All the cereals, oil seed rape and peas have been safely gathered in. Many farmers are celebrating a bumper year, claiming wheat yields of four ton to the acre, or if you prefer ten tonnes to the hectare. This yield has doubled over the past forty years, while the price has almost halved over the past ten, not a happy situation, I am sure you will agree, especially if you happen to be a farmer with bins full of grain. On the other hand, there have been no price wars, no subsidies paid, no tariffs nor trade embargoes on the countryside's other harvest. This is the produce of the hedgerows, freely available to all for the picking. If the farmers can claim bumper yields, so can the hedgerows.
You only have to look out of the car, bus or train window, or if you are walking or riding in the countryside, it is difficult not to see the abundance of the red berries of the hawthorn or the rowan. The shiny, red rose hips, the dark purple berries of the elder, now past their best, the sloes gradually changing from dark green to almost black, all are clearly visible. Not so easily seen, are the hazel nuts which are also losing their green hue but in their case taking on a tan colouring, to indicate they too are approaching maturity, but you can be assured that they also are in abundance this year.
All bodes well for Christmas with holly berries much in evidence, while the ivy flowers are extremely copious, currently their scent is almost more than you can stand, while bees are in their element taking advantage of this particular late nectar supply. There are many, many more plants which have had a very productive year, but how can we benefit other than by observing and enjoying the wonderful sights, of both the fruits and the wildlife taking advantage of this God given gift?
Well, I for one, am a great lover of elderberry wine. To me, a good elderberry wine is our only answer to port wine, it looks the same, tastes very similar, contains half the alcohol content and can be made very cheaply in your own home. There are numerous other uses, some medicinal, of these berries, but none as good as wine making. Wine can also be made from rose hips. I made some last year, had considerable trouble with the fermentation and as yet have not tasted it, therefore I reserve judgement. I intend using the hips this year for other purposes, namely the production of rose-hip honey, rose hip apple jelly and rose hip cream. In all these cases it will be a first for me.
The next fruit to harvest for us is the blackberry. As last year, the priority will be to make wine, then blackberry jam, and if we still have them available, all sorts of puddings. Plain blackberry crumble or apple and blackberry both take some beating. Hopefully we will get our share before birds and small mammals eat the lot. As things stand there will be plenty for all. Even the haws are so abundant this year, that it seems such a waste not to use some of them. As a young lad I chewed many a haw in its raw state, and I don't remember getting much satisfaction from them, so this time they have to be utilised in some other way. For instance, hawthorn jelly with pheasant sounds good to me, but I am not too keen to try hawthorn berry wine, I imagine it to be dry beyond belief, so I'll stick to the jelly.
There is one more wine I shall definitely try again, and that is sloe. I didn't do well with it last year, but since I'll be collecting sloes for sloe gin, I might as well try the wine again.
We could go on and on, but apart from hazelnuts, chestnuts and mushrooms, all of which have several uses I think I will have to call it a day there, as far as fruit and nuts are concerned. Of course I won't be turning my back on any pheasants, partridges, woodcock, pigeon or duck that come my way, nor will I turn away venison, rabbit or hare, as for badger and hedgehog as yet I am unconvinced.
This has made me realise it is nearly supper time, and since I must hand this in tomorrow, I will leave you with the thought that there are many more crops to be freely harvested out there, why not have a go? Its cheap, you will enjoy the countryside to a much greater degree and you will have a much more sustainable diet. Until next time, God bless us all.
"Where are you going Dordor?" asked my five year old granddaughter
"To an LPA.’s meeting." I replied.
"What in ‘earf is that?" she asked.
"An LPA. is someone who helps Ron, the Vicar with his work."
"Oh. Is that what you are?"
"No, I'm an NSM Curate."
"That sounds crazy." Commented the seven year old!
It is quite muddling, but of course all organisations label themselves and the jobs in the firm by initials. The fact that it needed explaining to the girls made me think perhaps others may wonder what is what and who is who. So I will endeavour to explain.
LPA. - Lay Pastoral Assistant. We are very fortunate to have six in our parish and they all do very important work. They are not, as someone said to me, the Vicar's minions, they are specially trained volunteers who share the workload of the parish. They are the arm of friendship from the church. They visit the sick, bereaved, the lonely, those who have recently moved into the village, and families who just need someone to share a problem with, they also carry out many other jobs within the church. The Vicar cannot visit everyone in the parish, but all those who share the work come with the same love and care that he would bring if he could.
Each LPA will have attended a ten week course run by the diocese, and have a licence from the Bishop to work in a particular parish. Never underestimate your LPA’s they are there for you when you need a friend, a listening ear or a little comfort, and everything shared with them is, as with all who work for your church, in confidence.
NSM - Non stipendiary minister. This is the title given to someone (like me) who is either employed or retired, and supports themselves financially but has completed a three year training, and entered the priesthood. Most of us work only part-time although in a few parishes there are full-time NSM's who hold the post of Vicar. We have the same training, the same calling and the same commitment as stipendiary clergy but we are only expected to work approximately twelve hours a week in the parish.
MSE. - Minister in Secular Employment. This would again be a trained priest whose ministry is carried out in the place of their employment as well as in their own church. They may be a chaplain in a school combining the work with that of teaching. Or perhaps a chaplain in a large factory who also carries out some other job.
OLM - Ordained Local Minister. Another priestly role. but in this case the training has been carried out with the help of a team from the candidates own parish, in conjunction with a college course. The ordained priest will have the same qualification as other priests but they are only licensed to work in their own parish.
Which brings us to the roles of the Vicar and the Curate (strictly speaking Assistant Curate). I suppose the best explanation is to say that Ron, the vicar is the engineer and I, as your curate am the oily rag! In point of fact I am here to assist the vicar in whatever way he requires help, but I am very fortunate in that the vicar treats me as an equal and we work as a team with the LPA's, the Parochial Church Councils, the church wardens and the organists.
I do hope you feel a little enlightened but this is not the complete story, there are numerous other titles which I will explain another day. In the meantime remember every believer has a ministry, they are called disciples, and their job is to spread the Good News!
P.S. My granddaughter now knows it is "what on earth?"
Did you know the animals have inside information:
Rooks are good weather forecasters. When on leaving their nest they fly straight to their foraging grounds the day will be fine. If they twist and turn rough weather is on the way, and they will not venture far from their nests or roosts when a gale threatens. This is understandable, as the rook is not particularly strong on the wing and it doesn't like being caught out at a distance from home by a sudden gale.
When swallows and swifts fly high the weather will be fine. This is because they are pursuing gnats, flies and other insects which react to high barometric pressure. Similarly they fly low when the barometer is low.
Blackbirds and robins, among other birds, perch high for their morning song if there is promise of a fine day but lower in the tree when rain threatens. The skylark in fine weather takes its time over its descent from its song flight, hovering and gliding, but when rain is imminent it drops straight to the ground. The green woodpecker is another bird whose loud 'yaffling' is considered a sign of rain.
With the development of inland reservoirs and sewage farms gulls have changed their habitats. Early this century to see a gull inland indicated rough weather; now they are regular visitors to inland sites. Except during the breeding season, when for three or four months they are seldom or never seen inland except in spells of bad weather. To see a gull inland during these months is a sure sign of rain and gales.
Most dogs have knowledge of an approaching thunderstorm before it can be detected by humans. Their reaction varies from a vague unease to sheer panic. Pigs also become very restless when gales threaten and wander around their sties, carrying straw in their mouths. Old countrymen swear that pigs can see the wind. You detect a sign of approaching rain by observing the direction goats are facing when grazing. If they are facing the wind the weather will be fine, but if they graze with their tail towards the wind, rain will follow.
When cows linger in the vicinity of their cowshed or stand with their tails towards the wind, rain is imminent:
When a cow tries to scratch its ear,
Then a shower is very near.
Cats become restless and frequently wash behind their ears when the weather is about to change from 'set fair' to 'gales'. Spiders stand at their front door, looking out to see the approaching rain. They spin their long gossamer strands only when they are assured of a spell of fine weather.
Bees are a reliable guide to the weather:
When the bees crowd out of their hive
The weather makes it good to be alive:
But when the bees crowd into their hive again
Beware the rapid approach of rain.
Amusing Sayings
I’ve got to the age when I need my false teeth and my hearing aid before I can ask where I’ve left my glasses.
If I’d known I was going to live so long I’d have taken better care of myself.
I don’t let old age bother me. There are three signs of old age, loss of memory - I forget the other two.
The August issue of the Downsman contained a piece by Parish Councillor Pauline Bailey-Wright highlighting the threat of Government-imposed increases in council tax way above the rate of inflation. She was quite right to do so. As she says, the impact of this stealth tax on households in Dorset has become increasingly severe in recent years, especially in the rural areas of a county where wages are well below average and house prices are well above. In my work as a councillor my colleagues and I come across an increasing number of people, usually pensioners, paying almost a quarter of their income in council tax. We have dubbed this Council Tax Poverty and in my view this is a scandal in itself.
The questions are what is the source of the problem, what can be done about it and what is being done.
For East Dorset District Council the case is particularly clear-cut. Most councils have three sources of income, a share of the business rates, a revenue support grant from central government and the council tax, usually in the ratio of 25%, 50% and 25% from each. For reasons that we don’t understand, when the official formulae are applied to East Dorset it is reckoned to be too wealthy to need a revenue support grant. A grant of zero means that East Dorset council tax payers must meet not 25% but 50% of any expenditure. This is the main reason why, for example, East Dorset District’s tax is so much higher than is the case in North Dorset District.
After the last District elections in 1999, the incoming administration (including myself) was able to make a number of savings by cutting waste and increasing efficiency and this resulted, despite the usual price rises, in a small reduction in the District tax for 2000/2001. At that time it was thought that future increases could and should (as Cllr. Pauline says) be limited to the rate of inflation. Nobody reckoned with the impact of the stealth taxes that were to come. The Government imposed on local authorities a series of new statutory duties backed by the force of law. With each one extra funding was promised to cover the cost of the new duties. It never came. East Dorset’s grant remains set at zero and council tax payers must pay the cost in full. One example is sufficient. The Government decided that all pensioners should be able to travel on the buses for half price – the Concessionary Bus Fare Scheme. Most of us thought this was a good idea. The new law said East Dorset must bring in a scheme, which the council duly did, at an annual cost of about £250,000. As there is no matching change in the business rate, all of this must be paid for through the council tax – equivalent to an increase of about 7% on the district rate. So we have the absurd situation that the pensioners of rural Dorset who rarely see a bus are paying to fund a service to pensioners in urban areas where buses are common and even those urban pensioners are being taxed to fund a benefit to themselves. Most of us think this is just plain stupid.
So what can be done about it? Apart from lobbying all the Dorset MPs and making our case to Government through the Local Government Association and the County Councils Network, we have had to keep pushing for increased efficiency and to make some tough decisions too. About 85% of what East Dorset spends is now covered by a statutory duty. That leaves just 15% amongst which to find the savings. Over the last couple of years we have managed to find about £1/2 million in savings and reduced commitments – without that the district rate would have risen by another 14% or so. This process has to continue if we are to maintain any sort of control over the money that people are being asked to find.
The situation with Dorset County Council is similar though the sums involved are much bigger. About three quarters of our council tax bills are due to the County, the rest going mainly to the District and the Police with the remainder going to the Parish Council. County does at least get a revenue support grant but it is a small one and only covers 20% of expenditure. This leaves 44% to be found by the council tax payer instead of the national norm of 25%. Again new duties are imposed without adequate funding. For instance, the Government’s Best Value inspection regime costs County about £3/4 million a year to run as does the famous Fridge Mountain that we’ve all heard about. Again the only way to tackle this is to keep increasing efficiency and to pare back on those areas that are not imposed by law and not at the top of the community’s list of priorities. Unlike the District Council, County has a large central administration to cover areas like education, social services and highways. Over the years it had become hide-bound and inefficient, so as the new Leader of the County Council I am heading up a small revolution that is already producing big benefits and a much more tightly focussed and businesslike approach. There is much more of this to come.
The Fridge Mountain is of course part of the system of waste disposal and recycling that Cllr. Pauline mentions and it is from here that the greatest threat to council taxpayers now comes. We all support the idea of recycling to make the best use of scarce resources and to safeguard the environment and East Dorset’s green box scheme has at last reached Sixpenny Handley. For the last few years Dorset has been the top recycling county in the country and looked well set to make an important contribution to the high levels of recycling required of the country by the latest EU directives. But again for reasons that nobody can understand, the Government has responded by imposing stratospherically high new targets on counties like Dorset while those authorities in other parts of the country that have made little or no effort in the past have been set target so pathetically low that they can be achieved by putting out a few bottle banks. Recycling rates in Dorset have to double by 2006 and the cost will be extremely high. Rubbish will have to be handled in three separate streams with three wheelie-bins for most households, for compostible materials, dry recyclables and other waste. New bins must be purchased and new vehicles to handle the extra volumes. New composting and waste treatment facilities must be provided. As Pauline says East Dorset has already stated that it will need to charge an extra £5 each year for the next six years adding up to £30 extra by 2009. The cost to the County Council will run into millions. We and other authorities in the same boat have protested vehemently at the unfair share of the national load that Dorset is being made to carry but the Minister has said that the targets are not negotiable.
What of the future? Well the good news is that the Government is working on a new grant formula for local authorities and we are arguing, even praying for a better deal. The bad news is that the early indications are that the new formula will shift more money away from the south and southwest towards the midlands and the north. There is a small possibility that East Dorset may do better – the zero grant situation is after all indefensible. The County, on the other hand, is likely to lose out. The spread of betting is still wide – anything between an extra £9m in grant and a loss of £16m. The omens are not good.
I hope all this helps to clarify the issue in people’s minds. I have tried to leave the usual party-political argy-bargy out of it. The simple fact is that Council Tax, the way it is applied and the things it is used to pay for, is a big issue for the whole community, especially here in the rural northeast corner of Dorset. Many people believe that now is the time for high public spending for better public services. Fair enough but if you want to do that then in my view the only fair way to raise the money is through central taxation. Council Tax bears particularly heavily on those least able to pay, especially pensioners in an area like ours where house prices are high and services are few and far between. This Government, any Government of any colour, needs to take this on board. Enough is enough and if there isn’t a change of thinking there will be more hardship and more and more cases of Council Tax Poverty in our communities.
For my part I will keep up the battle. Never give up and never give in should be our motto. There is always something that can be done and it’s my job as your County Councillor to do it.