Family Service
Gift Appeal Day
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Family Service June
Eco Notes June
June 2024
June often sees the brightening of ditches and village and townscapes, with cascades of both native and domestic flowers dotting the roadsides. Flowering plants can be expensive to buy, with many being imported from overseas. To reduce the cost, both to one’s pocket and the environment (in terms of air miles and the possibility of importing plant diseases), it is a good idea to sow flower seeds oneself. It is immensely satisfying to observe the first leaves burst out of the ground and, within a matter of weeks, turn into a brilliant display of colour. Of course, if you don’t have the time or inclination to sow seeds, many garden centres supply a great variety of seedlings and these can be potted on (buy Irish plants where possible). For those who enjoy having cut flowers in the house, sweet pea, as one example, is easy to grow and goes on flowering for weeks, provided the flowers are cut regularly. Towards the end of the season, seeds can be let form and these can be saved for sowing the next year. This is better than buying imported cut flowers. Growing pollinator friendly flowers is a bonus for wildlife too. Enjoy!
Choir of St Bartholomew’s church,
Easter Vestry
The Easter Vestry took place in Nun’s Cross, Killiskey on 14 April, during the 11.15am service. Many thanks to those who attended and gave their input. Those appointed by the parish to serve as office holders for the coming year are:
Hazel Bayley (Rector’s Churchwarden)
Juliet Belton (People’s Churchwarden)
David Harte (Rector’s Glebewarden)
John Smyth (People’s Glebewarden)
Justine Baumann (Hon Sec)
Scott Golden (Hon Treas)
Sonia Appelbe
Patricia Butler
Bernadette Glover
Tim Hicks
Amanda Mooney
Michael Norman
Ivan Sheane
Sarah Slater
Lucy Tottenham
Eco Notes May
May 2024
“The Humble Spud”
Potatoes. The staple of the Irish diet down through the years, when nearly everyone used to grow their own. Now, fewer people “go to the bother”. However, not only have the numbers of commercial growers in Ireland decreased in recent years, but owing to record rainfall levels this spring, most potato farmers could not plant their potatoes on time. Thus, a shortage for consumers is predicted for later on in the year. We can’t rely on imports either, as other countries have also suffered inclement weather. If everyone in Ireland, who was in a position to do so, could grow even a few spuds of their own, it would alleviate the predicted shortfall in the autumn. It is too late to buy seed potatoes now, but shop-bought potatoes that have begun to sprout could be planted. For those without a large garden, they can be grown in a large box or plastic sack, even on a patio. The rewards of eating delicious home-grown potatoes will be well worth the small amount of effort involved and might perhaps foster an interest in, and appreciation of the joys of, growing vegetables.