Spring 2015 Did the Ancient Greeks play tennis? I’ve no idea but the other day at Eardisley Tennis Club, I was playing opposite this student home on holiday. I asked him what he was studying and he replied he was working towards a phD in “Athenian Democracy”. Later on I collared him and said that although it must be fascinating, what on earth is the relevance of Athenian Democracy to modern day life? He tried to explain the purpose of his phD but I had to ask him to stop and explain it in layman’s terms. This is a summary of his explanation: Ancient Greece was the home of our modern democracy but the vast majority of people could neither read or write, or had any access to knowledge and information, yet their system enabled the ordinary voter to influence what went on. Compare that with today; when in the UK, the vast majority of people can read and write, have access to a virtually infinite library of information and can keep up to date with every political development; yet we stand by whilst power is held very much in the hands of a tiny minority. Sobering words but as we move into a period of electioneering there are two things that stand out. First, as an individual, although I don’t have much power, the little bit I do have I need to wield, so it is essential I cast my vote. Otherwise I’m not even living up to the standards of the peasant farmer breaking his back in the hot and dusty fields of two and a half thousand years ago. Second, I need to use the tools that we’re lucky to have. I can read and write, I can access the internet and I can find out what’s really going on;-but do I? We at MAP can’t help you make your decisions about voting but we can help if you’re nervous or worried about getting online. Give us a call on 01544 231771 or pop in to the Old Police Station in Kington. Julian Reeves Stonewater 2 Kington Town Council 3 Kington Young Farmers 3 Kington Museum 4 Co-op Car Park 4 Rooms for Hire 5 Local Markets 5 Kington Remembers 6 Lady Hawkins’ School 8 Kington Town Council Annual Report 9 - 16 Meadows 17 Kington Car Share Club 18 Trees 19 Volunteer Drivers 24 In this issue Hergest Croft Gardens are looking for volunteers to help maintain the interesting gardens. Please could you contact Melanie Lloyd on 01544 230106 for more information
What's on and happening in Kington, Herefordshire and surrounding districts.
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Spring 2015
Did the Ancient Greeks play tennis?
I’ve no idea but the other day at
Eardisley Tennis Club, I was playing opposite this student
home on holiday. I asked him what he was studying and he replied he was working towards
a phD in “Athenian Democracy”. Later on I collared him and said
that although it must be fascinating, what on earth is the r e l e v a n c e o f A t h e n i a n
Democracy to modern day life? He tried to explain the purpose
of his phD but I had to ask him to stop and explain it in layman’s terms. This is a
summary of his explanation: Ancient Greece was the home of
our modern democracy but the vast majority of people could
neither read or write, or had any access to knowledge and information, yet their system
enabled the ordinary voter to influence what went on.
Compare that with today; when in the UK, the vast majority of people can read and write, have
access to a virtually infinite library of information and can
keep up to date with every political development; yet we
stand by whilst power is held
very much in the hands of a tiny minority.
Sobering words but as we move into a period of electioneering
there are two things that stand out. First, as an individual,
although I don’t have much power, the little bit I do have I need to wield, so it is essential I
cast my vote. Otherwise I’m not even living up to the standards
of the peasant farmer breaking his back in the hot and dusty fields of two and a half thousand
years ago. Second, I need to use the tools that we’re lucky to
have. I can read and write, I can access the internet and I
can find out what’s really going on;-but do I?
We at MAP can’t help you make your decisions about voting but
we can help if you’re nervous or worried about getting online. Give us a call on 01544
231771 or pop in to the Old Police Station in Kington.
Julian Reeves
Stonewater 2
Kington Town Council 3
Kington Young Farmers
3
Kington Museum 4
Co-op Car Park 4
Rooms for Hire 5
Local Markets 5
Kington Remembers 6
Lady Hawkins’ School 8
Kington Town Council Annual Report
9 - 16
Meadows 17
Kington Car Share Club
18
Trees 19
Volunteer Drivers 24
In this issue
Hergest Croft Gardens are looking for volunteers to help maintain the interesting
gardens. Please could you contact Melanie Lloyd on 01544 230106 for more information
Page 2 The Kington Chronicle Spring 2015
Stonewater in Kington
Welcome to the latest in our regular
bulletins, keeping you up to date with what
Stonewater is doing in Kington.
Stonewater who?
I’m sure many of you reading this article are
thinking the above. Who are Stonewater and
where have they come from? On the 1st January
2015 Marches Housing Association, along with the
wider Jephson Group, joined together with Raglan
Housing to create one new organisation,
Stonewater.
Together, we are now one of the UK’s largest
social housing providers. This creates more ways
to improve services and build new homes for those
in need. But this doesn’t mean that everything
has changed overnight. At the moment things are
still the same and the only big changes you will
see are the name and the logo! The office is still
in the same place and the telephone numbers to
contact us are still the same. We will keep you up
-to-date, through this publication, of any changes
as they happen but for now it’s “business as
usual”.
Image courtesy of
FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Zero tolerance to anti–social behaviour
Stonewater takes a zero tolerance approach to anti
-social behaviour (ASB), whether in the community
or towards staff members.
The County Court has recently granted an
Injunction for a recent ASB case. The injunction is
a court order to prevent noise nuisance and
threatening verbal abuse, including threats with a
weapon. The injunction has been served to
prevent any further disturbance and to protect
individuals and the community.
It is important to us that that all residents who live
in our homes live without fear, are happy in their
homes and comfortable in their neighbourhoods.
If you are experiencing ASB and have spoken to
your neighbour to try to resolve the problem,
please contact Housing Officers Lysette Phillips or
Hannah Bragg on 01568 619607 for further
assistance.
In the Limelight!
The Stonewater Asset Management Team are hard
at work in Kington. They have a number of
community projects underway which will see
improvements to three schemes in the town.
A £17,000 new bin store along with
structural repairs to balconies at Llewellin
Road flats - starting in mid February
Lighting upgrade and redecoration to the
communal access in Lower Cross
Replacement roof project for maisonettes in
Greenfields (below)
Before After
If you would like to know more or have an enquiry
on any of the projects please contact the Asset
Management Team on 01568 619673.
**Watch this space for further updates in the next
edition.
Neighbourhood Walkabouts
Lysette and Hannah will be walking around our estates as usual this spring. They would like to meet as
many people as possible, to share ideas for improvements.
We want to hear YOUR views on the areas that YOU live. Join them on the following dates:
Kington Date
Lower Cross, High Street 1.30pm Thursday 20th February & 24th April
Passey Court, The Square, Church Street 2.00pm Monday 24th March
Park Road, Park Green, Park View, The Crescent, Oak Plock,
Llewellin Road 1.30pm Thursday 13th February & 17th April
Arrow View, Brunley Close, Brilley 2.00pm Monday 17th March
Victoria Court 2.00pm Monday 05th May
Aconbury Leigh, Wall Hills Close 2.00pm Thursday 15th May
This page has been paid for by Stonewater 4
Page 3 The Kington Chronicle Spring 2015
This year’s Annual Town Meeting will be at 7
o’clock, Thursday 19th March in The Training Room, Old Police Station, Market Hall Street,
Kington. The Annual Town Meeting is different to the
monthly Council meetings. It is a public meeting, called by the Council, for the
residents and electorate who are all invited to bring subjects for discussion to the meeting. If you would like a question or discussion
topic to be considered for the agenda, please contact the Clerk on 01544 239098 by Friday
6th March at the latest.
All council meetings are open to the public, by
law. We use the term 'public' meeting to indicate a larger meeting, generally called to
discuss a specific subject. The Annual Town Meeting is such a meeting and we would really like you to attend, and to put forward
your views, questions, or any concerns that you have about things that are happening in
Kington Town. This is a time of changes and we know that many people have lots of questions about what the Town Council is
doing.
Town Clerk
Kington Town Council Annual Meeting
Kington YFC is a thriving social club that offers a range of fun activities along with training and
the opportunity to learn new skills. There is also the option of bringing out your competitive side!
Young farmers isn’t just for young people from farming backgrounds or rural areas, it’s open to everyone aged 10-26 who might be looking to make friends, improve their skills, broaden
their horizons and have a lot of fun. Recently, we’ve been Bowling, and taken trips to Quack-ers, Cheltenham Races, skiing in France, and various dances and do’s around the county. We
also took part in a ploughing match (no ploughing for us unfortunately) but this did also in-clude cookery, metalwork, craftwork, hair and nails, fancy dress, scavenger hunt, and egg whisking which is always a highlight! We have a few members who do very well in Stock Judg-
ing and compete at county level too. We also came 3rd in a recent Hedging Match. Not only do we put on social events for our members, provide training and attend competitions, we also
fund-raise, and last year we donated to the Air Ambulance. Regular meetings are held in Kington at The Old Police Station, Market Hall Street, Kington,
HR5 3DP. For more information about Kington YFC and how to get involved, please contact Lydia Phillips, Club Secretary on 077915 33026.
Kington Young Farmer’s Club
Page 4 The Kington Chronicle Spring 2015
The museum officially opens for the 2015
season on Saturday 28th March at 10 30 am. However, there will be a Pre-Season Preview
on Friday 27th March from 7 pm, to which you are cordially invited. There will be a drink and a nibble, the
opportunity to peruse the displays (most of which are new and include Farming, Milling,
1950s, Kington Railway and Church Street Through Time) and perhaps to volunteer your services.
Thanks are due to all those individuals who have generously donated or loaned items for
the displays. The museum will be manning Rita’s Charity Shop from Saturday 21st until Friday 27th
March. We are a charitable trust run by volunteers
and any funds raised will be used to go towards the running costs and improvements
to your museum. Consequently, if you have any saleable items please contact Ros Williams on 01544267472 or 07855861743.
Items can be dropped off at the shop from Friday afternoon, 20th March, as she will be
there setting up things. Alternatively, items can be left at the museum. Last year’s Limerick competition was very well
supported with over 150 entries ranging from
the scurrilous to the sublime. Many thanks to
all those who entered. This year we invite you to enter a Clerihew
competition. Once again there will be excellent prizes. Clerihews have just a few simple rules:
1. They are four lines long. 2. The first and second lines rhyme with each
other, and the third and fourth lines rhyme with each other. AA BB
3. The first line names a person or pet, and
the second line ends with something that rhymes with the name of the person or
pet. 4. A clerihew should be funny. Here one of Edmund Clerihew Bentleys’:
Sir Christopher Wren Said, "I am going to dine with some men.
If anyone calls Say I am designing St. Paul's."
Curator, Kington Museum
The Guzzunder Did you use one of these in
the 50s?
Kington Museum
The sudden arrival of ticket machines and parking restrictions in the Co-op car park took
everyone by surprise, not least, I understand, the staff at the Co-op themselves. The event attracted a lot of publicity with coverage in the local press and on local radio.
Representations to the Co-op’s Manchester head office were quickly made by the local councillor, Terry James, Kington Chamber of Trade and Kington Town Council as well as local residents.
On 20th February we met with the Co-op’s Operations Manager to set out our concerns about
the impact this would have on the town and the added pressure on the other nearby car parks, which the Town Council is in the process of taking over.
We asked that the free parking be available for four hours with no restrictions on overnight parking. They have agreed three hours free parking and no overnight restrictions and will
consider our request for an extension to four hours. They will also review the situation again on three months’ time. We will keep you posted.
Bob Widdowson
Deputy Mayor
Update on Co-op Car Park
Page 5 The Kington Chronicle Spring 2015
Have you thought about using Marches Access Point for
your next meeting, or even to show a film?
MAP Rooms available for hire
The Hergest Room
Our biggest room at nearly 600 sq ft, the
newly refurbished Hergest Room is ideal for training, large meetings, conferences and film shows. Wi-Fi enabled, with a smart
board and fully kitted out with 11 pc’s including one with wheelchair access, you
can give your delegates a mixture of traditional and online presentations.
With the ability to seat up to 60 comfortably, refreshments always available, and rates
starting as little as £15.00 per hour, we believe The Hergest Room offers real value for money in the centre of Kington.
The Bradnor Room
Our smaller room offers privacy for meetings
or breakout groups of up to 8 people. With separate facilities and a rate of just £10.00 per hour why not hold your next meeting in
The Bradnor, away from your busy office?
We try to be as flexible as possible in the way we offer our facilities. Give us a call to discuss your particular needs.
upkeep of Kington Churchyard and last year we met up with the PCC and a
representative, Andrea Dorking, from Caring For God's Acre to discuss the possiblilty of encouraging more wildflowers in the area.
Historically a meadow is an area of grassland
from which livestock is excluded from late spring until early summer in order to allow the growth of a crop of hay. Over the last 60
years many wildflower rich meadows have been lost throughout the country due to
changes in farming practices as grassland has been “improved” so that it only contains a few vigorous species of grass and white
clover. Yet wildflower meadows increase the variety of wildlife as a richer diversity of
plants support in turn a greater diversity of insects, which in turn are food for small
mammals, such as voles, shrews and hedgehogs and birds, which also feed on the flower seed.
Wildflower meadows do, of course,also look
beautiful! We are very fortunate in Kington as we live close to Birches Farm which has never been sprayed and has beautiful
wilflower meadows. It is situated at the top of the hill on the left on the way to Eardisley
and is currently being managed by Herefordshire Nature Trust which is hoping to raise money to buy it and thus protect it long
-term.
Luckily for us, Andrea confirmed that the grassy areas in the churchyard also contains many flower species which will flourish if left
uncut. As meadows do particularly well if they have an open, sunny aspect, not shaded
by trees, walls or shrubs, it was decided to carry out a trial area, oval in shape with a path running through the middle, on the
most southerly side of the churchyard at the bottom of the bank closest to the town. This
designated area can still be cut up to late April but will then be left until mid-July when it will be scythed. The resulting cuttings will
be removed as wildflowers do best on poor soils with a low fertility and if the cuttings are
left, nutrients would seep back into the soil
favouring the taller, coarser plants such as
willowherb, fat hen, bindweed, nettles and couch grass to grow. These would then
outcompete the meadow flowers which we are trying to encourage.
So, take a walk up to the church next June time and we hope you will be pleased with
what you find. We are hoping to invite children from both schools in the town along to draw and identify the flowers....
Although it is much easier to conserve and
encourage existing areas of wildflower meadows as is the case in the churchyard, it
is of course also possible to create new wildflower meadows even in your back garden especaillly if it's sunny. New meadows
will fare better if the chosen area has not been treated with too many chemicals in the
past. Begin by removing any grass turves and rake the exposed soil. Wildflower seed can be bought which contains, for example,
10 species of flower and 4 grass species. Sow the seed in early spring and net the area to
stop beds having an early feast! Then cut in mid-July and remove the cuttings after which it can be mown at the same time as the rest
of the lawn until May the following year.
Good luck! Sally Williams
Chair of the Environment Committee of Kington Town Council
Meadows
Page 18 The Kington Chronicle Spring 2015
Rhyme by Clive Williams and Photo by Richie Cotterill
Kington Car Share Club
Get “On The Road”
with
Kington Car Share Club
Are you someone who – Is not a car owner but would benefit from access to a car? ...or Wants to give up your car (or second car) but just can't do without it? ... and Is interested in saving money while reducing traffic congestion and pollution?
Then the Kington Car Share initiative may be right for you! Our aim is to promote cleaner, greener travel and affordable car use.
How it works: One time membership fee of £20 Monthly subscription fee of £5 Easy online booking system Monthly usage bills based on time and mileage
(at about £1.60 per hour and 20p per mile less any petrol you have bought) Community scheme where everyone helps with the running of the club If you are interested please email [email protected] or telephone 01544 231236
www.radnorvalleylittledragons.btck.co.uk Charity number 1025851
Theme The children are enjoying the 'bird watch' theme this term based around “RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch”, they’ve been making bird feeders, bird watching; finding bird prints in the snow, making a variety of garden birds in craft activities.
Holiday Club We will be running a holiday club in February Half Term, on Wed 18th, Thurs 19th and Fri 20th from 8am until 5.30pm for only £17 per child all day with the 3rd sibling FOC, for children aged 3-14 years old, there will be lots of indoor and outdoor activities, We will also be holding a holiday club throughout Easter dates to follow.
Don’t forget…… We are now able to offer full day child care, including a breakfast club at Radnor Valley Primary School. We offer child care for 2 year olds upwards from 8.10am until 5.30pm for only £28.00 per day, £15 for a morning/afternoon session. We offer 10 hours free 3 year old funding from Powys County Council and registered with Herefordshire Council to receive 15 hours funding for 2 year olds who are eligible under their criteria for families who live in Herefordshire.
Our parent and toddler group meets on a Monday morning 9.20am until 11.20pm, a social morning for the children to play and parents to chat, tea/coffee/ snacks for the children for only £2.50. Regular visits from local health visitor.
If you would like to make changes in your diet,
improve your health condition or lose weight and you don’t know where to start, as a nutritionist I
can help you achieve your goals effectively and most important safely for your