The winners of the Best Dressed Christmas Window competition were Tim and Mandy Day of Spring Cottage, Well Street. The competition was open to everyone living in the parish of Loose.
Our
most illustrious Loose resident, the world famous artist Ralph Steadman,
has generously created unique artwork for the Loose Calendar 2012, taking
an affectionate look at Loose in his own inimitable style.
The calendar was launched on Saturday 8th October at 3pm at the Chequers PH in the centre of the village. Ralph was there to sign copies and the pub was packed!
You can buy a copy (or copies) from Loose Post Office.
Step
back in history
The third edition of 'Exploring Loose Village', originally published by Loose Amenities Association in 1978 but out of print for many years, is nearing completion.
Written by Roger Thornburgh, it gives a fascinating insight into the history of the village and contains many charming illustrations, including this one of Florence House by Mildred Ratcliffe, a commercial artist who lived in Mill Street. In its lifetime the building has been a tannery, a tailor's shop, a bakery and a general stores which finally closed for business in 1965. It is now a private home.
The book has been revised for the new edition with the help of the Loose Area History Society and reflects the changes that have taken place in Loose since the it was first published. It includes additional illustrations by local artist Catherine Collett and an updated walking trail around the village.
'Exploring
Loose Village' will be on sale soon, online from the LAA website and
from Loose Post Office.
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Local photographer Howard Marsh has taken some beautiful photographs of butterflies and other insects living in the Loose valley this summer, including the Peacock butterfly pictured right. The species were identified by Kent and Medway Biological Records Centre who has recorded them on its database. |
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Roesel's
Bush Cricket
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Green Veined White |
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Essex
Skipper
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Dark
Bush Cricket
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Fauna
in the valley
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Save
Our Spire
The Loose Church Heritage Group has been formed to raise money to maintain and preserve what is arguably the most important building in the Loose Conservation Area, All Saints' Church. The charity's first project is the Save our Spire Appeal to which Loose Amenities Association has donated £1,500.
The Church tower dates from the 12th century and had a wooden spire by the 1300’s. The spire is covered by wooden shingles that look like tiles but are actually made of oak.
The current shingles are thought to have been in place since 1935 and oak shingles have a lifetime of between 80-100 years. Although from afar the spire looks in good repair, close up pictures show a story of decay. The shingles are curled and lifting and many have already fallen. At present the spire remains water tight but only just. Some of the supporting beams are no longer as effective as they were and the tower is no longer accessible due to concerns over the floor strength. The clock face is also in esperate need of an overhaul.
The making and replacing of the shingles is a specialist task and in order to cover complete renovation Loose Church Heritage Group needs to raise £60,000.
The registered charity is independent of the ’religious’ Church as there may be many people in the community who would like to support the conservation of the historic church building, without necessarily wanting to be involved in religion.
For more information and to make a donation, visit www.lchg,org.
Wild flowers return to the valley
Spring is here, and the valley land is looking in better shape than it has for many years.
One pleasing outcome from all the work that has been done over the last eighteen months is that wild flowers, once a common sight in the Loose valley, are gradually returning. There are several reasons why. Conservation grazing with Hebridean sheep means that wild flower seedlings don't have so much competition to contend with from nettles, brambles etc, and the enormous amount of clearance work undertaken by contractors and the Sunday working parties has allowed more light to penetrate previously overgrown areas.
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Over 97% of our native flowering grasslands have disappeared since the war due to intensification in agricultural practice and they are classified as one of the most threatened habitats in southern England. Their loss has had a huge impact on the many insects, butterflies and small invertebrates which depend on them for survival. Our aim over the coming years to encourage the existing seed bank of native wild flower species to flourish in the valley. Species already noted, among others, are lady's smock, cowslip, sweet violet (white and violet), lesser celandine, primrose, speedwell and wood anemone. |
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Wild garlic has been spotted along the footpath from Litttle Ivy Mill towards Bockingford and bluebells are beginning to colonise Rainbow Meadow Bank. If you spot any wild flowers growing in LAA land which haven't been mapped yet, please let us know by e-mailing webmaster@loose-amenities,org.uk. |
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Fun Run cancelled
We have sadly had to cancel the Fun Run, scheduled to take place on 26 June. The original organiser of this event has had to stand down because of an unexpected career change and at this late stage the LAA committee decided it was best to shelve the idea for this year at least.
Loose
Leaves is back
At the beginning of 2010, we decided to stop blanket delivery of the Loose Amenities Association newsletter, Loose Leaves. We felt that the cost of printing 3,500 copies and the task of hand delivering them to every dwelling in Loose was a waste of money and volunteer labour, particularly as most probably ended up in the bin.
The Loose Amenities Association website was also launched in January 2010, and the site contains far more information than there is space for in a four page newsletter.
But of course not everyone has a computer and some members missed the newsletter very much. So we have decided to start publication again with quarterly editions, but from now on we will be delivering Loose Leaves only to our membership. The first edition has just been published and delivered to members by either e-mail, hand delivery or post. If you are a paid-up member but have not received your copy please let us know by e-mailing webmaster@loose-amenities.org.uk or telephoning 01622 747058.
Goodbye
Andrea
Andrea Tozer, for the last five years our hardworking and energetic Hon Secretary, has recentlytaken over the tenancy of The Walnut Tree PH with her partner Alan.
This challenging new venture presents a huge learning curve for Andrea and leaves her with little spare time, so with regret she has decided to resign from the post of Secretary and from the committee of Loose Amenities Association. The good news is that she will remain on the Events Sub-committee, where her enthusiasm and imagination will continue to be put to good use!
Our picture was taken at the Senior Citizens' Party last year and shows, from left to right, LAA comittee members Liz Collins, Andrea Tozer, Dawn Bristow-Smith, Viv Davis and Chairman Terry Davis.
Our thanks to Andrea for her tireless work over the last five years on behalf of the Association. We send her and Alan our best wishes for the future and success in running the Walnut Tree for many years to come.
Our new Hon Secretary is Paula Rixon, who moved to Loose with her family last summer.