COMMON VETCH (Vicia sativa)
The vetches are members of the pea family (Leguminosae) which takes in a wide range of plants, from trees such as robinia and laburnum, via shrubs (broom and gorse) to peas, beans, lupins, clovers and numerous others. A common feature is that the seeds are borne in pods.
Another fine picture of the village in former days sent in by Jim Oakley, this time the Thatched House, Manor Cottage and Kiln Farm in 1927.
GOLDFINCH (Carduelis carduelis)
The goldfinch is one of the most colourful and attractive of our native birds. With its red, white and black head, black tail and black wings with a brilliant yellow band, it is easily distinguished. The two sexes are identical in appearance, but young goldfinches lack the head colours. It frequents orchards, gardens and areas of rough grassland, where it feeds mainly on seeds and especially on thistles. In recent years the ready availability from bird-food suppliers of nyjer seeds has made it very easy to attract goldfinches to one’s garden.
Sulgrave Produce Show will be held in Sulgrave Church Hall on Saturday 4th September 2010 from 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm.
It has been suggested that many people who use the village community shop would find it useful to have a quick online reference to special offers available at the shop on a daily basis. To this end a new page is being added to the website entitled “TODAY AT THE SHOP”. This can be seen on the right hand side of the home page and clicking on to it will access a link to a facsimile of the shop’s advertising board showing special offers available on that day. Other information will be added as appropriate. An empty board will mean that the website editor is away (rare), that there are no special items (very rare), that the shop is shut (even more rare)!
Photograph from about 1914 taken in Church Street, showing the former Blacksmith’s forge and what seems to be a charabanc outing.
Click here for a printer friendly version of the Parish Council Annual Report 2010. This may take a few minutes to download.
HOUSE SPARROW (Passer domesticus)
The name, both in English and Latin, emphasises this bird’s long association with human habitation. We think of it most often as a denizen of towns and cities; the London sparrow is generally attributed with “Cockney cheekiness”. Despite this, it is a nervous bird compared, say, with the robin. It is a country dweller, too. In former times vast numbers of sparrows, being mainly seed-eaters, caused devastation to farmers’ crops. In 1800 the poet Bloomfield wrote:
While thousands in a flock, for ever gay,
Loud chirping sparrows welcome on the day.
Sulgrave Parish Council have obtained information following the recent exercise to illustrate the height of the proposed Wind Turbines at Spring Hill Rise.
As shown in the above picture, the turbines would dwarf the previously highest local man-made landmark, the viaduct on the former Great Central Railway.
The blimp was well seen from many places in Sulgrave and its height verifies a calculation which suggests that the view of the turbines from Castle Hill Scheduled Ancient monument would probably be as shown below.
The blimp also demonstrated that the turbines would be intermittently seen from various roads, footpaths and public areas in the village such as Castle Green. Houses in Church Street and Little Street with windows facing southwards would almost certainly have their views dominated by the five turbines. It should be noted that these turbines would be approximately 2.5 kilometres from the village whereas the nearest turbines in the Enertrag scheme would be as close as 850 metres and so would appear to be three times higher in the landscape to the east of the village.
This information was provided by SWWAG, Sulgrave Parish Council have agreed to publish the information without prejudice as it is regarded to be in the public interest.
On Saturday 17th April, families busily working on the Allotment Gardens clean-up were treated to a beautiful, warm spring day. A lot of effort is being put into the refurbishment of the allotments, with a view to their being open to the public with other village gardens in 2011 as part of the National Gardens Scheme.