‘Butterfly Conservation have put together a video for people to watch during lockdown as part of the local Chiddingfold Wood White Project. This should give people an idea of things they can do to help wildlife in their own gardens, especially butterflies and moths.’
Grab yourself a cup of tea and have a watch –

Mezze

I love the Mediterranean culture of eating together, long leisurely meals with family anecdotes and stories of life.   The Spanish, Italians, Greek, Portuguese all have their way.  We are always in a rush to clear plates and bustle along.  

Now we have time, so much time let’s stay slow, the evenings are wonderful.    I’m not a fan of BBQs , not English ones.  The hunter gatherer he man, beer in one hand and lighter fuel in the other is symbolic of the British summer.  But I’d much sooner enjoy a Braai or Asado. Hours spent preparing the fire and long long time cooking the poor unfortunate beast on the rack.   So when our cavemen are gassing and burning let’s sit a long slow starter of Mezze, carne freda, charcuterie.   OUR HERITAGE TOMATOES

It was a beautiful spring morning last Sunday for the 2020 dawn chorus walk in our gardens – although it was probably more of a sit under a blanket with a cup of tea than a walk for most of us!

People were listening around Malthouse Lane and at the Hydestile end of the village.

Between us we heard a total of 25 different birds which is about the amount we usually hear when we’re out and about.

We heard: blackbird, blackcap, blue tit, Canada geese, chaffinch, chiffchaff, collared dove, crow, cuckoo, garden warbler, goldfinch, great tit, hedge sparrow/dunnock, jackdaw, jay, magpie, pheasant, robin, rook, song thrush, sparrow hawk, tawny owl (up late!), woodpigeon, wren and great spotted woodpecker.

It was a lovely, peaceful way to spend an hour but we’ll all be very glad to be able to meet and walk together again next time.

So we should be bringing an end to 2019/20 season and hopefully celebrating some silverware for the club. It was a season that promised so much for the football club. We were fielding 5 sides for the first time in our 100+ history. All of the teams were competing well and there was a real chance of success. We were also competing at the highest level in the clubs history with the first team in the Premier division of the SCILW league for the first time. However with the business end of the season fast approaching the season came to an abrupt end with the lock down coming in March.

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Please note that the shop will be delivering as usual this Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Because of the way the shop roster works, we’d actually prefer if you could place your orders on Bank Holiday Friday, in preference to Thursday or Saturday, if at all possible. If you’ve already placed an order for Thursday there’s no need to change it.

As usual, we’ll attempt to deliver all orders received before 12 noon on the same day.

Many thanks.

Suffering long term isolation and lockdown is not so rare an imposition as you may think for residents of our area. Not too many years ago the two institutions of King George V Hospital Hydestile and Milford Hospital were home to 100’s of patients suffering from Tuberculosis.

“It’s life, Gill, but not as we know it”

As it will have been impossible not to notice, our ‘Little Shop’ as it is often affectionately known, is not currently the shop we all knew and loved.  Gone is the usual question ‘morning, how can I help you?’ from someone behind the deli counter, gone is the sound of milk being frothed for a cappuccino, gone are the people sitting at the picnic tables eating croissants and drinking lattes, gone are our army of volunteers manning the till and gone is the warm and friendly atmosphere that envelops you as you push open the door and step inside.  But despite that, our Little Shop is still functioning, and remarkably even thriving, in these challenged times. 

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Well at least the weather changed, welcome rain for those well tended gardens, for those of us lucky enough to have them. Much else has stayed the same in these groundhog days, but at the same time life moves on.

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It was a beautiful morning for the Hambledon Garden-Bound Dawn Chorus Walk today and the cuckoo joined us from the wood behind Malthouse Lane – he doesn’t always! Perhaps he was treating us to try to make up for our not being able to be out walking together this year.

If you joined in too, then do let us know where and what you heard and we will put the results together and post them on the website.

Please email your list to Ruth Canham at [email protected]

Usually at this time of year Julie Steele would be organising the village’s annual dawn chorus walk which always involves an early morning meeting at the shop, a walk into Hambledon Hurst and then onto the common to appreciate the wonderful variety of birdsong and to note down the different birds contributing to the music.

Unfortunately, of course, this year the walk has had to be cancelled but we have a plan so that we don’t miss out entirely!

This Saturday, May 2nd, instead of meeting at the shop, we are suggesting that we all just wander out into our gardens at 5.30am (!) and spend an hour wrapped up warmly listening to the dawn chorus. If you would like to join in then please do and jot down the names of the different birds you hear during the hour, then email your list to Ruth Canham at [email protected] and we will post the results on the village website.

For anyone not feeling very confident in telling their birds apart, the RSPB has a very helpful birdsong App where you can listen to the songs of all British birds to help with identification. 

The May edition of Hambledon Parish Magazine will be hand-delivered to subscribers across the village this weekend.

A small team of volunteers will be out and about in their designated areas of Hambledon, so please look out for your magazine on your doorstep or in your letter box over the next few days. If you are a subscriber and do not receive your copy please contact Stewart Payne on 07831 393561.

Thank you to the volunteers, and to the editorial team of John Hindley and Jane Woolley who have put together a magazine packed full of interesting articles and information, much of it relevant to the current situation.

Until recently the magazine was also available at the village shop where it could be collected by those who had pre-paid, or bought over the counter. As this is not possible at the moment, all village subscribers will receive their copy at their doorstep.

A small number of copies will be left in the church porch beside a collection box and available for purchase at the usual cover price of 70p, first come, first served.

If you would like to subscribe to future issues, please contact Mary Parker on 01428 682545. A year’s subscription costs £7.50. By becoming a subscriber you are guaranteed a home-delivered copy and it helps the editors to manage the print run.

Back issues of the magazine, including an archive covering many decades, can be viewed on this website on the Parish Magazine page.

We have seen the some new, diverse entries to the photo competition – visit them here to view and vote!