Thursday, December 2, 2010

Chaos on roads.......

Traffic build up on A46 and B1188

AS the county continues to be battered by snow motorists are being warned to remain highly vigilant.
The A46 between Riseholme Road roundabout and Carholme Road roundabout has now been cleared following a build up of a dozen HGVs stuck in one lane.
The B1188 Metheringham area and the A15 Bracebridge Heath southbound is only possible with care due to snow settling on the roads.
The A46 at Cabourne is now passable following a driver hitting a lamppost and sliding into the middle of the roa

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Wednesday, December 1, 2010

CHRISTMAS FLASHMOB!!! Mariah Carey "All I Want For Christmas"

New scheme attacked all round.......


Nocton Dairies: Animal welfare lobby slams plans

ANIMAL welfare and environmental groups have attacked Nocton Dairies plans, despite the decision to cut cow numbers back by more than half.
Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) condemned the revised plans as ‘an unwanted and unnecessary industrialisation of dairy farming’.
Despite the smaller numbers CIWF said its ‘overwhelming concern remains that this is still bad news for the animals and entirely the wrong direction for dairy farming’. 
It expressed fears that ‘this US-style factory farm could set a dangerous precedent for the future of dairy farming in the UK’. Producing milk on this scale would drive the price of a pint of milk down to levels most small farmers could not compete with, it claimed.
It said research had shown the ‘zero-grazing’ system Nocton would deploy is associated with increased risk of many health and welfare problems including lameness, mastitis, reproductive problems and a number of bacterial infections.
CIWF chief executive Philip Lymbery said: “The proposed Nocton development is still the wrong route for dairy farming in Britain. 
“It threatens animal welfare and the countryside, will put hard-pressed family farms under even more pressure, and will undermine the integrity of our milk.
“The proposal remains unwanted, unnecessary and unwelcome. The bottom line is that cows belong in fields not in industrial dairies.”
CIWF campaigns manager Pat Thomas pledged the organisation would be ‘throwing all of our weight behind the battle to stop factory farming coming to the UK’.
Viva! described the decision to halve cows numbers and allow cows outside access at Nocton as a ‘victory of sorts’ but insisted it will continue to fight the plans because of the link between intensive dairy farming and ‘bad cow welfare’.
 “We still object. It is not like we are going to throw up our hands and say it is wonderful what you are doing,” said Viva! campaigns manager, Justin Kerswell.
“The opposition to this project has sent out a very clear message to the dairy industry the British public are not ready for intensive dairy farming.”
The RSPCA said it would not comment directly on the application but stated it does ‘not approve or support systems which house dairy cows for 365 days a year, and they are prohibited by the Society’s welfare standards’.
But it added: “Just because a system is large, does not necessarily make it bad in terms of animal welfare.”
 Friends of the Earth’s food campaigner Sandra Bell said: “Nocton’s promoters have scaled down their plans for now but with a view to expanding them in the future - and they still plan to cram their cows into massive sheds, rather than graze them outdoors.
“The introduction of US-style mega dairies would force small farmers out of business and push the UK’s farming sector further towards crisis.”

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Now the debate really starts in earnest!

A Frisian Holstein cow in the Netherlands: Int...Image via Wikipedia

Nocton Dairies confident it can sell its milk

NOCTON Dairies director Peter Willes has insisted the Lincolnshire ‘super dairy’ would have ‘no issues’ in marketing its milk, despite the public backlash against it.
A number of major supermarkets have already indicated their reluctance to source milk from the proposed 3,770-cow unit or any similar ones that follow because of consumer concerns over animal welfare.
But questioned on whether he feared retailers could boycott the milk during a live Farmers Guardian online debate last Friday, Mr Willes wrote: “We are already connected in the processing industry and believe we will have no issues in marketing the milk, whether it is in the liquid market or in other dairy products.
“While people want to be negative about this application, it brings very sustainable dairying in the form of high welfare, high efficiency, recycling and renewable energy.”
Nocton’s directors have already held informal talks with processors and supermarkets but have stressed no deals can be signed until planning permission is granted. They said there was ‘private interest’ but acknowledged retailers might wait until the unit is up and running before making any public commitments.
During the hour long debate, Mr Willes delivered a robust defence of the controversial development in the face of a barrage of questions and comments on the ethics and practicalities of the project from readers and co-panellist, Viva!’s Justin Kerswell.
Mr Kerswell described the plans as a ‘retrograde step, when extensive and organic farming remains popular’. He claimed intensive dairy farming was turning cows into ‘something, sadly, akin to Frankenstein’s monster’.
“Mega-dairies are bad for cows and they are bad for people. The British public is rejecting them - and I see no point in the future that they will be convinced otherwise,” Mr Kerswell wrote.
Mr Willes responded by emphasising the benefits the scale of units like Nocton can deliver in areas like animal welfare and the environment. .
 “Large dairy farms offer tremendous opportunities for efficiency making investments in specialist cow care, the best facilities, the most able staff and continual training and development possible. This, combined with the production of renewable energy, the lowest carbon footprint and the latest technology to protect the environment keeps the farm economically sustainable in turn,” he wrote.
The third panellist, veterinary scientist Jon Huxley, of Nottingham Veterinary School, argued that the unit should not be condemned because of its scale. “Any farm, no matter how big or small, should be judged on its individual merits,” he said.
Mr Willes also came under fire from local Nocton residents, who sought guarantees their quality would not be affected. He outlined changes made to the resubmitted planning application intended to address such concerns, including the halving of cow numbers, improved digestate storage facilities, higher standard effluent piping systems and provision for the anaerobic digester to be built before any cows arrive.

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More Snow articles in the news today


Heavy snow causes disruption across Lincolnshire

Snowy road at GainsboroughPersistent snowfall is causing problems on many of the county's roads
Snow and icy roads are continuing to cause major difficulties on Lincolnshire's roads as well as school closures across the county.
The A1 is badly disrupted at Grantham, while there are also delays on the A16 at Tallington, the A46 at Nettleton and Cabourne, and the A157 at Louth.
Lincoln's Christmas Market, which regularly attracts up to 150,000 visitors, has also been cancelled.
Lincolnshire Police have urged motorists to take great care, especially on minor routes.
Lincoln Christmas Market
Buses around Lincoln have been disrupted, as have some East Midlands Trains' services.
Staff at County Hospital, Louth, have been working extra shifts, with some staying overnight to avoid unnecessary travel.
Some council services have been affected, including waste collection services in Lincoln, which have been cancelled for the day.
RAF operations at Conningsby, Cranwell and Waddington have also been disrupted, with the Red Arrows grounded at RAF Scampton.
The county's east coast has been particularly hard hit by the wintry weather, with snow and ice causing problems in the Lincolnshire Wolds around Horncastle and out to Skegness and Mablethorpe.
Lincolnshire County Council has set up a non-emergency winter helpline for anyone needing weather-related assistance.
The service is available for anyone who has been unable to replenish essential food, medication or fuel supplies because of the difficult conditions.

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Extract from a Blog on the snow in Lincoln today.........

Lincoln Christmas Market, Lincolnshire, U.K. D...Image via Wikipedia

UK snow cancels the Lincoln Christmas market and public transport, closes airports and more.

VIEWS: 86
1 of 18
1st December 2010: Just after 7.30am the snow is falling hard but at least I have arrived
 
1st December 2010.
I think I am in danger of becoming a snow bore. Still, you know what we English are like. We are obsessed with the weather which is always too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry or too something or other. The current heavy snowfalls though, apart from being dramatic, have been early, widespread and severe.
The 6.50am bus to work was a little late this morning. Still I was grateful it arrived. The walk to work would easily take me a few hours in lovely weather, let alone in deep snow.
There had been a huge amount of fresh snow falling most of the night. The main roads were reasonably clear but the paths and side roads were treacherous. The journey was not bad until we approached the village of Willerby. It had been snowing for some time by now. Visibility was poor and the roads were poor.
Bt the time we reached the hospital site, a little outside of Cottingham, the weather had truly set in. As I disembarked the bus I had no idea where the pavement ended and the road began. I teetered across deep snow. Drivers were stuck, either trying to park or leave the site. Many had abandoned their cars.
Just before I went indoors I took a couple of brief videos. I snapped a little more as I walked along the corridor to my place of work. The scene was both magical and terrifying.
On the hospital ward the night staff were still around. None of them had been able to get their cars out for the long drive home. In some cases it was to be a very long drive. However those abandoned cars had blocked the exit of many staff.
Suffice to say it is chaos.
Coming home at lunchtime the major roads were now a mixture of slush, snow and ice. The paths though have very deep snow in parts and it is hard underfoot. With only a partial thaw today, tomorrow will be worse. The snow is expected to last a few more days at least. Then no doubt flooding will be a problem for some.
Latest Snow news.
Lincoln's famous Christmas Market has been cancelled due to the bad weather. This is the first time it has had to be cancelled.
Many airports around the country are closed. This lunchtime Gatwick and Edinburgh were not operational. Check details before travelling to an airport just in case. Many bus services are running, but slowly. This means that there are delays. Trains in some parts of the country were cancelled. If you have snow related train enquiries ring 08453 017 641.
Scotland has been badly hit and the Forth Bridge is also closed. There have been avalanche warning for the Highlands of Scotland. In my part of the world the Humber Bridge is closed after 10 inches of snow fell.
Thousands of schools around the UK are closed. This often happens as staff live far from their places of work and cannot get to work in bad weather. It is of course bad news for parents and businesses as parents take a day off work to care for their kids.
Christmas shopping has been put on hold and many people are just buying essential items. This means that businesses hoping for an increase in trade due to Christmas shoppers, will be out of luck.
Hospital transport for outpatient and non essential visits has been cancelled to ensure that those needing urgent transport can be accommodated.
Although much of the UK is affected Scotland and parts of the north have been worst hit. London and parts of the south have only seen snow falls in the last 24 or 48 hours. For the rest of us it has been around for almost a week now. As the weather forecaster said, when he showed a part of the north east of England, which includes where I live, this is NOT the place to be today.

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Snow Glorious Snow........

Lincoln Street, with snowImage by tstadler via FlickrWell the snow has come in the last few days with a vengeance. We're snowed in........and it looks like many other areas have the same treatment. Six inches of snow here at Nocton and more in other parts of the country. Areas particularly affected are Scotland, Wales, Sheffield, Derby, Lincoln.............

The concert we intended going to on Thursday - Young Voices in Sheffield - has been postponed and the Lincoln Christmas market has also been called off!!!!!!

Huge numbers of schools have been closed, airports shut, transport affected!!!!!!!!!! The UK is at a standstill!!!!!
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Nocton Social Club

I really should join the Social Club in the village. It's open most evenings and for nominal membership with concessions for persons of my age I'd be eligible for all the events and cheaper cider!!!!!!!   Can't be bad!!!!!!!!!!
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Friday, November 26, 2010

Xmas Fayres already!!!!!!

Enormous snowball made in South Park in a snow...Image via WikipediaCan they have arrived so early?
We're going to 2 Xmas Fairs today one at Potterhanworth and the other at our very own Nocton.

Which will be best? The weather's changed though and its all wintry here! Snow has been falling all morning so we're putting the wellies on & walking up to Potterhanworth to the school fair then back to our village........

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr............
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Rhi & Mark arrive with the children for a visit to Donna Nook!

Donna NookImage by l.bailey_beverley via FlickrGreat excitement from the grand-children. Their first visit to see the seals at Donna Nook on the coming Sunday.......Get the cameras ready.
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Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Bookcases CONSTRUCTED in record time.........

An IKEA Billy bookshelf, 80x106 cm, finished i...Image via WikipediaThose Ikea products from the past which haunt me with failure did not work on this occasion. We had the bookcases up in record time and can now move all the books & order them properly into genres etc. What a joy..................
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Tuesday, November 23, 2010