg Pyne on 01963 370713
Wednesday 10th May 2017: It’s Ladies Day at Wincanton Races and the last meeting of the season. Our exclusive racing correspondent Winterbourne Longjohns wires “Change in the going to soft this afternoon will NOT suit Tara’s Rainbow and Ballyknock Lad, but Golden Birthday may win the last for Harry Fry”.
We are much obliged, sir. See you next Autumn. -Ed
Just 22% of South Somerset’s voters turned out to elect a Police and Crime Commissioner last week. As predicted (and advised) by the Blog, the incumbent Sue Mountstevens won, and will will hold onto her position until 2020.
The overall turnout of the region was 26.64 per cent, up from 19 per cent in the last PCC election
The results were
Update 6th May: There will be no car boot sale, just craft stalls. Entry is £5.00 per person, children free.
The White Horse Inn Music Festival is on Saturday 4th June. During the day there is a Car Boot Sale & Craft stall in the Marquee and many vintage cars and agricultural vehicles will be on show.
Six Bands – yes six – will be performing from 1 pm until closing the of course the pub will be open all day, serving delicious food and a selection of ales and wines.
The Music Line-up:
1 pm till 2 pm b.e–cooling- canadian singer -songwriter
3 pm to 4 pm Grandads Jazz band
430 pm to 530 pm The Shaves
530 pm to 630 pm Bad Edukation
7 pm to 8 pm Mr Jukebox
9 pm to 10 pm Theya Musician /Band
Craft and car boot sale stalls are available -£5. To book a stall ring john Samson on 0797 466 2145
All welcome.