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Glut Recipes Autumn - Apples, Beans, Courgettes, Damsons, E?, F?, G? . . . This one originated in Diana Silk's kitchen. It came to us via Sally Morrice and then Karen Gormley . Sticking with courgettes, amongst other things, here is Sarah Evans' recipe for chutney. "The main ingredients of most chutneys are malt vinegar, soft brown sugar, raisins or sultanas and add whatever you have a glut of - courgettes, runner beans, beetroot, apples, pears, green tomatoes, etc. Guess other quantities as it starts to cook. " In fact you need to guess all the quantities, and guess how long it takes. If you would like a little help try this courgette chutney recipe HERE Susan Crabbe used a Gordon Ramsey recipe for Gazpacho - see HERE "This is what I made yesterday with my cucumber and tomato glut. Although, looking at the weather today, I would have been better off making hot tomato soup!" Dave Evans has a few more suggestions for using up the courgette glut. Seared Courgettes: Heat a griddle pan until very hot (maybe open all the windows first). Cut the courgettes into 5mm slices and lay on a large plate. Brush the tops of the slices with oil then put them oil side down on the griddle. Let them smoke until they are charred. Brush tops with oil and turn over. Cook until second side is charred. Season, and eat hot, or cool for a salad. Pan Fried Courgettes: Cut the courgettes into 5mm slices and lay on a large plate. Dust the topes with flour and wait for the flour to get absorbed by the veg liquid. Turn the slices over and dust again. Repeat until a crust has formed on the slices then fry in shallow fat on a medium heat. Alternatively, bake in a single layer in a moderate oven (around 180 degC). Grated Courgette: Grate the courgettes and freeze in boxes or bags. Use in winter soups and stews. Courgette Fritters: Grate the courgettes into a large bowl. Add any seasoning - salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, mint, etc. Add some plain flour and keep adding small amounts and stirring as the courgettes give up their juice, until you have the right consistency. Fry in shallow heat over moderate heat. [This works best if you use gram (chickpea) flour as it binds the mixture better.] The fritters are improved if you add some grated carrot or beetroot. Let's have some more recipes! What are we going to do with all those runner beans? envirostoke@yahoo.com

A Safer Stoke Safety at Home - Safety on the Road - Safety at Work - Safety at School - Safety at Play No Nanny State, but let's make Stoke a safer place to be Safety on the Road Thanks to everyone who responded to our post about a possible 20 mph speed limit in Stoke St Gregory. It was really just a means of raising the issue of road safety in the village, and the following responses show what a wide range of possibilities we have if we want to look after each other when we are out and about. England might follow Wales in a few years' time and impose a blanket speed limit in towns and villages, but in the mean time are there better alternatives? Here are some of the initial responses: 20 mph Speed Limit - people feel strongly, but both for or against. If you are unsure have a look at the 20's Plenty site HERE but to start here's a comment from an ex Stoke resident: “I was Lo llipop man at the school between 2000 and 2005 prior to the crossing being put in front of the school it was a 60 mph road unbelievable in front of a school!!” Another comment was: "Would be excellent especially as we have many roads with out pavements definitely a positive action" Whatever the speed limit , another responder said: "The problem isn't the 30 mile an hour limit, it is people not respecting it, a lack of consideration for other road users/hazardous areas and the inappropriate national speed limit on the other village roads, that are just too narrow and bendy for this to be safe." And another: "It would be safer for pedestrians if some drivers were to slow down on the bends in Woodhill; that’s for sure." Other Road Users - as road users we all have our pet hates, and they are always other road users . Cyclists, horse riders, tractors, slow drivers, fast drivers . . . . (and some people hate us as well, even though we are perfect road users). Here are a couple of experiences shared by our respondents: "It’s not only the children that you should slow down for. Coming through North Curry last week a women with two dogs came out from a field, dogs not on leads and partner on other side of road, dog ran in front of me and lady not far behind with other dog, good j ob I was only doing 18 miles an hour." And by Stoke School: "Luckily I was going slowly approaching Stoke School from the playing fields (the lights were not flashing) and a boy dashed straight across the road in front of me from the school." The posters on this page are from Nether Kellet school in Lancashire. Check out their web site HERE Parking - this is a recurring issue "People parking in the square" was just one of the comments. The School and HOTV have been trying to discourage this, and the Parish Council has issued a statement, but it continues to be a problem. Official parking restrictions have been considered , any ideas would be welcomed. Personal Pledges - several people have said that they are already committed to driving at no more than 20 m ph through the centre of the village. If this could reach a significant number , traffic generally would be slowed down. Are there other areas where pledges could be made? Parish Council - "Spend some Community Infrastructure Levy money on signs telling people how fast they are going ." The SID (speed indicator devices) in North Curry appear to have been so successful that the Parish Council is planning on buying and installing three more in the village. This has been raised at a parish council meeting in Stoke, but no conclusion has been reached. Do you think it would be worth campaigning for this to happen? There is still a large pot of CIL money to be spent on village infrastructure. Safer Walkways - "Make it safer for people to walk, cycle and use mobility scooters round the village and separate them more from vehicles. Start with tarmacing the path from Polkes Field all the way to the shop and the school." This is another job for the Parish Council, but it is unlikely to happen unless the people involved make their wishes known and show that there is a need. Please respond to this post if you think this suggestion is a good one envirostoke@yahoo.com and ask your friends who may not use use the internet. Posters - "I would love to see these kind of signs appear all throughout the village. A friendly community message displayed through a variety of graphic signs rather than a law enforced speed restriction I think would have a real impact." This probably sums up an attitude of many of us in the village. We don't want to be told what to do by busybodies, but we accept that traffic is not what it was 60, 40, or even 20 years ago. Is there anyone out there who would like to approach the school with a view to including road safety in the village to a greater extent in the curriculum? If you've read this and any of the ideas grab you as worth following up (or indeed any other suggestions to make Stoke safer), do please get in touch by email, social media, or a note though the letterbox at Stoke House. It would be great if a few people could get together and see how some of these ideas could be moved forward. Anyone willing to stick their head above the parapet?

Hillcrest Open Garden The Garden at Hillcrest, Stoke St Gregory, will be open under the National Garden Scheme on Saturday 7th May and Sunday 8th May, from 1-5 pm Hillcrest is at the top of Curload Hill, opposite Lane End House There's plenty to see in this mature, wildlife friendly garden, whilst giving your support to vital medical charities. The five acres include formal planting, orchards, an extensive meadow, ornamental woodland, a large pond, and a gravel garden newly created from a tennis court. The Garden is relatively wheelchair friendly. There are no steps but the ground is uneven in places and there is a long grassy slope to the lower pond and woodland area. Dogs on a lead are also welcome. Car parking is available but please consider cycling or walking if possible. Entry to the Garden is £5 per person, with children under 16 free. In addition, tea, delicious cakes, and a range of plants will be available to purchase.

ROUND ROBIN - 07 - April 2023 Click HERE ROUND ROBIN - 01 - December 2022 WELCOME TO STOKE ST GREGORY’S NEW BLOG ON ALL THINGS ENVIRONMENTAL, SPONSORED BY SEG. WE HOPE YOU WILL ENJOY THIS PUBLICATION, FIND IT USEFUL, ENTERTAINING AND INFORMATIVE. WHAT CAN I DO? GO TO:Change.org ‘The World’s Platform for Change’ This is the largest platform for global social change, founded 2007, as a non-profit foundation.This a simple way to support multiple causes. You can just tick, share or donate as you wish. In 2019, the young sisters Ella and Caitlin took on McDonald’s and Burger King to ban plastic toys in their kids’ meals. They achieved over 560,000 votes on change.org. In 2019 Burger King banned plastic toys. McDonald’s attempted to give a choice of toy or fruit - eventually 2 years later they have capitulated (paper and soft toys). This is in the UK only. The irony is these plastic toys are now being sold as collectors items. At least they are not all going to landfill. *************************************************** The Wild Life Trust: ‘Changing Nature’, have made a climate risk assessment on their estate of nearly 400 sq. miles. They are campaigning to see increased efforts from governments, business, and other landowners. You can read on line their Impact Reports: wildlifetrusts.org. To join Somerset group: £3.50 per month. This dynamic organisation has many campaigns and ways you can support or be involved. ENGLAND’S TOP LAND HOLDERS (ACRES) Forestry Commission 489,814 National Trust 474,641 Ministry of Defence 397,098 Crown Estate 264,233 United Utilities (water companies) THE CUP THAT CHEERS: ‘Plastic’ free tea bags is often misleading. PG tips uses PLA (Polylactic Acid) from plant fibre, which will not break down in your compost. Tetley, Yorkshire are following suit, Twinings have plans for 2025. Pukka, Teapigs, Whittard use various plant fibres and pulps - but these still need commercial composting. Break open to compost leaves, put the bags in your food disposal box. Best option? Buy loose tea sustainably packaged such as Pukka and Teapigs. Langport Stores sells loose tea; you can take your own container. RECYCLE Plastic bottles eg milk containers: swill out, squeeze and screw on top. Put in Blue bag. Glass containers eg beer bottles, jam jars: Swill out, put glass in box and metal tops in Blue bag. You can put small tops inside an empty can then squeeze shut. Stoke telephone box - next year we hope to make this a recycling depo for blister packs. SEG has grubbed out and planted the bank next to the box. HOT TOPS FOR KEEPING WARM Invest in hot water bottles, they make cosy portable heaters. Put behind your knees for best effect. Thermal underwear can be very expensive. Wear several thin layers to trap body heat. Have a thick blanket on your settee to snuggle into. Wear warm slippers in the house. Hats and gloves outside - or in the house or even in bed. Body extremities are where you loose most heat. A curry, chilli or soup will warm you up. A cup of tea warms your inside and hands! Keep doors closed, use draught excluders eg: curtains, sausages - I made mine from an old pyjama legs stuffed with the rest of the pyjamas. When you turn the oven off leave the door open for residual heat to escape (not if you have young children). GREEN GARDENING I recently decided that my garden lacked one important element - water. I didn’t want a pond, risk hazard for the grandchildren, expensive to install and a lot of maintenance. So I went much, much smaller. I re-purposed an old washing up bowl, two plastic boxes and one small tin tray. I put gravel and stones in the bottom of each and filled up with rain water, or you can use tap water that has stood for a couple of days. The tin tray I filled almost to the top with small pebbles to make a bee bar. The bowl and a small box have been inserted into an old pallet. NO PLASTIC PLEASE SANTA! You can eat Quality Street this Xmas without feeling guilty. They are introducing paper wrappings. This will remove 2.5 billion pieces of packing from their industry, per year. Smarties have also gone plastic free. Sweet! ****************************** At Xmas we use in the UK roughly 300,00 tonnes of wrapping paper and card, and 1000,000 tonnes of plastic - 80% of which is toy packing. Use paper tape, eg. Naturally Wrapt (online) or tie with string, ribbon, raffia. Use recycled/recyclable wrap. Eco friendly wrap sold at our shop. Buy second-hand toys/books/games, or from charity shops. Buy your Xmas vegetables/fruit loose from a local farm. Homemake crackers, or make little boxes filled with sweets (Smarties and Quality Street?) or festive gingerbread. Don’t buy any cards wrapped in plastic. Children find it great fun to make their own cards, or make new cards from old. Send Xmas postcards instead, like the Victorians. See Eco Craft (online) for sourcing and inspiration. XMAS RECIPE PANZANELLA SALAD great use for stale bread, cheap and filling. 2 lb ripe tomatoes, cut into small chunks and deseeded 1 red onion thinly sliced 3/4 lb thick bread cut into small cubes lightly tossed in olive oil Cucumber, thin slices cut into 1/2 moons Sauce: 2 tblsp Red/White wine or cider vinegar, 1/2 cup olive oil, basil, crushed garlic, seasoning. Put bread on a tray and bake 180 C fan until crunchy but not brown. Drain tomatoes and put juice to the side. Mix onion, cucumber and tomatoes. Add cooled bread. To tomato juice add sauce ingredients and whisk until thick. Pour over bread and stir together. Chill for 6 hours. There are lots of variations to this recipe. You could add olives, roast peppers, anchovies or capers. ……………………………………………………………………… Shockingly we waste about 8 million tonnes of food a year in the UK (latest figures available 2018) LEFT OVERS: Use stale bread for: Stuffing the turkey, or make into balls with herbs and onions, or bread sauce. Coating homemade burgers, patties, fish, chicken fillets. Mix with grated cheese and use as a gratin topping, grill or bake. Make garlic bread, crostini, brochette or croutons. Bread and butter pudding or bread pudding all good cheap fillers. SPREADING THE COST: An easy way to make your butter go further is to make your own spread. Put 200g of salted butter in a bowl and beat until soft. Add 100ml oil of your choice and mix slowly at first, then increase speed for approx 2 mins until homogeneous (well mixed). It may look too soft but when chilled it will be fine.This is a healthier as it reduces the saturated fats found in butter. ………………………………………………………… If you have any have any queries about this publication please contact Karen Housego email: housego20@yahoo.com uk The research and content of the Round Robin is done to the best of our abilities.Let us know if there has been a big blunder, for the little ones please forgive us. JOIN US AND TURN THE WORLD AROUND Contact: envirostoke@yahoo.com MOBILE PHONES What is 3TG? It is an umbrella term for ‘Conflict Materials’ eg. Tantalum, Tungsten and Gold - the mining of these is linked to human suffering, pollution and destroys ecosystems. We no longer have a law against regulating this (EU law 2021). How can I cut my phone carbon emissions? They create around 1% of global greenhouse emissions. Most of the carbon foot print is in the making of a phone - a 2 year phone will be 52.5kg - 10 years later 10.5kg. It is estimated that currently there are 55 million unused phones in the UK. So the solution is simple and so much cheaper - buy a 2nd hand phone. The longer you take to write and read an email the more emissions, more if you copy in lots of people and send attachments. Avoid unnecessary emails eg: ‘LOL’, gifs, emojis and images. If we each sent one less ‘Thank you’ each day, the UK would save more than 16,433 tonnes of carbon a year. Research has found that we check our phones every 5 minutes, we spend on average 4 hours per day on the phone (LSE 2021). What are Smart Phones Made Of ? (average phone) 25% Silicon, 23% Plastic, 20% Iron, 14% Aluminium, 7% Copper, 6% Lead, 2% Zinc, 1% Tin, 1% Nickel, 0.03% Barium, tiny amounts of Gold, Palladium, silver. How do I buy an environmental and ethical phone? Look for the TCO Certified label - https://tcocertified.com/ product-finder (Ethical Consumer 199 Nov/Dec 2022) Oxfam shops now take unwanted or broken phones to recycle.

Steering Group Page These pages do not contain personal or sensitive information and are not password protected, but there are no links from our main web site pages. They are designed to help steering group members to keep abreast of developments and hopefully keep information that may not have been saved or found its way into your diary. If other members express an interest in being involved in particular projects you may wish to direct them here. Is there anything else useful that could go here? 2023 Project Plan - Click HERE (See below for informal descriptions) COMING SOON: Grafting Workshop Andrew has ordered some apple tree root stock, but he is still awaiting delivery. This practical grafting demonstration will be held as soon as possible . Open to all SEG members, maximum of 15 people. The new grafts will be potted for planting in the autumn. Spinney Saturday 25th February – meet at 10 am to f inish off the winter work, and put up the new bird boxes. Bring a friend. RECENT INFORMATION "inaturalist" - Identifying and recording wildlife in the parish . If you want to join in, the main site is HERE and you can download the "SEEK" app, which helps identify species, HERE Maybe a few of us could have a little practice session sometime? PRESS DEADLINES Stoke News: c. 20th May 2023 Parish News: c. 6th March 2023 The Leveller: 25th February 2023 Please let Ian know in good time if you think there is something that should be included in our reports. The following is a more informal description of what we have agreed to concentrate on in the coming months (February 202 3). More ideas, please about how they can best be developed via email or the WhatsApp group Management of the Village Hall Spinney This is the second year of the long-term plan to improve the biodiversity of the Spinney – and to make it more attractive. Some coppicing and clearing of dead wood last year. This year plan to clear weeds and dead vegetation, some light coppicing and pruning, placement of bird boxes and feeders and min-beast hotel. Bulbs planted in autumn, looking forward to seeing some bluebells, snow drops and wood anemones. Bus-Stop Sprucing There are three bus stops in the village – Royal Oak, Woodhill Terrace and Polkesfield. The plan is to tidy and clean Woodhill Terrace bus stop and to repaint Royal Oak bus stop. Also plan to provide a public notice board in the bus stop and some solar-powered lighting. This work will make the bus stops more pleasant to use and encourage us to support our bus service. Telephone Box Refurbishment Thanks to the Parish Council, a few volunteers have cleaned and repainted our telephone box in Willey Road. SEG has now planted some shrubs and bulbs in the bank adjacent to the box. Now what to do? SEG will ensure the box is cleaned up again and made waterproof – we could use it as an information point or many other things. Have you any ideas how we could best utilise our only telephone box. Curload Nature Area We are working with a local resident who has a small area of wild ground and who would like SEG to undertake a little TLC to encourage wildlife. We need to prune some invasive vegetation, clean out a pond area (and make it accessible to wildlife) and generally do very little! We might even place a bench there so passers by can enjoy a little area of tranquillity. Envirofair23 We are now planning our third Environment Fair which will take place at The Village Hall on Saturday 3 June 2023. The format will be similar to last year but with lots more exhibits and things to do for young and old – we hope it doesn’t rain this year!! We will also have some talks and presentation, refreshments and activities to keep everyone busy all day. Who will commit to what? Benches We are aware that some of our community are less able to walk longer distances without a sit down. So we are making a plan of the village, and talking to landowners about siting some new benches around the village. This will encourage people to get fresh air and enjoy our environment in a carbon-free and sustainable way. Apple Pressing We live, of course, in an area where there are lots of delicious apples grown. There are apple trees everywhere and we hate to see their fruit go to waste. So this year we hope to borrow some equipment to press the apples and make some lovely, local apple juice. We will supply the equipment, bottles and labels, you supply the apples and take samples home. The date is dependent of the trees! It is likely to be September or October time – we will advertise the event as soon as we have a date. Colourful Verges Last autumn, SEG and village volunteers planted around 1000 bulbs in the village. We are looking forward to seeing how successful we have been when they pop up in the spring. Next autumn, we plan to do the same so over the years, our village will be really colourful – and we are including lots of native species to encourage bees and other pollinators to visit us! Where would you like to see some bulbs planted? Walkways and Paths This is an ongoing project where we are maintaining our local paths. We work closely with the County Footpaths Officer who has been a tremendous help liaising with landowners and getting fences and stiles fixed. We have also produced some guides for locals and visitors to better appreciate our countryside. More paths to explore and more to write about! Quarterly Talks This is a new project where we hope we can organise a quarterly talk or presentation on a theme close to the hearts of SEG members. They may be on local environment issues, or how to save energy, or bird spotting. Any number of subjects and possibilities. What would you like to hear about? Community Woodland Garden This is a long term project which starts with finding a small area of land within the community that could be used to establish a community-run woodland garden cum green space. Lots of possibilities – but land is the issue. SEG is working hard to find some land and after that, we will have a major project on our hands.

Wilder Gardens No Mow May is Plantlife’s annual campaign calling all garden owners and green space mana gers not to mow during May – l iberating your lawns and providing a space for nature. We’ve lost nearly 97% of flower rich meadows since the 1970’s and with them gone so is vital food needed by pollinators, like bees and butterflies. See their web site HERE A healthy lawn with some long grass and wildflowers benefits wildlife, tackles pollution and can even lock away carbon below ground – and best of all, to reap these benefits all you have to do is not mow your lawn in May! With over 20 million gardens in the UK, even the smallest grassy patches add up to a significant proportion of our land which, if managed properly, can deliver enormous gains for nature, communities and the climate. This is why Plantlife is calling for people to get involved with #NoMowMay and let wild plants get a head start on the summer. Whether or not you are up for No Mow May , and personally I do not like kneeling in long wet grass to weed the veg beds, there are plenty of other things you can do with your grassy areas. See more HERE The Wilder Gardening group (originally the Gardening for Wildlife group) was formed to provide support for those already enjoying wildlife gardening as well as to encourage others. They produce a newsletter and run occasional events for group members. But back to your lawn - mow in May or not? ‘Wildabout Gardens’ has produced a useful little booklet about what we can do with our own lawns, however often we mow. It's available HERE One of our local gardens open to the public has been rethinking its own approach to a ‘tidy garden’ based largely on the lack of staff during lockdown. Hestercome Gardens has been reviewing its approach to wildlife and their web site is available HERE Below is a quote from their web site: “last year has made me totally rethink the management of the gardens and made us realise what a position of power we were in to help wildlife. We had more seed heads from less maintenance, which meant there was more to feed on. We had goldfinches nesting in the roses in the formal garden because they had such a great food source nearby. We saw more butterflies, and the scarlet tiger moth, a striking red and black day flying moth, increased its numbers as we had left more green alkanet which is its caterpillars food source. We had no aphid problems as nature had its own soldiers here to deal with that. We had more slow worms because we weren’t being as tidy as normal so they had better habitats. We even saw stoats playing in the garden. The food source available to our rare Lesser Horseshoe Bats must have increased dramatically.” And finally . . . For over 20 years Somerset Environmental Records Centre (SERC) has been the main centre holding data on wildlife sightings, types of environments and geological information for Somerset. There are a lot of records to be kept. If you would like to get involved check out their web site HERE

STOKE FOOD PARTNERSHIP Stoke St Gregory, Somerset, England stokefood@yahoo.com Back HERE to Stoke Food Partnership Home Page FOOD WASTE (Using All We Can ) As UK households we waste 6.5 million tonnes of food every year, 4.5 million of which is edible. We’re not just talking egg shells or chicken bones. We mean the last few bites from my plate that I couldn’t quite manage, or bread crusts, or potato peelings – all stuff which could have been transformed into something delicious. " Love Food Hate Waste" (Web site HERE ) is a very good starting point for anyone interested in reducing the amount of food they waste. As they point out: "The average family of four can save just over £60 per month by reducing their food waste. Whether you’re doing the food shop or ordering a meal at a restaurant, every decision is an opportunity to save food from the bin. If you don’t want a side salad, ask for your meal without it. If you won’t make good use of the extra portion, don’t be tempted by it. And if you can’t finish your main, ask for a doggy bag! Food is made to be loved, so that’s what we should do." Stoke St Gregory & North Curry Homegrown Swap Shop is a great way of cutting down on waste food if you have a surplus - from your garden or an unwanted BOGOF offer. Their Facebook page is HERE Spare plants are also always welcome. Just leave stuff on the shelves outside the Wagon House, Meare Green. The BBC 'Good Food' Section has some useful material on food waste (see HERE ) Reminding us that misshapen, marked, discoloured or oddly sized fruit and vegetables often don’t meet the standards of the marketplace (up to 20-40% are thrown away before even leaving the farm). There are suggestions and recipes to help avoid throwing away leftovers and surplus food. What Can We Do? Your suggestions and examples of your own experience would be very welcome. Let us know what you do at home to cut down on waste food and we'll post the suggestions here. Please contact us at stokefood@yahoo.com

To test this feature, visit your live site. Categories All Posts My Posts Forum Welcome! Have a look around and join the discussions. Create New Post General Discussion Share stories, ideas, pictures and more! subcategory-list-item.views subcategory-list-item.posts 496 Follow Questions & Answers Get answers and share knowledge. subcategory-list-item.views subcategory-list-item.posts 704 Follow New Posts Aton Baruk 21sa. Funded Prop Firm General Discussion Can anyone give me some advice, it would really help me. Like 1 comment 1 Kindres Mason Dec 31, 2024 Miksi klassiset ja kevyet soittoäänet sopivat vanhemmille? Questions & Answers 1. Selkeä ja miellyttävä ääni Kevyet soittoäänet eivät ole liian kovia tai häiritseviä, mikä tekee niistä ihanteellisia tilanteisiin, joissa rauhallisuus on tärkeää. 2. Ajaton tyyli Klassiset sävelet kestävät aikaa ja sopivat kaikkiin tilanteisiin, oli kyseessä kotona rentoutuminen tai tärkeä tilaisuus. 3. Helppous tunnistaa Selkeät melodiat ovat helposti tunnistettavissa ja jäävät mieleen, mikä tekee niistä käytännöllisiä kaikille ikäryhmille. Like 2 comments 2 engronert Dec 23, 2024 How to Choose Hard Cheese General Discussion Choosing hard cheese can be an enjoyable yet daunting task, especially with the vast array of options available. From robust Parmigiano-Reggiano to nutty Gruyère, the world of hard cheese offers flavors, textures, and uses that can elevate your culinary experiences. Look for cheeses with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status, ensuring authenticity and traditional production methods. For example, Parmigiano-Reggiano must be made in specific regions of Italy. Artisanal cheeses are often crafted with higher quality ingredients and traditional techniques, resulting in superior flavor and texture. Opt for cheeses made with natural ingredients without additives or preservatives. Like 2 comments 2 Forum - Frameless

STOKE FOOD PARTNERSHIP Stoke St Gregory, Somerset, England stokefood@yahoo.com Back HERE to Stoke Food Partnership Home Page FOOD MILES ( Carbon Footprint) ‘Food Miles’ is a way of measuring the distance any food travels from the land to your plate. ‘Food Miles’ have increased dramatically over the last twenty years, for three main reasons: we buy (what should be) seasonal food all year round; we buy more processed food; and we like to pay as little for it as possible. We also add to the mileage ourselves. We now travel further for our shopping, even if it’s to an organic farm shop, and use the car more often to do it. Then there’s all the food coming in to the country. Nearly all the fruit, and half of the vegetables, eaten in Britain are imported. The amount of food being flown into Britain rises each year. To take one example, strawberries are flown in from warmer climates to satisfy our desire for permanent dietary summertime, and air freight has a far bigger impact on the environment than sea or road travel has. Even the humble pizza, because of the way the food processing industry works, causes problems. Its various ingredients travel around the country from factory to factory, before they make their way to the shops. Even simple items like prepared salad travel far longer distances than they used to. ‘Food Miles’ is not everything, though. The way in which food is produced also has a significant impact. Reports shows that it is less environmentally friendly to grow tomatoes in Britain under glass than it is to import tomatoes from Spain. The energy needed to heat the glass houses for growing tomatoes in Britain is significantly more than the energy used in transporting tomatoes from Spain where no heating is used because of the warmer climate. But, of course, this debate about tomatoes would be irrelevant if we eat fruit and vegetables when they are in season. A final point about Food Miles is how do we know how far any food travelled? A food’s country of origin may be on the label but, beyond this, it’s generally impossible to tell how far the food has travelled and by what means. A long journey by boat, has less environmental impact than a shorter one by road. Even in a Taunton supermarket, milk labelled ‘West Country’ may have been produced in Cornwall, travelled hundreds of miles to be processed, before returning to the local in store shelf. It can be all very confusing, and work is needed to find out about the food we buy here in Stoke and in the surrounding towns.

FOOTPATHS - THE LEGAL STUFF BACK to Village Walks BACK to Footpaths & Footways BACK to Mobility & Transport Apart from the roads, the only Highways we have in Stoke are our Footpaths and the one ‘Byway Open to All Traffic’ - Pound Drove. There are no Bridleways in the parish. Also, there are no ‘Right to Roam’ Access Areas. Highways, which include footpaths, bridleways, restricted byways and byways open to all traffic, are protected by legislation under the Highways Act 1980 - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/66/contents Every Highway authority (in our case Somerset County Council) has a duty, set out under section 130 of the Highways Act, to: “assert and protect the rights of the public to the use and enjoyment of any highway for which they are the highway authority, including any roadside waste that forms part of it, and to prevent, as far as possible, the stopping up or obstruction of the highways in their area” Definitions Footpath This public right of way is meant for pedestrians only. Prams, pushchairs, mobility scooters or wheelchairs can also be used on a footpath, but there is no requirement to make access for them. Byway Open to All Traffic These byways are open to motorists, bicyclists, horseriders, motorcyclists and pedestrians. As with public tarmac road networks, motorists must ensure that they are legally authorised to use them (i.e. registered, taxed, insured and MoT’d). Footway The Highways Act defines it as "a way comprised in a highway which also comprises a carriageway, being a way over which the public have a right of way on foot only" . They are usually raised from the road and are normally known as pavements. Responsibilities Many landowners, both farmers and householders, have public footpaths running across their land, and the maintenance of these paths and liability for injury on them is often a cause for concern. The highway authority usually has the duty “to keep the surface in a safe condition and fit for the type of traffic which is ordinarily expected to use it” Any stile, gate or other similar structure across a footpath belongs to the landowner and must be maintained by the landowner in a safe condition, and to the standard of repair required to prevent unreasonable interference with the rights of persons using the path. If the path includes a bridge passing over a natural stream or obstacle, the bridge is part of the path therefore publicly maintainable. The Occupiers Liability Acts do not apply to visitors using public rights of way. Therefore neither the Highway Authority nor the landowner is liable under the Acts to users of the path. Stiles and other structures are an exception as the landowner is liable for these. Regulations Footpaths on edge of a field must not be ploughed. Footpaths can be ploughed if they cross fields, but landowners must ensure that they restore footpaths after ploughing. A minimum width of 1 metre must be made available within 14 days of ploughing. If you walk a right of way footpath in a field, you must keep to the line of the path. You are not allowed to disturb or harm any wildlife found on a public right of way, and you should not drop or leave litter. If you are walking a dog, you must also make sure that it does not stray off legal lines of a public footpath, either into a field or an adjoining hedge. Also ensure that you clean up your dog mess, if your dog fouls a footpath. Somerset County Council have produced three very useful booklets about footpaths and rights of way: GUIDE FOR DOG OWNERS & WALKERS - available HERE IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR LANDOWNERS WITH RIGHTS OF WAY - available HERE PUBLIC RIGHTS OF WAY ISSUES - available HERE

BACK to Footpaths & Footways BACK to Projects BACK to Stoke Environment Home Page STOKE FOOTPATH GROUP has put together 8 Circular Walks of varying lengths all starting in the square where there is parking, and also refreshments and toilets when the shop or the pub is open. These walks can easily be changed in length by cutting out bits or combining a part of one with another. If you would like to know more about the FOOTPATH GROUP , and maybe get involved , see the bottom of this page. Just Click on the Walk Numbers Walk 1 Huntham - Windmill - Sedgemoor - Huntham 3.7kms 2.3mls Walk 2 West Sedgemoor - Woodhill - Dark Lane 8kms 5mls Walk 3 Collickshire - Curload Hill - Playing Fields 2.7kms 1.7mls Walk 4 North and South of Huntham Lane 3.3kms 2mls Walk 5 West Sedgemoor and Curry Moor Ridge 7.5kms 4.7mls Walk 6 Above and along the River Tone 7.2kms 4.5mls Walk 7 River Tone - Windmill Hill - Willows and Wetlands Centre 3.1kms or 4.1kms 1.9mls or 2.5mls Walk 8 Dark Lane - Woodhill - East Deane Way - Main Drain - Pincombe Drove 5.7kms 3.5mls Walk 8a Extension of Walk 8 to Stathe & North Drove If you are up for trying some new walks, have a look at our 'Beta Walks' page HERE and give us some feedback Since the summer of 2021 individuals and small groups have been out and about cutting back and trimming around stiles and along some of our footpaths. This is being done with the agreement of the landowners concerned. The footpath group was formed in the summer of 2021 as an offshoot of the Stoke Environment Group. The aim is to encourage people to walk round and across fields and vary their walks to get to know the lovely countryside that surrounds the village. Footbridge from Dunfield Space to Walk Initially, the members of the group cleared stiles, bridges and gates of brambles and nettles to make them easier to navigate. Subsequently, following various trials, the group has put together directions and maps for eight local walks of various lengths - all starting in the village square. This helps people who are new to the village (and those who have never found the footpaths) and has helped ensure that people stick to the rights of way. Some of these were shown at the 2021 Envirofair with a lot of interest from those attending. These are now available below as downloadable and printable pdf files, and some printed copies are available in the cafe (jar for donations towards printing costs) . More will follow starting from different places in the village. The group has also replaced missing arrows and ‘re-yellowed’ faded arrows to make them easier to follow. Landowners have generally been co-operative and accepting of our help. The group has regular meetings and ideas for improvements are always forthcoming. The 'Clammer' in Slough Lane If you would like to be involved, please contact: Sarah Evans ssrs@btopenworld.com 07970 856798 or Email envirostoke@yahoo.com

Click HERE for ENVIROFAIR Home Page Click HERE for full list of contributors Fixy Van Average Somerset households hold on to 20 unwanted electrical items. Fixy’s first year is dedicated to giving anything with a plug or batteries a new lease of life if it stops working, and helping people to get things mended rather than throwing them away. Fixy will be at our Envirofair. The initiative is led by the Resource Futures consultancy, in partnership with Somerset Waste Partnership and Donate-IT, a local community interest company that refurbishes laptops, tablets and phones, and distributes them to families who need them. The van has a collection point for these items and Donate-IT will securely data-wipe donations. So, bring along your broken, and/or unwanted, electrical items on Saturday 25th June 10 am - 4 pm Every year, we throw away millions of tons of electrical and electronic items. Recycling is good, but reuse is even better, and it is often surprisingly easy to fix things. Not only can you save money, materials and energy, but repair is a useful action against climate change. Why not love your stuff for longer? Check out some good advice from SWP HERE And to look at the idea of a 'Circular Economy' click HERE