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Enjoy a springtime walk around Herstmonceux

28/5/2015

Back in early April, we went on a beautiful walk around Herstmonceux, East Sussex. I wrote it up for my regular column in the Battle Observer and now it's time to share the walk with you here.

Spring has arrived! By nine o’clock, last night’s frost has melted to dew and a handful of clouds are dissolving under a vivid sun. We slip off the high street at Herstmonceux and out past the sports ground, noting the tiny purple buds in the lush grass, the scruffy young blue tits, the lime-green leaves unfurling like flowers in the hedges and a flurry of white blossoms in someone’s garden.

Out over the fields we go, where friendly cows chew the cud and let me scratch their foreheads over the gate. Even the insects are sociable: a swarm of tiny beasts congregates above a pond, a conference of flies buzzes beneath a tree, and bumblebees patrol a bank of sweet-smelling primroses.

We’re heading to the church, which lies almost two miles south of present-day Herstmonceux, marking the site of the medieval village. But we’re in no rush, so we sidetrack up pretty footpaths and charming little lanes on our way. In the churchyard, we stop for a cup of tea and soak in the wonderful view over the levels towards Hailsham and the haze-swaddled South Downs.

Back on the trail, we pass Herstmonceux Castle. Some sources claim the name ‘Herstmonceux’ arose in the 12th century, when one Idonea de Herst married an Ingelram de Monceux - their manor became known as Herste of the Monceux and, eventually, Herstmonceux. In 1441, Sir Roger Fiennes obtained a license to crenellate the existing manor house. He chose what was then an expensive and luxurious building material for his castle, red brick. (Interesting trivia: Herstmonceux village was known as Gardner Street until it adopted the name of the castle.)

A little further on, several observatory domes appear beside the path. They were built between 1947 and 1958 to replace the observatory in Greenwich when the smoke, smog and bright lights of London made it impossible to study the skies. Where most modern domes are painted white or silver to reflect heat away, these were clad in copper sheet and encouraged to weather to green in order to help them blend in with the surrounding countryside. Whether the intended effect has been achieved is debatable, but It is now a heritage listed monument! The Royal Greenwich Observatory closed in 1990 and the buildings and their telescopes are now part of The Observatory Science Centre.

We pass through a wood carpeted in the distinctive leaves of bluebells - somewhere to return in a couple of weeks when the flowers come out - and emerge to rolling green fields and bright sunshine. We throw ourselves gleefully on the ground and spend half an hour basking in the sun, watching buzzards wheel overhead, listening to jackdaws chatter in the huge old oaks and dreaming up a summer of endless days like this.

It doesn’t take long to climb up to Windmill Hill where the eponymous windmill is missing its sails (or sweeps, as they’re known in Sussex). The windmill has recently received £80,800 from the Heritage Lottery Fund for restoration work, so perhaps they are off being restored. We take the path across the fields through Chapel Row and back to Herstmonceux. Out in the fields, we find a spot with a 360 degree view taking in the villages, the Levels and the Downs, the church spire, the big observatory dome and the windmill - a perfect recap of a perfect walk on a perfect morning.

A shorter version of this article first appeared as "Herstmonceux with a Spring in my step" in the Battle Observer, Friday 12 April 2015, page 77.

Purple flowers beside the sports ground.

Friendly cows in the fields.

Herstmonceux Church.

Herstmonceux Castle.

The Observatory Science Centre.

A big old oak tree.

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Sleep in a bluebell wood

18/5/2015

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Our May entry for Alastair Humphreys' Year of Microadventure was our warmest night out so far this year!

One sunny evening, we went down to the bluebell wood.

We wandered along wide gravel paths, between tall trees, beneath new spring leaves . . .

. . . until we came to the other side.

We lay down among the bluebells, listening to owls and the chimes of a distant church.

Person lying on mat surrounded by bluebells

We stared at the sky until the stars came out and we fell asleep.

The next morning, we woke to the dawn chorus.

Mist tumbled up over the fields, leaving a dew drop on each blade of grass . . .

. . . but it didn’t reach us, snug in our bivvies.

POV shot of bluebells and bivvy bag feet

The sun rose . . .

. . . drenching the fields and woods in syrupy light.

The bluebells glowed magenta.

It was magical.

Beautiful.

We broke camp . . .

. . . leaving no trace but a dimple in the fallen leaves . . .

. . . and found a bench overlooking the fields.

We watched the morning unfold as we made tea and breakfast.

What a beautiful view.

How lucky we are to be here.

Soon it was time to go back down through the woods, and home.

Read about our previous entries in the 2015 Year of Microadventure - January, February, March and April. This microadventure cost about £1.46 for two of us, including food, drink and petrol.

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Interview: Former Children’s Library manager Pauline Crouch

14/5/2015

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Hastings Children’s Library manager Pauline Crouch has retired after 40 years’ service. I spoke to her about her decades of experience and plans for the future.

Three generations of Hastings children have come through the doors of the Children’s Library since Pauline Crouch began working there in the 1970s. Some people Pauline signed up as toddlers now bring their own children and grandchildren to the library.

I can see one of the reasons they kept coming back: Pauline’s enthusiasm is infectious. Her eyes twinkle as she recalls the events she’s run over the years. “One of my favourites was the ‘Libraries are Magic’ day I put on about ten years ago,” she says. “There were competitions all day, craft workshops, a Harry Potter family quiz with a Harry lookalike, magic show, puppet show and a fancy dress parade.” Pauline also used to run trips to Bodiam and Pevensey castles during the summer holidays, with author talks, craft workshops, face painting and high-energy games. “My abiding memories are of struggling to put up gazebos in the pouring rain, wearing publicity t-shirts several sizes too big and screaming maniacally at over-excited children playing parachute games!” Pauline shows me a photo of herself dressed up as the Good Fairy from the children’s book Little Rabbit Foo Foo. “Scarily, this is probably how I will be best remembered!” she says.

This is hardly the stereotypical image of a stern librarian, hushing and tutting children into meek silence. It’s clear from the passion she exudes that library work was Pauline’s vocation - although she laughed when, in 1971, a careers adviser told her as much. “I didn’t believe them at the time!” But after completing her A-levels, Pauline began working as a library assistant. A couple of years later she got a job in the Children’s Library, and there she remained until 2015.

Pauline as the Good Fairy from Little Rabbit Foo Foo - with cake!

One of Pauline's mice - with cake! I sense a theme here.

Forty years of change: fun, filing and funding

So, what’s changed over the years? For a start, Pauline has noticed a dramatic shift in the reading habits of her young customers. “Reading used to be one of their main sources of entertainment, but now there are so many other things to do.” Children also demand more from story time. “Someone sitting on a chair reading a pile of picture books doesn’t cut it any more,” she smiles. “That’s why I was always trying to include other activities, games, crafts - something to catch their attention.” But children still come to the library, and Pauline believes that one thing has remained constant: everyone loves a good story.

Library work has also changed considerably since the 1970s. Back then, the Children’s Library didn’t open until after school hours. “People often wonder what I did during the day, but you have to remember that everything was done manually back then,” Pauline explains. “Placing reservations was time consuming and keeping the catalogue up to date was a laborious task. Each book had its own numbered card and it all had to be filed - accurately! - by hand. If one card was out of place it took hours of searching customers’ tickets to sort out the mistake.” When the first computer system arrived, staff spent days sticking barcodes into books. At the end of each day, lending data was recorded onto a spool of tape and sent off to the main computer, which Pauline recalls “looked like a big washing machine.”

Funding levels for the library have dipped and peaked over the last few decades, too. “There have been good times with plenty of funding to promote reading to children of different ages,” Pauline tells me. Hastings Children’s Library has also been fortunate to have a separate location since 1979, which has meant more space and flexibility for activities. “But with every tough time, we’ve had to reduce activities and services,” notes Pauline. “And I’ve never witnessed it as bad as it is now.” Are the current restructures and cuts one of the reasons she’s leaving? “The honest truth is that I probably wouldn’t have retired quite this early had the situation not been changing at work,” Pauline tells me. “But the job brought me a lot of satisfaction and pleasure and now I am about to embark on another adventure.”

A new chapter, a new adventure

For Pauline, this adventure includes time painting in the little studio at the bottom of her garden. She cites Helen Oxenbury, Michael Foreman, Inga Moore and Barbara Firth as influences, and she hangs Quentin Blake illustrations on her walls. Pauline is also inspired by the natural landscape, getting out for long walks around Hastings and the “truly wild” places of the Peak District and Yorkshire when she can. Her pencil and watercolour illustrations appear in Glenda Quinnell’s The Tooth Recycler, as well as Pauline’s own Find and Seek Trails, a series of Hastings walks with clues and puzzles for children to solve. She is typically modest about her publications, but they have been popular among customers. Her sweet pictures of mice are also much-loved by her friends and colleagues, who hope she can find a publisher for them. Pauline also has plans for art shows, craft projects and charity events.

But the Hastings Children’s Library will always hold a special place in her heart. Pauline still remembers the shiver of excitement she felt when she first picked up The Snowman by Raymond Briggs back in 1978. “At that moment I just knew that sharing the love of stories and illustrations with children, being able to encourage them to read for pleasure and introducing them to new authors and illustrators was what I wanted to do. Imagination fuels discovery, invention and creativity. That’s why the library service is so vital. It’s not just about the books, but the expertise, the encouragement, the enthusiasm you find there.” Indeed, I think. These are qualities Pauline has in abundance.

I ask Pauline if she has a message for all the people she’s inspired over the years. “Where did all the time go and how can I possibly be old enough to even contemplate it?” she says. “Thank you to everyone, staff and customers, who have made my almost forty years at the Children’s Library so wonderful. I hope I have instilled a passion for stories in several generations of children. Keep reading, everyone!”

Thank you to Pauline for sharing her story! A shorter version of this article titled "New chapter for librarian Pauline" first appeared in Hastings Independent, Issue 29, 1 May 2015, page 11.

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Set the May microadventure challenge

11/5/2015

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Better late than never! People who have signed up/been press-ganged to this challenge have already had an email about the microadventure theme for May, but it's about time it went up online, too. (If you want to get the early scoop on these things, get in touch and I can add your email to the list.)

"Break for Tea" (cc) Rishi S ... Take a portable camp stove out into nature and cook your lunch.

Lunchtime microadventures

This month’s challenge (chosen by me!) is to go on a lunchtime microadventure. A few suggestions:

Get to the top of the tallest hill or building in your city
Stroll through a park, garden or woodland and observe the seasons
Join a class/taster session for an activity that’s outside your comfort zone (sport, art, singing, yoga)
Meet some friends for a potluck picnic
Explore the streets, galleries, laneways or buildings near your workplace
Cook and/or eat something new to you
Go to a fun fair and ride a ferris wheel or rollercoaster
Undertake a distance challenge - see how far you can ride/run in your lunch break
Hop on the bus or train and find a new place for lunch

Swim in the sea, go rockclimbing, roll down a hill, go busking, try your feet at Dance Dance Revolution, do a tour - something outside of your everyday routine. Whatever it is, try to do it in your lunch break (if you have a set schedule) or at lunch time (if you don’t or if it’s the weekend). You can go solo, meet a friend or strongarm a colleague into joining you. Good luck, have fun and remember to snap a pic to share!

"The Shard from Tower Bridge" (cc) Loco Steve ... What's the view like from the tallest building in your city?

April microadventure round-up

A big thank you to Steph for setting April's railway themed challenge and for collating the April microadventure round-up. Click through for tales of walking, cycling, geocaching, snorkelling and hot springs!

"Botanic Gardens and Sydney Harbour Bridge" (cc) J C ... Meet a friend for a picnic in the park.

Have you got a great idea for a microadventure challenge? Let me know! We try to make them accessible and flexible so most people can manage them. You can read previous round-ups here: January, February and March.

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Forage for and cook with Alexanders

6/5/2015

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Alexanders must be one of the quickest, easiest plants to forage and eat in bulk. You can eat every part of the plant, so nothing goes to waste. Here’s a bit of background about Alexanders and a delicious recipe to make with it.

History of Alexanders

I should note, first up, that “Alexanders” is the singular as well as the plural noun for this vegetable, which leads to some technically correct but odd-sounding grammatical constructions, like this one: Alexanders was introduced to this island by the Romans, who cultivated it as a garden vegetable. It escaped from the gardens and fell out of favour and out of widespread cultivation a while ago. However, it's held on remarkably well along roadsides, hedgerows and paths, especially near the coast. So really, Alexanders are just feral garden veggies.

Foraging for Alexanders

These bright green plants were very obvious back in early April, lining the farm tracks through the South Downs, spreading up roadside banks in Hastings, springing up along footpaths all over the place. Now, in early May, they’re well past their prime but the flowers give off a very distinctive sweet smell, so you might still notice them. I’ve added some photos of them in situ (from April), as well as pictures of the different parts, to help you identify them.

The stalk, leaves, flowers and root are all edible - but don’t dig anything up unless you have the landowner’s permission. Avoid those growing right beside a busy road, because they will probably contain a lot of pollutants you don’t want inside you. Finally, as with all wild and foraged foods, make sure you're confident with your identification - then try a little bit and leave it for a while before chowing down on a whole meal!

Flavour of Alexanders

I’ve seen people describing Alexanders as having a very distinctive flavour, similar to celery, parsley, asparagus and/or Angelica (another wild food I have yet to identify, forage or eat). Personally, I think Alexanders tastes a lot like fennel, especially when raw. These comparisons are unsurprising, as all of the plants mentioned (except asparagus) belong to the same family: Apiaceae. I found the flavour very strong when I boiled the unpeeled smaller stalks (i.e. as I would cook asparagus) - I had to change the water over towards the end to decrease the pungency. However, when I peeled and sliced the larger stalks and ate them raw, they weren’t overpowering.

Cooking with Alexanders

The stalks of Alexanders are hollow (as with most plants in the Apiaceae family), but this is mainly noticeable in the large trunk stalks rather than the smaller, younger shoots. The stalks are sturdy and crunchy, but can be cooked until tender. Most recipes for Alexanders say to steam or boil the stems and serve with a knob of butter and a bit of seasoning (salt, pepper, lemon or lime juice). Other suggestions include chopping the leaves and using them in salad (similar to a handful of flat-leaf parsley), steaming or roasting the roots and pickling the flowers. These are all lovely ideas and I can attest that the stems make a tasty asparagus alternative. But I think my own invention is the tastiest of the lot…

Alexanders and tangerine salad

This recipe uses several large stalks of Alexanders. Wash the stalks thoroughly, peel off the stringy outer layer and cut the biggest stems in half lengthways. You should end up with something resembling sticks of celery. Slice these stalks on the diagonal, and pop into a salad bowl.

Peel a few tangerines or other sweet citrus fruit, removing as much pith as possible. Cut in half horizontally, carefully remove pips and separate the segments. Add to the salad bowl. I recommend one tangerine per 100g of Alexanders (peeled weight), but you don’t need to be too precise.

To make the dressing, whisk together equal quantities of olive oil and freshly squeezed lime (or lemon) juice, a substantial pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper.

As far as I’m concerned, this salad doesn’t need any embellishment. But if you think it needs more colour, try adding a handful of jewel-like pomegranate seeds. Yum.

I was introduced to Alexanders by Geoff Dann’s article in the Hastings Independent (Issue 27, 3 April 2015, page 14). The recipe above was first published in the Hastings Independent (Issue 28, 17 April 2015, page 12). If you're interested, my previous foraging posts include how to make hedgerow jam and foraging in Norfolk.