Brandon Town Magazine - Issue 92

Welcome to Brandon

We celebrated the Queens Platinum Jubilee

memory

said “Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.” I’m sure with the way prices on everything is rising some might question that.

This is what makes our children’s time in school so valuable, time to study, time to develop and it’s what makes this months

cover story important. Glade’s youngsters art gallery features on pages 5 to 7.

Forest Academy and Breckland School recently held the annual careers fair as those children in year 6 look to consider future employment routes and their time ahead.

Deadline for August edition 22nd July

Whilst every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information contained within this publication, the publishers take no responsibility for the accuracy of statements made by it’s contributors, in any advertisements or for any loss arising from non-publication of any advertisement. Reproduction of any part of this publication without permission is strictly forbidden. The views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the publisher.

Glade Academy

On Thursday 23rd June, Glade held its first ever art gallery. Showcasing the work of every child within school, the children were incredibly proud to show their grown-ups their masterpieces. The works were created during our art day, where each class studied a different artist and produced a piece of work in the style of their chosen artist. The artists studied included Vincent Van Gogh, Piet Mondrian, Banksy and Yayoi Kusama. Each child had their work framed and put on display in a different room in the gallery. Everybody that attended agreed that the children did a fantastic job and are looking forward to the next art event!

Mrs Katie Potschul, Art Lead, Glade Academy

Breckland Cats Protection

We recently had a female cat come into our care who had a litter of 5 kittens. When the kittens were weaned, the mummycat went to our vets to be neutered. The cat was collected from the vet later in the day and apparently she had an abnormal uterus and polycystic ovaries, which is very unusual in a cat. Polycystic ovaries are caused by hormonal changes in the female’s reproductive tract, and the vet was surprised that the cat had delivered 5 healthy kittens.

Another condition that can occur in cats and more usually in dogs is pyometra, which is an infection of the uterus and is considered to be a life threatening condition that must be treated quickly and aggressively. Following estrous or ‘heat’ progesterone levels remain elevated for several weeks, stimulating the uterus lining to thicken in preparation for pregnancy. If pregnancy does not occur for several estrous cycles, the lining continues to increase in thickness until cysts are formed in the uterus. The condition is called cystic endometrial hyperplasia. The thickened cystic lining secretes fluids that create an ideal environment in which bacteria can grow. Additionally the high levels of progesterone inhibit the ability of the muscles in the wall of the uterus to contract and expel accumulated fluids or bacteria.

Another contributing factor is that during estrous, white blood cells which normally protect against infection are inhibited from entering the uterus. This normal occurrence allows sperm to safely enter the female’s reproductive tract without being damaged or destroyed by these white blood cells. The combination if these factors often lead to infection.

Pyometra may occur in any sexually intact young to middled aged cat, but it is most common in older cats, that has been in heat within the previous 4 weeks.

The clinical signs depend on whether the cervix remains open. If it is open, pus will drain from the uterus through the vagina to the outside. If the cervix is closed the pus is unable to drain and collects in the uterus causing distension of the abdomen. The bacteria release toxins that are absorbed into

the circulation and the cat becomes severely ill very rapidly.

The preferred treatment is to remove the uterus and ovaries by performing a spay or neuter of the female cat. Cats diagnosed in the early stages of the disease are very good surgical candidates. If they are not diagnosed until they are quite ill, then the procedure is more complicated and a longer period of hospitalisation maybe needed. Antibiotics are usually given for up to 2 weeks after surgery. This can be a very costly time.

To avoid all this suffering it is best to have your cat neutered as soon as it is big enough – usually by 4 months of age when it weighs 2 kgs. That goes for male cats too as they are prone to other diseases if left unneutered.

If you need help or advice, or assistance in the cost of neutering, please call us on 01842 810018.

Rita Thompson.

Rachel Sobiechowski

Gardening

Turn your garden into your very own perfumery with the fabulous fragrance of this selection of scented perennials. These plants are ideal planted near paths, doors or seating areas where their sweet and spicy fragrances can fully be enjoyed. Many of these plants are also attractive to pollinators who won’t be able to resist the aromatic blooms.

Phlox Paniculata This perennial is not only beautiful but also easy to care for. Additionally, its showy clustered flowers have a pleasant scent that will be perfect for any bouquet. The fragrance is also attractive to many species of butterflies.

Salvia Greggii (Sage) is a bushy sub-shrub that has a minty scent. Available in a huge range of colours including some bicoloured flowers (‘Lips’ series)

Agastache has liquorice scented foliage and spires of flowers that bees love. They bring colour to borders from midsummer to autumn and combine well with lateflowering perennials, grasses, and dahlias.

Actaea simplex Pink Spike is the perfect plant for a shady spot that does not dry out, and pink flowers are unusual for shade. Dramatic clumps of showy, dark mahogany ferny foliage are accentuated by tall, architectural, highly scented, pale pink, bottlebrush-like flowers from August

TOP TIPS

Prune Wisteria now

•Dead-head bedding plants and perennial plants

Feed hanging baskets and containers regularly

to October.

Dianthus or Garden pinks are a reliable and easy-to-care-for addition to the garden that have been grown for centuries. They are hardy perennials with grey-green evergreen or semi-evergreen foliage and flowers in shades of pink, magenta, salmon pink and white. They have scented single or double flowers nearly all summer and most repeat flower if deadheaded.

Catmint (Nepeta) is a genus of perennial herbs in the mint family. They are extremely easy-to-grow plants with few pests or problems. Nepeta has aromatic gray-green foliage with a delicate, lacy appearance. Its billowing foliage is topped with spikes of flowers in early summer, with repeat blooms throughout the season. Most catmint varieties have a somewhat sprawling growth habit, making them nice plants for edging planting areas and for running along paths. However, there are a few tallgrowing varieties, like ‘Six Hills Giant’, with a more upright habit.

Whatever July brings I hope you get a chance to relax in your garden and enjoy the season as you tackle this months gardening jobs.

Brandon Preschool Playgroup

Brandon Preschool Playgroup are now coming to the end of their 50th year! Now a registered charity and based at the Brandon Centre, the preschool started out as a handful of mums led by Shirley Bishop at the Church Institute.

They began fundraising in 1971, holding stalls on the market. With £87 and toys donated by some local schools they set up the preschool with just a small number of children attending.

To celebrate the preschool held parties during sessions to mark the beginning of this anniversary year and parents generously donated party food including some beautifully decorated cakes to mark the occasion.

1st Brandon Scout Group

At the Scout district AGM, 1st Brandon Scout Group were presented with the District (Bury St Edmunds) trophy 2022. This is for a Scout group that had shown great Scouting spirit, growth in both adults and young people for the past year.

The HQ has continued to be upgraded with the roof being repaired and sealed, the toilets made usable and cubicles reinstated, the electrics upgrade including lighting, fuse boards, heating and energy saving sensor switches. Replacing the facias, guttering and end panels.

New activity equipment from papermakers, Candle and Resin making kits. Along with a media centre with cameras/Video, projectors, Laptops and screening. We are currently replacing our aging camping equipment and have plans to replace or tents, cookware, tables, chairs, marque and lots more.

Beavers are now up to consistently 20 with more on the books, Cubs have a base of 24 and the Scouts are now up to 24 too from a very low start point (4).

Both the Beavers and Scouts have had camps within the Groups headquarters and the Beavers have managed a second away from the HQ.

Cubs have one in the planning stage which we hope to fit in before the summer break. A few of the Scouts are joining another group from another county in the summer holidays for a week Kent International Jamboree too with 6500 scouts from across the world.

So far since April 2021 the group has awarded 14 Bronze Chief Scouts awards and hope to be awarding Silver and Gold in the not too distant future.

Thank you! Too all Parents for supporting us and allowing the group to develop to its full potential.

Pom Pom World Record Attempt

Roll the calendar back 6 months. It was 2nd January, and the Brandon in Bloom team were thinking positively to the year ahead. Volunteer, Claire Watts, sent me a message with this incredible idea she had to break the Guinness world record for the longest line of pompoms. Who would even think such a record existed? It did, and it was set in 2016 at 29,312 pompoms! She explained how it was all inclusive, anyone could make a pompom with no particular skill being involved. I was instantly drawn in and asked Claire to post on the Brandon Suffolk Yarn bombers facebook page to see what response we got. We agreed a target of 35,000.

As the donations of pompoms made their way to me to be put into storage, it quickly became apparent that the 35,000 target had been broken. It was time to start planning an event to match the massive effort that the community had made in making pompoms.

We then set about contacting as many local schools, groups, libraries, care homes, brownies, literally as many people and parts of the community as we could think of. Local businesses across Breckland and West Suffolk became drop off centres for wool and pompom donations. The community responded in force and we even had donations from as far away as Devon and Stroud! Stylecraft donated yarn and Arrowpak International donated £100 towards yarn, which was purchased from charity shops and was dished out to as many people as possible. We wanted as many people to be able to take part in making the pompoms with cost not being an issue and also to reuse old and unwanted yarn instead of buying new. Some people even ripped back old sweaters (so If you find you are missing any this winter you know where it went!)

The official count began live on BBC radio Suffolk at 10am. I was at work so had my phone on social media watching along with the rest of Brandon!

Skip ahead to 4:20pm, back on air on BBC Radio Suffolk for the part of the count in which we matched, then beat the current record. People left the field, but the counting went on.. and on… and on. Then people started arriving for the lighting of the Beacon and the line of pompoms was running out. At 7:30pm the end of the line was reached, and a cheer went up as the total of 45,736 was declared!

The evidence has been sent off to Guinness and we now wait the official verdict. It can take up to 16 weeks for them to process as they receive over 50,000 applications a year! It will probably be late October/ Early November before we know if our record is official. Our sincere THANK YOU to everyone who helped achieve the unofficial world record.

Useful Telephone Numbers

Councils

Brandon Town Council (Town Clerk)

West Suffolk Council (Customer Services)

Suffolk County Council (Public Enquiries)

Health Services

Doctor - Brandon Medical Practice (High Street)

Doctor - Forest Group Practice (Bury Road)

Dentist - Apex Dental Care (Bury Road)

Dentist - The Dental Surgery (High Street)

Hospital - West Suffolk (Bury St Edmunds)

NHS 111 - Medical Help (Less urgent than 999)

Help & Advice

Citizens Advice Bureau (Brandon Office)

Social Care Services (Customer First)

Suffolk Constabulary (Non Emergency)

Utility Companies

Electricity - UK Power Networks (Fault Line)

Gas - Cadent (Emergency Number)

Water - Anglian Water (24 Hour Leakline)

01842 811844

01284 763233

0845 606 6067

01842 810388

01842 810206

01842 812276

01842 812381

01284 713000

111

0300 330 1151

0808 800 4005

101

08007 838 838

0800 111 999

0800 771 881

Thinking of moving this