Netherfield

Claverham Monday Badminton Club: Do you want to get fit? Do you like a racket sport? How about joining us for a game of badminton? The company is great and it spans all generations from 17 to 70. You can be a beginner or a champion. It is mainly doubles of any combination of the people who arrive on the night. There is no set pattern to the partnerships so you could be playing in one game with a County player and in the next with a novice. What you get is fun and fit. It starts at 20.00 (or 8.00 pm in old money) and goes on until 22.00 (or 10.00 pm). The cost is £5.00. That is £2.50 per hour for a good time. If you are interested ring Maurice 01424 838410 or email [email protected].

Reflections on a garden: Stray stems sprouting serenely from shrubs are always waiting at this time of year to be culled from their host. Yes, I know it is flowery language, if you will excuse the pun, but it does explain the situation. Otherwise, the pristine finish of the garden could be compromised by the wayward growth. In plain English it is time to make things pretty for the Winter. Well, snow, rain and sleet could limit the time we spend in the garden in contrast to the daily hours during the Summer.

This time it was the different varieties of euonymous, surrounding one of our beds, that decided to reach for the stars with new growth. White and green, yellow and green, the variations are endless, and to keep them looking sensible and unfettered with those single colour bits that appear every now and then is an on-going task. They were part of the garden when we took over 20 years ago, so I do feel we have a duty to maintain the presence as long as we can.

The pigeons and the blackbirds have decided that out grapes have reached a degree of sweetness which satisfies their taste-buds. The trouble is they do not concentrate on one bunch and devour the harvest before moving to another. It is a grape here, one there and a couple somewhere else. It is a bumper harvest this year so I should not be too cross with them sharing our bounty. What is concerning is that they might tell their mates. Oh well, c’est la vie.

We have a field next door, which the development company who own the site, cut once a year. The company are London based and therefore have little regard for us country yokels and the problems associated with brambles, stinging nettles and other assorted greenery. Whilst we have areas of natural habitat within the garden, they are managed to prevent encroachment. Not so the development company. Brambles, almost as thick as your arm, stinging nettles that stand 8ft tall. They are standing at our fence like triffids, waiting to devour our plot. Some have climbed the fence and covered the roof of a shed as they search for a spot to root. Why don’t people think about the other person anymore.

More next week......

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