Category Archives: General Interest
Trees and Kayaks and Carbon
…. something to think about.
A tree makes its own food through photosynthesis. Leaves absorb carbon dioxide ( 1 part carbon 2 parts oxygen)
Scientists are still working on how to calculate the amount of carbon in trees. The generally held view is:
The average carbon content of a tree is 50% of it’s dry weight.
A tree absorbs up to 20kg carbon dioxide (CO2) each year.
A 40 year old tree will contain up to 1 tonne of carbon.
Carbon is stored in the trunk, branches and roots (and a small amount in the leaves).
The greatest store of carbon is within the soil, so disturbing soil by deep digging releases carbon.
A 55cm3 block of wood contains the same amount of carbon as would be emitted by boiling a kettle or driving a moped 1km.
Sea Kayaks Rick Cooper, from Trematon, Saltash, British Sea Kayaks, sells new GRP, or carbon fibre or polyethylene, sea kayaks made in Anglesey. https://britishseakayaks.co.uk/
Making these kayaks will inevitably result in the release of CO2 into the atmosphere, thus adding to the greenhouse gases. Most sea kayakers have an environmental conscience, they paddle to remote places to observe beautiful scenery and wildlife. Each kayak sold is accompanied by a free native hardwood tree which during its life time, will hopefully offset/absorb the carbon released during its manufacture. Kayakers can choose the species of tree they want. Some want to grow the tree in a pot to begin with because they intend to move house and want to take it with them (good trees for this hornbeam, beech, lime, rowan, crab apple) The most popular for planting in the ground are silver birch and wild cherry. If you have nowhere to plant your tree we can plant one in our wood at Trematon.
We were delighted to show members of the South Hill Association for Renewable Energy, SHARE, around our young wood and where Rick has his kayaks.
Rick’s aim is to put you in the correct sea kayak for you, and believes you should try before you buy, whether you are a solo paddler or a group, Rick is an advanced sea kayak leader and during your demo will be there for your guidance and safety, giving hints and tips to help you get the best from your experience.
Interested ? ! Phone 07779 134888 rick@britishseakayaks.co.uk
Fiona Cooper, Tamar Valley Trees
SHARE Update June 2018
The SHARE Guide to Saving Energy in the Home
SHARE has delivered this handy FREE booklet to all households in South Hill Parish. It’s full of tips and advice from the Energy Saving Trust to help you save energy AND money. Use it to reduce your bills AND your carbon footprint.
For example – DID YOU KNOW…?
You can save around £30 a year just by turning your appliances off stand-by mode! Your TV, your laptop power supply, your phone charger – they don’t use much power but if they’re on 24/7 it adds up to a lot.
You can also read the Guide online at www.south-hill.co.uk/SHARE.
Just in case we’ve missed anybody out… If you live in the parish and haven’t seen the booklet, please email or phone and we’ll deliver one to you.
Good News! Investment offer over-subscribed.
Our recent investment offer was very well received by the membership. The investment is a 2-year fixed term loan to SHARE which will pay 4% interest annually – better than any bank or building society.
About a quarter of members expressed an interest in the offer, and of those more than half decided to invest. As a result, we were offered more money than we needed, so we scaled back the amount we will borrow from each lender.
The money raised is used to finance our solar PV installation at Church Park, South Hill, which has been in operation for 22 months and is performing even better than our original forecast.
SHARE IN OUR COMMUNITY
SHARE is proud to support St Sampson’s Church in their application to the Heritage Lottery Fund. Improvements planned for the church include the addition of toilet and kitchen facilities. This will be a green community initiative, using renewable, sustainable and locally sourced materials where possible.
We are also supporting the Parish Hall committee with their bid for funding from the Big Lottery Fund which, if successful, will enable the installation of a new kitchen, and battery storage to make better use of power generated by the solar panels on the Hall roof. SHARE will encourage the use of energy-efficient appliances and an instant hot water boiler to replace the power-hungry tea urn.
Wi-fi disconnection?
With help from the Parish Council, SHARE has been paying for the fibre broadband and wi-fi connection at the Parish Hall in Golberdon, using income from the solar PV panels on the Hall roof (which we share 50:50 with the Parish Hall committee). BUT… our BT contract is now coming to an end, BT want to almost double the cost, and the Parish Council have said they can no longer contribute. What do we do? Our share of the income from the solar PV is not enough to cover BT’s aggressive price increase, so we are looking at alternatives. It would be a shame if we had to abandon this valuable asset to the community.
Do YOU use the wi-fi service at the Hall? Please let us know if this is important to you.
Planned visit to Plymouth Incinerator
This is still on the cards. Details to follow.
A Guide to Saving Energy in the Home
SHARE Energy Booklet – click here…
Brought to you by South Hill Association for Renewable Energy with the Energy Saving Trust, a copy of this booklet has been delivered to every household in South Hill Parish.
Packed with tips and information to help you save energy and money at home, and reduce your Carbon footprint.
For our readers outside the Parish, and for those who prefer to read online, just click on the picture or the link above to download the booklet as a pdf (3.18MB).
To find out more about the Energy Saving Trust please visit their website, here…
April Update
A Guide to Energy Saving in the Home – SHARE (South Hill Association for Renewable Energy) are delivering this handy FREE booklet to all households in South Hill Parish. It’s full of tips and advice from the Energy Saving Trust to help you save energy AND money. Look out for your copy and use it to reduce your bills AND your carbon footprint.
If you’d like to join SHARE, please contact us by email SHARE@south-hill.co.uk or phone 01579 382397.
Investment Opportunity open to SHARE members – SHARE’s successful solar PV installation at South Hill is currently paying out 4% interest, and we are looking for new investors as part of our revolving loan arrangement. You can invest any amount from £100 upwards, for a fixed term of 2 years, interest to be paid annually. Interested? Please contact us using the details above. The deadline for offers is April 29th 2018.
QUIZ NIGHT at the Parish Hall, Golberdon – Sunday May 6th (the day before the bank holiday) 7:30 for 8pm start. Raising funds to help replace the Hall floor. Bring your friends, bring a raffle prize, bring your drinks and nibbles, teams of 4, £2.50 per person.
April Fool in the recent Connection Newsletter
Was it the fact that the road in Maders will be closed for one week from April 30th? No, sadly this is true.
Was it the fantastic tale of Councillor Sharon Daw running 52 marathons in 46 weeks? Amazing but true!
Was it the opt-in request to satisfy the new Data Protection rules? Boring but necessary – see below.
Did you spot it – it was the story about the training shoes that deliver an electric shock to get you moving faster – a tall tale indeed.
IMPORTANT: DATA PROTECTION
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Plenty of other events can be found on the South Hill Connection Events Calendar, please take a look.
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Marathon Runner Cllr. Sharon Daw
>52 marathons in 46 weeks<
2017 got off to the worst start and 52 x 52! never entered my mind. And only doing two marathons in the first 4 months, along with the ensuing elections, both local and general, I had a lot to get on with. On top of delivering 10 yellow pages rounds and 5000 magazines to Plymouth surrounding area I was keeping busy albeit not running. Well 52 in 52! was a wild idea, not having any idea of what it meant and number 3 came on 6th May quite unintentionally. Really I’d entered the ox half but ran the ox 12 hour instead and felt awful leggy and tired and breathless. It was a struggle. I walked a lot and was so glad when completed. As I drove home I just couldn’t understand what was wrong. I’d been ill for 2 years with many trips to doctor and consultant, never actually proving very much other than ischemic heart disease, coming about during the heart break heartbreaker. Good run to have a mini stoke/ heart attack but the tracing looked awful and sent panic around the doctors the next day!
I felt awful, ran terrible and was coming to terms that 2016 would be the last year of running marathons and just had to deal with it the best I could. Loosing Marty on 4th January 2017 just added to my torment and headed deep down to the deepest darkest place I’ve ever been, and I’ve got to be honest I still wonder today how I’m actually still here to tell this story.
Dragging my body and weak mind around races was torment. I felt terrible in mind, body and soul and just didn’t know which way to go. I had highs but mostly lows and anyone with mental health knows how low you go and how hard it is to lift one’s spirit when there is so much negativity around. I hated my life, what I did and who I was. I just could not focus or think rationally and just wondered on. To my surprise, and still taking it in, I got elected on council, I don’t know why. Such a shock and with my mental state it took two weeks to sink in. Continue reading
The 2018 Winter Olympics
The 2018 Winter Olympics, took place in PyeongChang, South Korea, in February 2018.
Bobsleigh Team in training!
The world’s best winter talent battled it out for a medal and title, in 15 different sports.
Team GB selected 59 athletes from 11 sports, the most that Great Britain have ever taken to an Olympic Winter Games, surpassing the 56 who travelled to Sochi 2014.
Lizzy Yarnold became the most successful ever British Winter Olympic athlete when she defended her skeleton title. She took her place in history in stunning style, winning by 0.45 seconds over the four runs. Four years previous, she won Team GB’s only gold medal of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games after dominating the women’s skeleton from start to finish. Continue reading
Come and meet the donkey
Palm Sunday, 25th March, St Sampson’s Church, South Hill, are planning an informal service, with a real donkey, A good natured miniature chap called Corduroy, who is a local resident. it will take place at Golberdon parish Hall at 10am We will have a short walk of witness and singing, led by the donkey, starting from outside Green Meadow, (on the road towards South Hill) to the hall, join us there or along the route, or at the hall, bring a branch to wave. This will be followed by a short friendly service, biscuit making for all ages, tea coffee and hot cross buns.
Contact judithayers@yahoo.co.uk for more information.
February email update
EVENTS COMING UP…
Pub Quiz – this is now being held regularly again at the Church House Inn, Linkinhorne, on the last Thursday of each month, 7.30pm for 8pm start. The February quiz will be on Thursday 22nd (tomorrow)
The Young Farmers charity DUNG SALE is this Saturday EMAIL or phone Cat Ede to book your order. catede@hotmail.co.uk 07900381890
Saturday evening. BEETLE DRIVE 7pm start Parish Hall Golberdon. £3 per person including refreshments. In aid of the Parish Horticultural Society.
SHARE will be planting our free tree whips on Saturday 24th. We’re looking for youngsters and others to help so please get involved, meet at the Golberdon play park at 9:45am. Thank you. If you have reserved trees these will be available to collect on Saturday from Green Meadows. Mike will be here.(watching the rugby). If you haven’t confirmed you want any trees yet. DO IT NOW. Thank You. Email iamalihumphreys@yahoo.com or phone Ali 384544
The woodland visit to Trematon has now be confirmed for next Monday 26th, car sharing from Green Meadows at 10am. Join us as we visit a young mixed species wood, plus an established wood which has had no management and another which is described as “the most beautiful wood I’ve ever seen” and reaches down to the beach on the north side of the Lynher. All welcome email share@south-hill.co.uk for numbers or phone Sue 382397.
Parish Hall Wi-Fi (SHARE In Our Community) – there is currently a fault with the broadband connection at the Parish Hall. It seems to have failed just after midnight on Tuesday 20th Feb. We are looking into it and hope to get it reinstated as soon as possible. As far as we know this is the first time this has happened. Do you use the Hall wi-fi service? If you have had any issues, please let us know by emailing sue.skelton@south-hill.co.uk.
Ultra fast fibre Broadband to the premises is now available from Cabinet number 4 and covers South Hill, Mornick, Lansugle and Trewassick. If you make enquiries and find out any more, please email newsdesk@south-hill.co.uk so we can let others know.
Tenders are invited to contact the Parish Council for grass cutting and strimming in the recreational field, see the PC web site for details. http://www.south-hill-pc.gov.uk
Parish Council reminder: All roadside hedge-trimming should be completed by the end of February 2018.
The Parish Hall floor needs replacing. Funds need to be raised and quotes for the work. Contact Chair Nick Easton with suggestions. njdteaston@btinternet.com
There are a couple Eastern European men with a white Ford Transit van registration number NJO3 RKA in the area stealing what they can. They targeted this area last year and have come back. Keep your eyes peeled and call the police if you see anything suspicious. GOOD NEWS… we understand that these two unsavoury characters have now been arrested.
St. Nicholas, Sinterklaas, Mikolaj, Santa
St. Nicholas’ day is on the 6th December, but in The Netherlands and Poland, the major celebrations are held on the 5th December. Sinterklaas or Santa Claus visits and in Poland, Mikolaj, the Polish Santa, visits children and brings small gifts to reward them for good behaviour, or to remind them not to be naughty he’ll leave a twig, maybe with a present. Advent is the start of Christmas in Poland, when people try to be peaceful and reflect and try not to have excess of anything, some giving up their favorite foods or drinks. Children take part in “Jasełka” (Nativity Plays). The smell of tangerines in schools or workplaces is widely thought to mean that Christmas time is about to start!
Christmas Eve known as Wigilia (pronounced vee-GHEE-lee-uh) is a very important and busy day, even though it’s not a holiday. The house is cleaned and the Christmas tree decorated. The main Christmas meal is eaten in the evening and is called “Kolacja wigilijna” (Christmas Eve supper). It’s traditional that no food is eaten until the first star is seen in the sky!
On the table there are 12 dishes, meant to give you good luck for the next 12 months. The meal is traditionally meat free. For catholics the 12 dishes symbolize Jesus’ 12 disciples. Some people in central Poland say that at midnight the animals can talk.
One of the most important dishes is “barszcz” (beetroot soup) eaten with “uszka” (little dumplings with mushrooms) or “krokiety” (pancakes with mushrooms or/and cabbage, in breadcrumbs).
Carp is the main dish of the meal. The fish itself is traditionally bought a few days earlier alive. The carp’s scales are said to bring luck and fortune and kept.
“Bigos” is a dish which can be eaten either hot or cold. It’s made of cabbage, bacon, sometimes dried plums – so it is saved for Christmas day or the 26th as it has meat in it. It is made about a week or so before Christmas Eve, because with each day it gets better.
Herrings are very popular and served in several ways. In most houses there is “kompot z suszu” a drink made by boiling dried fruits and fresh apples.
Presents aren’t to be opened until after the meal and after carols are sung, sometimes prolonged to tease the children. Christmas Eve finishes by going to Church for a Midnight Mass service.
In Polish Happy/Merry Christmas is ‘Wesołych Świąt’.
Polish Children often get dressed up and go carol singing on Epiphany, January 6th.
In the Netherlands it all starts on the second Saturday of November when Sinterklaas and his servants (elves) called ‘Zwarte Pieten’ (‘Black Peters’) travel to a city or town. Dutch tradition says that St. Nicholas lives in Madrid, Spain and every year he chooses a different harbour to arrive in Holland, so as many children as possible get a chance to see him.
Church bells ring in celebration, Sinterklaas, dressed in red robes, leads a procession through the town, riding a white horse. Every town in The Netherlands has a few Sinterklaas helpers, dressed the same as Sinterklaas who help give out the presents.
Children are told that the Zwarte Pieten keep a record of all the things they have done in the past year in a big book. Good children will get presents from Sinterklaas, but bad children will be put in a sack and the Zwarte Pieten take them to Spain for a year to teach them how to behave! Continue reading