Author: Mark

Pat Bowles Awarded an MBE

Tireless community stalwart Pat Bowles has been rewarded for her efforts with an MBE in the New Year honours list. Pat, 80, who lives in Castle Bytham, was nominated for the honour for the huge amount of volunteer work she does – including running an international charity aimed at protecting the rare Caspian horse.

She said: “I was somewhat flabbergasted when I found out. It was such a surprise.”

Read more from the Grantham Journal.

Bythams Sponsored Ride 2003

From the pages of the Glenside News (June 2003)…

On 4th may, in glorious sunshine, the first Sponsored Ride in support of our Parishes and Homestart took place in Grimsthorpe Park by kind permission of Grimsthorpe Estates.

Thanks to the welcome rain at the end of April, the going was excellent and 106 riders turned out to enjoy a ride of 8, 12 or 15 miles through seldom-seen countryside completely off the public roads. Many, having opted for the 8 mile course, changed their minds at the 6 mile Rest Stop and went on to enjoy a longer ride fortified by a drink and a selection of excellent cakes kindly donated by the Womens Institute.

Of course, this was not the Hunter Trials of former years and although the Committee members were sad to cancel that event, all are agreed that the decision was correct. Sponsored Rides can be organised and run by a minimum of volunteers (although more are always welcome) as opposed to the labour intensive Hunter Trials, now full of legal traps for the unwary. And of course, the removal of the compeititve element allows everyone to relax.

Without exception, every rider commented on how enjoyable the day had been and as the horseboxes streamed out of Grimsthorpe at 4 o’clock, there was much hand waving and shouts of “Great Day! Whens the next one?”

So, a success in its first year.

Farewell to the Hunter Trials?

It is unfortunate that one of the first articles or pieces of information about the Hunter Trials we have included on theBythams website has to be rather sad news.

From the pages of the Glenside News (April 2003)…

The advertisement for help with the Hunter Trials in last months Glenside News should have started alarm bells ringing somewhere in our community. Plainly it didn’t and the end result could be our loss.

That the Committee has decided in the face of rising costs. faltering enthusiasm and dwindling support, they can no longer run the Trials in the way in which they have been run should not surprise us. The stringent enforcement of Health and Safety rules together with the changes in professional cover do nothing to aid a small event run on an entirely voluntary basis.

For the last 20 years, the Bythams with Creeton and Careby Hunter Trials have been the largest annual fund raising event in our Parishes, providing much needed capital for our Parochial Church Councils and local charities. That help is needed more than ever, a fact recognised only too well by the Hunter Trials Committee, and we understand that they plan to hold en event that is less manpower intensive and less onerous in its execution.

This is to be a Sponsored Ride that will take place on the same day, 4th May 2003, and at the same location, Grimsthorpe Estate. Plainly, receipts will not be as high as in earlier years but we all could and should provide our support to ensure that some sort of event continues to run in furture years.

More GM Crop Trials

Reproduced from the Rutland and Stamford Mercury website …

More genetically modified (GM) crops are set to be grown near Stamford.

Glebe Farm in Castle Bytham is one of 25 new testing sites across the country to be announced by the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions.Organised by the firm Aventis, the aim of the trial is to test the effects of herbicide-tolerant GM oilseed rape on the environment. Last year the Mercury reported trials of GM crops were due to take place near Wansford and in 1998 we revealed trials of GM sugar beet had been sanctioned at farms in Ketton and Pilsgate.

Farmer Geoffrey Hix, of Glebe Farm, Castle Bytham, maintains the GM crops he is about to trial will be safe. He said: I don t think there is a problem with it. It does not involve anything other than doing what we normally do, apart from planting this particular variety alongside a normal variety to assess the impact on the environment. The chemical used on the GM crop has been proved to be safe over the years but instead of fashioning a chemical which is harmless to the crop the crop has been modified to be tolerant of the chemical. In other words it is only the weeds that suffer. We have been selecting farm crops for thousands of years. Modern wheat is totally different from the grass it originated from. People do not realise it has been crossed in laboratory conditions. There is no difference.

But Jane Reid, a director at Pepperidge Herb Nursery in Castle Bytham, only a few miles away from where the crops are to be grown, is concerned. She told the Mercury: We primarily grow herbs for garden centres but we also produce plant material, used to make medicines. It is this material we would be most concerned about. We have a very open view of crop testing because we think some genetic work is very important, however, we are looking to have a meeting with Mr Hix just to see what these trials involve.

John Turner, whose farm in Little Bytham has converted to organic status, is very concerned about the risk posed by the crop trials.He said: We have a couple of years of work invested in the conversion to organic status so we are quite worried about these trials. Aventis recommended buffer zone is 50 metres but the National Pollen Research Council has shown the damage to businesses is of a much wider area. If the Soil Association decide the risk is high they have to test our produce. If they find GM material, we could lose our organic status.

Jigsaw Puzzles

Does anyone reading this enjoy doing jigsaws?  Have you some complete jigsaws you have done several times?  Are you interested in an exchange of jigsaws to keep you occupied in the winter months?

If so, please contact Keith Williams on 410740.  If sufficient people show interest, possibly a session of jigsaw ‘swapping’ can be organised at a mutually convenient time.

For Sale : Games Console

Sega Master System – 8 bit, sleek design.  Comes complete with two controller pads, TV/console switch and also 7 games to get you started! Titles are World Grand Prix, Bart Simpson vs The Space Mutants with manual, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Pacmania (puzzle game) and Lemmings with manual.  There are two games built into the system – Hang On and Safari Hunt.

All for £45.  Call 01780 410684