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Whether you follow the astrological or meteorological calendar it is official, spring is here! It’s my favourite month as it’s my birthday month! I’m always grateful to have made another year. And grateful to have an excuse for extra cake and fizz; always fizz!
Has your forsythia finished flowering? If so, give it a prune. Fancy delicious smelling sweet peas this summer? Get sowing your seeds in the ground now! You may find our gardening guide helpful this month with the weather warming up and the Easter holiday weekend giving us a few more days in the garden!
You know I’m a sucker for a cookie! I went on the hunt for an Easter biscuit recipe and found one from my favourite Meera Sodha. See page 6 for a lovely, chocolate alternative for this sugar laden time of year!
It’s Easter which means an Easter Egg Hunt! And the Stubbington Ark have one over 4 days! Plenty of opportunity to visit. Check out the details inside. You’ll also hear about the sailing club open day, a local badminton group, dancing, Easter services and more! Check out page 28.
I love a charity plant sale, there is absolutely no shoppers guilt feeling, just all the good vibes. This month you can get your shopping fix and help raise money for the Hampshire & IOW Air Ambulance by picking up a plant or two! Details of this event are inside.
Spring allows for reset and a fresh start and newness. Whether for you that means a new home, new windows, getting jobs done, getting fit, a new wardrobe then we have lovely, local advertisers to help!
Cleavers are the thing for a fresh start this spring, check out Louise Courtney’s article inside all about it!
Inside you’ll also find the gardening guide, great offers, sudoku, more great advertisers, local news and much more!
ARE YOU A LOCAL BUSINESS?
Let us pound the streets and get your advert through 11,000 homes a month and sent out to our growing number of subscribers too! Get in touch! Details below.
Have a good April. I’ll be in the garden planting up the sweet peas and eating cookies! See you next month!
EDITOR | FOLLOW
GET IN TOUCH
Call: 023 9250 2222
Email: adverts@stubbingtonchoice.com facebook.com/StubbingtonChoice instagram.com/stubbingtonchoice Website: stubbingtonchoice.com
OAT, SPICE & CURRANT COOKIES
An Easter recipe with not a hint of chocolate!
To make 16 you’ll need:
• 180g wholegrain spelt flour
• 50g rolled porridge oats
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ½ tsp flaky sea salt, crumbled
• 100g currants
• 2 tsp chai or mixed spice
• 50g dark brown soft sugar
• 100g golden syrup
• 120ml cold-pressed rapeseed oil
Method
Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 and line a couple of large trays with baking paper.
In a heatproof bowl, combine the spelt flour, rolled oats, baking powder, bicarb, sea salt, currants and chai spice, and whisk to mix well.
Put the sugar, syrup and oil in a small saucepan, set it over a low heat, cook until the mixture comes to a boil, then take off the heat. Pour into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until everything comes together into a dough.
Roll into balls the size of a ping-pong ball and weighing about 40g each, and place on the baking sheets spaced about 10cm apart –there’s no need to flatten them. Bake for 12 minutes, or until golden in the centre and starting to crisp to a golden brown at the edges.
Remove and leave to cool on the sheets – these cookies regain their integrity when they cool, so they need a bit of a rest before eating.
WHO ARE WE?
We are a growing family church who meet in Crofton Community Centre, Stubbington every Sunday at 10.15am. Everyone welcome. Coffee is served before and after the meeting. We also have various small groups who meet during the week in homes and the community centre. We are non denominational and welcome people from all denominations and none. Our Sunday meetings are fairly informal with modern worship and bible based teaching.
www.shorelinechristianchurch.com
This Easter we will be joining with all the other churches in Stubbington on Good Friday, 18th April.
There will be a treasure hunt and children’s activities from 10am, followed by a service at 11am. Hot cross buns and hot chocolate served after the service. This will all take place on the green area opposite the pet shop in Stubbington Village.
juliestares@hotmail.co.uk
APRIL IN CRESCENT GARDEN
Spanish Gorse, Genista hispanica, is a hardy plant which thrives on neglect, in poor soil, dry conditions and plenty of sunshine. In Crescent Garden it has been planted alongside terrace walk under the trees, so it has all the conditions it needs except not quite as much sunshine as it would like. It is quite a prickly plant, like all types of gorse and several were planted in this position to try and prevent dogs, children and even some adults from walking down from terrace walk on to the grass in places not meant to be paths at all. Each plant could eventually grow into quite a large bush as much as 90cms (3ft) high with a spread of about 150cms (5ft) and so will form an effective barrier. Unfortunately it is a plant which does not cope well with root disturbance and, therefore, must be planted when very small and in this condition some were trampled before they had a chance to establish and grow. There are several, however, which have survived and are growing well.
The stems are spiny, but they also bear soft slightly hairy leaves which drop in the winter. In spring and early summer it bears bright yellow
pea shaped flowers like those on the common gorse Ulex europeaus, but rather smaller. So look out for the flowers at this time of year; they add a patch of sunshine under the trees. They have a delicate fragrance which attracts pollinators like bees and butterflies. Like all the pea family the roots fix gaseous nitrogen into compounds which plants can use and thus help to fertilise the soil. The deep and fibrous roots also prevent soil erosion, so a perfect plant for a dry, sunny, infertile bank where it will thrive on total neglect. In fact, given too rich a soil to live in it will not produce many flowers.
It is native to the Mediterranean area, mainly northern Spain and southern France, but has naturalised in several other countries and, in fact has become invasive in countries where conditions suit it too well like Australia, New Zealand and California where it is treated as a noxious weed. In traditional Spanish culture, however, it is associated with the feast of St. John on June 26th. Use is made of the flowers to make a tea and they can be infused into honey to make a sweet treat. In Andalusia flowers are used to flavour a special bread, pan de gachas.
Parts of the plant have been used medicinally, especially in respiratory infections and skin conditions. Further research is needed to confirm the effectiveness and safety of these remedies.
So, a delightful plant, resistant to diseases and pests and perfect to grow on top of a dry, sunny bank. Why not try some in your garden?
Rita Rundle
Crescent Garden, Crescent Road, Alverstoke alverstokecrescentgarden.co.uk
Jess
qualified Mechanic
Jake our Apprentice
DECORATIVE FOUNTAINSCAPES
Ideal for front gardens as statement pieces, or for smaller rear gardens where you want the sound of water without the footprint that a pond requires. There are a multitude of fountain designs to choose from and the configurations are endless. These are also really good for attracting birds to drink and wash.
ECOSYSTEM POND
PONDL
Ideal for and stre a hidden water is
Ideal for people wanting to enjoy it as a fishpond, and/or to use it as a recreation pond if the space allows, where your family sit and relax in the summer, but still enjoy the visual of a beautiful natural looking pond all year round. This is the oppos swimming pool which remains a covered over rectangle for most of the year with our English weather! Using the Ecosystem basis for natural chemical free filtration, underwater jets and larger wetland filtration systems can be incorporated to ensure and circulation. Waterfalls, streams and decorative fountainscape elements can be incorporated into the pond to suit your s ultimate outdoor living lifestyle.
I can also create and incorporate Rainwater Harvesting systems to use with any of the water features mentioned. All ponds and water features will periodically lose water due to evaporation, splash and wind. Manual top up is the simplest solution but requires regular checking for levels. Creating an underground water reservoir from collected rainwater for your feature to draw upon is the most environmentally friendly way
Contact Craig to arrange a consultation and design visit: 07787 562490
craig@vikinggardencreations.com www.vikinggardencreations.com
All other landscaping, pond cleaning and garden maintenance also carried out.
LESS WATERFALL
people wanting the impressive visual and sound of a waterfall am, but without the want for fish or pond maintenance. Using n water reservoir to give the illusion of disappearing water, the then pumped back up to the start of the waterfall to recirculate.
All water features can be enhanced with lighting to ensure 24 hour enjoyment of them.
y and friends can swim or site to a standard garden m Pond philosophy as the the highest water quality space and budget, for the
W L S
Do you have important legal documents in place to protect your interests and make life easier for you and your family, whatever the future brings?
If you have received a diagnosis of dementia, or are concerned about becoming ill and unable to cope with paying your bills, wouldn’t it be helpful for a family member to be able to step in and deal with your finances? If your family member needed to make decisions for you, instead of just acting on your instructions, they would need your formal written authority to do this.
Formal authority can be given by creating a Lasting Power of Attorney. This document will allow your family member to take over managing your money, either temporarily or long term.
You can also create a Lasting Power of Attorney which allows your family member to make decisions for you about medical treatment, if you are unable for any reason to make your own decisions. This is not the same as an Advance Decision, which is a document which sets out your decision to refuse medical treatment in the future, under specific conditions.
If you are caring for an elderly relative, or are likely to be doing so in the future, a Lasting Power of Attorney will mean that you can provide the support your relative needs and access services on their behalf, without the difficulties, stress and resistance you would otherwise encounter.
Having a Will gives you peace of mind that your money, property and personal possessions will be going to the people you have chosen to benefit. An out of date Will can cause problems within the family or mean that a chosen beneficiary receives nothing.
If you have any unanswered questions about Wills or Lasting Powers of Attorney, Christine will be pleased to help, so do please get in touch for a free, no obligation, chat.
Call Christine Davies Solicitor on 07860 772274 or email: christine@winterbornelegal.co.uk
Christine is a Fully Accredited Member of Solicitors for the Elderly and a Dementia Friend. Christine will visit you in your own home and aims to provide a warm personal touch to every meeting.
Christine Davies Solicitor
IN THE GARDEN
• Pick off horrid lily beetles that start to emerge
• Sow grass seed to fill gaps in the lawn
• Divide clumps of hardy perennials
• Prune forsythia once it finishes flowering
• Plant summer bulbs and dahlia tubers
• Trim & tidy wall-trained winter jasmine
• Sow sweet peas directly outside
• Pinch out fuschias
• Sow sunflowers outside
• Sow hardy annuals
• Tie in climbing and rambling roses
• Start sowing perennials
• Top dress containers with fresh compost
GREENHOUSE
• Open doors and vents on warm days
• Sow herbs
• Pot on tomatoes and plant cucumbers
• Give the greenhouse a good clean
VEG PLOT
• Thin out leek seedlings
• Thin carrot seedlings
• Harvest asparagus spears when they’re no more than 18 cm tall
• Plant dwarf french beans or sow directly now.
• Plant out potatoes, onion sets & shallots
• Sow broad beans, brussels sprouts, kale, beetroot, cabbages, cauliflowers, lettuce, mangetout, pak choi, parsnips, peas, rocket, spinach, spring onions, turnips, radish, squash, pumpkins, carrots, kale, salad crops
• Pick off faded and yellowing leaves from Brussels sprouts to stop disease spreading
• Order late-fruiting strawberry plants
• Give your fruit a feed to boost crops
• Water in dry weather
• Plant asparagus and artichokes
Grinding
Shrubs:
SEAFARERS SAILING CLUB OPEN DAY
Saturday 26th April 11am-4pm
Come and meet us and find out about Membership and our RYA learn to sail courses. Subject to suitable conditions there will be a chance to try Dinghy Sailing & Gig Rowing too, but please wear appropriate clothing and footwear. Refreshments will be available. You can find us at the end of the Salterns Car Park (PO14 3QS).
For further details and to book a slot please email: memsec@seafarers-sailing-club.org.uk å
STUBBINGTON & HILL HEAD HISTORY SOCIETY
Roman Catholic Church Hall, Bells Lane, Stubbington
Monday 14th April 7.30pm
100 Million Years of Malaria History - Dr. Tim Mason merrieldixonhistory@gmail.com shhhs.co.uk
Summer expeditions for members
16.05.25 St. Edmunds Church Crofton Coffee/tea & Donation £3.
15.07.25 Institute of Naval Medicine, Crescent Road, Gosport. Free.
Details, payment and signing in at registration desk, meeting of 14.04.25
First meeting after summer break.
08.09.25 History of Salisbury Part 3 -Andrew Negus
CROFTON GARDENING CLUB
28th April 7.30-9pm
Roman Catholic Church Hall, Bells Lane, Stubbington. Fish and Chip Supper and Quiz
STUBBINGTON & HILL HEAD WI
Wednesday 30th April 2pm, Baptist Church, Jay Close, Cuckoo Lane, Stubbington
This will be our 106th Birthday and our speaker will be Jane Glennie. We have Lunch Club, Book Club, outings, theatre trips, picnics, quizzes and day trips. Visitors can come for two taster meetings before joining.
INTERNATIONAL FOLK/CIRCLE DANCING
April 1st, 15th, 29th 10am-12pm
RC Church Hall, Bells Lane, Stubbington £7
Dances to beautiful music from around the World. No Partner or experience is required & all dances are taught. New members welcome. Contact Bob & Mary 01329 609589 Mobile: 07748009838 neal.bob61@gmail.com
ENJOY
PLAYING BADMINTON
Tuesdays 6.30-8pm Crofton Community Centre. We are a social crowd of all standards and welcome anyone to join us although we cannot accommodate complete beginners. First session is free. For more info contact Jan Hooper 07501126196
STUBBINGTON BAPTIST CHURCH
Jay Close PO14 3TA
Sunday 10am Morning Service with Sunday School
Tuesday 1.15pm Baby & Toddler Group (Term time)
Tuesday 7pm Evening Life Group
1st Wednesday of the month U3A Gardening group 1st Thurs of month 12:30 Snack ‘n’ Chat £2
Thursday 17th April Easter Special All Age Fun morning for children and grown ups of all ages. Craft, Puzzles and Games – Table Tennis. Suggested Donation £2. Please book in by 15.04.25 on 07775687767.
For information – douglasfleming612@gmail.com Telephone; 07775687767
Our premises are available to hire for a variety of events, ring Douglas on number above.
STUBBINGTON STITCH AND KNIT GROUP
Meet every Friday Foster Room, (next to Holyrood Church) 2-4pm. We make a variety of garments and craft items to sell, to raise funds for local charities.
Our next sales:
12th April 9.30am-12pm Stubbington Library
Last Saturday of each month 10-12pm at St. Columba's Church
Thanks to everyone who has donated goods. If Debbie reads this, with the stuffing, we are interested in more, but I can’t get hold of you. For info, Chris 07970 826044
STUBBINGTON BELLES W.I.
Monday 14th April 1.30-3.30pm at The Crofton Club, Titchfield Road, PO14 2JH
Speaker is Jane Glennie telling us about ‘Violet’s Titanic Escape’. We have speakers or demonstrations, plus coffee morning and Lunch Club, coach trips and local garden visits. Visitors welcome to give us a try. stubbingtonbellessec@hampshirewi.org.uk
ST EDMUNDS (CROFTON OLD CHURCH)
Services 9.30am every Sunday.
1st & 3rd Sunday of month is Holy Communion (BCP).
2nd & 4th Sunday is Morning Service. Coffee served after. 5th Sunday Communion Service, with hymns, in the Common Worship style. Coffee served after.
18th April 10am-12pm The Church will also be open on for visitors/private prayer. We look forward to seeing.
EASTER SERVICES AT ST EDMUNDS
Tuesday 15th April 7.30pm - Taize Service
Good Friday 18th April
12-2pm-Prayer and meditation. 2-3pm-Service of prayer Easter Sunday 20th April 9.30am - Holy Communion with Hymns.
CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT FELLOWSHIP
STUBBINGTON GROUP Meets on the second Thursday of the month at 2pm at the Catholic Church Hall on Bells Lane in Stubbington. All retirees are welcome. For more information contact Peter Cornish 023 9234 5457 or visit csrf.org.uk/group/stubbington
ROWING AT HILL HEAD SAILING CLUB
Nestled by a natural harbour at the mouth of the River Meon. It is a typical local club, run by the members and full of people who simply enjoy being out on the water. The club is keen to welcome anyone with an interest in rowing to contact the Rowing Captain Julie Thorpe at rowing@hillheadsc.org.uk for a trial row.
SHORE LEAVE HASLAR MEMORIAL
GARDEN OPEN DAY
Haslar Road, Gosport. Weds 9th April 11am-1pm. Free entry, donations gratefully accepted. Crafts, plants, produce for sale. Homemade cake and drinks. Walk around the peaceful garden. Please park in main Haslar site. Free entry. Donations gratefully received.
CHARITY PLANT
SALE
Saturday 26th April 9.30am-4pm 66 Catisfield Road, PO15 5LY
CROFTON W.I.
April 9th 2pm Stubbington Baptist Church, Jay Close Speaker will be from Titchfield Festival Theatre Costume Department, giving a talk and showing some costumes. Everyone will be welcomed to our friendly and active WI.
STUBBINGTON VILLAGE W.I.
Methodist Church Hall, Mays Lane every second Thursday of each month 7.15pm Lunch club, games, darts, natter, knit & stitch, book club. Speakers & demonstrations. We may have to start a wait list for new members. Please ring Chris 07970 826044.
CROFTON PROBUS CLUB
Monthly social lunch at Lee-on-the-Solent Golf Club. For retired and Semi-retired professional/businessmen. If you miss the camaraderie and social connection of the workplace come along to a trial meeting before joining? 07508711299 or email: morton.wouter@gmail.com
GOSPORT JAZZ CLUB - APRIL
Rugby Club, Dolphin Cres, Gos, PO12 2HE 9th John Maddocks’ Jazzmen 23rd Kevin Grenfell’s Jazz Giants 8-10.30pm M £10 G £12 - gosportjazz.org.uk
SPITHEAD ARTS - ARTS APPRECIATION SOCIETY LECTURE
Bay House School, Gosport. Tuesday 22nd April 7pm. The Green Man in English Churches. Imogen Corrigan. Visitors are welcome to attend at a cost of £7 per lecture or £1.00 for students. More details at spitheadarts.co.uk
EASTER AT CROFTON PARISH
Splashes of colour are dotting hedgerows and gardens across our community; snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils tell us winter is ending and spring is here. If you’re anything like me, after a long, gloomy winter, the first signs of the new season lift your spirits.
Every year, we watch the natural world around us renew itself. The trees bud and the days grow longer. You may prefer autumn and winter, but I love spring into summer, with the sense of hope and rebirth that comes with the changing of the seasons.
Later in April, we’ll be celebrating Easter in Crofton Parish. Easter is the moment where the darkness and sadness of Good Friday give way to the joy and surprise of Easter Sunday.
Easter reminds us that whatever darkness we –or our world - may be experiencing, we are not alone. At Easter, God walked into our darkness, fully embracing it, and bringing hope out of tragedy.
When we sow seeds in our gardens, we hope that new life will grow from what we bury in the earth. From the death of Jesus at the first Easter, hope can grow in hearts and homes across our community and our world. In the challenges that we face locally and globally, perhaps this hope is the most important thing we need right now.
The Easter story doesn’t pretend everything is okay when it’s not. It acknowledges that suffering and evil are real in our world. Yet – like spring out of winter – it also offers hope. Hope that we are not alone. Hope that there is a God who longs to walk with us through life. Hope that good can come out of evil. Hope that the end is not the end.
Perhaps the spring has given you a little lift and helped you feel a bit more hopeful. This spring, let me warmly invite you to join in as we retell the Easter story and find a source of hope that endures through every season of life.
Rev Canon Richard England Vicar, Crofton Parish Area Dean, Fareham croftonparish.org.uk Office: 01329 661154
With 3 sites in the local area, all of our Garages are high ranking members of ‘The Good Garage Scheme’ and ‘Checkatrade’. Our Garages provide onsite MOT testing. Mon - Fri: 8.30 - 5.30 Sat: 8.30 - 12.30
All Makes and Models catered for.
0333 3585 999
Solent Airport MOTs, Unit il1-3, Illustrious Daedalus Park, Daedalus Drive, Lee on the Solent PO13 9FX (Stubbington Motors is now at Solent Airport MOTS) Elkins Motors, 99b Mays Lane, Stubbington PO14 2ED Locks Heath Garage, 212 Hunts Pond Road, Locks Heath PO14 4PG
