October 2023

13 Buckden Roundabout October 2023 Village News Buckden Neighbourhood Watch RICHARD WEST Village Coordinator 01480 811467 / 07841 866630 CONTACTING CAMBRIDGESHIRE POLICE – WHEN AND HOW WHEN SHOULD YOU CALL 999? • You should call when there is an emergency such as you think behaviour could get heated or violent. • Someone is in danger or harm. • Incident of disruption to the public is likely. • You require police assistance right away. Please call 999 - this is what would be classified as an EMER- GENCY. If you accidentally dial 999, please stay on the line and tell the operator you ’ re safe and that no crime has occurred. If you ’ re in danger but you can talk on the phone, you should still call 999. HOW TO MAKE A SILENT 999 CALL If you ’ re in danger call 999 and try to speak to the operator if you can, even by whispering. You may also be asked to cough or tap the keys on your phone to answer questions. CALL 999 FROM A LANDLINE If you don ’ t speak or answer questions and the operator can only hear background noise, they ’ ll transfer your call to the police. If you replace the handset, the landline may remain connected for 45 seconds in case you pick it up again. Calling 999 from a landline automatically gives the police information about your location. CALL 999 FROM A MOBILE If you don ’ t speak or answer questions, press 55 when prompt- ed and your call will be transferred to the police. Pressing 55 only works on mobiles and doesn ’ t allow the police to track your location. CALLING 101 101 is police non - emergency phone number. Please use 101 to report minor and non - urgent crimes to report crimes that are currently in progress (where a high - priority response is NOT required) or to offer evidence in an investigation. When you call the police on 101, call handlers will ask you for some information about the reason for your call so they can ‘ triage ’ the call and direct you to the relevant team. ONLINE You can use online service the Cambridgeshire Police offer a live web chat also you can report non - emergency crimes on the online report forms. SOCIAL MEDIA You can direct message to the police non - urgent crime on Twitter(X) Facebook (meta) News from the Knot Garden The two box edged beds closest to the terrace depict references to the history of Buckden Towers. The Bishop bed shows the arms of Bishop Russel ln 1291 fire destroyed most of the buildings. Bish- op John Russell (1480 - 1494)was responsi- ble for rebuilding on the site. The arms of Bishop Russell can be seen on the Inner Gatehouse (1480) and on the south gable front. The other shows a Fleur de Lys, the emblem of the City and Bishops of Lincoln. The Bishop Russel bed had become overgrown with bindweed that was impossible to eradicate. We cleared the bed, applied weedkiller, laid new weed suppressing membrane and replant- ed with Golden Marjoram. We then laid new blue slate chip- pings and put Santolina in pots to represent the pomegranates in his coat of arms. All that work made the Fleur de Lys bed look very shabby. The bed was weed infested (Oxalis and Creeping Thistle). The 1st Buckden and Southoe Scouts came to our rescue. They worked very hard on the hottest afternoon in August to clear the bed for us. We have been able to move quickly on to the next step and have already laid fresh weed suppressing membrane. At the time of writing it ’ s too hot and dry to replant. By October the soil should be wet enough and still warm for the new plants to settle in before the cold weath- er. We will also replace the mixed and black gravel. The gardeners have saved some Golden Marjoram and hope to have enough to complete the planting. The leaves of the plants may look green during the winter but will become golden in the spring sunshine. The gardeners would also like to record their thanks to FOBT for funding the professional cutting of the box in three of the knot beds. The job was too much for the small number of hours the gardeners work and showed again the need for new volunteers to help maintain the garden. Sadly the box has been infested with box moth which we are treating with nemotodes in preference to any chemical or biological treatment.