Summer 2001

We Are Survivors - Bradway Bowling Club - Well Dressing Diary 2001 - Life behind bars - The Wildlife Garden.

We Are Survivors

(For those born before 1930)

We were born before penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox machines, plastic, contact lenses, videos, frisbees and the Pill. We were born before radar, credit cards, split atoms, laser beams and ball point pens. Before dishwashers, tumble driers, electric blankets, air conditioners, drip dry clothes and before man walked on the moon.

We got married first and lived together afterwards. We thought 'fast food' was what you ate in Lent. A 'Big Mac' was an oversized raincoat and 'crumpet' we ate for tea. We existed before house husbands, computer dating and dual control cars: when a 'meaningful relationship' meant getting along with cousins and sheltered accommodation was where you waited for the bus.

We were born before day care centres, group homes and disposable nappies. We had never heard of FM radio, tape decks, electric typewriters, artificial hearts, word processors, yoghurt or young men wearing earrings. For us, 'time sharing' meant togetherness, a 'chip' was a piece of wood or a fried potato, hardware meant nuts and bolts and software wasn't a word.

Before 1940, 'Made in Japan' meant junk. The term 'making out' meant how you did in your exams, 'stud' was something that fastened a collar to a shirt and 'going all the way' meant staying on a double-decker bus until it got to the depot.

Pizzas, McDonalds and instant coffee were unheard of. In our day, cigarette smoking was fashionable, 'grass' was cut with a mower and 'coke' was kept in the coal house. A 'joint' was a piece of meat you ate on Sundays and 'pot' was something in which you cooked. 'Rock music' was a loving mother's lullaby, 'Eldorado' was an ice cream, a 'gay' person was the life and soul of the party and nothing more, while 'Aids' just meant beauty treatment or help for someone in trouble.

We who were born before 1930 must be a hardy lot when you think of the way in which the world has changed and the adjustments we have had to make: 100 pence to the pound instead of £sd, millimeters instead of inches. No wonder there is a generation gap.

But hallelujah, we have survived.

A pensioner - author unknown

Bradway Bowling Club

In the 1920's after some dissention with the landlord of 'The Bradway', a local group decided to build their own club. A local farmer and landowner, a Mr. Fox, who became one of the founder members, sold them a piece of land at a nominal price and the first club house was a surplus army hut purchased from a camp in Redhill, Notts. Such was the start of the first members only club in Bradway, and a bowling green was soon established and became a popular venue for the local men. It was originally known as the 'Bradway Club and Institute' and later re-named the 'Bradway Bowling Club'.

Though the playing of bowls is enjoyed by a number of members it is not a condition of membership that one has to play. Quite a number of members enjoy the social aspects of the club. They have two full size snooker tables which are very popular, also darts, dominoes and crib are some of the pastimes enjoyed by the members. To enhance the social scene there is a bar serving John Smith's Draught Ales and Lagers and a variety of bottled drinks, and spirits, all at highly competitive prices. Games nights, Quiz and Bingo Nights and a weekly 'Open the Box' cash draw are all part of the social scene at the club. For those of a competitive nature there are League Games in Snooker and Bowls and recently a Junior Bowls team has been introduced for the youngsters interested in the old and noble art of bowling.

Membership is open to all at a modest yearly subscription generally payable in January but anyone joining after June will be charged at the half subscription rate. You do not have to leave the children at home when visiting the club, they are very welcome if you take them along.
The club is open seven nights per week from 7.00 p.m. also Tuesday afternoon from 2 pm until 4pm and on Saturday and Sunday lunch times and other times during Bank Holidays. No. 25 and 25A buses pass the door at regular intervals. Membership is open now for those of you who would like to join this local club. Please ring Reg Payne on 237 2420 or write direct to the club on Bradway Road.

Well Dressing Diary 2001

Throughout the spring and summer, a succession of Derbyshire villages put on well dressings, often associated with a week of village festivities. Sadly due to the Foot & Mouth outbreak some have been cancelled this year, but the list below was current at the time of going to press.

You can check the up-to-date situation by ringing the Chesterfield Tourist Information Centre on 01246 345777/8.

June
23-30 Hope
23-1 Tideswell & Litton
30-8 Bakewell

July
7-12 Coal Aston
7-15 Hathersage
7-16 Dore
8-15 Buxton
9-15 Harthill
12-18 Pilsley Village
13-19 Dronfield Woodhouse
13-21 Holmesfield Children' Well
14-20 Great Longstone
14-22 Little Longstone
15-22 Bamford
20-29 Cutthorpe
20-29 Millthorpe
21-28 Heath
21-30 Stoney Middleton

August
4-13 Bradwell
9-19 Great Hucklow
15-21 Barlow
18-25 Taddington

Life behind bars

Welcome back readers and apologies for my absence last issue. Thanks to everyone who inquired after my articles whereabouts but it really had been a hectic two or three months with no time to sit and ponder about life behind bars.

Well nearly two years have passed since June and I moved into the Castle Inn and it has been everything and more than we expected. We are approaching our third summer here and the outlook and the backdrop is as different as always.

Daffodils adorn the car park and banking and Sue McCauley (Shades of Green) has done an excellent job of our patio area and we look forward to the return of our hanging baskets for the Summer (not too soon though as there is still the risk of frost).
Lots of movement in the area to report with the return of our old friend Bev and a welcome to Steve who becomes a welcome addition to the Castle fold and also to Andrew and Ruth in Twentywell.

June and I wish Des well for the future. "Dr Who" has been working hard on our behalf to swell the numbers at the Castle and for that we are grateful.

Greetings and felicitations are passed on from Napoleon (Tony) who no longer resides in Bradford but is now travelling the length and breadth of the country for Sam Smiths (who have a watering hole quite close to us) and he may make a welcome return to the area as a guest appearance. (Watch this space).

A wonderful picture on the front of the last issue of the Bugle evoked quite a response from our customers (and newcomers) and added to a growing information sheet as to the history and past happenings in and around the Castle Inn. I am now embarking on another quest concerning the Castle but this time a more up to date theme though the answer may well lie in the past. On the walls of the lounge are various sayings and writing purporting to be "old" Yorkshire and one in particular causes comment. It reads thus "THE HOSPITALITY FOR WHICH THEY ARE FAMOUS GAVE RISE TO THE TERM YORKSHIRE BITE" My quest is simple. What is or was "YORKSHIRE BITE" Clean answers only please to the Castle Inn.

Now to more modern matters. Following on from our success in the "Post a tostie" and "e-mail a meal" campaign I have decided to take up the governments N.V.Q. campaign and adapt it slightly to reflect the trade we are operating in.
It is based loosely on the big banks and big stores schemes of staff training whereby they open half an hour late one day a week to train the staff in what appears to be ignoring the customer until they are ready to serve you. (Sound Familiar?) My scheme involves opening on time and training the customer in how to be ignored by:

1. One member of staff = Level one Ken.V.Q
2. Two members of staff = Level 2 Ken.V.Q
3. Two members of staff plus one management = Level 3 Ken.V.Q
4. Two members of staff plus two management = Level 4 Ken.V.Q

More information in the next issue as to how to apply to join the scheme.
Finally a story to relate that could have happened anywhere???…or could it. A customer walked into a pub and was greeted warmly by the licensee, "Good evening sir, what can I get you?" "That's very kind of you," said the chap jovially "I'll have a pint of your best please." "Certainly" said the friendly landlord serving the pint of fine ale "that will be £1.72p please."

"I'm not paying for it," said the customer, "You implied with your opening remarks that the drink was on the house, what can I get you? means just that to me, I am a legal expert and the offer was made and I took you up on it with no mention of having to pay for it, so I a'int."
"Right" said the landlord, "I know my rights too, so drink up and leave and do not return." The man duly did as was requested and downed the pint in one.

The following night the man returned to the pub much to the consternation of the landlord who said
"I told you last night not to return." The man looked the landlord square in the eye and said "I'm sorry you have me at a disadvantage sir as I have never been in this pub in my life before." "Sorry" said the embarrassed landlord "but you must have a double". "That's very kind of you," said the man, "I'll have a double whiskey."

Ken Cottrell

The Wildlife Garden

From Ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggety beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!

The night has always been an alien world to us. We flood it with light and pretend that it is really the same as the day, but in the end we fool no one as we retreat inside each evening, draw the curtains and shut it out. Whilst we watch the latest episode of our favourite soap on television or e-mail Aunt Jane in Australia, our gardens await the wildlife night-shift.

Some of these, such as slugs, snails and even mice, may indicate the route they have taken by the tell-tale signs of devastation they leave behind, but other animals, such as hedgehogs, leave few clues as to their night-time wanderings. For most of us though, the chance of seeing a live hedgehog is as likely as a dot.com company making a profit. This 'invisibility' makes hedgehogs vulnerable to many of our gardening practices.

So, how can we make our gardens more hedgehog-friendly?
Hedgehogs are very inquisitive creatures and together with being able climbers and having poor eyesight, this means that they have a knack of getting themselves into all sorts of trouble. If you have a hole in your garden, you can almost guarantee a visiting hedgehog will fall into it. This in itself doesn't usually prove to be a problem, as their spines will cushion them from any injuries and they are also excellent swimmers if they find themselves in water. The trouble arises when the hole is steep-sided and the hedgehog can't get out. The classic hedgehog pitfall-trap is the cattle grid and each year, hundreds are caught in these and unable to climb out, starve to death.

Now we may not think we have any steep-sided holes in our garden, but they don't have to be size of Quatermass' pit to ensnare these animals. Hedgehogs have been known to get themselves stuck in breeze blocks and how many of us, at one time or another, have had a large open hole in the garden whilst making a pond, or had a dog loo with its lid blown off, or perhaps drains being repaired? Maybe we even have swimming pools or steep-sided ornamental ponds in our gardens?

All these have been known to trap, and ultimately kill, hedgehogs. The problem can be solved quite simply. At night, holes should be covered over securely, or if that is impossible, then something like chicken wire can be draped over the side, which will allow any trapped animals to scramble out. You can also run an eye over the steep-sided holes the utility companies make in the roads and pavements - and there seems to be plenty of them being dug these days, to see if any animals have become trapped inside.
Hedgehogs are welcome visitors to our gardens because of the excellent job they do eating slugs and snails. Unfortunately though, our

ardens also create a number of undesirable situations for them. To the slug, our vegetable plot may well resemble a gourmet restaurant, but in turn, these gastropods will lure any wandering hedgehogs. If we use nets to keep birds off our crops, these may, unless they are kept tight and any loose ends tucked under stones, trap a visiting hedgehog searching for its supper. Getting caught in loose, discarded or badly stored netting and wire is a common cause of injury to these animals. However, it is not only in the vegetable garden that hedgehogs get entangled in nets. Tennis and children's football nets are also a hazard and should be rolled-up off the ground at night.
Another problem lies in the slug pellets we liberally sprinkle around our plants. The pellets, many of which are coloured blue to dissuade birds from eating them, are supposed to have a substance added that makes them taste nauseating to hedgehogs, but hedgehogs poisoned by pellets still turn up in large numbers at wildlife hospitals. Why? The answer probably lies in the animals eating dying slugs which have been poisoned, so please, dispose of these on a daily basis. Pellets should only be scattered lightly on the ground and ideally, put under stones where birds, hedgehogs or for that matter children, can't get at them.

Hedgehogs need a place to rest in the day time, which is generally under a pile of leaves or in a bramble thicket. I once had a hedgehog that regularly slept in my daffodil patch and was completely hidden from view by the tangle of leaves. They may also consider our compost heaps, leaf piles, sacks of potting compost or even bags of rubbish provide a safe hideaway. It is important then, if sacks of compost or rubbish are stored outside, to keep them firmly tied and if they do show signs of having been opened, you should make sure there isn't a sleeping hedgehog inside.

The same goes for compost heaps or bonfires: you should always check before moving or burning them. Likewise, look to see if any overgrown scrub or a clump of pampas grass - a favourite daytime nesting place, has a hedgehog snuggled within before cutting it back. A long-handled broom is useful for pushing aside and checking any long grass, which also helps prevent accidentally killing frogs and other animals that might be hiding in it. Strimmers are especially dangerous and together with lawn mowers, they are rapidly taking over from dogs and cars as the main cause of injury and death to these animals.

For me, nothing typifies our ambivalent attitude towards hedgehogs more than the wooden hedgehog 'houses' that have become commercially available over the last few years. On the one hand, we are quite happy to buy these nice little homes that don't make the garden look untidy which will encourage hedgehogs to come into the garden and chomp their way through all the slugs and snails they can find. On the other hand though, we still use slug pellets which poison the animals, bin or burn any errant leaf and cut down every patch of long grass so they no longer have a wild corner to make their nest. The animal is in danger of becoming a mere accessory, with it's own designer box in a garden planned to accentuate the best features of a house.

For hedgehogs to thrive in our gardens, they need more than a special house, however nice it might look, they need us to take just a little more care over our gardening practices. Isn't it better to have a live visitor, even if we rarely see it, rather than a dead and very visible corpse?

Maggie Pie

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