Hello,at this time of crisis for our environment,  I wondered if you could use the attached in your Church newsletter to help spread awareness about these now endangered animals & give them a chance of recovery in 2022 & beyond. Thanks for taking the time to read
Best wishes

Dougie

Here are some simple tips to help them.
1. Link your garden with a Hedgehog Highway. Hedgehogs travel between1-2 km a night searching for food and a mate. Leaving a small gap in your fence the size of a CD case will let hedgehogs through but be too small for pets. BHPT/PTES sell snazzy little recyclable Hedgehog Highway signs, for a few pounds. Ask your neighbours to do the same!

2. Create a wild corner in your garden so they can snuffle around for insects.

3. Tidy up netting and litter which can trap hedgehogs due to their spines. Even rubber bands dropped by the postie can become embedded in their skin, causing a slow, painful death.

4. Put out food and water. You can supplement their diet with wet dog or cat food (preferably not fish based). No bread, milk or mealworms, which are all extremely bad for them. For those who are into simple DIY you can make a feeding station to stop other animals having a free supper - details on the BHPS website/YouTube

5. Stop using chemicals especially slug pellets. Hedgehogs are a gardener’s best friend as they eat slugs as well as many other beasties which would otherwise be devouring your prize flowers and vegetables.

Gnome Report March 2023

    Hello again my fellow worshippers of the Allan Church.
‘tis I, the junior gnome, to bring you the quarterly update
regarding the goings on in our beautiful Church, maintenance wise,
of course. There I go again with my bias; I can’t help myself really.
Anyway, the winter is coming to an end, and we will be looking
To feed and weed the lawn areas as spring bursts in on us, we’ll also be looking towards planting bedding plants and whatever we have in the way of bulbs so, again, if anyone has anything they have to add to the bright colourful looks of our gardens, then please pass them to any of the gnomes.                                                                                                                                                                                                          Any and all monetary donations towards the gardens please pass them to Colin or Dougie and decisions will be made on how to use any and all gifts to the maximum, in the main garden to the front of the building, but also in the gardens to the rear.
     With regards to maintenance, it has to be noted that after all the stormy weather we’ve had over Christmas and since, the Church has gotten off rather lightly. Probably the most serious thing was the stable that formed part of our exterior Christmas display was blown over. This damaged some of the lighting but otherwise nothing that couldn’t be fixed. 

It has all been taken down, repaired, and stored ready for Christmas 2024. Some new lighting required, but otherwise, all OK.
      As I’m writing this the PAT testing of electrical appliances has been arranged for the 14th of February, so, hopefully, by the time you are all reading your magazines, this will have been done and we are good for another year. Whilst this is being attended to by the electricians, hopefully they will be able to replace a switch in the utility off the large hall, as this light is not working properly.

     A sink unit has been causing some issues and was temporarily  fixed a short time ago. This has been addressed with a more permanent repair.

The fire alarm system was serviced recently, and this flagged up some faulty sensors, this is being addressed as we speak and will be resolved soon, hopefully.

    As Easter is fast approaching and the cross will be required to be erected, this will need to be checked, sanded as necessary then another coat of varnish applied to keep it looking as good as
possible for future use.

    In support of other charities, the gnomes put different coloured
filters over the outside lights. On the 26th March purple filters are put
over the lights in support of National epilepsy awareness day.

    At the end of March and the beginning of April there will be a quick change over of filters, first red for Easter, then blue on the 1st of April to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Royal Canadian Airforce.                                                                                                                                                                          Then in May blue filters again, although a different shade of Blue, in support of Nerve Tumours UK.
So, busy times ahead for the gnomes. As usual, none of this work would be possible without the support of your good Selves.
Again, as usual, if anybody wishes to come along and Join in with the gnomes, you’ll be made more than welcome.
Wednesday afternoons from 1pm is the time. We hope to see You then.
Until then, it’s goodbye from me,                                                                                                                                               Phil Jordan, junior gnome.   

 

            

Philip

George

Colin

Robert

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YOU?