First Holly & Mistletoe Sale 2010

Mistletoe Foundation Blessing, originally uploaded by @WR15.

This morning saw the first Mistletoe Auction of 2010. An overnight fall of snow made the scene feel a little more seasonal.

There were a good number of lots laid out at the new (for 2010) auction site on spare ground at the Tenbury Wells, Bromyard Road Business Park. As usual Nick Champion and his team had worked hard to lay out everything in a neat and professional manor.

Photographers, journalists and film crews from various local & national publications swelled the numbers of onlookers as members of the Mistletoe Foundation carried out the traditional blessing of the holly & mistletoe with water from a sacred well.

Coldest Night So Far

In Tenbury last night the temperatures fell to a low of -10.4 c.

(The record overnight low was recorded 60 miles to the South West in Stennybridge at -15.2 c.)

*Corrected* The record overnight low was recorded 50 miles to the West in Llysdinam at -18 c.

The coldest temperature ever recorded in the UK was -23.3 c in Braemar in November 1919.

The coldest temperature ever recorded was -89.6 c in Antarctica in July 1983.

BBC News
Met Office

Snow Clearance - Government Advice

Clearing snow and ice from pavements yourself.


There's no law stopping you from clearing snow and ice on the pavement outside your home or from public spaces. It's unlikely you'll be sued or held legally responsible for any injuries on the path if you have cleared it carefully. Follow the snow code when clearing snow and ice safely.

The snow code - tips on clearing snow and ice from pavements or public spaces

Prevent slips

Pay extra attention to clear snow and ice from steps and steep pathways - you might need to use more salt on these areas.

If you clear snow and ice yourself, be careful - don’t make the pathways more dangerous by causing them to refreeze. But don’t be put off clearing paths because you’re afraid someone will get injured.

Remember, people walking on snow and ice have responsibility to be careful themselves. Follow the advice below to make sure you clear the pathway safely and effectively.

Clear the snow or ice early in the day

It’s easier to move fresh, loose snow rather than hard snow that has packed together from people walking on it. So if possible, start removing the snow and ice in the morning. If you remove the top layer of snow in the morning, any sunshine during the day will help melt any ice beneath. You can then cover the path with salt before nightfall to stop it refreezing overnight.

Use salt or sand - not water

If you use water to melt the snow, it may refreeze and turn to black ice. Black ice increases the risk of injuries as it is invisible and very slippery. You can prevent black ice by spreading some salt on the area you have cleared. You can use ordinary table or dishwasher salt - a tablespoon for each square metre you clear should work. Don’t use the salt found in salting bins - this will be needed to keep the roads clear.

Be careful not to spread salt on plants or grass as it may cause them damage.

If you don’t have enough salt, you can also use sand or ash. These won’t stop the path icing over as well as salt, but will provide good grip under foot.

Take care where you move the snow

When you’re shovelling snow, take care where you put it so it doesn’t block people’s paths or drains. Make sure you make a path down the middle of the area to be cleared firs, so you have a clear surface to walk on. Then shovel the snow from the centre of the path to the sides.

Offer to clear your neighbours’ paths

If your neighbour will have difficulty getting in and out of their home, offer to clear snow and ice around their property as well. Check that any elderly or disabled neighbours are alright in the cold weather. If you’re worried about them, contact your local council.

Tenbury Gets New Tourist Attraction

A Boeing Chinook Heavy lift helicopter sits gathering frost in the field adjacent to the A456 in Burford, Tenbury.

The Army helicopter which had been on exercise in the Lake District all day, experienced hydraulics problems on the flight back to base. The problems became critical at about 4.30pm yesterday as they passed over Tenbury and were ordered to land by their control.

An MOD spokesman said the landing was a routine precautionary landing rather than an emergency landing.

A second helicopter arrived from Hampshire at about 9.30 last night to collect the crew and deliver some technicians. Other technicians arrived during the night by road and worked in sub-zero temperatures to try to rectify the faults.

By 11.00am this morning the Helicopter was still in situ and the verges of the A456 were lined by onlookers and media reporters.

Other photo's

Worcester News

Ludlow Advertiser

Shop Local - Value for money.

A reader of this blog has very kindly done a small mystery shop at Bowkett's and Tesco's with interesting results.

He bought 11 (mostly) branded items.

Tesco £16.76 Bowketts £15.46 (7.75% saving)

(Although if you spend another 2p at Tesco you could have had 2 tins of Tomatoes instead of 1)

This was only a small shop but shows that for the middle range shopper it can still make sense to shop local.

If you were able to compromise on brand and select the value items (they were only available for 6 out of the 11 items) your Tesco bill would drop to £12.61* (18.43% saving vs Bowketts)

(Lower branded items might also be available at Bowketts)

As is often said, "You can prove anything with statistics" or as Homer (Simpson) said "Facts are meaningless they can be used to prove anything"

(* The branded items often came in larger sizes so I have adjusted the figure to compare. e.g. Heinz Ketchup Squeezy 342g vs Tesco Ketchup Squeezy 1kg)

Will Chase negotiating to buy Malvern Water

Will Chase the local multi millionaire entrepreneur, and majority partner in Chase Tenbury LLP the owners of the Tenbury Cattle Market site is in negotiation with Coca-Cola with a view to buying the Malvern Water brand.

It would appear that whilst the iconic brand may be salvaged, the 108 year old Colwall plant will still be closed and production moved to his Chase Vodka distillery site.

Malvern Water has been popular for hundreds of years, and a favourite with the reigning monarch.

In recent times the water at most (or all) of the public pumps are said to have become contaminated and unsafe to drink unless treated. This fact has not been widely publicised and several people in Tenbury recently became very ill after collecting and drinking water from one of the wells.

Other articles about this story.

The Telegraph

Large Crowds Watch Lights

A large crowd, gathered in Teme Street, Tenbury Wells tonight to watch Ray the Sunshine Radio Cat switch on the 2010 Christmas Lights. The crowds were entertained by the Sunshine Radio road crew, with music and competitions until they switched live to the studio in Ludlow for the switch on.

After the lights were switched on, the crowds were further entertained by members the Teme Valley Band playing a selection of Christmas songs.

Mistletoe Articles 2010

Every year during Mistletoe Season the national press turn their attention to Tenbury Wells. This year the first appears to be the Daily Mail.

Daily Mail - Pucker Up

Daily Express - Bumper Crop
Auction Listing
Birmingham Post
BBC
Guardian
Sunday Mercury
PA
This is Cornwall
New Zealand Herald

I'll publish more links as they appear.

Tenbury Mistletoe Season Starts Tomorrow

"When love is in the air"

Tenbury Mistletoe Season kicks off tomorrow with the turning on of the Christmas Lights. This event has been a bit of a disappointment in the last few years, with promised attractions failing to happen and incorrect timings advertised.

Hopefully this year, with the help of Sunshine Radio it will be an altogether bigger and brighter affair. The weather will hopefully be dry and the temperature not too cold.

Everyone is welcome to the event which will take place outside the Regal at 5.30pm (Friday 19th November 2010).

Later the same evening there is a special showing of the Christmas Classic "It's a wonderful life".

Free Flood Protection Advice this Thursday

Members of Whitehouse Company Flood Mitigation Team will be on hand at the Community Centre this Thursday to discuss and demonstrate Flood Protection devices. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Airband comes to Tenbury.

If you have a voracious appetite for data, but your existing Broadband supplier isn't delivering, then Airband might be for you.

Airband are building a wireless data network in the Tenbury, Leominster, Ludlow area. Initially funded by Advantage West Midlands, they will need to become self sufficient in the long term.

Using a combination of wireless transmitters and receivers, Airband can link up almost anyone in the Tenbury area with their transmitters on Clee Hill or Broadheath. Speeds of up to 1.25Gb/s can in theory be achieved, but at a price. They can also link multiple offices together.

If you need to use Broadband commercially then the prices are much cheaper than other suppliers, but for the domestic user they are not so competitive.

A 4Mb/s connection (1Mb/s upload) with a contention of 1:20 will cost you £25 a month. Great if your existing connection is unreliable or slow, but speeds of 8Mb/s are achievable in Town for less money. (but probably with a higher contention rate, not a problem during the day, but not so good when the facebook generation come home from school)

Airband only provide the "pipe" so any potential customers, business or domestic that are not very computer literate will probably need to also employ additional services from other companies to install the necessary infrastructure.

For the domestic user in areas that are poorly served by fixed line broadband you may find Reebex a cheaper option. Unlike Airband, Reebex will deliver the complete system and offer support.

More information:

Airband

Reebex

Burgage Plan will allow for Events

A revised master plan for the Tenbury Burgage was shown to Tenbury Town Council tonight.

Numerous revisions have been made, but most importantly for many people the plan now allows space for Boot Fairs, Festivals and the traditional November bonfire.

The overall plan could take a number of years to implement as funding becomes available, but it is hoped that the first phase will include additional play equipment aimed at younger children which couldn't be included in the first phase as it was specifically excluded by the grant provider.

The new fence is expected to be installed this month.