Sarah Keefe

Many village gardens will host 30 – 40 species during the course of a year, depending on how diverse the habitat is and whether you feed birds. In addition to common species that visit weekly, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Nuthatch can be regular visitors to peanut feeders, but you need to keep your eyes peeled for rarer visitors, like Marsh Tit, Treecreeper, Siskin and even Blackcap in winter, as well as the not-so-welcome Sparrowhawk swooping through your garden.

Around the village, you will see Pied Wagtails on rooftops, House Martin and Swallow swirling around and entering their mud nests, or lined up on overhead wires preparing for migration in the autumn, and the occasional small group of Swift screaming overhead. Increasingly, a single or pair of Red Kite regularly hover overhead or higher up in the thermals with Buzzards. The “yaffling” of Green Woodpecker from old orchards and ant-infested grassland is quite common, as are the “clacking” of Fieldfare and Redwing congregating to eat fallen apples in the autumn.

Along the roads and footpaths, Yellowhammer and Linnet are always flitting around, Skylark can be heard singing above the cornfields and sometimes the scratchy song of a Whitethroat in a hedgerow, and a pair of Bullfinch or a Yellow Wagtail may occasionally show themselves. A Kestrel on overhead wires is not uncommon, as is the silhouette of a Barn Owl or Little Owl flying across the road at dusk.

Of course, Kenchester Pools and the field ponds hold a good array of water birds and waders, with Shelduck (breeding for the first time in 2019), Goosander, Little Grebe, Oystercatcher and Snipe showing up most years and occasionally rarities like Avocet and Little Ringed Plover show up for a day or two.

For early-risers at 5.00 am, there is nothing quite like the dawn chorus in May as species join together to welcome the new day, although the evening song of Blackbirds lined up on the village chimney pots is a lovely ending to summer days. Of course, a Cuckoo heard singing during May/June is always a bonus.

The Herefordshire Ornithological Club has the latest news on sightings in the area and is ideal for anyone interested in birds within our county.

Written by Mervyn Davies, Bishopstone resident.

After requesting a public byway onto Bishon Common in 2002 when access was barred, we’re pleased to say Herefordshire Council has added the footpath to the Definitive map.  This is great news as we can now see the wildlife on this meadow, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

You can find the meadow in Bishopstone, at the bottom of Bishon Lane. Walk past the house “Greentrees” and down a path to a metal gate that you need to climb over. The footpath goes to the middle of the Common as you can see on the map below which is also attached to the fence by the metal gate. Please note, cattle graze here at certain times of the year.

In Springtime, there’s cowslip, wood anemone, dog violet, lousewort and cuckoo flower with yellow iris and common spotted orchids in June.

As well as being a herb-rich meadow, Bishon Common has marshy grassland and a seasonal pond that floods when the Yazor brook that flows along it’s southern boundary bursts it’s banks. During Winter and Spring, it’s wise to wear Wellingtons when visiting the Common! Here we’ve seen snipe with its distinctive, long straight bill.

Certain rare plants and invertebrates, some of which are nationally scarce, have been identified by botanists from Natural England:

The herb-rich neutral grassland is characterised by crested dog’s-tail Cynosurus cristatus and common knapweed Centaurea nigra, a type which is now nationally restricted. The diversity of the meadow is enhanced by the presence of small watercourses and areas of marshy grassland. The sward contains a number of grasses, the dominant ones being crested dog’s-tail, sweet vernal grass Anthoxanthum odoratum, red fescue Festuca rubra and Yorkshire fog Holcus lanatus.

The rich herbaceous flora includes meadow vetchling Lathyrus pratensis, cowslip Primula veris, devil’s-bit scabious Succisa pratensis, spiny restharrow Ononis spinosa, pepper saxifrage Silaum silaus and green-winged orchid Orchis morio.

The areas of marshy grassland are dominated either by sedges such as lesser pond-sedge Carex acutiformis, hairy sedge C. hirta and false fox-sedge C. otrubae or rushes Juncus sp. Associated with the sedges and rushes are species such as water mint Mentha aquatica, common spike-rush Eleocharis palustris, fen bedstraw Galium uliginosum and yellow iris Iris pseudacorus. The nationally scarce orange foxtail Alopecurus equalis occurs here at one of only four locations known in the county.

The Yazor Brook  supports aquatic species such as watercress Nasturtium officinale, brooklime Veronica beccabunga and water speedwell V. anagallis-aquatica. The meadow supports a diverse invertebrate fauna which includes a nationally scarce hoverfly Neoascia geniculata.

Please note: As the Common is a SSSI, please don’t dig up any of the plants.

Two members of the parish, Matt Sheers and Jake Birch, recently lost a valued friend who was fit, healthy and just 15. Kieran really loved playing football and always took part in as many sports as he could.

Their friend Kieran Joyce died unexpectedly of an undetected heart problem. Since Kieran died all of his friends and family have been fundraising for the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young or C.R.Y. This charity provides screening for teenagers and young adults in order to detect any undiagnosed heart conditions.

The PE teacher at Weobley High School, Mr Jones, and Kieran’s friend Will Pugh came up with the idea of a challenge to raise money. The challenge involved doing an activity for 7 days which incorporated the number 11, Kieran’s football shirt number.

Staff and pupils from Weobley High School came up with an imaginative range of activities including running, cycling, swimming and hula hooping! Jake Birch from Byford completed 1100 press ups everyday for a week while Matt Sheers ran 11km everyday for a week. Having set out with an initial fundraising target of £250 we have raised over £7900 so far.

Along the way they have received messages of support from sport stars including Manchester United Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær!

The money raised will be used for a screening event in Herefordshire in October. If anybody would like to donate please follow this link: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/weobleyhigh7-11challenge

Well done to Matt, Jake and the rest of the staff and pupils at Weobley High School.

‘The Hub’ is a new publication from the Police in Herefordshire for the benefit of the people who live, work and visit Herefordshire. Frank, informative and full of advice, we will welcome your feedback.

On that point, a huge thanks to all those who took the time to comment (really pleased you like format & content) and to those who asked questions like Pete who owns a Land Rover Defender and is concerned about them being stolen. Each one gave me the opportunity to provide some security advice and guidance.

Please keep the questions coming….I might print them and the answers in future editions.

The message may have changed but the situation remains the same, more than ever before there is a need for all of us to help each other and it would be remiss not to mention COVID-19 and overwhelming public compliance with the restrictions in place although sadly not by everyone!! To those few we repeat, keep 2m apart or we WILL take (and have taken) enforcement action where necessary.

Topics covered in this June 2020 newsletter include:

• Preventing agricultural vehicle theft
• County Lines
• Online Criminality
• Things to look out for

Paul Crumpton
Rural & Business Crime Officer, Herefordshire
West Mercia Police
Mob:07773 044781
Email:paul.crumpton@westmercia.pnn.police.uk

We are indeed fortunate to live in the green county of Herefordshire and able to enjoy outdoor spaces.  Yet, even here, wildlife is in danger as the spaces for them have disappeared over the years, mainly due to urban expansion and intensive farming practices needed to feed the nation.

Last year Herefordshire County Council asked the parish councils to come up with a plan to combat Climate Change as part of the County Plan 2020-2024.  In the Bishopstone Group Parish, we decided to see what we could do to create space for nature, the main victim of our changing world.

In this way our community can fight Climate Change – in the coming months we’ll be covering other topics including recycling, reducing our carbon footprint and how to be eco-friendly.

Nature is not just something you watch on television, we can appreciate it in our gardens and all around us.  Our aim is to create more spaces where wildlife can flourish… here are some of things we can do:

Invite wildlife back into our gardens –
Create a space for wild flowers and choose plants that are bee friendly.  These range from lavender, honeysuckle and ivy to snowdrops, sage and forget-me-nots.  There’s a nectar rich plant for every season ensuring bees have food and energy throughout the year.   You’ll be rewarded with bumble bees and other insects flocking to your garden. We’ll have wild flowers available so contact us if you’re interested.

Consider having a bug hotel and making spaces under fences so hedgehogs and other wildlife can travel between gardens.  A tidy garden isn’t good for wildlife, leave a corner undisturbed for insects, butterflies and other animals to over-winter. There’s more ideas on the Wild About Gardens website – created by the RHS and the Wildlife Trusts.

Verges become wildlife havens – 
When seeded with wild flowers, verges become places where insects flourish and then all the animals that feed off these insects.  We’ll focus on the Kentchester triangle of grass and verges at the Bridge Sollars crossroads and see if they can become wildlife havens.  If you have a verge in front of your house this too can become a vital home for nectar-giving plants.

Visit wildlife rich meadows – 
Bishon Common in Bishopstone  is a protected Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and now open for all to visit thanks to the opening of a byway into the common. The lake is usually home to snipe, geese and ducks.  This Spring, we’ve seen orchids, cowslips and yellow flag irises and many more.

If you have a wild flower patch or meadow, do get in touch.  We want to build a picture of the range of wildlife habitats in the parish, and plan an Open Day so people can see for themselves what can be achieved by giving nature a helping hand.

It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of a huge issue like Climate Change.  But together we can all help to make a difference.

Some special Lockdown news from Byford that we would like to share. Jake Birch from Byford Common has just broken the British Record for the 15-16 age group for a marathon distance on a rowing machine by rowing 42,195 metres in 2hrs 48 minutes.

In order to get fit for his record attempt Jake has spent the lockdown in daily training on his rowing machine and in his self-built gym in the back garden – an example to us all!

This is just the most recent of Jake’s rowing achievements since he became the youngest winner for Hereford in a double scull when he was only 11. Coached by his very proud dad and mum, he has won three national medals and gained a world record for the distance rowed in an hour on a dynamic rowing machine.

Earlier this year he was selected for the junior GB rowing squad which has unfortunately been put on hold due to the pandemic. In September he will be taking up a scholarship place at Shiplake College, one of the top rowing schools in the country.

What have you been doing during Lockdown? Get in touch and we’ll share your story with others in our parish.

This is the first in a series of articles featuring what people have done during Lockdown as they’ve had more spare time on their hands than usual.

Roman Centurion by John Macklin

If you’ve driven through Bishopstone recently, you may have spotted a life-size model of a Roman Centurion standing by the entrance to Jolin, a house near the turn for Bishon Lane.  The work of John Macklin, this model has taken many painstaking hours to make. Here’s John’s story…

I was looking at my scrap metal pile in the yard and thought I must sort it out, when the end of an old copper water tank caught my eye. I thought it looks like a shield, I had a pair of old motor cycle forks which looked a bit like legs so the idea came to make a life sized Roman Centurion out of scrap metal. I had an old copper ball float from a cattle water drinking tank to make his head, and a load of thin metal strip recovered from when I cleared out an old industrial unit years ago.

So from these basic bits, I started to build the Centurion, welding up thin metal for his arms and legs, the knee caps were old ends of a curtain rail, the feet came from old cobbler’s trees, motorcycle forks for the hips and legs, from part of an old tow bar I made the hand, the armour was hammered out of the old copper cylinder, the skirt and leg shields were cut from an old road sign, ball bearings were used for the eyes, odd copper bits made the nose and ears.

The helmet was beyond my tin bashing skills, and I had run out of metal (my excuse). This came courtesy of eBay made by skilled tin bashers in India.

So why make a Roman Centurion?

Having been born within 200m of the site of the Roman Town of Magnis, Kenchester and attending Kenchester School. I developed an interest in Roman History maybe because we played with Roman coins and other artefacts donated to the school uncovered by ploughing the town site over many years. We as school children were taken to look at the excavations made by archaeologists when they exposed the remains of the West Gate of the Town.

Living in Bishopstone on the side of an old marching road used by Centurions between AD43-410 on their way to the border forts of Clyro and Clifford, I thought the Statue would be a nice tribute to those men.

What have you been doing during Lockdown? Get in touch and we’ll share your story with others in our parish.

Here is a lost of local businesses providing and delivering food boxes.  Below this is a further list of suppliers of frozen and pre-prepared meals.

If you need any help with the following:

• Shopping
• Urgent supplies
• Picking up meds (DBS check needed)
• Pet walking
• Calling vulnerable people during this difficult time

Contact Sarah Keefe on 590352 or Anne Moore on 590616/07729 933039 (DBS checked). Leave a message if no reply.

Frozen and pre prepared meals (local and national)

Oakchurch is offering a delivery service within a 5 mile radius of its shop, enabling anyone who is self-isolating to get fresh supplies delivered.  If you live beyond this 5 mile distance and are social distancing, you can still order – give your car reg and colour, and a member of staff will bring supplies out to the car so you don’t have to go in the shop.

For our parish, deliveries will be made on Fridays. Email enquiries@oakchurch.net with a list of basic items required (a shopping / price list hasn’t been created), your name, address and telephone number. Oakchurch will ring before delivery to take payment over the phone.

Here are the delivery days for other areas if you’d like to forward to friends and families living nearby.

Monday – Letton, Winforton, Norton Canon, Kinnersley, Eardisley, Sarnesfield

Wednesday – Snodhill, Bredwardine, Dostone, Peterchurch, Shenmore, Madley, Eaton Bishop Canon, Bridge

Friday – Bishopstone, Yazor – Weobley, Tillington Common, Staunton

Herefordshire County Council has sent every household in Herefordshire (88k) a letter focussed on the most vulnerable people and the support they will need outside their existing network, as part of its Talk Community Covid19 Response.

The areas of support  are:

• Shopping
• Urgent supplies
• Picking up meds (DBS check needed)
• Pet walking
• Calling vulnerable people during this difficult time

For local help in Bishopstone, call two people living in the village – Anne Moore on 590616/07729 933039 and Sarah Keefe on 590352 (leave a message if no reply).

People needing support can also call the dedicated Talk Community telephone number on 01432 260027 and email address talkcommunitycovidresponse@herefordshire.gov.uk.

Amy Pitt, Assistant Director for the Talk Community Programme, has been coordinating the development of a dedicated telephone line for vulnerable people and volunteers to contact us and we will then link them back into the community organisations. There have already been some fantastic community responses happening and the council can support the infrastructure through this response and provide community resilience.

Many of the wards and parishes have provided us with information of the community work being undertaken however there are some areas where we have little information. Please do forward to Amy and the TC team any community information to this email address talkcommunitycovidresponse@herefordshire.gov.uk.