Tuesday 23 April 2013

Joint Art & Photography Exhibition

Announcing a Joint
Art & Photography Exhibition

In Huttons Ambo Village Hall
 

On Sunday 5th May & Bank Holiday Monday 6th May
From 10am to 4pm

Featuring watercolours, acrylics and oils from
Huttons Ambo Art Group

and an eclectic selection of photographs from
Huttons Ambo Photographers

 

Sunday 21 April 2013

Minster Hill Plant & Produce Sale Success

Saturday's plant and produce sale at Minster Hill was a big success and raised £653.70p for the Middleton Hunt. A big "thank you" to everyone who came along.

Here are a few pictures from the day:


Brisk business on the plant stalls


Side Oven Bakery

Highfield Textiles

A rare breed of sheep from Highfield Textiles
(click pictures to enlarge)


All material © Philip Stone 2013

Saturday 20 April 2013

Meeting Point - April

Don't forget Huttons Ambo Meeting Point this April:
  • tea, coffee, cakes
  • books
  • fair trade stall 
  • children's activities
Saturday 27th April, 2 pm - 4 pm, in the village hall

All material © Philip Stone 2013

Sunday 14 April 2013

Plant & Produce Sale - Saturday 20th April, Minster Hill

Everyone will get a warm welcome at the Plant & Produce Sale at Minster Hill, Huttons Ambo.

Held in aid of the Middleton Hunt, the sale runs from 10am to 1230pm on Saturday, 20th April.

On sale will be:

  • plants
  • cakes, bread and other delights, courtesy of the Side Oven Bakery
  • natural wool products from Highfield Textiles.

Donations of plants and cakes gratefully recieved.

For further details contact Rosa Naylor


All material © Philip Stone 2013

Saturday 13 April 2013

Field of Beans

The Truth Is Out There (John Deere sowing field beans by night, click to enlarge)
It's Friday the 12th of April, the time is about 9pm at night, the sky is dark and the countryside should be quiet. But there's a strange glow in the fields and a mechanical whirring sound fills the air. I step through a gap in the hedge and silhouetted against a distant blaze of lights I can see a spidery machine disappearing slowly into the distance. Has it finally happened? Have aliens come to earth at last? And have they quite rightly chosen Huttons Ambo as their first point of contact?



If John Deere made spacecraft... (click to enlarge)
 No. Actually the noise is a John Deere tractor pulling an Accord seed drill - Richard Wainwright, farm manager, is sowing beans and making use of every available moment of the fine weather.




The John Deere comes back to the barn at the end of the day (click to enlarge)



Refuelling for another busy day tomorrow (click to enlarge)
 Later on I caught up with Richard as he refuelled the tractor ready for duty the next day. It's been a tough year for farming (when isn't it?), the soil has been wet and heavy and difficult to work and the cold winds have held back germination of the crops that have already been sown. At least the winds have dried the surface soil and now that the weather is relatively fine every opportunity is taken to get crops sown.


John Deere 7530 Premium, soil compactor and Accord seed drill (click to enlarge)


Accord pneumatic seed drill (click to enlarge)

The next day Richard was at it again, sowing more beans in Coach Field and in the field behind Valley View. The tractor is equipped with double wheels to spread the load, the tractor alone weighs just under seven tonnes before being loaded with the seed drill. To make sure the surface is evenly compacted Richard runs a soil compactor on the front of the tractor.

A Field Bean (click to enlarge)
 This is the little chap that all the fuss is about: a field bean. These beans will be grown for animal feed, but higher quality beans may be exported to the Middle East.

The end product - a field of beans (click to enlarge)
The field sown, Richard drove the tractor off back down to the Grange Farm, the drill has to be reloaded and he still has to sow the fields over at Hutton Hill. A farmer's work is never done.


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All material © Philip Stone 2013

Monday 8 April 2013

Literary Pub Quiz

Literary Pub Quiz for World Book Night
 
If you know your Dickens from your Dick Francis then come and test your knowledge at a literary pub quiz to celebrate World Book Night. The Ryedale Book Festival event is on Tuesday 23rd April at 7:30pm at The Sun Inn, Westgate, Pickering, and will be hosted by Malton and Pickering Mercury columnist Howard Croft.
The event is ideal for reading groups or individual book lovers, so if you are feeling competitive or fancy a relaxed drink with friends, come along and join others for a light-hearted and fun evening. Tickets are £10 per team (max 4 people) on the door.
For more information go to www.ryedalebookfestival.com

Sarah Leese

Friday 5 April 2013

Bales Going for Fodder

Straw Bales, Vicarage Lane, Low Hutton

These bales have lain in the barn at Low Hutton on Vicarage Lane since last autumn but now they're on the move to the Pennines.
 
Bob Mansell tells me that there is a general problem with cattle feed this year, grass simply isn't growing because of the persistently cold weather, so cattle can't be turned out of barns because there is no new grass for them to eat. So this straw is on the move to Malhamdale where it will be used for cattle fodder.
 
Loading Bales for Malhamdale


Last two bales going on


All material © Philip Stone 2013

Wednesday 3 April 2013

Taizé Meeting - April

There will be a Taizé Meeting in the church on Tuesday, April 16th at 7.30 p.m. lasting 30 to 40 minutes.

We shall meet in our quiet Lady Chapel for meditation and reflection and to sing chants – all are welcome, particularly if you just wish to come and listen.

 
Anita Topp