The next meeting will be on
Date 12th May 2014
Venue Village Hall meeting room
Time 7:30pm
Members of the public are welcome to attend. This is the AGM where a new committee will be elected and matters concerning the Village Hall and the Recreation Field will be discussed. They are your facilities, please show your support.
Thank you
The next meeting is on
Monday 12th May 2014
Time 7:30pm
Venue Village Hall
General public very welcome to attend.
Youngsters will be delighted to try out the new play pieces on Great Gidding Recreation Field. Some of the elements of the older play equipment are showing their age so the Parish Council and the Recreation Field committee sought out some funding and quotes for replacement items which have now been installed and judging by the muddy grass have been thoroughly tested.
Particular thanks to Councillor James for her work in sourcing the funding and quotes to get the play equipment updated.
The wooden pavilion has been taken down for safety reasons, the upkeep and maintenance were considered to be prohibitive given the poor usage and the petty vandalism that occurred in recent times. It makes it easier to decide about a replacement structure should the need arise.
I for one have enjoyed numerous sports and field activities that the pavilion afforded us not least the many barrels of beer that David Shepherd supplied for the cricket fixtures. It really was an idyllic village cricket field scene even when it rained. However things move on and hopefully a new Village Hall and Recreation Field committee will see the potential to reinstate some sort of functional building.
This year’s poppy collection in Gidding raised £91.58; the district total was £4,604. Lyn Smith would like to thank everyone for donating to the street collection – the money you have given helps enable the Royal British Legion to continue its vital welfare and benevolent work.
Click here to view a definitive footpath and bridleway map for Cambridgeshire
The countdown to Christmas has started, and Huntingdonshire District Council would like to encourage you all to keep the party going by remembering to recycle over the festive period. We are recycling more at home than ever before, which is great, and we don’t want it to be forgotten about during the festivities.
Christmas is a time for entertaining, which means we all have more waste to dispose of. In Huntingdonshire, we are fortunate to be able to recycle a wide range of materials within the blue bins or clear sacks, which helps us all to recycle more this Christmas. Remember to recycle all of your Christmas cards, wrapping paper (paper type only), sweet tins, and the plastic packaging from your gifts within your recycling bin. Don’t forget that all food waste, including your turkey carcass, vegetable peelings and any leftovers can be placed in your garden waste bin for composting.
Collections of all waste types will continue throughout the festive period, but your day of collection will change for a few weeks. Collection arrangements are below and you can also download your collection calendar from www.huntingdonshire.gov.uk/bins
| Normal | Change to |
|---|---|
| Monday 23 Dec | Normal |
| Tuesday 24 Dec | Normal |
| Wednesday 25 Dec | Friday 27 Dec |
| Thursday 26 Dec | Saturday 28 Dec |
| Friday 27 Dec | Monday 30 Dec |
| Monday 30 Dec | Tuesday 31 Dec |
| Tuesday 31 Dec | Thursday 2 Jan |
| Wednesday 1 Jan | Friday 3 Jan |
| Thursday 2 Jan | Saturday 4 Jan |
| Friday 3 Jan | Monday 6 Jan |
| Monday 6 Jan | Tuesday 7 Jan |
| Tuesday 7 Jan | Wednesday 8 Jan |
| Wednesday 8 Jan | Thursday 9 Jan |
| Thursday 9 Jan | Friday 10 Jan |
| Friday 10 Jan | Saturday 11 Jan |
| Alconbury | 9am – 4pm |
| Bluntisham | 8am – 4pm |
| St Neots | 8am – 6pm |
| NB. Sites close at 1pm on Christmas Eve, and are closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. | |
Find your nearest at www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/environment/recycling
Recycling Banks for clothes, textiles, DVD’s, CD’s and books are located throughout the district. Find your local bank at www.huntingdonshire.gov.uk/recyclingcentres
Avoid your blue bin being rejected for collection by keeping out black sacks and textiles
Games and events that have evolved over the centuries through annual gatherings or get together’s of like minded people. Some of these have pagan origins, some have evolved just through the need to let ones hair down.
These events have usually been recorded in books but with the age of the internet there has been a revival of interest far beyond any localism . The Lewes Bonfire festival is especially popular. Other popular events include the Bacup Britannia Coco-Nut Dancers, Ashbourne football (not Match of the Day type football) Hinckley Bullockers and many more. Keep up to date with country wide events here Calendar Customs.
Great Gidding History Group
The group meets on the third Wednesday of each month between September and April. 7.30PM start time. The meetings are very informal – chatting and exchanging memories, sometimes photos or objects are brought in for discussion.
The next meeting dates are:
Wednesday 18th September
Wednesday 16th October
Wednesday 20st November
Wednesday 18th December
Wednesday 15th January
Wednesday 26th February
Wednesday 19th March
Wednesday 16th April
The venue will be the Village Hall unless otherwise stated.
You may have seen the signs but did you know that the National Byway is a 3,300 mile rural cycle network and is a completely entity from the National Cycle Network.
Luckily we have both networks passing through our Parish and even sharing the same road for a couple of miles. The National Byway is all about cycling on modestly quiet rural roads and byways and bypassing the busier urban areas. Some market towns are on the route, Oundle is our nearest.
Maps for all the National Byway regions are available from the website.
If you head towards Holme village on the B660 and cross the East Coast mainline railway to your left is the Holme National Nature Reserve , a large area of Silver Birch woodland. Travel a little further to Ramsey St Mary’s and you will come across the famous Woodwalton Fen National Nature Reserve. In between and all around is the distinctive black peat soil and deep drainage ditches.
Both these sites have been under pressure to survive , the fen soil keeps on shrinking and the water table gets lower drying these wetland nature reserves out. The reason the water table gets lower is because to farm the land successfully needs dry soil but the paradox is that the water is constantly being pumped into rivers which are higher than the land.
To stop the rot a grand scheme has been put into place to link the two reserves together by acquiring the land in between the two reserves and managing the water table in a nature friendly way. The scheme managed by Natural England and other partners is known as the Great Fen project
I would encourage you to visit both reserves as major landscape changes are already under way including the development of a 500 acre reed bed to the north east of Holme Fen Reserve . Walking in Holme Fen Nature Reserve is fairly dry even in this wet time , so wear stout walking shoes.
Make the most of your visit to the Great Fen project by utilising their comprehensive web site
A selection of photos from around the Holme Fen National Nature Reserve
