Nov
18
At 00:12 this morning the fire alarm went off at the Holiday Inn in Plymouth. When opening the hotel room door it was clear that there was smoke inside the hotel building - not visible, but you could certainly smell it. Most of us departed in an orderly way to the outside and watched as the smoke turned to flames and two fire engines turned into what appeared to be 10. It was certainly all very well done by the services there, but not so great from the Holiday Inn staff who did a role call right in front of the burning building and then sent us through the dense smoke to Jury's Inn. Good to see that the manager from the Holiday Inn eventually took charge and found rooms for people. I found a bed by 03:00. Thankfully it appears that no one was seriously hurt.
There is a bit more information on the BBC News web site
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11782607.
The original video is also
available on YouTube.
Posted by Adrian Hollister
Nov
11
I've been using shredded paper for the chickens nesting box, it's freely available (with all the darn junk mail) and people pop it around when they come. It composts well (especially when covered with chicken poo) and works well when covered with anti-mite type powers. I've just been given a rather big bag of dried hemp 'chippings' so decided to switch over to using it. So do the chickens like hemp bedding?
The quick answers is that the chickens seem to love the stuff. I've not had a single broken egg and they have dug some nice nests in the stuff. Also cleaning out is easy as the hemp clusters around the chicken poo - this results in easy lumps that can be removed without mess and put straight into the compost bin. The nearest product I can find that I can purchase is used for horse bedding (http://www.hemcore.co.uk/bedding.php) - doesn't look exactly the same but I will give that a go as well. It's also a lot cheaper than sawdust and with the built in citronella it should keep the flies away in the summer.
Posted by Adrian Hollister
Nov
9
It looks like the Ibex in Chaddleworth has closed. Chaddleworth's pub, The Ibex, has won several awards including South East Entertainment Pub of the Year 2010 and West Berks CAMRA Community Pub 2009 but has been surrounded in controversy when the landlady Julia Jones stole over £15,000 from the village post office effectively closing the branch. I went to the pub quite often when I first moved into the area, but poor, grumpy and what can best be described as stroppy service drove me and others away. It was always going to be doomed when the landlady stole from our post office and then went around boasting about how she got away with it. The locals effectively just stopped going there.
At least the change will be good for our community and I hope to see the Ibex re-open without the taint of the previous tenants.
If you want a great pub in the Downlands area then Adrian Hollister's recommendation is
The Stag in Leckhampstead - great food and a great atmosphere (relaxing and comfortable).
Posted by Adrian Hollister
Nov
7
Made a tidy £75 for the Green Party in West Berkshire yesterday. Our jumble sale recycled a large number of items that would normally have gone to the tip, generated some funds, and was great fun for all involved. Many thanks to Pam Cooper for her organising efforts - spot on as usual!
Posted by Adrian Hollister
