Country Matters :
Well, farmers are currently losing their hair in great tufts as they are pulling it out by the handful! The reason for this is the need to complete their forms for the new Single Farm Payment Scheme before the May deadline. This scheme is part of the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) Reform arrangements that were announced in February 2004. It is different to the previous subsidy scheme because it separates subsidies from growing crops and requires farmers to consider how they will meet the “cross compliance” conditions. Cross compliance puts in place new baseline standards for agriculture and will contribute to a higher degree of environmental protection. In general terms, farmers will have to comply with a series of standards in order to receive their payment.
These are in 3 sections, the main 2 being: Good Agricultural and Environmental (GAEC) standards and Statutory Management Requirements (SMR's). There are 17 GAEC standards, covering waterlogged soil to hedgerow management and 9 SMR's relating to wild birds and natural habitats to animal identification. If you would like to learn more about these rules, please go to: http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/capreform/pubs/pdf/Cross-compliance-3011.pdf . Whilst cross compliance sets a standard for farmers to farm responsibly, many will have to do very little more than they already do to protect the environment.
As well as this, there are the “Environmental Stewardship Schemes”. These take effect from the 1 st August 2005 and under the schemes, farmers will have the opportunity to earn extra money for environmental enhancement and protection on their land. This includes planting pollen and nectar flower mixes to encourage bumble bees and butterflies and leaving conservation strips around fields to encourage nesting birds (please note, these strips are not for walking your dog, and doing so will disturb the wildlife living within it!) and creating beetle banks. (This is not a place in Liverpool where a well known pop group deposits its millions!!). So when you see all those hedgerows and trees being planted, remember that in 100 years time, someone will be grateful for the timber that is available to chop down!
Looking around the countryside, there are some beautiful spring flowers which, along with the half hour of sunshine we had one day, have really made us all think that summer might be a possibility after all! Just a word though, if you see these lovely splashes of colour, please leave them where they are. Not only is it illegal to pick wild flowers, but if you do you will deprive others of the lovely sight of them.
Answers to last month's intelligence test:
A “ mule ” is a female sheep The original cross was a Bluefaced Leicester x Swaledale or Northumberland type Blackface, although nowadays other breeds are also crossed to produce a “mule
A “ tup ” is a ram
The gestation of a sheep is 5 months
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Longparish Cricket Club
Sponsored by Barker, Son & Isherwood, solicitors
ON a dry, if cold, morning on the 9 th April, a group of players and helpers gathered at the ground to clean and prepare the pavilion and equipment for the coming season. After over two hours of concentrated hard work, the interior of the pavilion looked immaculate, even if hundreds of spiders were seeking new homes! Outside the nets were mown and the netting repaired, and the benches were placed around the boundary.
Another sincere thank you, this time to Wessex Petroleum Ltd and the residents of Longparish who have joined in “partnership” over the past 15 months and provided the Club with nearly £300 of most welcome revenue. At a time when our overheads continue to rise, all additional income is greatly appreciated and saves our Treasurer a lot of time trying to balance the book and keep us in the black.
The Club is delighted that Barker, Son & Isherwood has agreed to be our sponsors for a third year and we look forward to wearing the firm's new logo on all team shirts including, for the first year, our Colts. The third BSI Cup Day will be on Sunday 19 th June, when we hope the weather will be kinder than in previous years and encourage many spectators to the ground to watch this annual competition involving Clatford, Wherwell and the ‘Parish.
League matches at the ground start in May; the Hampshire League with a County 4 game against Purbrook II at 2pm on Saturday May 7 th , and the Winchester and District Cricket Clubs' Association evening league with a visit from Winchester Fire on Tuesday May 3 rd , start time 6.30pm. Please try to come along – we always enjoy welcoming supporters.
The March 100 Club Draw winners were
1 st £35 22 S.Thompson
2 nd £15 157 Neil Bonathan
3 rd £15 204 Ray Smith
Kate Hibberd
Saturday 14 th May 10am – 5pm
Sunday 15 th May 10am – 5pm
GALA EVENING & PRIVATE VIEWFriday 13 th May 5pm – 8pm Wine, canapés & Jazz Band Admission strictly by pre-booked ticket ~ £7.50 Tel: 01264 889889 Send cheque and S.A.E. to Lains Farm, Quarley, Andover, Hampshire, SP11 8PX
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Project Workshops
Project Workshops is a complex of twelve artist's studios situated in beautifully refurbished farm buildings at Lains Farm, Quarley, near Andover Hampshire. The workshops were the vision of Richard and Mandy Atkinson-Willes, both artists themselves, who wanted to create the ‘perfect environment' for a collection of talented artists. Project Workshops are now well established as an important centre for the visual arts in North West Hampshire, with a thriving group of resident artists and craft makers. Not only is it a popular attraction for both local and international visitors, it is also an increasingly respected venue for collectors and serious art buyers.
On May 14 th -15 th 2005, Richard and Mandy are hosting their fifth Open Weekend and Summer Exhibition. Each year there have been different special attractions organised, and this year one of the many highlights of the Open Weekend is a working reconstruction of a Roman wood-fired glass furnace, which will be demonstrated by resident craftsmen Mark Taylor and David Hill. The furnace will be built using real Roman bricks and tiles, straw and clay and will be fuelled 24 hours a day by a team of enthusiastic volunteers. In order to preserve the glass vessels made, a wood fired annealing oven will also be built. A number of fellow glass blowers have been invited to join in the experiment over the course of the two-day exhibition. No other long-term experimental archaeological Roman glassworks involving a furnace has ever been constructed in this country!
Other special attractions will include demonstrations of glass engraving, pottery and blacksmithing, a special exhibition of sculpture in the Courtyard Garden and a guest appearance by the weird and wonderful “Caravan Gallery”.
With Easter falling early this year, it has been a short but very busy term at Testbourne. We are pleased to be able to share some of our successes with you….
….on stage
The term ended with over 100 pupils taking to the stage to act, sing, dance and play their way through 4 evening performances of West Side Story. It is a really challenging work for a young cast to take on and they did so with great commitment, talent and aplomb. Our thanks go to everyone - child and adult- who worked hard to put on and support this hugely uplifting and enjoyable show. There was sadness too as it was the least production for Mrs Shaughnessy, our PE/Dance teacher and choreographer, who is leaving us at the end of this term and for Mrs Bryan. Rachael Bryan, our Head of Drama and Director, has decided will be time to take a very well-earned retirement at the end of the summer term. She has directed a long line of major successful productions and many of you will remember Grease, Oliver, Oklahoma and the Sound of Music. She is one in a million and we shall miss her greatly.
…on the sports' field
Our Year Seven rugby team are going from strength to strength. They recently entered the Hampshire Emerging Schools Rugby Festival, as rank outsiders from that small secondary school in Whitchurch, and upset the form book by taking the scalps of several much larger schools en route to beating Kings' School Winchester in the final and becoming Emerging Schools Champions. Who said schools don't do competitive sports these days?! Thanks are due to members of the Overton Rugby Club who have helped coach our youngsters. There may be hope for the England team yet.
…..in the classroom
This year the publication of the KS3 results was delayed due to problems with marking of the English papers. We did know that our English, Maths and Science departments had helped pupils attain excellent SATs results (with 90%, 91% and 88% respectively of pupils gaining level 5 or more) but have only just found out, with the publication of the official tables that these results placed us 8 th in the County and that our value added scores put us in the top 25% of schools nationally.
We are also pleased to report that we have again filled all our places for Year 7 in September. All our first choice applicants have been successful in gaining a place and we have a short waiting list of pupils still seeking admission.