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The Cridling News Issue Number: 52 Date 30th November 2007 INFORMING THE RESIDENTS OF CRIDLING STUBBS
Bonfire/Halloween
The Plotters, that is to say, the allotment plotters not those of “gunpowder, treason and plot” notoriety, hosted a successful combined Halloween and Bonfire party on November 4th. This non-alcohol event took place in orderly fashion where good humour and good food were much in evidence. Thanks to all those who put a lot of effort into hosting this event and in particular to Dave Bullough who must surely still be dreaming of bonfire night!!!
Whitby Trip
Residents of all ages thoroughly enjoyed their trip to the Whitby Gothic Festival last month. The more adventurous went suitably costumed (vampire, wizard, goth etc) whilst even those who wore every-day apparel appreciated the flamboyant spectacle not often seen in these parts.
Having been patient enough to brave the queue at the renowned Magpie restaurant, hungry residents were well rewarded by the quality of the food on offer. (It is hoped they took their sea trip around the bay before they ate).
The children “absolutely loved dressing up” and “walked round with mouths wide open”. Already the next Whitby Festival is keenly anticipated.
A big thank you to Lynda Walker who obtained the funding, collected and drove the minibus to enable this trip to go ahead at a minimal cost.
Police
The evening of the 3rd of November saw a quick response to a resident’s call for police assistance to a disturbance at a bonfire party which spilled out into the road. The police wish to inform residents that this behaviour will not be tolerated and that those responsible will be dealt with.
Dial 0845 6060247 to report this sort of behaviour.
Wind Farm
Some residents took the opportunity to visit Burton Wold Wind Farm at Burton Latimer near Kettering on 16th November. This wind farm is operated by Your Energy, the company which is investigating the possibility of erecting up to ten wind turbines near Stubbs Bridge, Sudforth Lane, Cridling Stubbs. Visitors viewed the wind farm from various distances, stood under a turbine and went inside a tower. Further information is available by telephoning the company on Freephone 0800 707 6859 or using the website - www.burtonwoldwindfarm.com. A map showing the POSSIBLE positions of wind turbines has been put on the village noticeboard outside Cridling Stubbs Village Hall.
Carol Singing
This year’s Carol Singing in Cridling Stubbs will take place on Sunday 23rd December. Please meet on the corner of Wrights Lane and Cobcroft Lane at 6.00pm and bring a torch (with spare battery). Seasonal refreshments will be served afterwards in the village hall.
If you are not able to take part in the singing but would like to come to the hall afterwards to join in the party and need transport or a chaperone, to and from the village hall, please ring Bryan Crossdale on 674031. If you have a request for a carol to be sung outside your home, please inform Lynda Walker and we’ll see what we can do.
Gale Common
Extracts
from Flora & Fauna Log Autumn 2007 As well as causing disruption to various communities around the country, the floods of June and July took their toll on many nesting birds. Species most affected are those that build their nests close to the water level in ponds and dykes. No doubt some broods will have been lost but it has still been a very interesting summer at Gale Common.
Birds
of Prey - Buzzards
appear to be more conspicuous than usual. Daily
sightings are recorded and there are at
least
four birds in the 'family group' this year.
Little Owls have suffered a number of fatalities this summer.
Whether this is connected with the
adverse
weather conditions or not isn't conclusive at this stage, although that
may well be the case.
A
family has been nesting in a chimney stack of the former 'Gale Common
Cottage' to the south of the site and several juveniles were found dead
inside the cottage. It may be
that they had sought shelter from the rain down the chimney, or it could
be that their nest simply collapsed under the weight of water.
Either way, they must have survived for some short time within the
cottage before
they
perished. Measures are being
taken to prevent a recurrence of this. Merlins are still around, and there have been three Hobbys (all sighted at one time), which would indicate that they have bred successfully here.
We have been visited by another feral falconry bird! A falcon of unknown species (probably a Sakercross-breed) was seen for several days during late September and early October. A solitary Tawny Owl was spotted in broad daylight adjacent to Shackleton Spring Wood and a sterile Tawny Owl egg was found in one of the Owl boxes when it was cleaned out early this year before the nesting season began, so hopefully they may have been successful this season.
Water Birds - Cormorants have made frequent visits to the site where they can be seen characteristically drying their wings in the sunshine after diving, presumably for sticklebacks.
Shelduck
have certainly managed to breed successfully, as several juveniles are to
be seen in the
various
locations around the site that they inhabit. There
has been no sign that the Mute Swans bred this year, although, after a
period of
absence
during the mid summer, they are back.
Little Grebe have done well despite the weather and several pairs
have reared broods. Oystercatchers
have been here most (if not all) of the summer.
There is still no positive
proof
that they have successfully reared young here though. Kingfishers,
however, appear to be resident breeding birds now, as a family has been
observed
throughout
the season for the third year running! Other water birds on site include: Mallard; Tufted Duck; Teal; Canada Geese; Greylag Geese; Coot; Moorhen; Great Crested Grebe; Grey Herron; all the common (inland) Gull species and an unidentified cross-breed duck that has found its way in amongst the Mallard! (Probably a feral 'Muscovy-cross').
For only the second time, an Avocet has visited Gale Common. A solitary bird was seen on the 25th July. Little Ringed Plover are still breeding well here, and several juveniles have been seen.
For the first (recorded) time, Grey Wagtails have been present throughout the summer and are still present.
The Roe Deer are still being seen although they have been less conspicuous during the summer. This is normal at this time of year as the hinds tend to 'lay-low' with any fawns they may have and the bucks split up and move about on their own.
Both Stoats and Weasels are still seen often. This is not surprising either as there is an abundance of small rodents and Rabbits on which they can feed.
Grey Squirrels appear to be either more numerous, or more tame, as they are far more often seen foraging on the lawns in the busier parts of the site than previously.
Butterflies - It appears to have been a poor year for Butterflies. This may be associated with the wet weather in June and July. Nonetheless the following species have all been recorded at Gale Common this year: Small White; Large White; Green-veined White; Orange Tip; Brimstone; Common Blue; Holly Blue; Small Copper; Purple Hairstreak; Ringlet; Meadow Brown; Speckled Wood; Gatekeeper; Wall Brown; Small Skipper; Large Skipper; Comma; Peacock; Red Admiral; Small Tortoiseshell; Brown Argus.
More Recycling
Did you know that you can recycle the foil-lined cartons used for foods such as juice or milk bought in Tetrapaks?
The cartons are made from between 70 and 90% paperboard which can be recovered to make new paper products. The remaining mix of plastic and aluminium can then be used in furniture, to generate energy or even separated out into pure aluminium and paraffin.
Local places to recycle Tetrapaks are Morrisons car park in Pontefract or Back Micklegate car park in Selby (behind Wilkos).
Plastic bottles can now be recycled at the recycling bring site at Canal Road, Selby as well as in the carpark at the rear of Knottingley Sports Centre. Due to the lack of a plastics recycling company in the Selby area, it is unlikely that kerbside collection will be introduced to match the glass and paper.
Media
It’s not unusual for Cridling Stubbs to feature in local papers such as the Selby Times, Pontefract & Castleford Express and Yorkshire Post but surely never before in The Guardian. The reason for the widespread publicity is the proposal by supermarket giants Asda to conduct a truffle trial in Cridling Stubbs.
In an effort to make truffles affordable to the ordinary person, the plan is to plant beech and oak trees which have been impregnated with the spores of the rare, and very expensive, Perigord Black Truffle fungus. Until now, most of the truffles sold in the UK (apart from the chocolate ones sold by Thorntons!) have been imported from France, Spain and Italy. Expensive because they are so rare, a sprinkling of truffles can cost £50 in top restaurants. Truffles have a pungent flavour, with a smell similar to freshly dug mushrooms and need to be grown on limestone soils. It seems that the soil around Cridling Stubbs could be the right type to grow these delicacies on a commercial scale although the results will not be seen for up to 5 years after planting. Traditionally pigs are used to locate the fungus but owners have to be alert - given chance the pigs will eat ‘em.
By the way, we have it on good authority that should our allotment holders manage to grow truffles they will undercut the competition and charge “£40 a grating”. (a famous quote)
Planting
At the time of writing more than a thousand spring flowering bulbs have been planted around the village. Thanks (again) to Jean and Stan Briggs, and to David “Tad” Frost and Theresa Frost for planting these. Also, thanks to Tad for his regular (voluntary) grass-cutting at the southern end of the village.
Parish Plan
Twelve months on from the publication of the Cridling Stubbs Parish Plan it is heartening to see how many items from the Action Plan have been completed or progressed.
The Bus Stop sign outside the village hall has been removed. Funding has been obtained to buy a new notice board which was erected by volunteers. Some footways have been resurfaced. £5,850 funding from Awards For All was obtained to assess the feasibility of the options to improve the village hall. This is paying for architects, and surveyors etc. Regular negotiations continue with Darrington Quarries about the potential use of the reclaimed Darrington East quarry. Regular negotiations continue with UK Coal to improve the cleanliness of the roads and reduce the speed of their wagons on the bypass. North Yorkshire Police are re-launching the Neighbourhood Watch schemes throughout the area. This has been neglected through lack of police personnel over the last few months. Negotiations are continuing with NYCC Highways and Selby Groundwork regarding a play area.
December Markets
Selby
Farmers’ Markets Wednesdays
from 8am-1pm 5
December 19
December Tadcaster
Town Christmas Festival Sunday
2 December 10.00am
– 3.30pm Pontefract
Castle Victorian
Market Sunday
2 December 11am
- 3pm, free park & ride from Pontefract Park. Admission £2 adults, children free, live music, Santa, food stalls and crafts etc.
Parish Council
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the planned November meeting had to be cancelled.
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 12th December at 7pm. As usual, all residents are more than welcome to attend.
Youth Club
The future of the youth club is looking uncertain due to a lack of female volunteers. Please see Lynda Walker if you would like to be part of the lively activities which take place in the village hall. No wages but free cups of coffee. If enough volunteers come forward, we can set up a rota system so not all the volunteers will be needed every Saturday.
The young people were asked what kind of Christmas party they might like this year. Their decision was to go bowling. Therefore a trip to Xscape is planned for the evening of Tuesday 18th December.
If your child is interested in joining the trip, please let Lynda Walker know as soon as possible but, due to obvious reasons, all children must be accompanied by an adult.
Useful Contacts
Parish Council
Clerk – Lynda Walker, 671099
Councillors –
Bryan Crossdale, 674031
Jenny Adams.
Carl
Wilson, 679188 Mick
Shepherd, 671269
Moira Williams, 675383
District
Councillors Gillian
Ivey – The Chapel, Little Smeaton, Pontefract, WF8 3LR. Telephone
620110 Sue
Ryder – Poplar Farm, Highgate, Balne, DN14 0ES. Telephone 01405
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