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Hello Readers,
What a Month July was!! Turns out that my Grandma was not correct and the adage of ‘bad start, bad finish’ is far more accurate!! Now, to be entirely fair, the 3rd place game against France was absolutely thrilling and was ‘final’ worthy….and the actual Final –well, despite it being quite boring, except for the unnecessary fouls and fisticuffs at the end, wasn’t that the result we all wanted! It sort of mitigated a bit of the pain we all felt earlier that week.
Mr Emily is cock-a-hoop that he won the World Cup office sweepstake! I maintain it was rigged as nearly all of my teams went out in the group stages when only a third of the teams were eliminated… also, nearly all his teams went through… hmmm, suspicious much!?!
In other news, our new PM is in situ, do us all a favour Andy and get some money flowing in the pockets of us normal folk again please! Mind you, perhaps we do have some changes afoot in our politics, what with the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire County Councils going down to just 2 unitary authorities from 2028. Only good can come from a flatter structure surely – I know that I’m not the only one who grows tired of having to memorise which department of which council to call because bins, schools, potholes….insert problem….needs reporting and after finally talking to someone, gets redirected!? Not the individual on the end of the phones problem but like I say…..flatter structures from my old business studies days were always adopted by the most efficient businesses!! Anyways, that’s enough of that.
I’ve had quite a busy July, tournaments a-plenty in netball and hockey (if I had £1 for every time I said “I’m getting too old for this”!). And heaps of social events, isn’t this what summer is for? Particularly with the yellow rays in the sky being thrown. On that note, if anyone saw me dressed as a Duck in Swanwick at my friend Lydia’s house….. it was totally a dream and I absolutely didn’t waddle down the street with Mr Emily dressed as a Rooster!!!
Enjoy your August peeps, Happy Reading, Emily x
August is one of the most rewarding months in the gardening calendar. After months of sowing, watering, weeding and occasionally wondering if anything is actually growing, the plot is finally bursting with colour and flavour. Tomatoes are ripening, salad leaves are plentiful, courgettes seem to multiply overnight, and strawberries have already provided weeks of sweet rewards.
It’s also the perfect time to take your harvest beyond the kitchen and into the great outdoors. What better way to celebrate the fruits – and vegetables – of your labour than with a summer picnic featuring home-grown ingredients?
There is something deeply satisfying about preparing a meal from produce you’ve grown yourself. A simple sandwich becomes far more special when filled with freshly picked lettuce, home-grown tomatoes and herbs gathered just moments before heading out. Even the most modest harvest can elevate a picnic basket and provide a real sense of connection to the food on your plate.
Salads are perhaps the easiest way to showcase seasonal produce. Mixed leaves, radishes, spring onions and cucumbers can be combined into colourful dishes that are both refreshing and easy to transport. Fresh herbs such as parsley, chives and mint add flavour without fuss, while edible flowers can bring a touch of summer colour that is sure to attract admiration from fellow picnickers.
For those with an abundance of courgettes – and many gardeners will be nodding knowingly at this point – August offers countless opportunities to put them to good use. Courgette muffins, savoury tarts and vegetable fritters all travel well and make excellent additions to a picnic spread. It’s a far more appealing solution than quietly leaving surplus courgettes on neighbours’ doorsteps under the cover of darkness.
Soft fruits are another seasonal highlight. Strawberries, raspberries and blackberries provide the perfect picnic dessert, whether enjoyed on their own or folded into cakes, traybakes and homemade scones. A jar of home-made jam paired with fresh bread can transform even the simplest outdoor meal into something memorable.
Beyond the food itself, a plot-to-picnic approach encourages us to slow down and appreciate the journey from seed to plate. In a world where convenience often takes priority, growing our own food reminds us of the seasons, the weather and the patience required to produce something truly fresh.
Of course, not every crop will be picture-perfect. Some carrots emerge with unusual shapes, tomatoes occasionally split, and slugs inevitably enjoy a share of the harvest. Yet these small imperfections are part of the story. They are reminders that our food comes from real soil, real weather and real effort.
As summer reaches its peak, now is the ideal time to gather family and friends, pack a basket and head to a favourite green space. Whether your contribution is a handful of home-grown salad leaves or an entire feast created from allotment produce, every harvest deserves to be celebrated.
After all, few things taste better than food grown with your own hands and enjoyed beneath an August sky.
Carnival Queen Ann Radford.
No, this isn’t an article about the World Cup although there is a connection with local football and in particular, Alfreton Town. We’re taking you back some 65 years ago to Bank Holiday Monday, August 7th, 1961, and the occasion of the Carnival & Gala which was held in Alfreton Park.
Organised by Messrs C H Halliday and H Davis on behalf of Alfreton Town Football Club this was something of a new venture for them, the Club having been formed just two years earlier in 1959, with the amalgamation of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alfreton United Football Clubs.
Perhaps more importantly it was a revival of an Alfreton Carnival tradition which sadly had lapsed owing to the outbreak of WWII. Quite a gamble for the Club but their efforts were rewarded when well over 12,000 people turned out to support the Carnival and Gala.
Advertised as an All Day Show the programme included a Baby Show, Children’s Sports, a Pit Pony Display, Tug Of War, a Scooterkhana, Shirland M.W. Band, Fivea-side football, a Vegetables and Flower Show, Pony Gymkhana, a Red Cross Exhibition and even a Rock and Roll Contest! There were fairground attractions together with a variety of stalls along with a scenic railway and Aerial Flights. The day was rounded off with a Grand Carnival Dance at the Drill Hall starring Humphrey
Lyttleton and His Band. A riot of fun for all was promised with balloons and paper hats!
How do we know all this?
Well, we had a Carnival Programme donated to us just two weeks ago. The crowning of the Carnival Queen is listed in the programme, but some research was required to identify her. The 1961 Carnival Queen was 16 years old, Ann Radford of Rodgers Lane, Alfreton. She had been picked from a field of 18 hopefuls at Palmer Morewood Club on the 14th July 1961 in what was her first competition entry. Her attendants were Pauline Bettison of Somercotes and Janet Allen of Blackwell.
Looking through the programme, I was rather intrigued by the scooterkhana which was organised by “The Silhouettes,” Alfreton Scooter Club (I daren’t ask what the “Wiggle Woggle Relay Race” is all about!).
If you can tell us or have any information or photographs relating to the Club we’d love to hear from you, ajrayson@outlook.com will find us at the Heritage Trust.
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When a local business receives national recognition, it’s something worth celebrating - especially when that business has been serving customers for more than 150 years.
This month, Clay Cross based T. Nutt & Sons has been named Which? Trusted Trader of the Month for July 2026, a remarkable achievement made even more impressive because the award is judged across every Which? Trusted Trader in the UK, regardless of trade or profession.
For David Nutt, the recognition is about far more than an award. It’s the latest chapter in a family story that began back in 1869.
“T. Nutt & Sons has been part of my family’s life since 1869, so in many ways I grew up with the business,” David explains. “My father, Tom Nutt, and my uncle, Bob Nutt ran the company. It was always a family business.
That strong foundation has helped build one of the region’s most respected flooring businesses. Becoming a Which? Trusted Trader is no small feat, with every business independently assessed before joining the scheme and continually monitored to ensure those standards never slip. To then be chosen
as Trader of the Month from businesses across the country is a wonderful endorsement of everything the company stands for.
Those values haven’t changed over the generations. “The business has always been built on much more than selling carpets and flooring,” says David. “It’s about looking after people properly, giving honest advice, treating customers with respect and making sure every installation is completed to the highest possible standard.”
It’s a philosophy that customers clearly appreciate. The company enjoys hundreds of glowing reviews, with many families returning time and again or recommending T. Nutt & Sons to friends and relatives. In an age when trust can be hard to earn, that kind of loyalty speaks volumes.
David is also quick to point out that the award belongs to everyone involved, especially manager Andrew Gregory, the fitters and other staff.
“This recognition belongs to every member of our team. Everyone works incredibly hard every day to maintain the standards our customers expect, and I’m immensely proud of what they’ve achieved. I’d also like to thank our customers for their loyalty, their recommendations, and the wonderful reviews they’ve left over the years. Without their support, this award simply wouldn’t have come about.”
At Voice Magazine, we’ve had the pleasure of working with T. Nutt & Sons for many years, so we’re especially delighted to see the business receive this well-deserved national recognition. Congratulations to David, Keven, manager Andrew and the whole team on an achievement that reflects generations of hard work, family values and an unwavering commitment to looking after their customers.
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TUESDAY MORNING THE PARISH HALL Nottingham Road, Somercotes, DE55 4LY
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CHRIST THE KING CHURCH HALL Nottingham Rd, Alfreton, DE55 7GL
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Barbecue Pulled Mushrooms 7.5 per serving SWIPS: SERVES:
READY IN:
Ingredients: 4 25 minutes
Looking for a lighter BBQ favourite? These flavour-packed pulled mushrooms deliver all the smoky summer barbecue vibes in one delicious bun.
1. 300g king oyster or shiitake mushrooms (or any other type that can be shredded)
2. 1 cal cooking spray
3. 1 small onion, finely chopped
4. 2 garlic cloves, crushed
5. 1 tbsp tomato purée
6. 1 tsp smoked paprika
7. 1 tsp ground cumin
8. ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
9. 4 x 65g wholemeal rolls
10. Lettuce leaves, to serve For the sauce:
11. 250g passata
12. 1 tbsp Henderson’s relish (or Worcestershire sauce if you don’t need this to be vegetarian/vegan)
13. 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
14. ½ tsp mustard powder
15. 1 level tsp sweetener
Free vegan slaw, to serve (we made ours by stirring together shredded carrot, red onion and red cabbage, chopped fresh parsley and plain unsweetened soya yogurt with added calcium)
Method:
1. Put all the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer over a medium-low heat until thickened.
2. At the same time, shred the mushrooms roughly using a fork. Spray a nonstick frying pan with 1 cal cooking spray and put it over a medium heat. Fry the onion and garlic for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the mushrooms, tomato
purée and spices, along with 3 tbsp water. Season lightly and leave to cook for 5 minutes or until the mushrooms have absorbed most of the liquid.
3. When the mushrooms are ready, stir them into the sauce to coat well. Split the rolls and fill with the lettuce, mushroom mixture and slaw. Serve any remaining slaw on the side.
✓
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When most people start planning a holiday, they head online and search for somewhere they have already heard of. But some of the most memorable journeys are not the ones filling the travel pages or your social media feed, they are the ones you never knew existed until someone introduced you to them.
That is one of the things I love most about my job. Every holiday starts with a real conversation. Once I understand what you are looking for, I can suggest experiences you may never have considered and shape them around the way you actually like to travel.
Over the years, I have helped clients discover river cruises through Europe’s vineyards, small-ship voyages to remote islands, luxury rail journeys across the Canadian Rockies, African safaris, escorted tours through Patagonia and tailor-made adventures that combine several destinations into one seamless, unforgettable trip. These are the kinds of holidays that can be difficult and time-consuming to piece together yourself online but incredibly rewarding when they are planned properly.
If you are looking for something a little different for your next holiday, whether that is a hidden corner of Europe, an expedition-style cruise or a once in a lifetime journey you have always dreamed of, I would be delighted to help you explore the possibilities and take care of all the finer details.
Sometimes the best holiday is not the one you were searching for, it is the one you had not even imagined. Scan the QR Code for my Website
Pitcherwits® are crossword puzzles where some of the clues are in pictures.
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3 Thing’s found in gritstone (3)
7 Pan used to live here in central Peloponnese (7)
14 Pharaoh Moses got some resistance from (3)
15 Snubbed a bit in the centre (3)
Across
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14 Can go to an odd shape (7) 16 Prosperous to clamber over on foot? (11)
Down
Melody that’s well preserved? (6,5)
House has a compromised member with a rift (6,5)
Base note, rather than bass note (6,1)
Direct to free stuff? Rot! (5,2)
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This walk brings takes in a lovely part of the countryside and provides some fantastic views, taking in the ruins of Wingfield Manor. When we did this walk there were quite a few cows on the paths and we never feel safe walking our dog around cows, so we are always massively careful to avoid them. It is permitted to divert around cattle and then return to the path but it can be a real problem. Something to be aware of.
A mid-length walk which should take you and your dog around 2 hours to complete. There are a couple of roads to walk alongside and cross so please take care. Most of the walk is on paths and trails, so it may be muddy and there is a ford to cross, so appropriate footwear is essential. And, as always, please follow the countryside code.
1. Standing with your back to the pub turn right and continue along the road for a short distance, then turn left along a signposted footpath that thread between the houses. Continue for a short distance and then, just prior to reaching a wall directly in front of you, turn left. After a very short distance, just prior to reaching a large wooden gate, bear slightly right to continue along the footpath.
2. Follow the footpath as it bends sharp right, right again and then sharp left. Now continue along a lane with a hedge on both sides going gently downhill. After some distance cross over a stile and then continue diagonal left to cross a field.
3. At the far side of the field cross over a wooden footbridge and then a stile into another field. Now continue with a hedge on your left and after some distance pass through a wooden gate. Keep straight ahead going gently uphill with trees on your left. Near the top of the hill pass through a wooden gate into another field. Cross this field and pass through a gap into a field and continue straight ahead and at the far side of the field pass through a 3rd wooden gate.
4. Walk straight ahead to cross a field, passing close by a telegraph pole. Upon reaching a stone wall turn right. The wall gives way to a hedge and then after a short distance pass through a gap in the hedge on your left. Head diagonal right to cross a field to cross a stile and then continue with a stone wall on your left. About three quarters way across the field pass through a gap in the stone wall on your left to continue along a marked footpath with the same stone wall now on your right.
5. Continue for some distance passing a farm over to your left. The footpath climbs uphill and at the top of the hill, upon reaching a stone wall in front of you, turn left to continue for a short distance with a stone wall on your right and then pass through a gap in the wall and onto a tarmac lane. Turn left along the lane until reaching a road. At the road cross to continue along ‘Park Lane’.
6. Walk along Park lane for a short distance and then turn right onto a signposted bridleway and path marked ‘Amber Valley 1’. Pass a bungalow on your right and then through a gap to continue with a wall on your right and a hedge on your left. When the wall ends continue straight ahead for a short distance and then bear slightly right to continue along the bridleway with a hedge on both sides.
7. Continue gently downhill for some distance passing through a wooden gate. After some distance pass through a large metal gate and pass by a farm on your left. Cross over the ford and pass through another large metal gate to continue along a farm track with a wall on both sides going gently uphill. Keeping to the track, after some distance pass through another large metal gate and continue straight ahead with a wall on both sides. After some distance the wall on the right ends. Continue straight ahead until reaching another large metal gate.
8. Pass through the gate and then turn immediately left going gently downhill with a wall on both sides. Pass through a gap adjacent to a metal gate, then after a short distance turn left to pass through a metal kissing gate adjacent to a large metal gate into a field. Continue straight ahead going downhill, keeping the wall on your right. At the bottom of the field ignore a large gate directly in front of you and follow a yellow marker arrow on a fence to turn right.
9. After turning right continue for a short distance, then when the wall on the left ends, turn left to continue downhill with a wall/fence on your left. At the bottom
of this field pass through a gap into another field and then follow a farm track around to the right and then to the left to pass through some trees and into another field. Upon entering this field turn diagonal right and head towards a small wooden gate. Pass through this gate into another field.
10. Walk ahead to pass through another small wooden gate. Ignore the path to the right and continue straight ahead keeping a fence on your left, passing through trees and by an old derelict house on your right. After a short distance pass through a gap adjacent to a large metal gate. Continue straight ahead with a wall on your left and then pass through some trees and continue with a hedge on your left.
11. Continue ahead, passing through an open large gate and then continue to pass through a large wooden gate onto a lawn. Walk across the lawn towards a house to join a driveway and then pass through a wooden gate onto a road. Turn right and after a short distance follow the road around to the left following a signpost for ‘Pentrich’.
12. After some distance pass by ‘Coalburn House’ on your left then further along the road turn left onto a tarmac driveway and signposted bridleway. Just prior to reaching a large wooden gate turn left along a marked path. Cross over a stream then continue along the path.
13. Walk along this path for some distance and eventually pass by the ruins of Wingfield Manor up on the hill to your left. Pass through two sets of metal and wooden gates and then after a very short distance bear slightly right to continue downhill along a path through some trees. At the bottom of the hill cross over a stile adjacent to a large metal gate and then continue left along a lane with a stream on your right.
14. After some distance the lane bears to the right and continues with a fence on both sides. Continue along the lane until it turns to tarmac. Continue along the tarmac lane steep uphill until reaching a road. Turn right along the road and continue until reaching the pub.
This walk is for illustrative purposes only. Voice Magazines Ltd takes no responsibility for anyone who chooses to follow this route and encourages all walkers to obey all byelaws and signs and to respect the area they are walking in, ensuring they pick up all dog mess and obey the countryside code at all times.
While many people are making the most of the summer sunshine, our senior men’s and women’s teams have already dusted off their boots and kicked off their pre-season training. And yes... the fitness work has officially begun! Despite the soaring temperatures, the commitment and determination from everyone have been fantastic, with plenty of sweat, smiles and encouragement along the way.
Meanwhile, our minis and juniors are enjoying a well-earned break after another brilliant season. It won’t be long before they’re back doing what they love, so make sure you keep an eye on our social media pages for details of when training resumes.
Thinking of giving rugby a try? There’s never been a better time! Whether you’re young or old, a seasoned player returning to the game or someone who’s never picked up a rugby ball before, you’ll receive a warm Amber Valley welcome.
Our experienced coaches will guide you every step of the way, helping you build confidence, learn new skills
and improve your fitness at your own pace. More importantly, you’ll become part of a friendly, supportive club where teammates quickly become friends.
Whether you’re looking to get fitter, meet new people, enjoy our packed social calendar or simply try something different, there’s a place for everyone at Amber Valley RUFC. Come along and join
Interested in giving rugby a try? call Stuart 07966 867 946 Gareth 07595 520 537 for the ladies and Paul 07790 403 043 for the
More than just a club, we are the #ValleyFamily. You can visit our website www.ambervalleyrfc.co.uk, Facebook &
pages to contact us or follow what we do. You can find us at Lower Somercotes, Somercotes, Alfreton
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Am I the only one, or are others becoming increasingly fed up with American words, phrases and customs taking over our language/way of life? PART 6
Having received a few more – keep them coming as I’m sure that we’ve only just ‘scraped the surface’ on this particular topic! – here are just some of the latest examples of Americanisms that annoy.
Why, asks Sylvia from Riddings, do we increasingly find people using the American English reach out? Would the perfectly acceptable use of ‘get in touch’, ‘contact’, or in some cases when this abomination –her words, not mine – of a phrase is uttered, a very simple and straightforward ‘ask’ not suffice?
Linda (Somercotes) gets annoyed when she hears people, she admits often in ironic fashion, say “….you do the Math” and wonders if the long established ‘you do the adding up/sums’ is an endangered English phrase.
She also gets frustrated when she hears of cookies being used instead of the clearly understood traditional English alternative of ‘biscuits.’
Alan (South Wingfield) has family in America and visits them regularly. He’s become accustomed to many of the practices that we, over here, regard as somewhat odd, but still has to think when in a restaurant/café, after placing his order, he’s asked the question ‘to go?’ It takes a moment before he realises that the server wants to know if he is eating ‘in or out’ or, in other terms, more simply has he just ordered a ‘takeaway’?
My wife has been a bit depressed of late and needed persuading to make an appointment to see the doctor. When she came back, I could immediately see that she was relieved.
“What did the doctor say?”, I asked.
“Well, after I outlined the symptoms, she examined me and seemed satisfied that it was nothing to worry about. It is apparently just a mild bout of a recently identified new strain of parachute sickness. She explained that this should soon clear up and went on to suggest that this was probably why I’d been feeling a bit let down”.
A mate of mine lost his job recently. I asked him if it was redundancy and he said it had been, but because he’d only been with the firm for a short period, he wasn’t entitled to much. He was, however, allowed to leave immediately without serving his notice or losing any money. A week later, he received through the post, a covering letter, his final payslip, P45 and……… a load of bubble wrap. To this day he remains utterly confused as to why they sent him packing.
My brother has recently taken up Scuba diving as a hobby. He’s enjoying it but his wife’s getting a bit fed up. She says she hardly ever sees him now. Apparently, he’s just going overboard with it.
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Glenice Dick (nee Wilson), celebrated her 100th Birthday in July at Riddings Community Centre, surrounded by friends and family and had not just one but three cakes, alongside receiving her letter from the King and Queen Consort.
Glenice, who has 2 sons, 4 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren, spent her early life working at the Blackwell Colliery wages office. In her spare time, she clearly has a love of travel, having spent many years holidaying in Scotland, as well as elsewhere around the world.
Glenice is a beloved member of the ‘Over 50’s Club’, who meet at the Community Centre every Tuesday, 10-12pm. She has been a valued member for over 20 years and one of the 3 cakes presented to her was from her friends at the club.
Needless to say, Glenice and everyone involved had a wonderful time and what an inspiration Glenice is, as she certainly doesn’t look like she is eligible for a letter from the King!
When I was young, going for a “run” meant one of life’s simple pleasures: an unhurried Sunday drive along quiet B-roads, often finishing at a country pub.
Dad had been an army driver, so there was nearly always some old, battered car outside. I can still picture Mum holding the passenger door shut all the way to Skegness.
My fondest memories are of seaside trips, when we loaded the car with family and picnic food before dawn to beat the traffic. We played I Spy, stopped in lay-bys, and slid across leather bench seats before seat belts were compulsory.
Saluting AA patrolmen were a familiar sight, their motorcycles and sidecars gradually replaced by yellow vans, while sentry boxes and emergency phones still lined the roadside.
Many drivers had never taken a formal test, having learned during military service. They maintained their
own cars, used hand signals when indicators failed, and clipped parking lights to the driver’s window at night.
Names like Hillman Imp, Riley, Ford Cortina and Morris Minor still recall a time when driving was enjoyable, parking was easy, and petrol was cheap.
Motoring changed when motorways arrived in 1969, and driving slowly became more stressful. Words such as “leisurely” and “pleasurable” seem far less suited to driving today.
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After the final book in Peter May’s trilogy set on the isle of Lewis was published, it looked as though his millions of readers worldwide had lost one of the most evocative thriller series of recent years.
But then he gave us another twist in the tale, returning to the Hebrides for The Black Loch. Fin McLeod, no longer a policeman, but still haunted by memories of his life on the island, is forced to come home to discover why his son is in prison accused of killing the young girl he had been having clandestine affair with.
He can certainly tell a tale can Peter May and this one draws you in strand by strand continually tying all your assumptions about whodunit into a mind-boggling tangle.
One of the real joys of Peter May’s books is the way he writes about landscape and weather and environment. You can really feel yourself batting a cloud of midges away from your face or fighting the fear of being on a small boat in the dark in a gale force driven sea. He writes about the landscape so vividly it almost becomes a character. And in this latest story the descriptions of the dark side of the salmon industry and the beaching of whales are enough to give you nightmares – all impeccably researched as always.
It’s a page turner certainly, but one with some serious thoughts threaded through it. This is a riveting summer read wherever you are - and even if you’re only able to dream about being in the Hebrides.
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The poor old toad has received a bad press in much of our culture from the pompous and incompetent ‘Toad of Toad Hall’ in ‘The Wind in the Willows’ to being used as an insult by Shakespeare, as in Richard III, where the king is described as a “poisonous bunch-backed toad”. They were taken as symbols of poison, ugliness, and witchcraft, and feature in, for example, Macbeth, where the witches’ brew involves, “In the poisoned entrails throw, toad, that under cold stone, days and nights has thirtyone, Sweltered venom sleeping got, Boil thou first i’ th’ charmèd pot.” Even the eighteenth-century naturalist and writer, Thomas Pennant despised them, as “…the most deformed and hideous of all animals – objects of detestation.” Such opinions ran deep in traditional country lore with people believing that toads were indeed poisonous, but also that they carried in their head a magic stone or ‘crapaudina’ that could cure all manner of stings, poisonous bites, or, for example, toothache. In the days of quack medicine, such ‘toadstones’ were much in demand and often were fraudulently manufactured from a Derbyshire volcanic rock of that name! However, remarkably, toads are indeed poisonous if disturbed and can excrete a toxin called a ‘cardiac glycoside’ from the glands around the neck. This can be quite nasty if you were daft enough to ingest it, and has some impact on predators because it is foul-tasting. It also causes salivary glands to hyperactivate.
Despite all the foregoing, I do like toads, and it was a pleasant and welcome surprise to have one appear in the garden and then, a couple of days later, a second. The first was a quite small male, and the second a good-sized female. (females are generally larger). In times past there used to be a mass migration by frogs and by toads over the lane from nearby parkland with large ponds. But not anymore, and now the numbers have declined dramatically to just a few frogs and the occasional toad. In periods of hot, dry summer weather the damp-skinned frogs must head back to ponds and other wet areas, whereas toads with their dry, warty skins are able to range far and wide in pursuit of insects and other prey. These toads were both heading into damp undergrowth and groups of ornamental potted plants, and though the midday heat had passed, it was still hot. I gently picked them up to move them on which triggered their defensive reaction of inflating the body to appear bigger, urinating, and releasing noxious fluids from those glands around the neck. This generally achieves the desired effect, which is to be released and go on their way!
Toads can live up to twenty years or so, and gardeners used to keep them in greenhouses to help control insect pests. My great uncle in Morecambe had a pet toad called Ephraim and I recall he lived a long and well-fed life.
Professor Ian D. Rotherham, researcher, writer, broadcaster on wildlife and environmental issues is contactable on ianonthewildside@ukeconet.org. Follow his website www.ukeconet.org, blog www.ianswalkonthewildside.wordpress.com/ & Twitter @IanThewildside Bluesky @ianthewildside.bsky.social
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Great time for taking cuttings to give you new plants for next year.
The likes of rosemary and sage in the herb garden respond well to this – as do favourites such as lavender and penstemon. Choose non-flowering stems and take four to six inches from the top – or four or five leaf joints if it’s easier to judge. Pinch out the growing tip. Cut below a leaf joint and gently pull all the lower leaves from the base of the cutting, leaving a couple of leaves at the top. You can use rooting hormone – from garden centres – and plant into free draining gritty compost or just try putting them into a jar of water, ( but don’t submerge the leaves) and then you have the pleasure of watching the roots grow. Once the roots are looking strong, plant as above.
If your strawberry plants have developed runners, you can plant them out to produce extra crop next year. If they’re still attached to the mother plant pin them down alongside into a small pot of compost with a bit of wire and roots will develop - at which point you can sever them from the mother plant and either plant out or leave in the pot and overwinter in the greenhouse.
Cut summer fruiting raspberries back once you’ve finished enjoying the produce, but leave lower green growth for next year. If you’re lucky enough to have a glut just lay them out flat on a tray and freeze for three hours then bag up and you’ve got the taste of summer in the middle of winter.
Camellias are a beautiful welcome to early summer, but it’s important to keep watering them after the flowers have finished as this is the time when the buds are developing for next year. You can prune them back first so long as the buds have not started to grow. If they have started to bud you’ll have to put in support next year to stop them flopping.
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