Gershwin to Gaga

is the theme of the next West Bergholt Concert Band concert.  Featuring music from the likes of Gershwin, of course, Coldplay, John Williams, Stevie Wonder, Wicked & Gaga the concert will be held on Saturday July 16th, 7:30pm, in St Mary’s Church Hall to mark its re-opening.

As always, all of the band's concerts are raising money for local & national charities. This year's charities will include Myasthenia Research, Coggeshall Youth Work Trust, Clacton Family Support, Headway, Lepra and our local Church Charities.

To find out more check out the Band's website.

Ebullient & exuberant gardens

Ebullient and Exuberant – aptly described the Old Vicarage Gardens, East Ruston when 52 members and guests visited this week. As we left one beautiful ‘themed’ garden we were enticed into the next. We felt we had travelled many continents seeing Echium pininana from the Canary Islands; Eschonaria yuccoides from Mexico; agaves, aloes, puyas and cacti in the Arizona ‘Desert Wash’; native cordylines and phormiums in the New Zealand garden and a South African flavour in the Exotic section.

Aeoniums and succulents in
the North Garden

Feeling more at home, we ambled through areas of woodland; adored the fragrances in the rose garden; admired with envy, ʽmega’ sized lettuces in the highly productive vegetable patch. A walk into a meadow of cornflowers threw out a blue haze whilst in the wildflower meadow hardy geraniums and other herbaceous plants competed with the grass. And this is just a brief description of all we sampled and enjoyed.

Beeleigh Abbey Gardens, Maldon – will be our next outing on the evening of Tuesday 5 July. The three acres of riverside gardens are set in a picturesque and historic setting dating from the 13th century.

For details on our meetings and outings contact Valerie Lofthouse, Chair: tel. 01206 855450 - valerielofthouse1@hotmail.co.uk or Terry Claydon, Treasurer: tel. 01206 242124 - terryclaydon@aol.com.

Blown away...

Garden sacks marked with address

... garden waste sacks are a real nuisance.  CBC has provided advice on reducing the problems experienced by local residents after their sacks are emptied on windy days and sometimes blow away.
Prevention is always better than cure so advice to prevent permanent loss of these sacks are:

• have a large stone, brick or similar weighty object nearby so the crew can weigh the sacks down once emptied, and 
• always write your address on the side of them, this way if they do blow away anybody finding them can return them to you.

If the worst happens and you need replacement garden sacks residents can purchase their sacks online for home delivery by clicking on the link below. This link can also be used by residents to order clear recycling sacks and green boxes which are not chargeable:

• https://iconnect.colchester.gov.uk/default.aspx/RenderForm/?F.Name=huMsL1omdUK

Garden sacks can also be purchased from a number of outlying collection points across the borough. The link below will take residents directly to a full list of locations:

• http://www.colchester.gov.uk/Info_page_two_pic_2_det.asp?art_id=11445&sec_id=3774

Residents may also use sacks similar in size and construction to those available from the Council, however they must have emptying handles on the side and the bottom.  Alternatively you could consider composting garden waste, details of this option can be found by residents by clicking the link below.

• http://www.colchester.gov.uk/menu_map_level_3.asp?sec_id=2742