As the Year moves further into Autumn much of our wildlife moves to winter mode. Most insects hibernate at this time either as adult, larvae, pupae or egg form depending on species whilst other groups of “Mini Beasts” remain active throughout the year. I like to look for easily observed species that remain active throughout the year.
Woodlice fall into that category and are a favourite group of mine. Last week I decided to hunt a few out on “the Patch. I was disappointed to find far fewer both individual woodlice and species than I would normally expect when grubbing about in a similar situation. Has anyone else noticed a decline in Woodlice?
Woodlice must be one our most familiar “Mini Beasts”. They are not insects but Crustaceans ( Crabs and Lobster family). Being one of only two Crustacean orders that spend their whole lives out of water. Science calls the Woodlouse order “Isopoda”. “Isopod” means “even footed”. This being because all species have similar feet.
Most people are surprised to find that we have over 40 Woodlouse species in The UK However only about 37 species can breed outdoors. Woodlice have featured prominently throughout history in recipes including one for Woodlouse Sauce, (it’s just a White Sauce with woodlice in) and in the past Woodlice were often carried in a leather pouch round the neck to be taken as cure for stomach aches and minor ailments.
All UK Woodlouse species are vegetarian. Despite their reputation as pests they rarely eat living plant matter or healthy wood. Preferring to eat vegetation which has already begun to decay. Woodlice play a very important part in the recycling of dead and dying plant matter into nutrients for reuse by other plants.
One tiny white species of woodlouse lives exclusively in Ants Nests. With the unsurprising name of “Ant Woodlouse” it is common in this area and lives on our Wildlife patch.
The outer shell of a woodlouse comprises a series of segments. The lower part of this shell is described as the Skirt. In one my older woodlouse books “The Painted Woodlouse” is described as having Black eyes, two lemon coloured lines down it’s back and a pink skirt. Disappointingly it does not look very different from our most numerous woodlouse species.
There is one pink Woodlouse not surprisingly called the “Rosy Woodlouse” that lives in dark moist places and is present in this area.
Woodlice live 2 to 4 years and are predated by Centipedes and one species of spider that specialises in hunting Woodlice exclusively.
All woodlice lay eggs which are retained in a pouch under their shell. The young hatch inside this pouch and stay there until they are big enough to care for themselves. When these young are ready to leave the shell the female contorts itself in a move which has been described as turning itself inside out. I have never observed this so can’t comment. A female may breed up to 4 times in it’s lifetime depending on species and living conditions.
Woodlice can be encouraged into a garden by leaving bits of old wood, roof tiles and slates etc. lying around in areas not too wet and not too dry.
Mrs Sandra Davis would like to express her heartfelt thanks to all the people who donated towards supporting the RNLI. This is a very worthy cause and was always supported by her late husband Norman.
Sandy has always tried to raise funds for the lifeboats, to keep up the good work Norman started. Incidentally the main source of the RNLI’s income is from donations given by the generosity of the general public. Therefore it is easy to see what a worthy undertaking raising funds for them is.
Sandy has worked very hard promoting this cause and the funds raised were taken down to the Yarmouth and Gorlestone Lifeboat Station. Sandy has just received a letter of appreciation from the Lifeboat Association thanking her for all her hard work and support. She was also informed of the amount of money she recently raised. It came to the magnificent total of £615.94. Once again thank you for all your donations, help and generosity.
Post Autumn Equinox saw major changes in the weather with the final days of September seeing temperatures falling well below a normal monthly average and an increase in rainfall. Overall September had a two week period with no rain but with the above changes resulted in a final monthly rainfall of 35% of normal. However October brought major changes with storm Alex (European name) and heavy rainfall on the 3rd, the wettest October daily level since 1891, well over 30mm. As a result, when combined with additional rainfall on the following days the River rose by 1.6m and areas of the floodplain were submerged on the 5th. Within 24 hours all flood water had receded. Overall October has been a very wet month and with further rain forecast for the remaining days the monthly total is expected to end up about 150% of average.
The month has been full of planetary and lunar activity with Mars appearing at its largest on 6th when the planet was closest to the Earth and later on the 13th when the planet was at its brightest, an event repeated every 15 years. Unfortunately on both occasions overcast skies at sunset blocked any visible sightings. Fortunately the night‘s sky between the hours of 2 am and 5 am cleared and Mars was clearly visible as it traversed from the SE to SW. October also had two full moons, a Harvest Moon on 1st and a Hunter blue Moon on 31st, Halloween.
An E-Mail was received from the E/A in which it was clear that little progress had been made over the last year. However, following my comments regarding the criteria for Grant-Aid funding to protect properties, currently based on properties actually being flooded and their role to prevent flooding, a revised set of criteria has been defined by Defra in February 2020. This will now be taken into account during the economical assessment and relates to the impact of flooding on the individual’s well-being. In particular the areas of concern are namely:-
● lack of warning
● whether flooding events were in day time or night time
● duration of flooding
● extent of flooding
● speed and depth of flood water
● repeat of flood events
● potential cost impacts
● what the impact of climate change will be on future flooding
Although research on the impact on the individual or household is limited it is now at least recognised that these have a profound impact on PTSD symptoms and that a high score rating should be applied. Throughout the document comments were made relating to the serious limitations of flood risk maps and their use in predicting the extent of such events. At least these criteria can now be applied to any revised assessments for village flood defences.
“My nan Florrie Coles would have been 111 today. This is the Nether Heyford pensioners club in 1989. She came to live with us in 1985 from London and was welcomed into the village by all these lovely people. She is 7th from the left front row, in black. Anyone recognise their relatives ?”
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Photographs from: Mick Parker, Tom Dodd, Marie Hanlon, John Dunkley, Sarah Thompson, Tony Boutle, Vernon Cameron-Ilott, Martin Lee
The Prattler is run by an active voluntary committee comprising of Sue Boutle, Christine Watts, Vicki Hamblin, Jez Wilson, Nick Essex, Richard Musson and Mary Rice. If you would like to submit articles or have any suggestions for future issues, please contact us.
Due to government regulations prohibiting public meetings the Sept 2020 Parish Council meeting was held online, using the Zoom platform. This is in line with national advice. There is still no indication of how long these conditions will persist, but it is likely that meetings will take place online for the rest of this year. Parishioners wanting to participate in the Public Session should check the Agenda on the Public notice boards, or the Website, for the meeting ID on Zoom.
Due to difficulties experienced by Councillors unused to using the internet, a reduced number of Councillors attended the online meeting, but a quorum was achieved and was augmented by the District and County Councillors.
Illness and unfamiliarity with IT have meant that the number of Councillors at meetings has fallen, and the anticipated election in May was postponed until next year, and this may well have bought an influx of new Councillors. We are able to co-opt new members, subject to them being eligible. The Parish Council does need some active new members, preferably familiar with IT – so if you feel that is you – please contact me or the Chair (details overleaf).
Reports from the District and County Councillors Cllr Adam Brown reported that NCC will give a financial report tomorrow that will show a small underspend on the previous year. Northampton had been downgraded from being an area of intervention as regards Covid19. The Greencore situation had improved. As regards LGR (Local Government Re-organisation) – all is progressing, and the schedule is being met. Most Statutory officers have now been appointed.
Cllr Phil Bignell confirmed downgrading of Covid19 situation, and reported that most new cases were in the younger age groups, and that there was some way to go.
Cllr David Harries confirmed Cllr AB’s analysis of the LGR situation. He referred to the failure of Council’s bid for NHB money for lighting. The panel had taken the decision to not support schemes for which Councils were in any case responsible; preferring to support larger schemes. He felt that schemes which helped with climate change should be supported. AW felt that the rules had been changed, and DH agreed that this had not been made clear enough.
Public Participation Tony Clewett reported that the NP (Neighbourhood Plan) had sustained body blows – participant illness and Covid19, which meant no meetings could be held. Strategic Environment Assessments (SEA) was the next task. SNC have said that the NP group have to screen this themselves, whereas most think that the District Council should be doing this. It was recommended that Kislingbury was approached for advice on this and other NP issues. Tom Dodd felt the need for an SEA was low, but that the NP would not be passed unless there is evidence of a strong scoping plan. Whilst the delays were a cause for concern, the whole process has been delayed in that there would be no referenda before May 6th 2021, and funding had been increased as a result. With the Parish Council’s allocation of £3000 for 20/21 and £500 already held, it was hoped that this would suffice. He had distributed a document on costings. The NP group would continue with the screening and to keep in line with SNC’s local plan. It was hoped to submit to the PC in Jan 2021, followed by statutory consultation. It would then go on to a referendum.
Roads and pavements Felt to be in generally poor condition, although it was acknowledged that there had been extensive re-surfacing work on the lane between the Heyfords.
The Green and Play Area The Green was felt to be in good condition, although there had been some storm damage to trees. The Council thanked Dominic Cawley for removing one substantial Robinia limb from the Green. The Tree surgeon had checked and adjusted a number of trees.
Damaged units in the Play Area had been taped off and would be repaired by Wicksteed shortly.
CK felt that funding for a new Play Area was now problematic although it was still possible to go for NHB money, if this was the case the last opportunity would be Nov 20th.
It was resolved to insert an additional litter bin next to the bench at the bus stop. This would be to help deal with the worsening litter situation, which is felt to have been caused by the removal of the bin outside the One Stop Shop. The re-opening of takeaways was fairly obvious as detritus from the various outlets started to appear at the roadside almost immediately. This is particularly noticeable between the Heyfords; however most of the lane is in Upper Heyford, rather than Nether Heyford Parish. There has also been an issue with cars parking around the entrance to the Playing Fields. Police are aware.
Playing Fields LE reported that the Netball Court had proved very popular and was much used. She felt that the use of the fields had increased generally and that there were now more opportunities for women.
Trees Storm Francis had caused a good deal of damage.
Allotments LE reported that there had been an appeal for members to form an Allotments Association committee. There was now a waiting list of 5.
Footpaths LD commented that dog mess was an increasing issue on footpaths.
Churchyard Tree work would be recommenced in Autumn.
Joint Burial Board CK reported that there was a programme for tidying up the cemetery, and that the existing mapping was to be upgraded. There had been damage to some trees during Storm Francis, which was being dealt with.
Youth Club LD reported that she felt it was unlikely that the club could re-open in the near future. Those activities that were recommended by the County Association were not felt to be attractive to the club members and would be stressful and awkward for helpers to implement, nor were outdoor activities practical going into Autumn. The building has been deep cleaned. SNC had sent a tree inspector to look at the issue with the garden in Ridgeway Furlong.
Canal The Furnace Lane bridge had been damaged. Clerk had reported to Highways and an inspection had taken place. No report as yet.
Defibrillators The defibrillators were in working order, but would need new batteries shortly as they had been in place since 2017.
Planning S2020/0428/FUL Land behind Denbrook SNC were unhappy with this application but have not heard back from the agent: so there is no current application. There is an issue regarding the crossing of part of the village green for access for any residence built on this site, as to whether an easement is required. AW had contacted Danny Moody at NCALC who had recommended contacting NCALC’s solicitors Weller/Hedley. County Council to be contacted to consult Register of Village Greens to try and clarify exact boundaries of village green. Cllr PB would check with SNC to clarify ownership.
Consideration of how Council would respond to a 2nd wave of Covid 19. It was felt that, should there be a 2nd Wave of Covid19, it would be straightforward to reintroduce the procedures for distributing food parcels and assisting shielding residents. The “mechanisms” and volunteers were still in place.
Lighting A working party would be formed to discuss lighting issues generally, and a possible application to the Salix agency for funding.
Reporting Highway and Footpath Issues. The Clerk will report issues that Council is made aware of, but Council would encourage residents to use the FixMyStreet service to report issues themselves as there will then be no time lag and first-hand reports are almost always better than 2nd or 3rd hand reports. The service can be found here: www.fixmystreet.com It is easy to use; you can have your own account and can check up on any issues you have reported.
Parish Council meetings in 2020 will continue to be on the first Monday of each month, (unless a Bank Holiday) and start at 19:30. The next ones are Monday October 5th (online) and Monday November 2nd.
Clerk to the Parish Council: Guy Ravine, c/o Old Dairy Farm, Upper Stowe, Weedon, Northamptonshire, NN7 4SH Telephone: 07935 931787 Email: netherheyfordparishcouncil@gmail.com
For further useful information about Nether Heyford Parish Council and full contact details for the clerk and the Councillors please visit:
Thanks to everyone that took part in the village clean up in September. Over 9.5 dustbin bags of litter was collected which was an improvement over previous years. The village is slowly getting cleaner.
The Nether Heyford Prattler 