NORDELPH COMMUNITY WEBSITE: June 2007
QUICK TOUR It can be difficult to remember hat this is supposed to be the summer! There seem to have been few days recently without rain, often torrential. In a spirit of optimism, we recognise that, apart from the lessened likelihood of hosepipe bans, the effects of rain are sometimes delightful. These two rainbows appeared just 24 hours apart on a Friday and a Saturday in late June. In both cases, a secondary bow can be seen outside the primary bow, the darkness outside the bow compared to the brightness within, and a few 'supernumerary arcs' inside can be made out. Click on either photograph to see an enlarged version. And, you will recall, we have a page devoted to the sometimes unusual sights you can see in the Nordelph skies.
Website changes
We've made a small change this month, and we'd like to know how you respond. In previous updates, we've provided the 'New Items' button that takes you on a tour of all the pages we've added in that month. But sometimes a new page refers to an existing page, as we've just done above in our item about rainbows. From this month, the button will lead you through all the pages mentioned in this update -- either from this home page or from a new page. We've renamed it 'This Month' to emphasise the change. This will extend the length of your tour of the website, and will obviously take you to pages you may have seen before. On the other hand, it will make it easier to visit such pages without breaking off from the tour. Let us know which you prefer -- it's easy enough to change back. Reactions to: info@nordelph.org as usual.
We've made another change to a regular feature this month. Since the new version of the website went live in March 2005, we have been archiving the home pages and making them available through the 'Back Numbers' page. This enables you to re-read any information that appeared only on that home page. Until now, the Back Numbers page has presented you with a drop-down list of dates -- hardly helpful if you're like most people and remember what the page looked like, rather than precisely when it was! So now the page has become dramatically pictorial, with a thumbnail snapshot of each home page to assist in your browsing!
And while we've continued with our tidying up of the old material, we've re-worked our page on the Welney Wetlands Centre which rather embarrassingly gave details of admission times from a couple of years back! As well as a seasonal guide to what you might expect to find, and links to the Centre's own website, we've provided a map that you can download and print.
Nordelph Parish Council
After the May elections, Nordelph has a new Parish Council. The election was uncontested, and two vacancies remain for potential co-opted members -- so if you want a say in how your village is run, get in touch with the Clerk to the Council. The current membership is listed on our Council Master Page and you will also find the Minutes of the March Meeting and a Report of the May Meeting. As it's that time of year, we have also posted the unaudited Parish Accounts.
We are also delighted to report an endorsement from the Council. Now that your webmaster is no longer a councillor, access to the Council papers is not quite so simple as hitherto. We formally requested that the Council supply copies of the minutes to the website -- something they readily agreed to, in very warm terms: "(The Council) feels that the website is of great benefit to the community and commends your efforts."
Nordelph Bridge
Last month, we published a photograph from 1951, showing the old Nordelph bridge. This attracted a number of comments -- not least why anyone should bother to take such a dull photograph that shows so very little!
But we did have a comment about the only human interest in the picture: "We have been trying to identify the cyclist, but as yet to no avail. It was possibly the 'lengthman' (road sweeper) as he appears to have his shovel with him. We used to have a regular sweeper in the good old days!!"
Zetetics versus Globularists
There's something of a first this month. Our extremely warm relations with our neighbouring Welney website www.welney.org.uk are generally restricted to the theft of their good ideas. This month, we're publishing a joint article that will shortly also appear on the Welney site. The idea and the research originated in Welney, but the content will undoubtedly be of interest to Nordelph residents, because it's something famous that happened near here.
This is the story of the Old Bedford Level Experiments between 1838 and 1904. Although it's ostensibly a story of scientific exploration, there are wonderful twists involving wagers, law suits and prison sentences! And you can discover just who the 'Zetetics' and 'Globuralists' were.
Also in this month's update
Our cataloguing of local food continues. The vegetable for this month is the globe artichoke pictured alongside.
There are now no less than 18 local vegetables recorded. And not only have we not yet strayed anywhere near fruit, but we haven't tackled anything more prosaic than the parsnip! Potatoes, turnips, swedes and tomatoes are all flagged for the future!
There's also another rant this month. Apparently about grammar on advertising signs, the rant isn't about misuse of grammar, but about how the ranter is denied the satisfaction of being right!
Strawberry Tea
On Thursday 5th July, there will be a 'Strawberry Tea' to raise money for anyone affected by breast cancer, under the auspices of Breast Cancer Care (www.breastcancercare.org.uk).
Refreshments (including scones with strawberry jam!) will be served, alongside a raffle, plant stall and bric-a-brac table. Action will be between 2.00 and 3.30 at Ashlee House (next to the church) in High Street. Everyone is welcome, and if you want to help publicise the event, click on the thumbnail poster alongside to download a full-size version that you can print out and display.
And finally ...
There will be a lot more traffic on Well Creek this year -- and a lot less! The increase is down to the fact that August Bank Holiday weekend (August 25th-27th) sees the National Waterways Boat Show in St Ives, Cambridgeshire. For details go to: www.waterways.org.uk/Events/IWANationalFestival07
It has struck more than one resident that, with keen boatpeople making their way to the festival (and queuing to get through Salters Lode lock) a refreshment stall ought to turn a tidy profit. We've always imagined an experiment to time how long boats take to get to us, and a sign placed a carefully calculated distance away, so that hot goodies are awaiting you when you arrive!
But there will also be less traffic, because -- sadly -- there are no plans for a Nordelph Raft Race in 2007. This is a great shame as there is money in the bank and trophies up for grabs. However it seems that those who put in the hard work last year are not prepared to do it again on their own. So if you feel like volunteering, and rescuing one of Nordelph's (few) traditions -- contact us!
And last of all -- it's holiday time! At least, for the website. As usual, we shall be taking a break over the summer. We'll update things like the church services, but will refrain from any major updates to the site -- unless of course the Raft Race comes about!
That aside, we expect to be back towards the end of August. Thank you for reading us, thank you for your comments and contributions, and please enjoy your summer!
_th.jpg)