Dominic Kelly, Storyteller

Dominic Kelly, an acclaimed storyteller (www.dominickelly.uk.com), came to Good Neighbours coffee morning on Thursday 22nd November as part of Chorlton Book Week. His stories were very well received and he won the audience over with his warm personality and the acting out of his comic and engaging stories. This is just one of those stories involving a large stone and a son trying to win over his father to accept his choice of a new wife......

 

Day Out at FC United

Several of us from Chorlton Good Neighbours went for a trip to Bury to watch FC United Play Rushall Olympic on a cold Saturday afternoon, 17th November. Unfortunately for us FCUM lost by 4-0, their worst defeat of the season. Whilst this rather dampened our enthusiasm a bit, we still had a good time. The crowd never stopped chanting and supporting United and everyone was very friendly and helpful.

 

Hops and Hardy Chrysanthemums

Yet another sunny morning down at the gardening club. Peter finished off uncovering the foundations of the old scout hut. We thought we would have four walls but we only have three. Not sure what happened there but at least we know what we are dealing with now.

 

A generous volunteer Enid, donated some beautiful yellow chrysanthemums from her garden so that we could have a little dash of colour in the garden at this rather barren time of year. Paul and I planted them up in a bed and I think they look rather nice. There is something very positive about putting in plants at this time of year when you've been working so hard digging over, harvesting, weeding and constructing and it made the patio look a little more jolly.

 

 

We also put a layer of spent hops down on our empty raised beds. Many thanks to Ringway Brewery Limited, a new microbrewery in Stockport for providing and delivering these hops for free. Spent hops are a byproduct of the brewing process and are valuable to the gardener as a mulch and soil improver. From my experience of using them on my own allottment they are very attractive to worms so they really help to break down and feed the soil over winter. The hops do smell vaguely of beer but it is not unpleasant. You might smell a bit more like you've been down the pub rather than down the allottment once you finished spreading it though!

 

 

Our Gardening Sessions are 10-12.30 every Friday. If you would like to find out more contact us on 0161-881-2925 or come along to our office at St Ninian's Church, Egerton Road South and have a look for yourself. 

Carolyn O'Hanlon

Older Men Development Worker

An afternoon at the snooker club

Last Tuesday I was sent out to experience Chorlton Good Neighbours Snooker afternoon. I was feeling a bit nervous as as I've never played Snooker before and was going to need a crash course.

I needn't have worried though because the atmosphere was very relaxed and everyone was very friendly. The afternoon started off with a couple of drinks and a chat in the bar and then we moved through to the games room. We set up two games of four and away we went.

I've played a few rounds of pool at University but snooker feels a bit more of a gentleman's game - it certainly has some more complicated rules and a much larger table. I liked the old school brass and wood counter that kept track of the points although I'm not sure I always understood the point system. I managed to pot a few balls and after a very shaky start myself and my partner managed to gain on our opponents. In the end we lost but it was a close run thing. I've certainly been encouraged to have another go at snooker. However, it was probably for the benefit of everyone that the darts didn't come out at this particular session as I've never played that either and it could have got messy. Quit while your ahead O'Hanlon!

All in all, I had a very pleasant and relaxing couple of hours in good company and I learnt to play a new game. Can't say fairer than that.

The snooker group is lead by Wayne Marr. Wayne is very warm and makes sure that everyone feels welcome and knows what they are doing so he'll look after you if you come down for the first time. There are a real range of abilities at the snooker group so whether you are a snooker whizz or a beginner like me you'll have a good afternoon. It is also fine to just pop down and have a chat - you won't be pressurised to play. So go on, why not give it a try? Snooker afternoons are from 1 - 3 pm every Tuesday. Contact Helen at 0161 881 2925 or goodneighbours@btconnect.com for more details.

Carolyn O'Hanlon
Older Men Development Worker

Autumn Leaves and Archeological Digs

The wind swirled the autumn leaves but once again we dodged Manchester's favourite weather; rain and we were able to have another productive session.

Bernard and Peter finished off the compost bays and started it off with our own homemade woodchip.

Paul did a good deed by clearing away the leaves that have gathered around the church. However we weren't just interested in removing the leaves we were interested in cultivating leaf mould for our plot. Autumn leaves aren't just for kicking you know - they can be a useful free resource for gardeners. Simply collect leaves, water if not damp already, store in bin bags with holes punched in them, a compost bay or a your own homemade cage made with chicken wire and leave for a year or two. Once mould has grown on the leaves you can use it as a mulch or soil improver. Leave it even longer and it breaks down into crumbly material that you can use as a potting compost. One of the tips I got from Debdale Eco Centre in Gorton is that putting a weight on the leaves helps to speed up this process so we will be placing some bricks on top of our bags and tucking them away for a year or two.

Meanwhile, Tony and I planned to dig over a patch of soil next to the patio. However it soon became more like an archeological dig when we uncovered the wall and foundations of an old scout hut long demolished. This gives us an interesting dillemma. Do we try to put our greenhouse over these foundations or do we create a raised bed over them? Whilst trying to uncover the extent of the remains we found such "ancient artifacts" as buttons and milk bottles. I say lets call Time Team and get some geophys surveying going!



Our Gardening Sessions are 10-12.30 every Friday. If you would like to find out more contact us on 0161-881-2925 or come along to our office at St Ninian's Church, Egerton Road South and have a look for yourself. 

Carolyn O'Hanlon
Older Men Development Worker

Compost Bays and History

It was another fine and crisp morning on week 4 of our gardening club and time to start thinking about the structures we wanted on our plot. We marked out space for our prospective greenhouse (good thing too as we realised that we'd been a bit over ambitious and the one we were about to order was just going to be a little bit too big!) and our compost bays (again the space was too small because of a pesky drain cover that we'd unearthed when we first dug over the plot). All this proves that however much you plan and map and discuss in the cosy indoors, eventually you just have to get out on the land and see how things are going to work in reality (preferably before you start ordering things!!). I am sure this is just one of many lessons that we will learn whilst creating our garden. 

Now one of the things that I would like to point out is that we don't just get up to gardening and DIY in our gardening club, oh no.. we are a cultured lot. Last week Tony had noticed a plaque in honour of a war hero in the hall next to our garden and whereas many of us have walked past that plaque many times and not given it a thought, Tony decided to do some research and find out about this man's life. See what he managed to find out in the video below:

With lots of sawing and nailing (rather incompetently in my case), we managed to almost finish creating our compost bay and found the perfect location - a shady space under a tree where we would struggle to grow anything. Once we have the finished the bay and dug it in properly the plan is that users of the kitchen at St Ninian's church will put their food waste in there and we'll be able to create our own compost. Any interested worms please book your viewing now - luxiplex accomodation available!

Our Gardening Sessions are 10-12.30 every Friday. If you would like to find out more contact us on 0161-881-2925 or come along to our office at St Ninian's Church, Egerton Road South and have a look for yourself. 

Carolyn O'Hanlon

Older Men Development Worker

Chorlton in the Middles Ages

On Thursday Nov 1st Ian Meadowcroft. a retired history teacher,  gave a talk to the Good Neighbour's History Group on "Chorlton in the Middle Ages". Over 40 people came to hear Ian present his 'thought experiment' about what it was like to live in Chorlton in medieval times

Ian explaining how much of the Manchester area was covered by bog, peat moss and moorland, hence the preponderance of local names with 'moss', 'moor' or 'hulme' ( an old Norse word for a small island, or land surrounded by water or marsh).

 

Some of the audience who came to listen to Ian's talk 

A short video clip from Ian's talk 

Even though Ian's starting point was that we knew almost nothing specific about medieval Chorlton, he was able to give a very good picture of what life must have been like it what was border country, with the Mersey being the border between Northumbria ('the North') and Mercia ('the Midlands') and this area being one of the main route for invasion by the Scots - used as late as 1745 by Bonny Prince Charlie

Life was tough, with hunger and widespread disease. Famine was commonplace and there was little protection from a harsh climate and difficult terrain. On a cold, showery Autum day, we all went home grateful for simple things that we take for granted - like waterproof clothing and dry houses to live in.