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Barn Dances |
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We are
holding two Barn Dances this year: Saturday 15 May & 10
July, 7.30pm-11pm. Music by Skinner’s Rats;
ploughman’s meal included, but please bring your own drinks
and glasses. Tickets £10, available from the Farm office.
These dances were very successful last year and sold out
quickly so please book early to avoid disappointment. |
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Barn Dance in 2009 |
Skinner's Rats |
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Lambing News |
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This year we had a variety of 40 ewes, including Herdwick,
Dorset Down, Lleyn and Romney which gave birth to 75 lambs.
The first lamb was a Dorset Down born at 13.40 on 17 March
2010. The lambing shifts were staffed by a team of
volunteers who gave up their time to brave the cold mornings
and evenings to ensure that everything went as smoothly as
possible! |
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Herdwick ewe and twin lambs |
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Clover and
Snowdrop |
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Clover, our British White
heifer, gave birth to a female calf on 13 February 2010, just in
time for St. Valentine’s Day! |
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Clover and Snowdrop |
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Daisy and Lilly |
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Daisy, our other British White
heifer, gave birth to a female calf in mid-July 2010. All went smoothly and mother
and daughter are thriving. |
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Lilly |
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Natural England
Higher Level Stewardship Agreement |
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From 1 March 2010 for a period
of ten years, the Farm is now in what is known as the Higher
Level Stewardship Agreement with Natural England. This is a
successor to the Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS), which
the Farm had been part of up until recently. It is fantastic
news, as we are the only farm in London to be in the scheme,
which aims to create habitat mosaics for specific
Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) species at the field and
landscape scale, and to protect soils and watercourses. This
will allow vegetation to develop naturally for a set period
of time, depending on the species being targeted. There are
prescriptions which we need to apply, but it will allow for
both the farming and conservation of the land to work
holistically. |
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A newly-laid hedgerow |
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New Facilities |
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As we approach the peak time of
year for school visits, a timely improvement is the
installation of new trough sinks by the farmhouse and along
the bottom piggery. These enable a whole class to wash their
hands thoroughly at the same time. Our thanks go to Bexley
Council Extended Services for their generous grant of
£1,000, and also to Roger Lee, who installed the troughs and
guttering, Ron Turner, who did the plumbing, and Peter
Hewett, who made the smart new porch. |
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New trough sinks by the piggery |
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