LEAF Open Farm Sunday – Perching Manor Farm


LEAF Open Farm Sunday - Perching Manor Farm

Click image above for the full poster

VISIT A FARM AND DISCOVER THE WORLD OF FARMING

Come and join us at
Perching Manor Farm,
Edburton Road, Fulking, BN5 9LR
Sunday 12th June 11am to 3pm

Tractor and trailer rides.
Farm machinery display.
Sheepdog display.
Learn about beekeeping and wild birds on the farm.

BBQ and refreshments, bring a picnic rug and enjoy the lovely scenery.
Forest school activities for the children and much more…

Free entry but please register at www.trybooking.co.uk/BOUZ
Email Angela, hello@footofthedowns.co.uk

LEAF Open Farm Sunday is managed by LEAF (Linking Enviroment And Farming). Charity no 1045781

Perching Birds

The story of how a local farm changed its farming methods and the effect on birdlife

Henfield Birdwatch are organizing a talk on Friday 25th February at 7.30pm in the Garden Room of Henfield Hall. The event is free for members and £3.00 for non-members. Refreshments will be available.

Bobservation No:78 – Bird Watching & Zooming

Badly doctored image of zoom meeting with exotic birds in stead of peopleBird Watching
Fortunately, the restrictions imposed on us by Coronavirus have not interfered totally with the pleasures of bird watching. Be warned! this hobby is very addictive but probably one of the least expensive to enjoy. Whilst birding can be enjoyed just by looking out of the window, the only essential, other than waterproof clothing, is a reasonable pair of binoculars. I find a good bird identification guide is a great help, preferably pocket size. These days a great deal of information can be found on the internet and indeed, there is a good birdsong store on the village website for birds that have been seen or heard in Fulking over the last nearly thirty years. The two principal national organisations covering the hobby are RSPB and BTO. I find the latter (British Trust for Ornithology) good value and, in addition, BTO has a weekly birdwatch count reporting facility where your individual results are stored. Annual sub is £17, you get a free book and their very informative quarterly magazine; their email is gbw@bto.org. In the last 29 years at Furzefield we have seen or heard 81 different species; the prima donna was a Wryneck outside the kitchen window! During this difficult pandemic I do urge you to consider spending a little time investigating birding. You won’t regret it.

Pandemic Zooming
In company with other villagers I am involved in several Zoom meetings. Having got over my initial horror at what it entails, I can understand that while Coronavirus limitations are placed upon us, it enables virtual social gatherings to take place. However, I look forward to the day when we can have live meetings again however long that is going to take. I cannot imagine what it would be like to hold a Zoom Village Fair! Hopefully Sunday 25 July will see the real thing however limited it may be.

South Downs News, December issue


The SDNPA has discovered that celebrities can be used to plant trees. They have managed to plant one tree so far but, if another 7,999 celebrities step forward, they will be able to meet their quota for this winter. At least 8,500 celebrities will also be needed next year. No word on any fees payable. Chief Executive Trevor Beattie reports that the government has committed £257m for cycling and walking in 2021-22, perhaps because government policy has ensured that, for most of the population, cycling and walking will be the only transport options they can afford in that year. You can also read about the Community Infrastructure Levy, a fund set up by the SDNPA to accept and administer bungs paid by developers. The Park’s Volunteer Development Officer reports that voluntary activity has largely ceased due to the immense health risks that the Park poses to volunteers. However, despite the danger, one such volunteer did manage to write an informative little column on ivy. There’s also a page on nitrates in the aquifers that features quotes from David Ellin (Paythorne, Perching) and Roly Puzey (Saddlescombe). No mention of glyphosate, however. Despite the government’s ongoing armageddon against small business, the Park has split £40,000 between 27 petitioners “following a rigorous and impartial selection process”. The accompanying photo shows two ladies in a food shop, neither of whom is wearing a mask. Perhaps their Maundy money needs to be retracted. There’s an interesting column on Tide Mills, home to the Black Kite, the European Bee-Eater and the Short Eared Owl. And there is a page of poems by some of those temporarily released from detention. Finally, two pages of suggested walks that you can only do if you happen to live near the route (the SDNPA frowns on the use of the automobile).

Jen Green linocuts now at Etsy

Jen Green linocuts
My linocuts are now available from Etsy. This year has been hard for artists, with almost all exhibitions cancelled, but I am hoping that art available online will prove popular in the run-up to Christmas. My range encompasses wildlife, seascapes, and South Downs landscapes including Fulking and Poynings. If you order through Etsy and live locally, I can hand deliver and refund you the postage or else, possibly, supply a mount for the print.

Jen Green (552) also at instagram

South Downs News, April issue

April 2020 South Downs Newsletter
SDNPA Chief Executive Trevor Beattie claims that “there are already signs that the lock-down has reinvigorated many people’s love of nature”, presumably analogous to the way in which going on the wagon reinvigorates a love of alcohol. He will surely be lobbying for regular lock-downs in future years. There’s a link (to a link (to a link ..)) to “a detailed map [that] has been created for people to find food, drink and other support services close to where they live” which turns out to be every bit as dire as earlier food-related cartographic efforts by the SDNPA (The South Downs Sahara in 2015, and The South Downs Sahara (update) in 2017). Food is unobtainable in Steyning, apparently.

On the positive side, page 10 features a photo of David Ellin and Annie Brown, though they are not quoted or identified, and page 12 advertises a 3-part Facebook video instruction series by an ‘animal behaviourist’ on walking the dog (the animal, not the Rufus Thomas song).

Bobservation No. 58: Wildlife Gardening


Gardening for Wildlife

The global decline in wildlife should encourage us to try to redress this trend in our gardens. Accordingly we should break away from ‘tidy’ gardening and now do whatever we can to encourage wildlife . Our garden flower beds should be almost entirely stocked with shrubs and flowers that are bird, bee and butterfly friendly, and the number of bees of various types will improve a great deal and butterfly numbers will increase. Vegetable areas should incorporate wild flowers extensively to encourage bees. Wildlife can be helped by leaving unkempt areas wherever possible, for instance small piles of fallen wood, and we can introduce an insect ‘hotel’ perhaps based on unwanted pallets. All garden waste should be composted and bonfires should be unnecessary. Our efforts should include lawn mowing as little as possible and by trying to let clover, daisies, buttercups etc. increase on either side of  paths. Carbon footprints can be reduced by allowing saplings to flourish into mature trees.

The point I am making is that it is not terribly difficult to join the ecological revolution in an attempt, however small, to protect the world we are passing on to our children and grandchildren.

Fulking Fair

Just another reminder that Fulking Fair and Allsorts Fun Dog Show will be on Sunday 28 July. Please make every effort to encourage friends and family to come along. We have some great stalls, many in the Street, music, food, drink and games for everyone. The Social Committee have put a lot of hard work into making this a really enjoyable event and need your support. It would help if villagers could avoid driving in the Street from 12 till 5pm if at all possible.