The annual Bonfire & Fireworks event hosted by North Luffenham Parish Council will go ahead on The Oval on Friday 5th November 2021.
Doors Open 5.30pm; Bonfire lit 6.15pm; Fireworks 6.30pm
The Cricket Club will be running the BBQ (to raise funds to continue the good works on the wicket); Janet Whittaker & Judy Cade will be offering hot & cold refreshments from the Pavilion with home-made seasonal cake; Lin Burrows will be serving her specially prepared Mulled Wine whilst Charles Cade & Pete Burrows are in charge of lighting the fire & fireworks. Our Chair of the Parish Council – Tim Smith – will be co-ordinating the important task of the ‘Donation bucket collection’. All this helps to offset the costs so please be generous to enable this event to continue.
Whilst The Scouts will be sporting high vis jackets and stewarding the perimeter and entry points, more volunteers are needed on the night to assist with ensuring a safe and enjoyable evening. If you can help, please contact any of the above teams or Charles Cade on 01780 720467.
I am working with Peppers Mental Health Charity and Oakham Fire Station to create a Community mental health garden at the Fire Station. If you are clearing your gardens this autumn and have any perennials or bulbs that you would like to donate they would be really appreciated.
We are also looking for any spare garden tools that you may have for volunteers to use on the project.
Anyone who has played cricket will know the importance of the condition of “The Square” – the hallowed area where the wickets and creases are located.
Following two years of lockdown, the pitch on North Luffenhams own “Oval” was in very poor condition. Nick Davenport agreed to take on the not inconsiderable challenge of maintaining the area and temporary repairs were made in June 2020 to ensure the surface was safe to play on for this season.
Advice was taken from Keith Exon (ex head groundsman at Glamorgan County Ground & Oakham School) who, along with his son Alex, now offers a pitch maintenance and renovation service through his business ‘Perfect Pitches’) and they were able to advise on what could be done do to return it to it’s glory days during the off season.
As it happened, Keith phoned at the end of September to say that he had finished a job at Old Trafford, and had a gap in his schedule before he went to Trent Bridge, and could fit North Luffenham in – elite company for a village pitch indeed!
The cricket club accepted the offer, and Keith arrived with his highly specialised equipment
Keith used a Koro Field Top Maker to remove all surface vegetation from the top 6mm of the square, levelling out hollows and bumps and preparing a good base for reseeding as you can see in the following images. A huge amount of surface vegetation was removed and at the Butt Lane end of the pitch a further 2mm was removed to lower the slope around the crease and the excess soil was placed at the opposite end to fill a depression which ran along side the top side of the wicket. This should ensure the pitch is perfectly level.
The next step was to use a scarifier to remove any remaining vegetation and leave grooves at 20mm centres to give better seed/soil content.
35kgs of grass seed and 25kgs of fertiliser where then applied and covered by 1250kgs of Boughton County Loam.
Keith’s last step was to drag a matt/lute by hand for final levels and so ensuring a good finish for germination.
Keith’s attention to detail and his professional expertise have been crucial to the renovation of the square. We could not have achieved the same outcome and ongoing support for the care of the wicket without his intervention. We should not underestimate this given Keith currently carries out the same task for county grounds such as Trent Bridge and Northamptonshire.
Watering wisely then became a key factor to encourage germination and support the emerging grass in what turned out to be a hot spell. This required frequent visits to the oval to move the sprinkler to avoid drowning the seed and avoiding the hottest time of the day to prevent scalding of the emerging grass. The outcome of all this has been 99% germination, great coverage of grass and to date two cuts to keep the grass at 20mm to encourage tillering and strong root growth.
The plan over the winter is to keep the grass level to 20mm and then in spring begin a regime of gentle rolling to settle any upheaval caused by frost. Gradually lowering the cutting height to around 6mm and increasing the rolling as we move towards the start of the season.
This Post will expire at 8:02am on Wednesday November 3rd, 2021.
The North Luffenham Community Centre has been refurbished, and new furniture has been purchased as part of the modernisation of the building.
The old tables and chairs are therefore being sold. There are about 30 chairs left & 4 tables. These are for sale on a first come first served /condition as seen basis. Each item is £1 each
If you are interested in purchasing any of the items, please contact Janet Whittaker on 01780-721216 or email rutlandwhittakers@outlook.com to view or pick up
This Post will expire at 6:31am on Sunday October 17th, 2021.
Just a reminder that there is a special area of the North Luffenham village web site where local businesses can advertise their services – “The Corner Shop”
If you have a business you would like to advertise there you can use the form to submit details of your services and the web editing team will add and entry for you.
The Horse & Panniers on Church Street, North Luffenham has recently re-opened as a Guest House & is now offering accommodation for up to 7 persons in this former popular hostelry. It’s been sympathetically re-decorated & now presents as a traditionally furnished holiday rental property on two floors. With a real log fire in addition to gas fired central heating throughout, your friends & family visiting the area can be assured of a warm and comfortable stay whatever the season.
Rooms can be rented on an individual or group basis.
The cottage comprises 3 en-suite bedrooms, spacious open-plan lounge and dining area with updated kitchen. The patio area outside has seating where visitors can relax & absorb the gentle flow of village life.
The Horse & Panniers also offers internet access
Parking for 2 cars available at the property
Sleeps maximum of 7
2 x Twin rooms with ensuite showers
1 x Double room with additional single bed and ensuite shower
Open plan lounge with leather sofas, TV & open fire
Outdoor terrace with garden furniture, drying line for wet weather gear, bike storage
Self-catering or Chef’s special breakfast available on request for additional charge
Villagers in North Luffenham may be interested in the “Men in Sheds” Oakham project. This is a fully equipped workshop, located at Oakham Enterprise Park, available to the over 50’s who would like to use and share practical skills, tools and resources to work on projects of their own choosing.
East Midlands Today featured the project during one of their local news programmes, click on the link below to view the news report
We are thinking of setting up a weekly circuit training class and weekly Tai Chi sessions in South Luffenham Village Hall. Please send an email to southluffenhamvillagehall@gmail.com if you are interested in coming along so we can gauge if the classes would be viable.
Want to start a new club or group of your own?
South Luffenham Village Hall can offer complimentary hire to help get your group or club off the ground to a flying start. For details email southluffenhamvillagehall@gmail.com
As you may know, the Parish Council have taken over the management and operation of the Community Centre, in the room located behind the school.
The room and toilets have been redecorated by RCC as part of the handover, and additional facilities will be added in the next few months (new furniture, IT equipment etc)
The room is available for booking by any person or group wishing to use it.
If you would like to make a booking, please contact Charles Cade on 01780 720467
Spring is certainly here, lambs can be seen bouncing around the fields and daffodils in their full glory.
We are delighted to advise that in line with the relaxation of restrictions The Fox will be re-opening on Monday 12th April.
Over the past few weeks we have been busy preparing for this, cleaning, painting, planting and preparing our outside space. Initially we will only be able to operate outside on our patio area and have made provision for not only covered area’s to protect from the elements but also additional new seating for drinking and dining.
During this interim period in anticipation of being permitted to open inside in May, we will be offering a menu that has been tailored to enjoy on our patio or alternatively to take home. We look forward to returning to our normal seasonally changing menu with daily specials as soon as possible.
Our patio menu can be viewed on our menu page of our website ; www.thefoxrutland.co.uk
For takeout orders please telephone 01780 720991 to place your order during opening hours and to arrange a collection time. We look forward to welcoming you back to The Fox
