Karl Clifton is Walking Over 600 Miles to Raise Money for Cancer Research UK

Walking over 600 miles across Spain (unsupported) in May and June 2019
for Cancer Research UK because of losing loved ones to Cancer.

Almost everyone I know, in one way or another has been touched by cancer. For my family, we lost a member of our family in 2014, followed by Gill, my wife’s sister. Her hard fought battle lasted over two years, which she finally lost in November 2017 aged only 54.

Starting on Thursday 23rd May 2019, I am walking solo (not in a group, no guide, no vehicle to transport rucksack) across the whole of Northern Spain.

From Irún on the French/Spanish border, along the Camino del Notre, crossing a mountain range near Oviedo, where I will continue on the Camino Primitivo to the destination of an old pilgrimage some 550 miles later at Santiago de Compostela.

If time and knees allow, I will continue a further 55 miles to Cape Finisterre (the believed most westerly point in the known world prior to Columbus).

I am giving myself 5 weeks to complete the walk. Plan being, walk 100 miles in 5 days, rest 1 day and then start again. To finish the 600+ miles towards the end of June.

As I said at the start, most people have been touched by this awful illness in one way or another. ALL money raised will be given to Cancer Research UK, I am paying all the expenses incurred during the event myself.

Please give whatever you wish to try and combat this terrible disease at: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/karl-clifton

Or if you prefer, you can donate in person using my sponsor form on the bar at The Three Tuns, Lower Halstow. The pub is collecting your donations on my behalf.

Thank you

Karl Clifton

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May News from Upchurch Horticultural Society - From the Potting Shed

Sponsored by Upchurch River Valley Golf Course Ltd

After a promising start to the Spring, April turned out to be very cold at times which has resulted in a slow germination. This is the very reason why you should keep seed compost only slightly moist and not too wet as the longer the time to germinate the greater the likelihood of fungus causing rot. My beans courgettes and marrows have only just started to germinate after 20 days but luckily no signs of casualties just yet. Bottom heat is a great help to get seeds and especially cuttings going quickly and there are a range of electrically heated propagation mats available these days which are ideal for the purpose. Just take a look on Amazon.

Hopefully lawns are starting to recover a bit as the grass gets growing and new seed starts to sprout. I need to do further “scratch and sow” as I still have numerous bald patches following the damage from last summer. It is important to keep everything well watered in dry weather to keep the lawn growing well as it recovers and not allow new grass to dry out.

As spring bulbs start to die down resist the temptation to remove the top growth, just deadhead the seed pods and give them a liquid feed which will strengthen the bulbs for next year. Lift and replant crowded bulbs and collect the seed heads from snowdrops and plant them about 1” deep and they will be up next year. Harden off any annuals or perennial seedlings for about 10 days before planting out in the borders or making up containers and hanging baskets. Continue dividing perennials and taking basal cuttings to increase numbers and now is also a good time for stem tip cuttings of softwood shrubs. Just avoid taking cuttings from shrubs that are in flower or producing bud as it is asking too much for a cutting to also generate roots. Start battling the pests and diseases as they become apparent and keep a good supply of pesticides and fungicides which can be applied with a sprayer.

In the vegetable patch, thin out direct sown seeds. The advice seems to be to prepare a seed drill (a furrow in the soil) and sprinkle seeds as evenly as possible. However, I prefer to take a pinch of seeds and push them into the soil at the correct spacing and then thin out the weaker ones as they germinate. This ensures that you always get the correct spacing. Pinch out the tops of broad beans when the pods start to appear which will deter the blackfly. Erect a climbing bean frame ideally from 8’ sturdy bamboo poles and plant out runner beans and climbing beans once they are hardened off. Start harvesting rhubarb taking only one third of the stems on the first picking.

As fruit starts to form on apples, pears and plums be quick to start thinning it out if there is too much. Over-bearing will produce a mass of small fruits that may start stripping off branches and can exhaust a tree resulting in a poor crop next year. Remember that there is a natural “June drop” when trees shed excess fruit but aim to take only as much fruit as you need.

As the temperatures rise remember to keep everything well watered using water butts as much as possible especially for ericaceous plants. So on the subject of watering I think I am getting a bit dry myself.

We are always looking for new members and try to encourage a fun attitude towards friendly competition. So if you want to grow your own fruit, vegetables and flowers or even enter any of the 3 shows we hold each year, then please get in touch, we would be happy to hear from you.

If you are interested in becoming a new member, (all ages are welcome), please contact Rosey on: 01634 377812 (evenings) or Email: rosemary@ringwoodaccounting.co.uk

Sean Barry - Upchurch Horticultural Society

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Spitfire over The Oak Grove

Click image to enlarge - photos courtesy of Dave Dodd Photography.

Airshow

Wedding guests at The Oak Grove in Susans Lane enjoyed a rare and spectacular airshow recently, courtesy of newlyweds Ally & Dave Pratt and family from Luton.

Iconic Spitfire RR232 - City of Exeter took off from Biggin Hill Airport on Saturday afternoon, May 4th 2019 to perform loops, rolls and chandelle in the beautiful blue skies over the secluded woodland wedding venue, close to the Medway Estuary.

The unique sound of the plane's Rolls Royce V12 Merlin engine and D-Day invasion stripes soon caught the attention of delighted residents in Upchurch and Lower Halstow who were able to enjoy the amazing airshow from their own gardens.

History

Supermarine Spitfire HF Mk.IX RR232 ‘City of Exeter’ (G-BRSF)

• Aircraft Type: Supermarine Spitfire HF Mk.IX RR232

• Operator: Boultbee Flight Academy.

• Year of Manufacture: 1943

• Powered by: V12 Rolls Royce Merlin 70 ‘high altitude’ engine, 1,710hp at 11,000ft

• Colour scheme: 335 Sqn. RAF (City Of Exeter)

RR232 was built in Castle Bromwich by Vickers Armstrong and delivered to the RAF in October 1944 as an 'HF.IX' high altitude fighter where it was allocated to an anti-aircraft co-operation Squadron. It was then sold to the South African Air Force (SAAF) in 1948 with designation '5632' and was last flown there by Lt. Ron Beamish of 2 Sqdn. It was then stored derelict at Salt River after being 'ground looped' in 1954. In 1976 it was bought by Australian collector Peter Sledge and restored to static display standard.

Spitfire RR232 finally made it back to Britain in 1986 when purchased by Charles Church, who in turn sold the airframe to Jim Pearce of Sussex Spraying Services. But it was not until 2001 that current owner Martin Phillips bought the aircraft and began in earnest a full restoration to airworthy condition that would take nearly 13 years, having been challenged by friends on his 40th birthday to produce a Spitfire from the single rivet with which they presented him!

With parts having been sourced from myriad locations around the world, this Spitfire is a story in itself of an epic restoration project that saw parts contributed, sold and scavenged from across the globe, and one man's dogged determination to return an iconic fighter to the skies above Britain. Some parts were found very close to home however; one of the wings for example being salvaged from a hedge outside a pub near Exeter. With a fully rebuilt Merlin engine installed and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) happy that all had been done to the highest standards, in December 2012 Spitfire RR232 took to the skies again, becoming the last aircraft to be assembled at Filton Aerodrome (home of Concorde) before its closure for redevelopment.

She is now known as the 'City of Exeter' in honour of a presentation Spitfire donated to the war effort as a result of local fundraising. That aircraft was presented to the Royal Air Force at RAF Westhampnett almost 75 years to the day before RR232 arrived at its present operating base where she flies off the very same grass runways, now known as Goodwood Aerodrome.

RR232 is operated by Boultbee Flight Academy in association with their friends at Tool Care Hire in Exeter, Devon.

Links - find out more

Thank you to Dave Dodd Photography - Milton Keynes for kindly letting us use the stunning photos he captured of the Spitfire on the day. Also to Ally & Dave and Sam & Paul at The Oak Grove.

Boultbee Flight Academy Ltd: www.boultbeeflightacademy.co.uk

Dave Dodd Photography: www.davedoddphotography.co.uk

The Oak Grove: www.theoakgrove.uk

Upchurch Matters

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Speeding in Horsham Lane

Upchurch resident, Karen Weller contacted us recently about her tabby cat, Rosie who went missing from their family home in Horsham Lane on Wednesday 1st May 2019. After an appeal on our pages, the same day, the family were sadly contacted by a resident telling them they had found Rosie dead on their driveway, close to the brow of Horsham Hill, on the morning of Saturday 4th May 2019, probably as a result of a road traffic accident.

Remarkably, the stretch of Horsham Lane running between the Three Sisters roundabout up to the brow of Horsham Hill is still a 60mph speed limit. 30mph roundels (pictured) then warn drivers they are entering the built up centre of the village where they should not be travelling at more than 30mph.

Problems with speeding vehicles and selfish driving on all sections of Horsham Lane remains a problem unfortunately, not just within the section between the brow of Horsham and Hill and the junction with The Street.

Problems include, amongst others:

• Drivers using Horsham Lane regularly approach and accelerate away too fast from the tight bend near Plantation Cottages, meaning by the time they are at Woodruff Close they are travelling too fast to safely navigate the narrow section where the footpath ends.

• Instead of keeping left, many drivers leaving the village drive straight down the middle of Horsham Hill, for fear of scratching their cars. This is dangerous when they meet vehicles at the bottom of the hill, travelling into the village (the same thing seems to happen on Chapel Hill, Lower Halstow).

• Drivers turning into Horsham Lane from The Street regularly drive too fast round the corner by St. Mary's Church, meaning pedestrians forced to walk in the road on the stretch where there is no footpath (near St. Mary's Mews) are put at greater risk from speeding vehicles.

Upchurch Parish Council has been looking at speeding in Horsham Lane and we await what action will be taken. 

In the meantime, Karen has asked us to post this below on her behalf:

“I just wanted to let you know that someone has contacted us this morning with regards to Rosie. Unfortunately she was run over on Saturday morning and was found dead on a ladies driveway.

We have now collected her from the Council and have brought her home to bury her. Now comes the job of telling our children! She was found at the top of the Hill in Horsham Lane, where the speed limit goes down to 30mph, as you enter the centre of the village.

Unfortunately many drivers either don’t see or choose not to see that the speed limit has changed and continue to speed till they get to the junction by the Church, where they have to stop.

I know our cat is not the first to be run over on this section of road, and unfortunately I’m sure she won’t be the last. Someone hit her and didn’t bother to see if she was OK or required veterinary attention, but just sped on past.

I believe something needs to change before it’s not just our pets who pay the price but our children!”

Upchurch Matters

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UpARA - May 2019 Newsletter & Latest Schedule of Events

 

John Wishart - Chairman

Tel: 07971 511956

Email: john@togthedog.co.uk

Website: www.upara.club

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Upchurch Village Hall Management Committee - Vacancy for a Chairperson

Upchurch Village Hall Management Committee help maintain and run our local village hall. Without this team of committed members many local groups would have nowhere to meet.

The village hall has been used for over 50 years. The hall is currently used for the local pantomime, UpARA meetings, W I meetings, bowls and many other great organisations.

Now they need help from villagers

Meeting on every second Wednesday of the month, the Committee still needs to find a Chairperson. No experience is necessary (although experience volunteering in other Committees would be helpful). The Committee is pleased to report that the vacancy for Secretary has now been filled.

If you have some spare time and care about our village hall, please consider volunteering for this role

Helping out with village organisations is a great way to meet new people and feel like you are doing some good for our community.

If you are interested in the role of Chairperson, please contact us via our

website: https://upchurchvillagehall.weebly.com or our

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Upchurchvillagehall

Thank you for your support.

Rosalind Dyett

Upchurch Village Hall Management Committee

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