Moreton Hall Directory May 2019

Burglaries and attempted break in’s Sadly over the past few weeks there have been several attempted break ins on our estate, police have advised people to check their doors and gardens are secure.

It’s coming up to summer and hopefully hot weather when we open windows to air our houses, then we nip down to the shops leaving windows open. Jonny burglar is out there waiting for just a chance to pounce and he will. Don’t take chances. There have also been some break in’s and attempted break in’s to vans, take your tools out of your van, it’s safer than taking a chance, if anyone sees a stranger attempting to break into a van call the police immediately.

KNIFE CRIME We have been lucky so far but there has been some close incidences involving knives in and around Bury, again the police ask people to be vigilant and ask that your kids buddy up going to and coming home from school. Bullying: a mother phoned me to let me know her son was being bullied at school and on leaving school.

Bullying, in any form should not and must not be tolerated at school or on the estate, if anyone is having a problem with this please let me know and I will contact the police or ring 101 but inform the head if it’s at school. Please be careful, it’s only a few stupid idiots who think they are clever, they are not!

ACTION AT LAST Action has at last being taken against the three men found at 3am on the 28th September, all three appeared at Ipswich Magistrate Court on Monday the 8th April.

Curtis Cocksedge 23, of Anselm Avenue, Bury St Edmunds, George Mills 19, of Stow Road, Ixworth and Blake Bryant 25, of Mill Road, Hengrave. All three appeared to confirm their names, age and addresses.

Bryant was charged with possession of a loaded/unloaded air weapon in a public place and failure to comply with a community protection order. Cocksedge is charged with possession of a loaded/ unloaded air weapon in a public place and Mills is charged with possession of an imitation weapon in a public place. All charges relate to reports of smoke bombs being let off on the 28th September 2018 on Skyliner Way. Police say it has taken so long due to the collection of evidence.

The case was adjourned until 30th April.

That’s all for now, hope to see you all in May, so until then, take care.

Frank Warby MAY 2019 | 11

LOCAL NEWS

from

Hi Residents of Moreton Hall

Parking

By the time you read this our new District and Town Councillors for Moreton Hall will have been elected. We will invite all those elected, to attend our next committee meeting on Thursday May 9th, to introduce ourselves and to pass on to them your current issues, regarding our area.

Parking on the estate remains a problem, however the Town Council now has 2 PCSO’s covering the Town Parish including Moreton Hall and we hope that they will be able to make an impact and an improvement to the current situation.

The Underpass We are in discussion with officers of the district and County Councils in an attempt to clean up and renew the decoration.

Street Lighting You will have noticed by now that the County Council have increased the time that our lights are off and we are now plunged in to darkness at 11.30p.m. If you have a view or concern on this please contact us.

Remember please do not block peoples access or use pavements, especially near schools. Turn your engine off whilst waiting to reduce the toxic effect of nitrogen dioxide and particulates as children are especially vulnerable to pollution.

You can contact us at secretarymhra@gmail.com or via our website https// moretonhallresidents.wordpress. cm/ You can also attend our committee meeting on 9th of May at 19 30 at the Community Centre Cliff Hind - Chairman Email: cliffhind2001@yahoo.co.uk MAY 2019 | 15

HOME + LIFESTYLE

BITE AND RUN

BY ANDREW SOUTHWOOD

I

’ll be honest. I’m not a dog person. Never have been – never will be. However, this rant, sorry I mean ‘balanced article’, is still relevant regardless of which side of the dog loving fence you sit.

So picture the scene. A quiet country lane on a pleasant spring morning. I’m 5 miles or so into one of my last long training runs before my biggest race of 2019. I see a lady with 2 dogs ahead of me. As they see me, her pets sit seemingly obediently beside her, luring me into a false sense of security, as I exchange pleasantries with their owner as I pass.

Ten seconds later I hear the sickening haggard gruff of a fast moving dog behind me. Then the barking and snapping. Oh great. The Alsatian, has decided to aggressively chase and harass me. As the dog bites my leg, my first thought is, “If this dog ruins 5 months worth of training I am literally going to kill it!”. My second thought is, “Errr, I’m 68 | MAY 2019

not sure if I could actually kill this thing!?”

The large dog probably weighed more than me, and to be perfectly honest I think it would come out victorious in a 1-on-1 street fight. The owner, meekly calls the dog back from 50yrds away, with zero impact. 30 seconds feels like 30 minutes as I dance about attempting to defend myself. Eventually the dog becomes bored of me and trots back to the owner.

I immediately run on, wanting not only to get away from the situation quickly, but also aware I never stopped my watch and my average pace has taken a beating from this unplanned stoppage. As I checked for blood on my calf, I could vaguely hear the owner telling her dog off in the distance, “That was naughty Tiddles…”.

On the plus side, with adrenaline pumping through my angry veins

I smashed out the rest of my run in record time.

In short, a quick heads up from other road/path users for anyone considering letting your dogs run wild.

We don’t want to ‘play’ with your animal. We don’t want to know how ‘friendly’ he is. Also, we certainly shouldn’t have to stop and walk because you cannot control your pet.

The point here is, everyone has the right to jog down the road or round the park without fearing dog attack.

No excuses.

And finally, thank you to the rest of you. The majority of dog walkers, who are considerate and mindful of other people.

We can all enjoy this beautiful countryside together.

FYI - Don’t worry. My leg was ok. A good clean, a tetanus booster, and a sweet cup of tea sorted me out. As for the race of my life, well I’ll get back to on that in due course.

CRICKET CLUB

Bury St Edmunds Cricket Club commences a new season with a good positive feeling around the club, again will be fielding 4 Saturday and 2 Sunday teams throughout the season.

A full programme of junior cricket will be running Friday Evening (6.00 pm to 7.30 pm commencing Friday 26 April) Coaching Sessions for Learners and Improvers.

Open to Boys and Girls, typically ages 8 to 11, playing with soft balls (so no special protective equipment needed).

Also this year these sessions will be opened to older girls and ladies.

In addition on Wednesday’s dedicated hardball cricket coaching will be available for players from under 11 to 15 years There will also be All Stars Cricket Sunday Morning sessions (10.30 am to 11.30 am commencing Sunday 12 May) for Starters (boys and girls aged 5 to 8).

A full programme of junior fixtures have been arranged.

Joining the club from South Africa will be Daniel Moriarty and Justin Broad both young players looking to develop

their cricketing careers and help coaching at the club.

We are also pleased to welcome Ben Seabrook who has joined having played at the Durham Cricket Academy. The club is keen to attract players of all ages and abilities.

A full list of fixtures will be available on the clubs website and the fixture book available at the club based at the Victory Ground, Nowton Road, Bury St Edmunds IP 33 2BT The club will be very pleased to welcome visitors to attend games and make use of the bar facility.

Anyone who would like further details please contact Club President David Barker on 07876496064 or david@ejbarker.co.uk

If you are looking to for a venue please contact Rosie Nunn on 07885 040039 or rosemary.nunn@hotmail.com 74 | MAY 2019

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Bury St. Edmunds

s Ov

SPORTS NEWS

How to make the most of

house plants

78 | MAY 2019

Photo: John Lewis Homeware

House plants breathe life into interiors, while cleaning the air as they grow. The trick is to recreate their natural environment.

House plants are more than just decorations to me: they are the other inhabitants of my house. They turn a room into a living space, breathing life into my interiors. They say: someone lives here; someone cares for things; someone calls this home.

And they do valuable work. House plants make the air more breathable, releasing oxygen and filtering out everyday pollutants from man-made objects such as formaldehyde. They also release phytochemicals, which suppress mould spores and bacteria in the air. They add humidity, too, helping to counter the dry air of centrally-heated houses.

The joy of an orchid just coming out in bloom, the neon tropical hit of a vriesea, or the soothing deep green of a palm leaf all boost our wellbeing. Not all of us can have a garden, or even a window ledge deep enough to grow plants on, but everyone can own a house plant. And everyone should.

The simplest way to understand a house plant’s needs is to find out about its origins. The broad majority of easyto-care-for house plants tend to be understorey plants of tropical forests.

Spider plants, pothos vines, begonias, maranta, calathea, ctenanthes, dracaena, dieffenbachia, bromeliads and epiphytic orchids all fall into this category. These plants thrive in warm (15C minimum), humid, dimly-lit forests, places with little air movement. These are the conditions of most of our interiors: warm, some sun, and hopefully not too many draughts.

These plants don’t want to dry out too much, and they shouldn’t sit in full sun for long. Mostly, it’s incorrect watering that kills them. The easiest way to find out whether your plant is thirsty is to

pick it up; dry soil is light, wet heavy.

Central heating dries out plants, and in winter this can become an issue, because the plant doesn’t necessarily need more water around its roots, just more relative humidity surrounding the leaves.

Resolve this by misting the plant daily, or sit it in a saucer of pebbles topped up with water. Orchids in particular like around 50% humidity all the time.

For east- or west-facing windows Streptocarpus (cape primrose) – they want light, but never direct sunlight.

They like to dry out a little between watering, but sit them in water and the roots rot. If you want them to flower, feed them through the growing season.

For sun-drenched rooms Succulents – the jade plant Crassula ovata is very hard to kill, and will grow huge and handsome if repotted often. Water when you remember. Aloe vera from South Africa needs to be watered sparingly over spring and summer, and maybe once during the winter. It’s one to grow in the kitchen, because the slimy insides of the leaves are excellent on burns.

Secluded Rooms The spider plant, Chlorophytum comosum – it looks best grown in a hanging basket. Ceiling plant hooks that swivel will allow you to rotate the plant for maximum light; wonderful for those short of sill space.

Water sparingly between October and February, and liberally otherwise. Or try the maidenhair fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris), which loves shade and moisture.

Forgetful gardeners Snake plant (Sansevieria trifasciata) – this tolerates low light and dry conditions and thrives upon neglect.

DECEMBER MAY 2019 2015 | 79

HOME + LIFESTYLE

Christ Church MORETON HALL At the time of writing Mrs May has just extended the deadline for Brexit to 31st October 2019. A friend of mine reflected that Brexit is becoming like a TV box set and the owners of this franchise have just agreed to keep on showing the programme for another long series. What is tragic about this soap opera is by now nobody wants to watch it, nobody likes any of the characters involved, and the plot-line is boringly repetitive and seemingly pointless.

Some might consider that to be a bad taste joke. Sadly our present political leaders each have their own visions of the future yet are unable to see the strengths anyone else’s. They are prepared to trample over every person and every principle in a headlong rush to get what they want to the exclusion of everything else. This is not the way our political leaders should behave now and it is not the way they have behaved in the past.

At this time of the year our readings in the church remind us of another man who was absolutely definite that he knew what was right. He had a clear vision of the future.

Certain people were standing in his way and he had to get rid of them all. That man was called Saul of Tarsus. He obtained great power and went around large parts of the Middle East arresting people who he thought to be dangerous. They were called Christians.

On the way to Damascus a blinding light came on him and he heard a voice and saw a figure. It was Jesus Christ. Now blind, Saul was taken into Damascus as a cripple.

But there, a faithful Christian, Ananias, was sent by God to restore sight to Saul, which he did even though it meant terrific danger to himself.

82 | MAY 2019

Saul once healed and could see that not only was he blinded by the incident but actually he had been blind long before. His truth was wrong. He only realised when he saw that Jesus was standing and calling to him.

There are two points I want to make. At this time of political uncertainty we all need to pray to the God who sees all, that the vision of our political leaders should be widened.

Help them to see the truth of all the different opinions, and to see the strength of opinion behind them. He needs to help them find a way to compromise and not to think too much about their own dignity and loss of face.

The second point is a better message. We can live our lives believing we know what the truth is, where we are going and what we should do, only to find that actually we have got it wrong. It was Richard Nixon who once said, ‘A man can spend his life climbing to the top of a ladder only to find he’s placed it on the wrong wall’.

The truth is Jesus is standing along the route of every life. He is calling out to each and every one of us with a quiet voice. If only we would stop, be completely still and listen, we would hear Him. If only we would turn and open our spiritual eyes, we would see Him. Then, if we would open our hearts we could receive Him and then we would find that we truly see, truly understand, truly care and love and are finally truly on the right path.

In the midst of all the trouble and distraction, take time to stop, to listen and to see. I can promise you it will change your life for good.

With every good wish Yours sincerely,

Revd. Canon Jonathan Ford. Minister Christ Church Moreton Hall

WHAT’S ON

86 | MAY 2019

WHAT’S ON

Sleeping

Camping Activities

When it comes to sleeping in a tent there are more options than novices might suspect. You’ll need a quilt if you’re Glamping or a sleeping bag – but what type of bag? There are literally hundreds on the market and making a choice can be difficult. As if that wasn’t enough, you also need to decide what to sleep on. It shouldn’t just be the groundsheet of the tent. Instead you want a camping mat, a camping cot or an airbed – but which is best for you, and what are the pros and cons of each one?

When you’re out in the countryside you need activities to fill your time like hiking or pony trekking. These are activities that the entire family can enjoy, they’re also great exercise and you might not get the opportunity to try them closer to home. Or there’s fishing and mountaineering to give you a chance to get really close to nature and wildlife.

Essential Knowledge Before you set out on a camping trip there are few things to think about: make a checklist to be sure you’ve got everything; check out the etiquette at the campsite you’re going to, especially if you’re taking children or pets; make sure you know where to park up before being allocated a pitch and if there are any security codes to get you through barriers (many bigger campsites have these); secure your home, cancel the milk and tell the neighbours.

Food You always need to eat! Even on a camping holiday, and that’s going to mean cooking. You’ll need a good camping stove as well as the right cooking utensils. When it comes to food you might decide to carry freeze dried foods with you or buy fresh items locally. You’ll need a good cooler and to know how to keep food fresh and your wine chilled… very important for those long hot summer days!

The only limit when camp cooking is your imagination!

Where To Camp There are campsites all over the UK. Wherever you want to go, there’s almost certainly a campsite close by. But not all campsites are created equal. There’s a huge difference between a big commercial venture with a fancy shower block and a shop and setting up your tent in a farmers field or going wild camping!

When you plan your camping holiday you have to be aware of what you need from a campsite. With a family that will usually mean more facilities, although that doesn’t always limit you or move you away from nature. If you’re planning a camping trip abroad, you need to book ahead for campgrounds; in this case, being prepared is essential.

Some people combine lots of activities on a camping holiday – but remember, doing this requires plenty of planning and also stamina.

Before undertaking these make sure you’re up to it, and if you’re taking a family, that they’re all fully prepared for it too!

Camping Safety Safety is easy to forget when you’re out in the fields, under canvas, watching the stars…but there are a few points to keep in your mind to stay safe. Woman camping alone can be very vulnerable – so sticking to an official campsite and making yourself known to the campsite manager is advisable. If you’re camping as a family with small children, they’ll experience a freedom that they’ll relish and remember for years to come, but you’ll still have to be on your toes if there’s a river or stream nearby (or even a main road that’s easily accessible).

It’s very easy to break into a tent so you need to be certain never to leave anything valuable in your tent. If you’re in a car, locking valuables in there is a good bet, otherwise, put items like phones, wallets and cameras into your rucksack and take them with you when you leave the tent.

Finally Everyone’s going to have a different experience, each time you go camping it will always be a different experience! If it’s your first time, the more you know, the more you’re likely to enjoy it and go camping again and again. As mentioned earlier, it can become quite addictive, and it makes for a much cheaper holiday, far closer to nature. If you can get your family hooked, taking off in school holidays and free weekends offers plenty of chance for adventure for all of you.

ing!

Happy Camp MAY 2019 | 91