Welcome to the February 2023 issue of InSpire. Celebrating St Valentine’s Day and the beginning of Lent 2023.
“Whatever I go through, I choose to rejoice in the Lord and Glory in God my Saviour” Habbakuk 3: 17-18
Post expires at 11:27pm on Wednesday January 31st, 2024
The post Issue 69 February 2023 appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.
Dear friends,
This weekend is the annual big garden birdwatch from the RSPB. This is an initiative to gauge the population of garden birds in the UK, which has fallen in number quite dramatically (especially sparrows and starlings). You just sit and watch the garden for an hour and make a note of the different bird species you see and how many of each you see at one time. The highest number counts. See what you need to do here:
The RSPB Wildlife Charity: Nature Reserves & Wildlife Conservation
The RSPB is the UK’s largest nature conservation charity, inspiring everyone to give nature a home and secure a healthy environment for wildlife. Join us.
www.rspb.org.uk
I have just done this and noted 14 species.
Do remember to leave lots of shelter and nesting possibilities for your garden birds. This is even more important than leaving bird food out.
The picture today is of the poster we have used to advertise the Christingle service this Sunday. Please come if you can and bring some children if they will come with you!
God bless,
Dineke
Post expires at 1:12pm on Sunday January 28th, 2024
The post Sunday 29 January 2023 appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.
Dear friends,
In the last week I assembled this nesting box. It is made of replaced train timetables from Dutch railway stations. What a great idea to cut up the redundant plastic to serve nature. It serves as a reminder that we should all look in our own environment at what we can do to minimise waste and support nature as well as we can. It was a thoughtful gift from family who came to stay over Christmas. It will have to go up soon: winter is still with us but the birds will start to look for nesting opportunities soon.
Don’t forget the Christingle service in St John next week. There is more information in the notes attached.
God bless.
Post expires at 9:42am on Sunday January 21st, 2024
The post Notes for Sunday 22 January 2023 appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.
Dear friends,
We are fast approaching the end of January and therefore the Capel Christingle service on the last Sunday. We are hoping that Scott Broadwood school will support us and that there will be lots of children making Christingles and and moneys raised for the children’s society. Please support the service on 29 January in St John and bring your children, grandchildren, nephews and grand nieces (if you have any to hand).
The pictures today were taken several years apart:
* The midday sun illuminating the mountain tops in Norway, north of the Arctic circle early January 2015
* The setting sun in Newdigate the same month 7 years earlier.
Alan Smallwood has sent in an article on the day of the donkey. I hope you can read it as it is an unusual shape and I didn’t have time to edit it.
God bless,
Dineke
PS For some of you this may be a duplication but for others, their system may not have been able to process the excessively big files I attached. I now have a tool to reduce pictures.
notes-20230115.pdf Weekly Notes readings-20230115.pdf Weekly Readings
Post expires at 3:12pm on Sunday January 14th, 2024
The post notes for Sunday 15 January 2023 appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.
Capel Village Memorial Hall will be holding its Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 31 January 2023, 7.30pm at the Hall.
Dear friends,
Here’s to a new year.
I have never made new year’s resolutions. We didn’t grow up with the concept and growing up I realised two things: hardly anyone ever stuck with them for more than a couple of days and changing your habits takes more than deciding one day that everything is going to be different because you wish it so. In the past I have managed to change a few bad habits but not without falling back occasionally to have to clamber back out of them again. The point is to be aware, be prepared to put in an effort and seek guidance.
On that note I have noticed that having two attachments with the same name is highly confusing so I have changed the name of one of them starting next week. Not a resolution but an action!
This Sunday is cafe church and I have attached the menu as made available by Bob. The first prayer in the notes has been nicked from this menu.
The picture this week is of our Friesian horse last month in the snow. Maxie is a coldblood and therefore very hardy. She is much happier when it’s freezing than in summer with high temperatures and enjoys rolling in the snow on a regular basis.
God bless,
Dineke van den Bogerd
Post expires at 12:02pm on Sunday January 7th, 2024
The post Notes for Sunday 8 January 2023 appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.
Happy New year to our readers! Welcome to the first issue of 2023.
‘Help us Lord
To delight in Your company,
To walk Your safe way,
To shine Your clear light
Of hope for the year.’
By Daphne Kitching
Post expires at 9:23pm on Thursday January 4th, 2024
The post Issue 68 January 2023 appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.
A New Year’s resolution for gardeners might be to plan ahead. But it is not easy when the best laid plans can be thwarted by inappropriate weather patterns. Why is it always so unexpected? That is one of Life’s many mysteries. Anyway, here goes.
Clear away stems and roots of green crops like cabbages once they have finished and try to get ahead with winter cultivation whenever the weather gives you a chance. Cloches put out to protect seed beds will allow the soil to dry and allow sowing to be started just a bit earlier than usual.
Have a good look at the structure of your garden and decide where to put the plants that give height and substance to the overall shape of the garden.
Remember to get your mower and power tools serviced and ready for the spring. Don’t leave it to the last minute when everyone else will be trying to do the same thing.
Keep a check on all trees and shrubs, especially if they have been planted in the previous 12 months, to make sure that their roots are firmly in the soil. Wind and frost can easily lift them and do a lot of damage if they are not heeled in and kept firm. Finish any pruning of fruit trees. Give them a winter wash of tar oil to help keep down insect damage in the summer months. Fruiting bushes like currants and gooseberries should also be pruned during their dormant period.
January is a good time to order gladioli corms from reputable suppliers. Sweet peas can be germinated under glass with some heat. Plan spring planting programme for flowers. Complete digging beds and borders to be used for annuals.
If the weather is suitable, shallots can be planted on well drained soil, or plant them individually in 3 inch pots.
This is the time of year when houseplants are most appreciated. Azaleas, cineraria and cyclamen will all help to cheer things up. Do not over water, and most of these plants like cool conditions.
Towards the middle of the month start to make preparations for taking chrysanthemum cuttings. If you have a cold frame make sure it is ready and make up the necessary soil. A good mixture is two parts loam, one part peat-free compost and one part sand to ensure good drainage. Any pots or boxes should be cleaned and the chrysanthemum stools brought in to start them growing sturdy cuttings.
Regards
Chris
The post January 2023 Garden Tips appeared first on Capel Horticultural Society.
Dear friends,
Christmas has come and gone and I hope you all had a good time. We are now entering a new year and a return to some form of normality. I for one am looking forward to the gradual lengthening of the days, which is already noticeable to the more perceptive among us.
Attached you will find, apart from the usual notes and readings, a short piece on robins that was sent to me by Nick Ward in answer to my question from last week: well worth a read!
The pictures this week were taken on Boxing Day on a walk with visiting family along the south coast. They show that a bleak mid-winter can be very beautiful.
Happy New Year,
Dineke
Post expires at 3:33pm on Saturday December 30th, 2023
The post Notes for Sunday 1 January 2023 appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.
