Cropwell Bishop Village Parish Plan

Remembrance Day (9-11-14)

Today was Remembrance Day and after this morning's Remembrance Service at the School, a wreath was laid at the school by the Scouts, Police and on behalf of Rushcliffe Borough Council.

It was then placed next to the Rolls of Honour in the Memorial Hall as a fitting tribute to those who gave their lives for our freedom in both world wars. Mrs Barlow and Mrs Hickman were in attendance at the Memorial Hall.

Chris Keast

Spiltmilk Say Dance (9-11-14)

On Friday evening it was the Village Ventures evening with Spiltmilk Say Dance.

There were about sixty people inside the Old School—of all ages and all having a fun time. It was a great success with everyone joining in the dancing in the second half of the evening. As you can see from the photos, suitable attire included: hats, sparkly wigs, glasses and feather boas!

Ever had a Swift nesting in your Bird Box? (11-11-14)

Having a bird box in your garden is a great way to add interest—not matter how small the space you have.

Swifts are wonderful birds to watch flying and we are lucky to have many each year nesting on the walls of St Giles Church. In Kinoulton and Owthorpe a big effort has been made to attract Swifts to their churches. To read more about the project download the pdf Kinoulton Swift Project .

To find out what kind of bird box you need to have Swifts nesting in your garden go to Swift Conservation .

Tony Jarrow

Wow!—I didn't know they could do that! (2-11-14)

There will be a Variety Show in Cropwell Bishop on the 23rd November. That's a Sunday afternoon and it will be for all the family.

In aid of St Giles' Fund, this great show is packed full of amazing local talent. Singers, dancers, musicians, you name it, Cropwell Bishop has it all and …. some surprises. Come and see people you know from the village performing.

It is a show, not a competition.

Tickets available from The Cabin (round the back, mornings only).

It is Faster Through Glass (13-11-14)

Thank you for passing on your experiences of upgrading to fibre for your broadband connection.

Pete Reader on the Maltings is with TalkTalk and tells me:

Up the Maltings I have had the best connection on copper getting from 2.7 to 3.1 Kb/s depending on others use, school holidays etc.
Been with TalkTalk last 3 years as they have been clearly best value for money. Earlier BT.
Today I went live on FTTC cabinet near Memorial Hall. I still have a lot of copper as BT chose to run our lines via Stockwell Lane! Anyway at 1.30 today I achieved 41 Mb/s. Since then it has been between 40 and 41. My estimate from TalkTalk was 15.6.
I assume that this will drop as more subscribe to FTTC, but what a difference! Hoe View Road (old) has its own FTTC next to cabinet 8 on the left near the cut through to Hall Drive – so their nearby speeds should be even more.

Lance Thorpe is on Hardys Close and and has connected with BT. He says:

Download speed doesn't quite reach the 38Mb but 37.48MB isn't bad - Upload speed is 9.49Mb.

After the years of waiting it is wonderful to be able discuss such high speeds.
What is the betting that in 10 years time we will all be complaining that these speeds are just not fast enough for the year 2024!
Until then, let's enjoy the opportunities optical fibre will give us.

Tony Jarrow

So that's what happens ... (10-11-14)

Following my recent article about broadband speeds, I have had a message from Andrew Trevers. Andrew works in IT and has some knowledge of workings of the ‘green boxes’ that BT have installed. To summarise, he told me:

My connection to the Cotgrave exchange hasn't changed. I am still connected to the OLD GREEN cabinet (near the Memorial Hall) and then to the Cotgrave Exchange by the same old copper cable that has been there for decades.

What BT have now done this year is lay a fibre cable from Cotgrave to the NEW GREEN cabinet.

If I choose to upgrade my package I will first have to have some new equipment installed in my home (by my broadband provider) and then the BT Openreach engineer will unplug my connection inside the OLD GREEN cabinet and move it to NEW GREEN cabinet. Then I will have a high-speed connection.

This arrangement is described as “Fibre to the Caninet” (or FTTC).

Andrew has already had all of this done and now enjoys a Broadband speed of 50Mb, which is over 50x faster than it was!

I imagine that in a year’s time we will look back and smile at any misgivings we might have had about the new connection, even if it does cost a bit more. Maybe this website will have video news items on it!

Thanks again to Andrew and also Chris McKeague for entlightening us on FTTC (I think I am already a convert!).

Tony Jarrow

Renewable Energy in Cropwell Bishop (8-11-14)

Plans are afoot for a Renewable Energy Project on the outskirts of Cropwell Bishop.

The ‘Stragglethorpe Biogas Renewable Energy Project’ is a farm-based facility for the generation of electricity and heat using locally grown crops.

The proposed site is next to the Stragglethorpe Grain Store near the roundabout at the A46 junction. Crops will be delivered to the site using, primarily, internal farm roads and the A46 slip road.

Basically, they will be tipped into a big tank where they will decay and produce methane gas (marsh gas). This will be burnt to drive a generator and deliver electricity to the National Grid. Excess heat will be made use of and the decayed plant material will be recycled.

To find out more about this project, click Biomass Project and Site Plan to download pdf files.

The Bigger Picture ….

Without energy, nothing happens. Plants don’t grow, we don’t live and cars don’t move. Plants get their energy from sunlight and the coal and oil we burn today are the fossil remains of plants and animals that captured this energy 300 million years ago.

Over the last 300 years we have been using up fossil fuels as though they will last forever and, nowadays, increasingly so. Once used up, they will be gone forever.

Economic behaviour of both governments and us as individuals, dictates that we generally buy what is cheapest. At present, that may well be oil and coal. Unfortunately, by the time their supply becomes scarce and they become costly, the damage to our environment will irreversible. Global warming caused by the excessive release of carbon dioxide when burning fossil fuels is a proven scientific fact and is already having a detrimental effect on our lives.

As the cost of fossil fuels gradually increases, the production of energy by other means will become economically viable. However, waiting for that day to come will be too late—at least for our children and grandchildren, who may be denied the fruits of a healthy planet.

In the long term, science and technology will hopefully provide the answer. Fusion nuclear reactors (they don’t produce any radioactive waste), artificial photosynthesis cells (doing what plant leaves do) and the like have great potential but will demand massive investments in time and money.

In the meantime we need to fill the energy gap by using available energy supplies that do not damage our environment. Wind, tidal and solar energy supplies can all do this but need a supportive Government for both planning permission and grants to make them financially attractive initially.

The growing of coppice willow to fuel power stations (on the other side of the road to the recent haystack fire) was a first step and now this proposed ‘Biogas Renewable Energy Project’ appears to be another step in the right direction. Both are a good advert for the progressive spirit that exists in Cropwell Bishop.

Tony Jarrow

Haystack Fire - update (6-11-14)

Two haystacks are burning and are located beside the Lime Kiln-Cotgrave Road. They are in a field about 500m from the road, not far from the bridge over the A46. If you are driving from Cotgrave towards the Lime Kiln, then after going over the A46 you climb a hill. When you get to the top of the hill, there is a field on the left containing two haystacks. They are the haystacks on fire.

You can see from these pictures taken at 11.05pm that the two haystacks are being allowed to burn out. The nearby telegraph poles give you an idea of their size.

All roads are open and there appears to be no danger to people or property.

Tony Jarrow

Haystack on Fire (6-11-14)

This evening there has been a big haystack on fire near Cropwell Bishop. I believe that it is near to the Lime Kiln to Cotgrave Road.

Below is a picture of it taken at 7.35pm this evening. I took it on the way back from the Memorial Hall. It was taken on Nottingham Road, where the new BT green cabinet is located, beside the playpark.

You can see from the lower picture that I was looking across the road and roughly in the direction of Skylarks on the hill. It is difficult to estimate the distance.

It should be noted that the fire is a long way from the site of the Firework Display and the wind was blowing towards Cropwell Butler, in the opposite direction.

Tony Jarrow

Fireworks Night (6-11-14)

The rain held off and it was dark—great conditions for the Firework Display on the Memorial Hall Playing Field this evening.

The fireworks seemed to be more spectacular than ever this year and the large crowd, including many children, enjoyed every second of it. Except, that is, for a few of the youngest ones who did not like the loudest bangs. But even they were able to watch from the safety of the Memorial Hall.

For a wonderful display plus mushy peas, soup and hot drinks for free, there is only one place to go—Cropwell Bishop.

Thanks go to the Parish Council and the Memorial Hall Committee for working hard to make this annual event a great success.

Tony Jarrow

High speed fibre broadband? (5-11-14)

After hearing that Cropwell Bishop now has a super-fast fibre broadband connection, I thought I would search the internet to see what deals are available.

Various broadband providers confirmed that I can indeed get speeds of up to 56Mb. That is amazing compared with the speeds of 1 or 2Mb that I have been living with for the last 10 years.

I realised that to get such a high speed, I would have to sign up for a new contract and have to pay a bit more each month. However, what if I wanted to enjoy the better connection to the Cotgrave Exchange without paying for the very top speed?

I checked the wording of the contract I took out with BT twelve months ago:

"We estimate your speed will be 8Mb. Your actual speed will depend on how far you live from your exchange, ......".

But now, with our fibre link to Cotgrave, that isn't a problem, so presumably my connection speed is now around 8Mb, on my existing contract?

But it wasn't feeling any faster, and several times in recent weeks I have lost my connection altogether (4 times in the last 2 days). I decided to do a check with one of the many speed checkers that are available online.

Here is the result:

In other words, exactly the same as it has been for the last 10 years!

How can that be? It is almost as though my provider is deliberately keeping my speed low to encourage me to pay for an upgrade. A reputable company like BT would never do that would it?

Have you noticed an increase in your internet speed?

Tony Jarrow

Fibre Optic Broadband is here! (27-10-14)

After the long, long wait our Village now has a fibre optic broadband connection.

This should mean that you will be able to start enjoying all the benefits of a high speed connection that everybody else (beyond Cropwell Bishop) has been telling you about for years.

I was informed by our Parish Clerk this morning and when I checked the BT website, it confirmed that I can now get a BT Infinity package.

Whilst using the Internet this morning, I have not noticed a big increase in speed although it does feel like a 'good day' for downloading websites.

If we want to get really fast speeds, we will have to take out a new package with our provider, eg BT, or look for a better deal from a different provider. At least we now have the choice.

Thanks to all those who have campaigned and fought for this since, what seems like, the last century.

Tony Jarrow

Langar Tip (25-10-14)

The usual weekend view of Langar Tip this morning with local people making the most of an opportunity to recycle their rubbish.

But then, at 11am, there were suddenly more people than plastic bags in the compound .....

They were there to continue to long running protest at the proposal to close the Tip at the end of this financial year.

Thousands of local people, including many from Cropwell Bishop, signed a petition earlier this year and some of them stood on the skip ramps at 11am this morning supported by Councillors Richard Butler and Sarah Bailey who are coordinating the battle against the proposal.

Some villagers have visited the West Bridgford recycling centre to compare the experience with Langar: as a result they even more strongly opposed to the closure of the Langar site.

Available information seems to suggest that operating costs for running the Langar site site are very low: annual savings to the County Council would be minimal. Could it be that they are looking to make a quick profit by selling the land it stands on? Is that the way we want our elected ruling Council to operate? Shouldn't it be looking after the long term interests of the people they represent?

If the County Council did close the tip, it might put money into its own bank account but it would take money out of our individual bank accounts to cover the cost of the longer, slower journey—not to mention the inconvenience and additional time that the journey would entail.

Let's not give up our battle: don't wait until the next local election, it will then be too late.

Tony Jarrow

Planning Application ... (23-10-14)

The front page of this month's Cropwell Bishop News makes reference to recent articles posted on this website. To see these articles, click on the top item in the column of 'Earlier News Stories' on the right-hand side of this page—the one labelled 'Septermber 2014'.

Tony Jarrow