November 2023

15 Buckden Roundabout November 2023 Village News W.I. At our October meeting in the Village Hall we welcomed Alison, and her assistant Nicky, who gave a very detailed and in- formative talk on a local cheese, the Whyte Wytch, so named as it is a white, soft cheese with many "potions" involved in its production. Alison began her cheese making career in 2020 after retiring from her work with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. She was taught to make a Camembert style cheese in France and then began experimenting to make her own cheese here in East Anglia. The process of making cheese requires very vigorous and sci- entific hygiene procedures – far more than any of us realised – not for just the machinery and containers involved but also the actual cheese itself. She went on to explain how the milk is collected from a single source, (Bassingthorpe Farm), then how the curds and whey are separated before being put into moulds and left to mature. The process takes between six to seven weeks from start to finish. At the end of her talk members were invited to taste the cheese which was delicious – similar to Brie/Camembert but firmer with a creamy, nutty texture. Sadly, due to rising costs, Alison is having to close her business and is now planning on a move to France to grow almond trees instead! We all wish her Bonne Chance! Our next meeting will be at 7.30pm on Tuesday, 7 th November in the Village Hall when our Guest Speaker will be David Bale who will entertain us with his talk entitled " Without Fantasy a Life is not a Life". All visitors are most welcome to come along and for further information please contact: Emma Spencer – 07960 018412 Judith Armitage – 01480 811717 Lee Valley Regional Park The Huntingdonshire Local Group of the Wildlife Trust invites you to come along to listen to Eamonn Lawlor, who will pro- vide an illustrated talk on the wildlife and management of Lee Valley. This will be held on Wednesday 8 th November at 7.30pm at Brampton Memorial Hall. Eamonn joined the Wildlife Trust as Senior Reserves Office for West Cambridgeshire in 2022, having previously spent several years as a ranger at London ’ s ‘ green lung ’ – Lee Valley Regional Park. The park was formally consitituted in 1967 after many years of planning and Eamonn will enlighten us on the devel- opment and success of this area for wildlife. Everyone is most welcome to attend. Booking is not neces- sary. The charge is £3.50 and payment is by cash or card. We meet at Brampton Memorial Hall, Thrapston Road, Brampton, PE28 4TB. For more information please contact George (01480 450809 or georgecottam@virginmedia.com) Part of the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. Registered Charity No: 1000412 into force this November. I think this would be wise regardless of what happens with any amendments to the environment act. • As a baseline, our current local plan expects planning applications to demonstrate no net harm to biodiversi- ty. This is our current fallback position. We may even see a flurry of applications from developers who wish to take advantage of this grey area, submitting applica- tions that have no net harm to biodiversity, but would not meet the biodiversity increase requirements that were due to come into effect in November. Pledge to Fight Food Waste and win! In Huntingdonshire, around a third of the waste put into black bins is food. The Fight Food Waste campaign supports people to adopt simple habits that help to save food from the bin. Each month from now until December you can pledge to fight food waste in a different way and receive weekly support and tips to help you stick to it. There will be a monthly prize draw for one participant to win £60 (the amount that an average family wastes each month on food that goes in the bin) of vouchers to spend on food. Find out more and make your pledge at www.recap.co.uk/ pledge - to - fight - food - waste Wishing you well, Martin Martin Hassall District Councillor for Buckden, Diddington and Southoe Executive Councillor for Corporate & Shared Services - Phone: 07480 798 342 Email: martin.hassall@huntingdonshire.gov.uk (Continued from page 5)