Author: Jez Wilson

Astronomy on the Green – February 2021

This month I will concentrate on a significant patch of the winter night sky. Looking to the south west in the mid-evening you will observe two main stars; Sirius [a] (the Dog Star – blue colouration) the brightest star in the night sky, and Betelgeuse [b] a large and luminous red star.

These two distinctive stars take us into mythologically linked constellations. Sirius is found in Canis Major (the great dog) and is a bright blue star some 8.7 light years from us. It appears so bright as it is close to us, actually it is a fairly unremarkable star around 23 times more luminous than our sun, and some 1.8 times larger. This dog constellation has a partner constellation Canis Minor and the pair apparently chase a small constellation Lepus (the Hare).

The Hare nestles under another bright star Rigel [c] , which is part of the same constellation as Betelgeuse; to the right of our Hunting dogs is Orion (the Hunter). Orion is a large constellation containing some of the most visible nebula in the sky. Betelgeuse is the star at the top left of the hourglass and is a red giant, forming one shoulder of the Hunter. If this star was in our solar system it would cover the sun, and the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and part way to Saturn. Luckily for us this giant is some 600 light years distant from us, it is around 100,000 times brighter than the sun and 1000 times its size. This star is near the end of its life, and within the next 100,000 years it will go supernova and explode, when this happens it will be as bright in the sky as a full moon.

Central Orion forms the shape of a tilted hourglass in the night sky, across the waist of the hourglass lie 3 stars forming a belt [d, f]. From that belt hangs a starry sword, and towards the bottom of the sword a fuzzy area can (on a clear night) be seen. This is the Orion Nebula [e], together with a dimmer nebula known as the running man (due to the shape in its centre). Even through a small telescope some detail (not colour) can be seen.

Now we travel back up the sword to the belt, near the first star (left) two less visible objects hide, the famous Horsehead dark nebula [f] , and above it the Flame nebula. Our noble Hunter chases the constellation to its right, one of the Zodiac signs, Taurus (the Bull). Taurus is the home of another red giant star Aldebaran [g] (13th brightest) and is the eye of bull, alongside this is a small open cluster (the Hyades [h]) completing the head of the bull. Follow the gaze of the bull up and to the right and you will find the Pleiades [I] a spectacular open cluster of bright blue stars, covered with a mist of nebulously from which they form, these are the Seven Sisters of mythology. Some 440 light years away this is one of the closest clusters to us. We end our brief trip across the sky here, noting that all we have seen is in our local group of stars in our own Galaxy the Milky Way.

Before I end I want to throw some numbers at you (great huh…).

Our sun is 93 million miles from us, the light it produces travels to us as 186,000 miles a second and it takes 8.3 light minutes to reach us. So now, consider that a light year is 186,000 x 60 x 60 x 24 x 365 miles, or (as you are dying to know) – 5,865,696,000,000 miles.

Astronomy therefore makes us into time-travellers we see the seven sisters as they were 440 years ago (so that big number times 440). The closest spiral Galaxy (Andromeda- similar to ours) is 2.5 million light years away.

Hums the tune to Dr Who… Bye.

Tony Boutle

Heyford Singers – February & March 2021

HeyfordSingersFeb2021

A belated but heartfelt happy New Year to everyone.

2020 is past, a year to put behind us, but not to forget. It seems that each and everyone of us had our own personal suffering, lost someone very special or experienced difficulties. Kindness, compassion, empathy, love and community have never been so important in our lives. May we take these virtues with us into 2021 and beyond.

As we said “Goodbye to 2020”so we also bade farewell to Hugh Adams, who sadly died just before Christmas. A gentle giant of our community, Hugh touched so many lives in his long and happy life, not least Heyford Singers of which he was a proud and enthusiastic member since it was formed in 2002. He will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him. But like so many friends and family that we have lost recently we dearly hope, in time, to come together, to share memories, and to celebrate the lives of all those special people.

With such positive thoughts in mind the committee of Heyford Singers have begun, albeit tentatively, to plan for rehearsals in September and a programme for a Christmas concert. How joyful an occasion that will be! And maybe something else in the summer… who knows!!

Take care as we weather the cold, dark days of winter, but look for early signs of spring. Stay healthy and content, look after one another, and may music feature somewhere in your life every day.

Jill Langrish

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If you would like to find out more, visit the Heyford Singers page or our website:

www.heyfordsingers.org

 alternatively come along to one of our rehearsals in Nether Heyford Village Hall.

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Parish Church of St. Peter & St. Paul – Services – February & March 2021

nether-heyford-parish-church-april2020

Following discussions with the Benefice Council and PCC’s we have decided to keep our church buildings closed during this third national lockdown, as they were for the first two in 2020. We do not take this decision lightly, but with a new strain of Covid19 infecting many more people, our hospitals at capacity, and government ministers urging us to act as if we had the virus and stay at home, we feel it is the right thing to do. It’s important that we all demonstrate self-discipline and play our part in preventing the spread of the virus, and closing our church buildings is one way in which we can do that. Our hope is that the roll out of the national vaccination programme will gather pace, and protect the most vulnerable, reassuring us that this lockdown will come to an end, even if we don’t yet know the exact date on which it will be lifted.

While our church buildings are closed, the church community will continue to gather virtually, spiritually and intentionally to worship God and bring before him our prayers and concerns for our village communities and their people. During the lockdown the weekly pattern of services will be:

Sunday 10:00AM Service of Holy Communion via the Benefice Facebook Page, which can be found at: www.facebook.com/HS9FB

Wednesday 9:30AM Service of Morning Prayer via WHYPAY? Telephone Conference Call

Friday 9:00AM Service of Morning Prayer via Zoom

Details of the midweek services are available from the Rector (tel: 344436). Please watch village Facebook Pages and notice-boards for details of any changes to this service pattern, and for news of our Lent Course for 2021.

Although our church buildings are closed, we know that God is with us in all the circumstances of our lives, and he hears our prayers.

During February we shall be praying for people living in Hillside Rd and Hillside Crescent here in Heyford, Sutton St, Yew Tree Gardens and Sutton Acre in Flore, The Manor in Church Stowe and the Gate House and the Old Dairy in Brockhall.

During March we shall be praying for: Close Rd, The Pound and The Peak in Heyford, The Avenue and The Glebe in Flore, The Old Dairy Farm in Upper Stowe and the outlying farms around Stowe and the Mews Houses in Brockhall.

The Benefice Facebook Page can be found at www.facebook.com/HS9FB

Rev Stephen Burrow (Tel. 01327 344436)

Parish Church of St. Peter & St. Paul – February/March 2021

Nether Heyford Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul

Dear Friends,

I wonder, when something is worrying you, do you make a note of it, just in case you forget it? No, I don’t do that either. In fact, the opposite is true. Unless I focus on other things, whatever I’m anxious about takes over my thoughts. It’s like my mind is full of fog, slowing down my thought processes such that things seem to take longer to complete. Anxiety and worry are distracting, and being told not to worry doesn’t really help.

In the Bible, the Apostle Paul understands that for us to worry less, we must consciously think of other things. Addressing the church in Philippi, Paul writes “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil4:6-8). Paul advises us to focus on the things we are thankful for, and stay alert to the little signs of hope and blessing in our daily lives.

With the miserable weather of late, the shorter, darker days and the ongoing and frustrating impact of the pandemic, we might be forgiven for worrying and thinking that this crisis will never end, that life will never be ‘normal’ again. When such thoughts invade my mind, when ‘lockdown fatigue’ strikes, I try to keep a mental list of the good things that are happening in my life, however small they might be, and I thank God for them daily. These positive things are like little seeds of hope, reminding me that whatever my circumstances God is always with me.

Most surprisingly for me, one of the positive things recently has been the little rescue dog, Niamh, that my son adopted five months ago. She has been a great source of laughter, joy and de-stressing and has got us out of the house, regardless of the weather, to take her for regular walks. Walking her around the Rectory garden in recent days, I’ve noticed little yellow flowers (aconites?) pushing up through the mulch of damp, dead leaves and crocuses, snowdrops and daffodils putting up shoots, despite the frost, rain and snow. These really are little signs of hope, reminding us that after the winter comes the spring, just as the growing number of people who have been vaccinated tell us that this pandemic too, will pass.

Please be assured of my continued fervent prayers for all the communities in the benefice, and especially for those impacted by the coronavirus through illness, isolation, hardship or uncertainty. If there is anything else the Church or I can do to help, please let me know and we’ll do what we can.

With prayers and blessings,

Stephen 01327 344436 Mobile: 07511 544375 Email: s_p_burrow@yahoo.co.uk

Nether Heyford Art Exhibition – Plans for 2021

Some of you might remember that we had originally planned to have an art exhibition in the village last year, which, along with the Village Hall’s celebrations, has had to be put back. Even this year is looking problematic, and with best intentions we hope that everyone will be vaccinated by the autumn. I recently posted a couple of pictures on social media (Facebook) that I had painted which are views from the Green. There was a lovely response from 60 or so people and other pictures began appearing! The Nether Heyford dedicated site was really helpful in gauging interest and getting feedback. People were also interested in some sort of art group once we can meet again, and I think we can be creative about how that might happen.

Planning anything at the moment is quite tough, but the intention is still there to make the exhibition happen at some point. Gives us more time to get those pens and brushes out and have a go! The theme will be about village life and particularly the Green. Maybe we could organise a virtual on-line exhibition in the meantime? If anyone has experience of this sort of thing and would like to help, drop me a line!

February 2021

Tom Dodd info@heifordearts.com

https://heyfordprattler.org/artexhibition/

The Exhibition Gallery so far….Village Life & The Green

  • Dorothy Rees
  • Nigel Marston
  • Nigel Marston
  • Nigel Marston
  • Shirley B Collins
  • Tom Dodd
  • Tom Dodd
  • Tom Dodd
  • Shirley B Collins
  • Shirley B Collins
  • Shirley B Collins
  • Shirley B Collins
  • Shirley B Collins
  • Tom Dodd
  • Shirley B Collins
  • Shirley B Collins
Village Life & The Green

The Exhibition Gallery so far….Art from Village Residents

  • Rosa Bridger
  • Shirley B Collins
  • Jane Rose
  • Jane Rose
  • Jane Rose
  • Jane Rose
  • Jane Rose
  • Jane Rose

  • Alison Willgress
  • Alison Willgress
  • Alison Willgress
Art from Village Residents

To add your artwork to the exhibition gallery email Tom Dodd or The Prattler. Open to residents of Nether Heyford and Upper Heyford – Remember to state which street you live on.

https://heyfordprattler.org/artexhibition/

Heyford Gardening Club – February/March 2021

Nether-Heyford-Garden-Club

In February the Garden Club would normally be looking forward to our forthcoming programme of meetings and events, but this year it isn’t yet clear when we will be able to resume any sort of activity. Our AGM is due to be held on the 8th February but will have to be be a virtual meeting.

The zoom talk given by Philip Aubury in December apparently went well (though for some reason I found myself locked out) and we may have to explore the possibility for further talks in this format.

The late winter is generally not a time for much activity in the garden, as the weather is often too wet or cold for working outside, so it’s a good time to review the previous year and think of lessons for the coming year. Despite (or perhaps because of) the hot dry spells we had last year many vegetables did as well as, and sometimes better than, usual in particular brassicas seemed to be of particularly good quality, and my leeks were unfazed by the drought. Courgettes and squashes love hot weather if they have plenty of water, and so do tomatoes. I noticed some phenomenal crops of sweet corn, though not on my plot. Annual flowers seemed to keep on flowering for much longer than I would have expected. We planted some raspberry plants last spring, but the dry weather was too much for them and despite constant watering they all died. We have now replaced them with plants this autumn which should give them time to produce good roots before the dry weather comes. Will this year be a repeat? This is the challenge that gardeners face; you have to be ready for almost anything in the way of weather each year.

Although the weather is cold and wet at the moment, there are already snowdrops in flower and if there is a mild day the Sarcococca or Christmas box, which is already full of flower, will scent the whole garden with a spicy aroma. In a few weeks time as the weather warms the gardens will be full of flowers again, and hopefully full of bees too.

Things to do in February
1. Prune late flowering clematis down to strong shoots at the base of the plant.
2. Sow broad beans and sweet peas.

Things to do in March
1. plant early potatoes, onion sets and summer bulbs
2. top dress containers and pots with fresh compost

Mark Newstead

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www.heyfordgardenclub.com

For more information visit the Heyford Gardening Club & Allotments page

Nether-Heyford-Garden-Club

Allotment News – February/March 2021

New Plots
We currently have three vacant allotment plots available for rent. They have been cleared and covered with tarpaulin so should be in good condition for anyone interested in taking on an allotment this year. We have also tried to reduce the size of vacant plots (and make them more manageable) by halving some larger areas of land. Of course, if a keen gardener wants a bigger plot then these can be doubled up. The vacant plots measure roughly 8m x 8m and cost in the region of £10 per year. That has to be amazingly good value.

In addition, we have several vacant starter plots that are free for the first year and measure just 2m x 8m. They are ideal if you want to try out allotmenting but are unsure about a making a big commitment. We even have a few tools available for those completely new to gardening.

If you are interested in taking up any of these offers and joining the enthusiastic band of new allotmenteers who took on the challenge in 2020 then contact Lynda Eales on 01327 341707.

Rent Night

That didn’t happen, and we all know why!

By the time allotment holders read this article they should have all had notification of their rent for 2021 and the due date. Rent can now be paid by bank transfer (details included on the rent notice) or by cheque, deliverable to Lynda Eales at 3 Church Lane or Guy Ravine at 63 Furnace Lane.

The Memory Tree
We will be planting a flowering tree in the allotment community area during the coming months in memory of allotment holders who have either died in the recent past or have experienced loss, particularly during the current health crisis.

Readers of these articles will be aware that trees have a very special place in our hearts and it was our unanimous decision that there could be no better way of remembering those dearest to us.

Mike Langrish 

Nether Heyford W.I. – February/March 2021

WI-Logo

As Covid follows us into yet another year I do hope that you at least managed to enjoy Christmas Day! Although Nether Heyford WI missed out on its 90th Birthday Party every member was given a boxed cup-cake, beautifully made and decorated by Jane Rands. We were also mentioned in the Northampton Federation Newsletter and on the Northants Website. In a WI version of the Secret Santa, each member was given another member’s name for whom they then made a Christmas card. We also had our first Zoom meeting in December and so an ‘alternative’ Christmas was celebrated.

Our January Meeting saw us using Zoom again to listen to an interesting talk given by Julia Doherty who, after building up and selling multiple businesses, went on a 500 mile hike across Spain. The experiences she had and the people she met had a profound effect on her and she told us how they changed her life for the better.

We will be staying with Zoom meetings for the foreseeable future. On February 4th at 7.30pm there will be an ‘Italian Cookery Demonstration’ by Mariella Bliss. Her website tells of her work with running courses, working with farmers’ markets and describes her as a personal chef, caterer, and lover of all things foodie! Sounds like a good evening!!

On March 4th, again at 7.30 & via Zoom, we have a talk on ‘Building and Running a School in Sierra Leone’ by David Gelsthorpe-Hill. David is a Trustee for the Charity ‘Extra Mile’ which, by building the school, has helped change the lives of its pupils. It is an ongoing project and Phase 2, building a Library, is now under way. During the evening we will hear how the funds are raised and how we can help.

If any Prattler readers would like to join us on either of the evenings please telephone me to get the code numbers for the Zoom meeting. We hope it won’t be too long before we can meet up and start using our Village Hall again. Until then, Take Care.

Mary Rice – Heyford Lodge, Church Lane – 01327 340101

Letters: Food bank – Get Help or Give Help

Towcester-Food-Bank

Website: www.towcester.foodbank.org.uk

GetHelp

Get Help:

Don’t go hungry – if you are in need of help, please contact Towcester Food Bank 07724 832043 (24 hours). Leave a message and they will phone you back. They can issue vouchers for food as well as a delivery or collection service. Alternatively contact South Northamptonshire Council Money Advice Team on 01327 322275 email: moneyadvice@southnorthants.gov.uk

GiveHelp

Give Help:

Alternatively if you wish to help, you may donate food:

Towcester Food Bank:

St. John Ambulance garage, Islington Road, Towcester during the following times: Tuesdays 12:00 to 14:00 & Fridays 10:30 to 12:30

www.towcester.foodbank.org.uk

Daventry & Weedon Food Banks:

In the box outside the door of 15 Middle Street, Nether Heyford (they are then delivered twice a week)

www.daventryfoodbank.org.uk

Advertising in The Prattler

The Prattler is the local village newspaper for Nether Heyford and Upper Heyford , Northamptonshire, England, UK. 

Delivered free to every house, 10 months a year, since 1977. 

Newspaper facts:

Advertisement rates per issue:

  • Full Page £30
  • 1/2 page £15
  • 1/4 page £10
  • Business Card  £5

Full page £30 example:

ThePrattler_FullPage

Half page £15 examples:

ThePrattler_HalfPageExample.jpg
ThePrattler_HalfPageExample2

Quarter page £10 examples:

HeyfordPrattlerQuarters

Business card  £5 examples:

HeyfordPrattlerBusinessCards

Advertising benefits:

  • Approx number of readers viewing advertisement in each issue is 1875 people.
  • Estimated average retention rate of publication in household is 28 days.
  • Highly targeted advertising reaching approx 99.9% of the village population.
  • Our advertising partners are widely viewed as contributors to a community asset.
  • New for 2019  – The Prattler is also uploaded monthly to HeyfordPrattler.org 

Booking deadline:

All advert bookings should be made before the 15th of the month for the next issue.

Email: heyford_prattler@yahoo.co.uk

Artwork deadline:

Advertising artwork should be sent to the Editor before the 20th of the month for the next issue.

Email: heyford_prattler@yahoo.co.uk