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This week it will be Pinch, punch, first of the month as August begins. As the six weeks of Summer march on, hopefully we will have four more good weeks of weather to look back at in the Autumn (which is only round the corner, unfortunately!) We may get another hot spell, but everywhere is already very dry so doing what we can to conserve water is a good idea. This week some interesting advice from RHS, whose gardens at Wisley are on my commute, came my way . I also came across this article about low cost / free things to do with your children or grandchildren during the holidays.   The Novium Museum is running a variety of events and activities, from summer art workshops through to a family geology day. CDC suggests v isiting their events calendar which includes events from across our District, and the ‘What’s On’ pages in their magazine ‘initiatives’, which has recently been delivered to all households. WSCC suggests looking at their tourism partnership website which allows you ...

  How did you manage in this week’s heatwave? We were comparatively fortunate down here; I felt for my school colleagues with daytime temperatures nearing 40C and nighttime ones averaging 20C or more. This is problematic because the level of humidity can be higher in the UK, making it harder to keep cool; if overnight temperatures don't go below 20C our bodies get no time to recover. I caught reports that the Chief of the Met Office cautioned that human-induced climate change has boosted temperatures 1C above pre-industrial levels and that consequently the unprecedented heat could become a more regular occurrence. The six weeks of Summer are in full flow, and will be gone in a comparative blink. Of all the holidays, partly because of their length and partly because of the clement weather, quite often people wonder what they can do. Our District and our County have a lot to offer, and there is a useful website, Experience West Sussex, that will tell you about a range of possibiliti...

  This coming week sees the start of the school holidays and the "six weeks of Summer:" most schools will break up this Thursday, and start to go back 6 weeks later on September 1. It looks to be a busy Summer for events because many things that were stalled by Covid are on this year instead. Don't forget the Summer Reading Challenge is back at all 36 West Sussex Libraries. This year’s theme is Gadgeteers and aims to inspire children to see the science and innovation behind everyday objects, showing that reading and science is for everyone.   Families who receive Free School meals are entitled to vouchers in the holidays to help with lunches. West Sussex's Community Hub can also help, whether you are eligible for free school meals or not. If you need support, please call them on 0330 222 7980 - they are available 9am to 5pm, seven days a week. It's worth remembering that if your children have free schools meals, they are eligible for free holiday activities. The...

We start by urging you to enjoy, but please take care in the heat this week. The Met Office has issued a Level 3 Heat Health Alert from 09:00 Monday 11th July to 09:00 Friday 15th July. There is a 90% probability of Heat Health Alert criteria being met. Temperatures are expected to rise into the low 30s. Hot weather can affect your health. The people most likely to be affected are the elderly, the very young, and people with pre-existing medical conditions. Val & Mick like Tenerife where the temperature from April till October is 25 plus (regularly getting into the 30s in the South in July/August), but then November to March drops to 20 - 25. This has been a week of Health matters. Last weekend, Donna and I visited Portsmouth and Southampton Universities to learn about their Nursing degrees because of our daughter's interest. I am always impressed by the evolving use of health technology, remembering hospital visits in years gone by when Donna's 'cared-for', Adrian...

  “ What this (Group) seem to have most in common, is that they get stuff done, they have experience and, well, they’re not politicians. ” This quote comes from a recent newspaper article in which a journalist asked a focus group to name their fantasy cabinet. However it could have been written about any of the other 300+ small, independent registered groups in the UK who, just like us, are not politicians but residents who want to make a positive difference to the area in which they live.  If you are curious about who the focus group chose for PM (and what they wanted Joanna Lumley to do), the article is linked here.  Last week, it was Armed Forces Day. Quite often, with the daily ‘grind’ and preoccupations we can forget about veterans until Remembrance Day comes around in November. I was pleased, therefore, to be reminded of them when I learnt that Blind Veterans UK are moving from their plane-shaped home in Ovingdean nearer to us in Rustington, which amongst other thi...