On Our Doorstep Baldock November 2021

Raising awareness of what’s on & where to find things locally

Issue 85 November 2021

www.onourdoorstepbaldock.co.uk Baldock, Ashwell, Weston and surrounding villages

Welcome

We love to kick off this month's issues with a massive congratulations to Kayleigh of Baldock's Palma and Stone who has just welcomed her first child! Lots of fun times ahead for Kayleigh and her partner!

The Baldock community are raising money for Andy, the most amazing street cleaner our town could ever wish for.

Andy goes above and beyond his job role everyday, including single handedly cleaning up after Balstock and the fair. To show him how appreciated he is, a local resident, Laura Hoy, has set up a JustGiving page ahead of his retirement. As we go to press the page has already raised more than £2000. If you'd like to donate you can do so via the QR code at the end of this piece.

It's been a rainy few weeks with lots of conker picking happening around town. As we head into the darker and colder months we have this year's fireworks, at St Mary's School. On November 7th the fireworks display will be accompanied by a performance from the London Show Choir, fairground rides, food trucks, sweet and treats and a licensed bar. Tickets are available online at https;//bit.ly/BaldockFireworks2021 Knight's Templar have their sixth form open evening in November for those looking to further their education with their A Level program. The junior schools also have their open days approaching soon for the younger members of your family.

We are pleased to announce that the Remembrance Sunday Parade will return to Baldock on Sunday 14th November this year.

For those festive fanatics the Santa sleigh ride is back! Baldock's Rotary Club will be helping Santa make his rounds again this year and they are looking for volunteers to help along the route. Read more on page 7.

Oakleys Farm are taking pre-orders for their free range turkeys ready for your Christmas dinner. It's an amazing opportunity to shop local and keep up the support shown over the last couple of years.

Until next month

Paul & Jacqui info@onourdoorstepbaldock.co.uk or 07973 788418

Disclaimer All adverts and editorial are printed in good faith, however On Our Doorstep Baldock cannot take any responsibility for the content of adverts or services provided by the advertisers.

Reproduction on whole or in part of this publication without prior permission from the publishers is strictly prohibited.

NOVEMBER

2021

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Something You May Not Know About Baldock Rotary Baldock Rotary is well known for its local community ac vi es such as installing the Christmas lights, taking the sleigh and Father Christmas around the streets, organising Open Gardens and establishing the new Rotary wood, as well as making dona ons to many local charitable causes.

It is less well known for its support of interna onal causes. Below is an ar cle wri en by Gordon Brooks, Baldock Rotary Interna onal Commi ee Chair in which he describes recent ac vi es that have been supported.

Some of the money raised by Rotary is invested via a partner organisa on called “Lend with care” which is one of the world's leading aid and development organisa ons figh ng global poverty.

Money is loaned out to entrepreneurs in developing countries who are given the assistance to help them transform their lives.

The entrepreneur has an ambi on or idea, requests a loan, gives a very simple business plan, and once ve ed and if their ideas are appropriate, are approved and are added to the list of applicants looking for financial support.

Baldock Rotary regularly access this register of applicants and decide who to lend money to, and how much. Loans can be as li le as £15.

Over the past 10 years Baldock Rotary has made loans to nearly 400 entrepreneurs crea ng some 1,750 jobs and aiding over 7,000 family members.

Only one non-payment default has ever been experienced in that me!

We support an ini a ve to provide charcoal coated balls containing tree seeds for reforesta on projects in Kenya. This is a simple and effec ve way to sca er and plant indigenous trees over large areas by hand, mechanically or even helicopter. The seed balls sit dormant un l the condi ons are right and they germinate and spring into life.

Un l this happens, they are protected against the elements and predators. The charcoal dust comes from waste charcoal packing sites making for be er recycling and more employment. The trees provide food for animals, minimise land erosion, and provide fuel for cooking and hea ng.

Our dona on supports a project in East Kenya which goes live this year in me

for their cri cally important rainy season.

Shelter Boxes for the Hai earthquake disaster areas Rotary has tradi onally supported such disasters in the past and have now learned how to be more effec ve in the support they provide. They learned that by providing basic shelter, drinking water and the most basic of tools to start rebuilding was one effec ve way of helping. This led to the crea on of an organisa on called “Shelter Box” who assemble a large plas c Box containing the basics and arrange to get them on site to where they are needed. It contains a tent, water purifica on tools and tablets, tarpaulins, bedding, saws, hammer, fixings, etc, etc.

Baldock Rotary has again purchased a small number of these boxes and played its part in this coordinated Interna onal Rotary ini a ve.

If you are interested in what Rotary has to offer please contact us on our Membership Secretary, Paul Redwood, tel. no. 07999 350990, e-mail paul49redwood@gmail.com Rotarian - Paul Lucke

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‘Christmas is coming,the goose is getting fat Please put a penny in the old man's hat’

Well we haven't got an old mans hat, but we have got a sleigh. Father Christmas assisted by Baldock Rotary Club will once again be visiting the streets of Baldock and surrounding villages during December and making a collection for local charities

Baldock Rotary Club Christmas Sleigh 2021 Route Day & Date

Town/Village

Route 6 p.m. to 8 p.m

Monday 29th November

Baldock

London Road Page Close

Chiltern Road Beechridge Close

Woodland Way London Road (right)

Tuesday 30th November

Baldock (Clothall Common)

Aleyn Way Merchants Walk Constan ne Place

Chauncy Gardens Mal ngs Close Walnut Avenue

Ringtale Place Barley Rise Laxton Gardens

Wednesday 1st December

Baldock

Bygrave Road Larkins Close Salisbury Road

Icknield Way East Bramley Close Grosvenor Road

North Road Grosvenor Road West

Thursday 2nd December

Baldock

The Sycamores Norton road Pepys Way

West Avenue Norton Crescent Hopewell Road

Coachmans Lane Letchworth Road

Friday 3rd December

Baldock

Weston Way Chilvers Bank

St Mary's Way The Rise

The Leas

Monday 6th December

Baldock (Clothall Common)

Nigh ngale Way Elmwood Avenue Mons Avenue

Clare Crescent Willian Way Weston Way (Top)

Ashtons lane Hillcrest London Road (le )

Tuesday 7th December

Ashwell

Ashwell Street Angels Meadow Kingsland Way

Silver Street Back Street High Street

Bear Lane Dixies Close

Wednesday 8th December

Baldock

Stane Street Hurst Close Rive Close

Eisenburg Close Rhee Spring Orwell View

Iredale Way Rye Gardens

Thursday 9th December

Weston

Forge End Damask Green Road Friars Road

Mill Lane Maiden Street Munts Meadow

Other Cul-de-sacs Hitchin Road Damask Close

Friday 10th December

Baldock

Anchor Road Turpins Way

Ivel Way Pryor Way

Byrd Walk

Monday 13th December

Baldock

Holroyd Crescent Park Drive Park Close

The Rowans Alder Close Mansfield Road

Tuesday 14th December

Baldock

Pembroke Road Pinnocks Lane Clothall Road

Limekiln Lane Penfold Close Roman Lane

South Road South Close Providence Way

Wednesday 15th December

Baldock

Football Close Jackson Street Orchard Road

Pond Lane Brewery Lane Hitchin St & The Gardens

Church Street Simpson Drive Thurnall Close

Thursday 16th December

Baldock (Clothall Common)

Wynn Close Weaver's Way Mercia Road

Westell Close Bush Spring Kings Mount

Downlands Sale Drive Kings Mount

Friday 18th December

Bygrave

Can you help? Phone Mike Williams 07940 048064

Baldock Rotary would really appreciate any me you can give to assist Father Christmas and the Elves with the street collec ons or if you were able to tow the sleigh that would be great.

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2021

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info@onourdoorstepbaldock.co.uk Raising awareness of what’s on & where to find things locally

www.onourdoorstepbaldock.co.uk villages Baldock, Ashwell, Weston and surrounding

8

NOVEMBER

Raising awareness of what’ to find s on & where things locally

of what’s on & where to find things locally

Issue 74 December 2020

www.onourdoorstepbaldock.co.

Baldock, Ashwell, Weston and

2021

uk

surrounding villages

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NEWS FROM WESTON PRIMARY & NURSERY SCHOOL EARLY YEARS

Remembrance Sunday Parade We are pleased to announce that the Remembrance Sunday Parade will return to Baldock on Sunday 14th November.

Remembrance Sunday provides the na on with a physical reminder of all those that have served and sacrificed, with Bri sh and Commonwealth soldiers, sailors, airmen and women represented, together with members of the emergency services and civilians, ensuring that no-one is forgo en.

Please note that due to the con nued Covid risk it will be an abridged service, with certain aspects shortened or removed.

You MUST observe all the current Government Covid guidelines, and we encourage social distancing and the wearing of facemasks wherever possible.Please do not a end the event if you have any Covid symptoms. We would suggest that you watch the TV coverage from the Cenotaph and mark the event in your own way.

For any local organisa ons that require a wreath please email rblbaldock@yahoo.com as soon as possible and no later than Thursday 28th October.

Thank you for your support and understanding.

Donaldson Class has been learning all about Mo Farah for Black History Month.

We have shared a story Mo wrote called 'Go Mo Go'. We have covered the importance of sport and how Mo is an Olympic champion for long distance running. We have thought a lot about fitness and the posi ve effects it has on our moods. We've even made medals using air dry clay and then painted them. We all thought hard about what we might win medals for!

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NOVEMBER

2021

Like Nothing Else On Earth Rolls-Royce Dawn Black Badge

By Tim Barnes-Clay - Follow on Instagram @tbarnsclay If the standard Rolls-Royce Dawn is the pinnacle of luxury, then the Black Badge is the iden cal but slightly evil twin.

A bit like a gravelly-voiced baddie in a Bond movie, there's an aura of wellroundedness and sophis ca on, but you know you're playing with fire if you get too close.

Black Badge, as the name suggests, replaces much of the chrome with, erm, black. As a result, it looks more imposing than the standard Dawn and will likely appear in more pop music videos than its more modest sibling.

It's s ll the same 6.6-litre V12 engine below the bonnet, but there's now 600PS instead of 570.

Underneath, the suspension gets an upgrade, along with a more responsive thro le and a different steering rack. The brakes are bigger than the standard Dawn, too.

The Black Badge will do 0-62mph in 4.9-seconds – and you'll know about it. The engine noise is deligh ul as you put your foot down, and it accelerates very quickly, but not in a boisterous or ungainly way.

of mischief to them, but the Rolls-Royce manages to achieve ferocious accelera on while s ll reminding you how grown up it is.

Inside, you wonder if there's a car manufacturer in the world that can do be er. The Dawn is phenomenally luxurious, filled with excep onally comfortable leather seats and touches of red.

In the front, there is a lot of space, and, being a conver ble, you'd imagine that it's a requirement to have ny legs to get into the back. But you'd be wrong. Thanks to the car being almost 5.3-metres long, you could be nearly as comfortable in the rear seats as you would a four-door Phantom.

There's 295-litres of space in the boot, too, although this reduces with the roof down.

When it comes to safety, it won't surprise you to know that Euro NCAP hasn't crashed any Rolls-Royces into a concrete block. Nevertheless, given its size and the fact that BMW owns the company, you shouldn't have an issue with protec on, especially given most Bimmers are ge ng five-star ra ngs. If you see the size of the Dawn, you'll agree that anything it comes into contact with is

likely to end up the worse off of the two.

Fundamentally, the Rolls-Royce Dawn Black Badge is a joy to behold. Whether it's worth the extra dosh over the standard Dawn is probably a pointless argument to have. Rolls-Royces are all about personalisa on, so it's a case of which one you want, rather than factoring in mundane things like budgets.

If you do want an aggressively styled Roller, then the Wraith Black Badge might be one to look at, as the Dawn's more modest shape means it's probably a halfway house between the standard Dawn and the Wraith.

Mind you, the Wraith is a hard-top, whereas you can flaunt your wealth to the masses with all the visibility in the world if you have the Dawn and put the roof down.

It's rapid for such a he y car and, for something not built for sporty handling, it's not bad around the bends either.

All you need to do is find the best part of £350,000.

Fast Facts Rolls-Royce Dawn Black Badge - as tested: Ÿ Max speed: 155mph Ÿ 0-62 mph: 4.9 secs Ÿ Combined mpg: 16.8 Ÿ Engine layout: 6,598cc V12 twinturbo petrol Ÿ Max. power (PS): 600 Ÿ CO2: 382 g/km Ÿ Price: £348,925 NOVEMBER

2021

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Screen this months new releases

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ETERNALS Out 5th November

Out 5th November

Marvel Studios' Eternals features an exciting new team of Super Heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows to reunite against mankind's most ancient enemy, the Deviants.

The film follows a gambler and former serviceman who’s existence on the casino trail is shattered when he is approached by Cirk, a vulnerable, angry young man seeking help to execute his plan for revenge on a retired military major.

He takes Cirk with him on the road, going from casino to casino until the unlikely duo set their sights on winning the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

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King Richard is the story of an amateur US tennis coach. Will Smith plays the 24/7-committed, fanatically focused and demanding Richard Williams, renowned father of Venus and Serena Williams. By sheer force of will, he took his daughters and the rest of his family straight out of Compton and into the sunlit uplands of multimillion-dollar pro-sports triumph, along the way battling snobbery and racism.

The Madrigals are an extraordinary family who live hidden in the mountains of Colombia in a charmed place called the Encanto. The magic of the Encanto has blessed every child in the family with a unique gift - every child except Mirabel.

However, she soon may be the Madrigals last hope when she discovers that the magic surrounding the Encanto is now in danger.

Certificate PG

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Running Time 138 mins

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NOVEMBER

2021

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THE POWER OF HYPNOSIS I'm o en asked 'How powerful is hypnosis?' Let's first understand what hypnosis entails before looking at how powerful it is. Hypnosis also known as hypnotherapy, entails triggering a state of consciousness in which one becomes more under the influence of sugges on or direc on (hypnosis is a relaxed state of mind the feeling of not being awake but not quite being asleep). During hypnosis your subconscious mind becomes more ac ve compared to the conscious mind.

The moves into a natural, relaxed yet focused state to allow for mental openness to receive posi ve sugges ons and images. Hypnosis is so natural that we all get hypno sed to varying degrees

for one instance or another in our day to day life, for example have you been driving and you get to a point in the journey and think ' how did I get here' you are carrying out a subconscious automa c response.

Hypnosis is a powerful tool that can be used to gain control over undesirable behaviours, emo ons, habits as well as thoughts. The power of hypnosis lies in the ability of the subconscious mind to become ac vated when a person is in the hypno sed state. The power of sugges on is important in the hypnotherapy process. It relies on the psychological mechanism that the subconscious mind acts on whatever it accepts. So the whole idea revolves around looking for ways to communicate to the subconscious mind. The communica on could be to yourself or to others and it aims at engaging posi ve sugges ons past the conscious mind to the subconscious mind.

One way through which this power is enhanced is through repe on, for example adverts and songs we hear impact on us because they get into our subconscious mind repeatedly, so, the success of hypnosis are posi ve sugges ons are made to the subconscious mind repeatedly, I ask clients to listen to my voice on a recording repeatedly at home as the impact is great and the subconscious mind acts on the sugges ons it accepts. Therefore, it is necessary to keep on repea ng to yourself the goal, the self-image your aim in a confident posi ve manner, your subconscious is now being trained to behave in the way you want it to.

You can really experience the power of hypnosis by repea ng 14

NOVEMBER

2021

posi vely to yourself whatever you want to a ain or be. Self hypnosis can be very beneficial, think about some future event and see yourself as you would like it to be, imagine the all the details, down to what you would be wearing, the environment around you, the sounds, the noises, who you will be with, visualise and experience all this from your inner self going through the event calm, relaxed, posi ve and achieving what ever it you want to achieve.

Kim Holloway www.total-therapy.co.uk

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THE POWER OF HYPNOSIS LOWER BACK PAIN When we answer a call in the clinic, to somebody suffering from acute lower back pain they can be very distressed. We book an appointment for them as quickly as we can. It is o en the case that what the pa ent has done to their lower back is not as bad as the symptoms they are experiencing but they are clearly worried, needing reassurance and the necessary treatment to start their recovery.

Your lower back or lumbar region is the flexible part of the back just above your pelvis, it supports the rest of your

spine, and bears most of your body's weight, plus any weight you are carrying– your own extra weight (if you have any), shopping bags or infants!

Lower back pain (LBP) can come on suddenly, be triggered by a certain movement or it can have been building for some me, and a small innocuous movement you do sets it off.

Inac vity can make the muscles slack, so they are unable to support your back properly. Your back is then more vulnerable to damage when certain movements pull too much on one area or you do the same movement for a long period of me.

Our recep on team are constantly in awe of our team of 5 Osteopaths who treat people who come into the clinic in very acute pain. They can o en hobble into the clinic looking strained, and worried and leave a er treatment looking relieved, reassured, and even moving more easily.

Some mes knowing that it is not a permanent disability, and it is treatable improves the stress of having the injury.

LBP could also be the sign of an underlying issue such as osteoporosis. An Osteopath will pick up on anything they think needs further inves ga on.

Reduce your risk of LBP by being aware of your posture – avoid slouching or si ng with your back hunched. Never li and twist in one movement and above all keep yourself fit. If you need help with any of the above, please give us a call.

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Baldock Gardens

By Graham Tapp

This month I will influence what I will write from the up and coming COP 26 conference. As I begin to write this piece, it is still three weeks until it starts, so I can only guess some outcomes. This year the United Kingdom is holding the Presidency and hosting it in Glasgow and opened by Her Majesty the Queen. The Conference is to be attended by one hundred and ninety world members (Leaders), and a total of thirty thousand people, not all delegates, will be in attendance.

So what is this essential collection of visitors to our country going to be discussing and proposing? Mainly how to secure our future, our children's future there children's future and on and on.

It seems, having many discussions with customers in the garden centre and people at various meetings I attend, quite a high percentage have no idea or much care about the World climate disaster we are heading for: I, for one, used to think in much the same way, in that it was someone's problem somewhere. What I've come to realise is that it's my problem and now.

We all need to reduce our carbon footprint, and soon, I have decided to do something about ours here and have for a long time been researching how to get my business to become net carbon neutral. It's not as complicated as you think but does need lots of little things to be done.

The business is horticulturally based, so there are many things we can change to reduce our carbon footprint, and we have; all of the flower pots we grow our plants in are now recycled or recyclable.

We are now growing plants that require or can tolerate lower temperatures: no heat input apart from occasional frost protection. We use no artificial lighting and now use harvested and stored rainwater collected from our roofs.

We are looking at different types of compost to use for our plant propagation and resale so that you can use it in your gardens. These will include sustainable products like sheep's wool and bracken, both good against slugs and snails and excellent for promoting plant growth.

Our usual compost supplier has done some of the work for us by changing the plastic bags the compost comes in and are

using a high percentage of recycled plastic in the bags. The compost itself is primarily peat-free except for one type: the old multi-purpose which we have leftover, and when its gone, it will be gone.

We have also taken the decision to increase our plant production and grow many more varieties to reduce the transport miles.

In the short term, I am going to calculate our use of energy for the whole site, staff, transport, and haulage used to deliver products to customers and us.

Then through a licenced and regulated company, offset our carbon use by paying to have trees planted; it is essential that these trees grow to maturity and that the whole process is recorded and checked.

I will be given an official certificate of proof showing what has been done to balance our already low carbon footprint; our business will officially become carbon Neutral. I have not decided where these trees will be planted, so please let me know if you have any ideas. It has worldwide options, so come and discuss it with me.

That's enough of what I'm doing; I should explain what you can do in your garden to help offset carbon and increase biodiversity. It has been calculated that a tree in its first 20 years will, on average, absorb 10kilos of carbon dioxide per year, woody shrubs also absorb and store carbon, but unfortunately, I don't have the figures for that. Having a small compost bin in your garden will help biodiversity as you can recycle all of your garden waste and some of your organic kitchen waste.

Home produced compost can be used as a mulch to swamp out weeds within your flower borders and recycle nutrients.

It is estimated that 25 per cent of all the UK's waste put into landfill could have been composted, a sobering thought. If we could compost it in our bins and use it on our own gardens, think of the road miles saved and the greenhouse gas reduction.

Using a mulching mower for your lawn will reduce the amount of fertiliser needed to feed it as it will chop the grass very fine and drop it into the green sword; also, cutting the grass a bit higher will help make it lusher and softer underfoot. Do not use your grass cuttings to make

compost unless you know what you are doing, or you will end up with a slimy, smelly mess of no use for anything.

Reducing your lawn area would give room to plant more extensive ornamental beds, potentially allowing room for you to grow some fruit or veg within them.

Harvesting rainwater from your roof is highly recommended, not expensive to do, and will save you money in the long term.

A 13mm hose pipe left running in your garden is calculated to cost the same as an old fashioned 60 watts light bulb running for the same time, It doesn't sound a lot, but it all adds up especially accumulated across the UK. Biodiversity wise installing a small pool somewhere in the garden will bring in insects and all sorts of small creatures, birds and animals.

A larger pond will also absorb lots of carbon in the mud at the bottom.

A recent discovery is that some of the trouble with declining hedgehog numbers is that modern gardens are enclosed, and the poor things can't socialise as they used to be able to do. It is suggested that we all talk to our neighbours and try and install hedgehog tunnels into our adjoining fences. We will do that over this winter in the garden centre with the hope that they will help keep slugs and snails down.

Hopefully, the pandemic will back off enough to allow the Boys from Brandle's school to come back and do some gardening, as they have been planning to do for some time. Their project will include building some raised beds, which we will fill with the tons of garden compost I have been making. They will also start some no-dig beds. It will be interesting to see what the comparative harvest results will be; the idea is that by not digging, we reduce the carbon output to the atmosphere and increase the level of insect and worm life in the soil. You may remember that I wrote a piece about soil life and what's in it.

Hopefully, we will be able to set up a small market garden area where the boys will learn the whole process from soil to plate.

Enjoy your gardening..

Graham

NOVEMBER

2021

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It's Not Just Firewood, It's Bygrave Firewood!

flourishing again St Marys sport is flourishing again a er a 2 year lapse. We took 4 teams to a year 5/6 Tag Rugby tournament, with a further 3 teams a ending the year 3/4 tag Rugby Tournament. A whopping 62 of our children earning St Mary's Sports Caps for represen ng the school. They all had a wonderful me, showing great teamwork and scoring lots of tries.

Our year 4's also took part in a Rapid Fire Cricket tournament at Pixmore school. A er some fantas c play, St Marys were voted team of the day by the other schools involved. They are very proud of themselves.

The sport didn't end there. Its now been 2 years since St Marys became county champions in football, and two years since we kicked a football. In front of a capacity crowd at St Marys, it was fantas c to host a football tournament with Weston & Norton.

A er wins, draws and losses for all, the teams all went home really happy a er a great a ernoon of football.

Coming up, St Marys have events in Boccia, Table Tennis and plenty more football matches for our boys and girls.

Sco Hagland - PE Coordinator St Mary's Junior School

At Dairy Farm now harvest complete, no rest for James, we are excited to introduce his new firewood business expanding in & beyond Baldock.

With all the new legisla on on supplying wood for burning, James is in the process of becoming 'Ready to Burn' cer fied in the next few weeks.

Moisture content must be 20% or less to met legal requirements, with sustainable sourced wood, he has taken the plunge and invested in a new log processor for safer and more consistent cu ng logs. It provides a more uniform look and length for the customers requirements. Look him up on Facebook or email for more info: byravefirewood@gmail.com

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21

4 Sun Street, Baldock. Sg7 6QA 2c St Francis Way, Shefford. Sg17 5DZ

Happy 80th Birthday

Michael Weeks 25th November

Lots of love Kay X HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY

20th November

Joshua Mead & Pip

Lots of love mummy daddy and Victoria Xx

Bethan Allan

8

Love from Daddy, Mummy and Wil iam x

Happy Birthday

Jeff Greaney Lots of love from Chery

17th November

HAPPY 60th BIRTHDAY

Joanie Lots of love

from your Boys x 22

NOVEMBER

2021

5 minutes with... ... Stacey Eley from *Tell us a bit about Green Door We are le ngs and property management specialists and we pride ourselves on the excep onal service we provide to our customers. We have been in the le ngs industry for over 30 years combined and believe we fill the gap in the marketplace for a great, personable, reasonably priced, and knowledgeable agent. *Who are Green Door?

Jo, Stacey and Nicola are the directors of Green Door, we have all worked together in the le ngs industry for over 10 years and set up Green Door just over 3 years ago. We have built our business on personal recommenda ons and our great reputa on. Earlier in 2021, due to expansion of our por olio, Claire and Ka e have joined our team bringing even more knowledge and experience. *What services do you offer?

We offer a range of services including let only, rent collec on and full management. We can tailor make our services to suit each landlord, all whilst keeping our fees compe ve. A full list of our services can be found on our website. *What areas do you cover?

Our office is based in Weston and we let and manage proper es in and around Hitchin, Baldock, Letchworth and Sto old along with all the surrounding villages. We are all local to these areas and so have first-hand knowledge of the areas we cover.

*What makes you different from other local agents?

Unlike many other local agents, our business is en rely le ngs and property management. Le ngs is our specialist subject and with the years of experience we all have, there are not many situa ons we have not dealt with! We are also members of ARLA Propertymark which means we meet higher industry standards than the law demands and regularly undergo training to ensure we are up to date with best prac ces and complex legisla ve changes so that we can offer our customers the best advice. We work alongside independent contractors who reflect our ethos of providing a high standard of work without cos ng the earth. We also have a dedicated emergency out of hours team to assist tenants when the office is closed in the event of an emergency. *How best would you describe Green Door?

Honest, Experienced and Customer-focused *What do people say about Green Door?

We have worked hard to build great rela onships with both landlords and tenants, you can see what they say about us over on our Google Reviews page! *Whats next for Green Door?

Our aim is to con nue helping landlords and tenants with every aspect of le ngs and property management, expand our por olio and our team with like minded team members who, like us take pride in providing excep onal customer service.

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Winter Tips For Your Pets Winter is coming! Get ready for the cold weather, the short days and the Icy ground.

Days get shorter and by mid a ernoon it's already dark out there. If you walk your dog it's advisable to use an high-vis vest or a led-collar or some light to make your dog safer and easy to be seen in the darkness. For cats allowed to go outdoors consider a reflec ve collar, that can be easily opened if it gets caught somewhere.

In winter me temperatures go down quite a bit. Make sure your dog or cat stays warm, especially in the young or elderly ones, or if they have short hair. A sweater/coat can be considered in these cases. On frosted pavement remember that paws can be damaged, and some salt can be irrita ng for their pads.

Check the paws regularly as your pet can get cuts/sore on these areas.

When the thermometer dips don't leave your dog outside una ended, If your dog starts li ing up their paws, or whining, it could be because their feet are too cold, so it might be a good idea to invest in some boots for them to wear. Keep them away from frozen ponds or lakes.

Most cats prefer to snuggle up inside during the winter, but if they are outdoor cats make sure they have a warm place to go to at all mes, pet cats are not used to extreme cold and can develop hypothermia and frostbite, Make sure your cat is fi ed with a microchip so if they do wander off looking for a warm place, they can be traced back to you.

With Rabbits and Guinea Pigs make sure their hutches are posi oned so that the wind, sleet or snow can't blow in. Always make sure they have extra bedding to keep them warm and cover their hutches in the evening with a blanket or some sacking. Also check their water bo les regularly as they can freeze.

Advertising from £20 per Issue info@onourdoorstepbaldock.co.uk Raising awareness of what’s on & where to find things locally

www.onourdoorstepbaldock.co.uk villages Baldock, Ashwell, Weston and surrounding

Raising awareness of what’s on & where to find things locally

of what’s on & where to find things locally

Issue 74 December 2020

www.onourdoorstepbaldock.co.uk

Baldock, Ashwell, Weston and

surrounding villages

WINTER TIPS

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2021

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ROGERSONS REMOVALS

THANK YOU A very big 'Thank you' to everyone in the community for suppor ng our recent fundraising campaign on behalf of St Mary's Church. As you know from earlier publicity, essen al repairs are urgently needed to the central aisle roof. The pressure on external funding sources is now greater than ever and this led to our appeal over the summer to raise the necessary funds for ourselves.

Your generosity and posi ve response has led to contribu ons of £18,250 raised towards this stage of the restora on project. This is a truly wonderful result and is thanks to all the individuals, groups and organisa ons who made their contribu ons.

The Friends of St Mary's would like to invite everyone to join them in a celebratory event to be held in St Mary's Church on Friday 3 December from 6pm to 8pm. This will be an informal social evening offering a special preview of the Christmas Tree Fes val before its official opening the following day. Entry will be free, with complementary canapés and mince pies and a selec on of drinks available from a pay bar.

Please come along to celebrate the community spirit suppor ng the restora on of our beau ful church.We look forward to seeing you on Friday 3 December!

With grateful thanks, The Friends of St Mary's Commi ee fosmbaldock@gmail.com 26

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LAWN CUTTING HEDGE CUTTING LANDSCAPING PATIOS

ASHWELL

2021

WESTON

A Bit of a Rant I don't know about you guys, but I'm about done with the bad news. For the past nineteen months we've been bombarded daily with the numbers of unfortunate people who have died from Covid, we've been told repeatedly to stay away from our loved ones and asked to isolate ourselves and work from home. Oh! And if you don't mind, don't look a er your physical health either because the NHS can't cope with your ingrowing toenail at the moment.

I don't mean to trivialize; I know it was all very important and needed doing but a er being released and told 'Lets get back to normal' we now just seem to be walking straight into crisis upon crisis as a result.

We've all experienced the last few weeks on the petrol forecourts, caused (in my view) by a few doomsday headlines in the press, and now we are being told to stock up for Christmas because we can't guarantee that you will have Pigs in Blankets this year so your Christmas will be a disaster. In my humble opinion, if the media think that peoples Christmas celebra ons will be ruined because of the lack of sausage rolls and Barbie dolls then they have no understanding of what Christmas is all about.

The cost of prac cally everything is going to rise, but your wages aren't and for many they now face unemployment because a lot of businesses have found that their staff can work from home, so they don't need an office. That's the office cleaners gone, the li le lunch shop round the corner gone, maybe even the local pub.

We are also allowing ourselves to be divided into the haves and have nots. In the supermarkets you now have the mask wearers and the bare faced giving each other the side eye as they pass in the aisles. The electric car users giggling as they passed the queues of petrol heads. And the petrol heads sniggering at the electric car owners because they soon won't be able to afford to charge their cars.

The real crisis we have that no one seems to be ge ng serious about is our mental health. Just in my small world I see the a er shock of the pandemic.

People being told they are lazy because they won't return to work. I don't think they are lazy at all; I think they are frightened. There has been a sustained effort by our media to scare the pants of the normal everyday folk. I'm not an anxious person, I cope well with most of life's crap, but my first day in the office

was horrendous. All the staff had returned and the sensory overload that I experienced was just too much and I just couldn't cope with it. I am very lucky and work in an enlightened and aware industry, but there are hundreds and thousands that were told to come back with no metal health support, scared and vulnerable and expected to deal with it.

I don't think there is a great deal that us normal folk can do about it all, lots of what is going on is out of our control, but to an extent, out mental health is something we can take steps to protect.

I'm not talking about all this new age Wellbeing pomp. I'm not saying go out and start yoga lessons; wrapping my leg behind my head and far ng the na onal anthem would do nothing for my mental health. I just mean the good old fashioned li le stuff. Gather your loved ones around you and laugh lots. Be kind, I know this one is fashionable, but I think its important, you have no idea what someone is going through, so if a friend is a bit 'off' and not their normal self, have pa ence, don't turn your back on them. Talk to who ever will listen to you, if you have a problem, air it. In my experience, when you keep it in, it festers, grows, and mutates into something you can't cope with. Don't think that you don't ma er, that your problems are small compared to another's, your problems are real and just as valid as someone else's.

Last thing, a very wise eldest son said to me, mum turn off the bloody news.

Nicky

07572 532618 www.bb-carpentry.co.uk NOVEMBER

2021

27

Compliant with Government guidance on managing the risk of Covid-19

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News Update from Hartseld The nights are longer and there is now a definite autumnal feel in the air, reminding us that November is here. It only seems a few weeks ago that we welcomed new children to Hartsfield and se led our exis ng children into their new year groups.

Ac vi es this half term have been varied, covering many areas of the school curriculum.

Children in Year 4 spent an a ernoon at Ivel Springs looking at the source of our local river to support their classroom learning.

Our Year 5 children have visited the STEM Discovery Centre at Airbus Space and Defence in Stevenage to support their Space topic. They had a guided tour of the Mars Rover Yard, looked at the ExoMars project and took part in two exci ng inves ga on workshops – 'Mars A acks' and 'Rocket Man'.

To celebrate Harvest Fes val, we held assemblies incorpora ng a collec on of food dona ons for the local Food Bank to help families in our community.

Just before half term, we held our Spooky Discos giving children the opportunity to dress up and enjoy social me with their friends, dancing and crea ng spooky cra s.

The Friends of Hartsfield work relessly to raise valuable funds to benefit our children, the recent quiz night was a great success. Their a en on is now turned to planning the Winter Fair being held on Saturday 20th November from 12 – 3pm, all members of our local community are invited with lots of ac vi es planned

including a visit from Father Christmas.

Every penny raised helps to fund events, ac vi es and equipment which the children all benefit from.

Christmas is a very exci ng me in schools with our choirs prac sing new and favourite songs and teachers organising fes ve performances for children to present to their parents.

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SAME PHONE NUMBER SAME GREAT SERVICE JUST A DIFFERENT ADDRESS Please call....

01767 317429 acorngaragedoors@btconnect.com www.acorn-garagedoors.co.uk

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HTC Vive Flow - Virtual Reality that put Wellbeing at the Forefront

As a person with a avid interest in technology, ge ng the chance to review a new piece of Virtual Reality kit was very exci ng, so when I was invited to review the new HTC Vive Flow a week before their official launch on the October 14th, I jumped at the chance!

So on the morning on Octover 8th, I set off to Dingley Place in London to find out more.

The preview event was hosted at a modern shoot loca on near to Old Street, and it presented as a modern apartment and outside space, which turned out to be an ideal place to experience this new tech.

HTC now have been producing cu ng edge 'room scale' virtual reality headsets since 2015 and have both consumer and professional solu ons available in the marketplace.

Typically, VR headsets are quite large and cumbersome and work in conjunc on hand controllers and connect to a reasonably powerful PC or dedicated console which does most of the legwork, with mainly immersive virtual reality ac on games .Not something you can readily carry around with you.

With the launch on the Vive Flow, HTC have turned this whole idea on it's head. Rather than focus on 3D ac on games, instead, HTC have posi oned the device primarily in the mindfulness

and wellbeing space, with lightweight 'glasses' that connect to your Android smartphone (which doubles up as the hand controller).

The glasses themselves are very light, coming in at 180g which I was told was the weight of a bar of chocolate. The front of Vive Flow's lenses are mirrored with a camera hidden behind each lens for mo on tracking and 'pass through' view.

Rather than using a full wraparound design, the Flow fit like standard glasses with speakers built into each arm. The googles fit very comfortably over the eyes using a so material, there is also an ac ve cooling systems which blows cool air onto your skin when it detects heat increasing.

The Vive Flow uses a very advanced lens system which is one of the reasons why the device is so like, this also allows for diopter adjustment which means many glasses users will be able to use the device without wearing them.

Each lens has a high resolu on display at 3.2k combined (2x 2.1” LCD 1600 x1600 per eye). The displays refresh at 75mhz and have a field of view of 100 degrees. Onboard storage is 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM. The glasses are designed to be powered via an adapter, they do contain a ba ery for management purposes rather than completely wirefree use.

The tried 5 Ÿ SHEDS different modes of Ÿ SUMMER HOUSES Timber buildings use. Ÿ GARDEN OFFICES of Letchworth Ÿ WORKSHOPS 1. Mindfulness and Ÿ POTTING SHEDS ANY SIZE TIMBER BUILDING Chillout Area – I Ÿ PLAYHOUSE MADE TO ORDER experience the Ÿ LOG CABIN Ÿ RE-ROOFING mindfulness side Ÿ RE-FELTING of this technology Ÿ SHED BASES where I was Ÿ FENCING Ÿ GATES transported to a Ÿ TAKE DOWN & beach someone DISPOSE OF OLD Open Mon-Fri 10am-5pm exo c and watch SHEDS Saturday 10am-4pm the sunrise, whilst email allshedsandmore@yahoo.com I was gently

ALLSHEDS Ltd

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coached on my breathing and reached a really nice calm place!

2. Disney+ – Here I was able to experience the full cinema c version of the Disney+ streaming pla orm and had a chance to watch a segment of Free Guy starring Ryan Reynolds. The video quality was excep onal as was the surround sound. It was very impressive!

3. Pirates – This was a VR pirate game where I had to shoot cannonballs at pirate ships – Lots of fun!

4. V&A Curious Alice – This was an interac ve experience in conjunc on with the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was really good fun again, you can find out more here 5. Lo-Fi Cafe – I really liked this experience, it was an incredibly immersive and calming experience. I was si ng in a Cafe with a steaming coffee in front of me, music playing on a record player, an open book on the table and a laptop. There were empty tables which I was able to transport over to. I could also surf the internet in a VR browser. I could also draw and write in thin air. Most importantly, I found it really relaxing. Living in a house that can be very very noisy, I really felt I could actually take myself away from the hustle and bustle of life into that virtual cafe and watch the rain running down the window and just relax.

I realised more than anything was that VR has indeed reached a point when the brain can be fooled enough to be calmed into a sense of relaxa on wherever you might be. In a workplace, busy home or even on a transatlan c flight. I was very, very impressed.

The Vive Flow is priced at £499, which is now small amount of money, but comparable with other headsets on the market.

More informa on can be found at www.vive.com/uk/produc t/vive-flow/overview.

See you next month (if I'm not si ng in a Lo-Fi Virtual Cafe listening to Jazz!)

Matt

WWW.THEGADGETMAN.ORG.UK

Saunders Close, Green Lane, Letchworth

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Pilates and the Menopause

Improving your health during the menopause is at the top of most women's wish list. Exercise is a very popular way to improve both your physical and emo onal wellbeing, however you may not know what is safe and effec ve for you at this stage.

Throughout the different stages of our lives, our body has different needs when it comes to exercising. For women going through the menopause, there are two significant health risk factors to bear in mind. The first is your Cardiovascular (heart) health and the other is bone strength.

Did you know that a woman can lose up to 20% of their bone density in the 5 years a er menopause? This means load-bearing exercise is important to the body to lay down bone ssue.

Pilates is a great form of exercise for bone loading due to the posi ons used and the ac on of the muscles. Exercises

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such as 4-point kneeling are brilliant for building strength through the wrist joints. Feeling a bit so around the middle? So ening of the muscles due to hormonal changes not only means less strength but also less control over your movements.

Pilates builds your core to co-ordinate the control both in your joints and throughout the rest of your body.

Being in the menopause doesn't mean you can't build muscle, but it does affect your ability to build and sustain muscle bulk. The way we teach at The Pilates Corner is designed to ensure you move safely and make the most of your classes.

Pilates is also low impact which means less pressure on your pelvic floor and pelvic organs which are heavily affected by hormone changes during this me.

Feeling hot and bothered?

Cardiovascular exercise can be tricky during the menopause, especially if you are experiencing hot flushes, don't let this put you off exercising altogether though as 30 minutes a day is enough to reduce the health risks.

At The Pilates Corner we have plenty of fans do ed around so you can adjust the temperature to suit you!

Book a discovery call with us today to discuss how we can help you get through the menopause as comfortably as possible at calendly.com/pilateswithemma/discove ry-call or visit our website www.thepilatescorner.co.uk

Chiropodist

Karen Perry 'Custom Fit Supportive Orthotics’

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01462 491149

2021

November Gallery

Please send your local snaps new or old to our facebook page or email info@onourdoorstepbaldock.co.uk

Huge pumpkin grown on North Road allotment site by Fred, transported through Baldock www.balga-online.co.uk/

Baldock & Clothall WI together with members of Baldock Beats Waste, our local MP, Sir Oliver Heald and his wife joined forces to take part in the National Great Big Green Week by doing a litter pick around the town.

All the fun of the Fair - Chris Squires Sunset Run Group, Ashwell, near Bluegates Farm - Laura Sims Amazing scarecow sent in

by Emily Herbert Sarojini Ellis

Matthew Bartlett Red waterfall on Icknield Way -Charlie Robinson

Feed Up Warm Up winning the Enterprise of the Year award at the Pride of Stevenage awards

Stunning sunset -Stuart Leader 2021