NEWS & INFORMATION
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ADVERTISING
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ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS
A colour advertisement on this website costs just
£10 per year for a 3" x 4" entry
or £20 per year for a 6" x 4" version
Price includes a link to your own website.
For information Tel. 01308 482427 or email: littoninfo@idnet.com |
BRIDE VALLEY FILMS
The next presentation by Bride Valley Films is "Alice in Wonderland" showing on Thursday 8th March.
Click here for details
DORSET COUNTRYSIDE NEWS
Click here and follow the link to read the latest edition of DORSET COUNTRYSIDE NEWS
VILLAGE CAFES - YOUR PARISH COUNCIL
From Saturday December 3rd and at every Village Cafe thereafter (held on the third Saturday of every month), at least one of your parish councillors will be present to listen to any concerns you have, and indicate what course of action can be taken on legitimate concerns. In addition to a parish councillor, the parish clerk, John Firrell, will invariably be in attendance.
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2012 – HM THE QUEEN'S DIAMOND JUBILEE YEAR
Litton Cheney will be putting together an organising committee made up of representatives from the Parish Council, Thorner’s School, LATCH, Litton Cheney Social Committee, PCC and the White Horse. We are looking for inspirations and ideas as to how best the village should celebtrate this unique and special occasion. Let’s hear your ideas – it may be just what we are looking for! Contact Steve Kourik (482552) or John Firrell (482313) jfirrell@tiscali.co.uk
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BENEFITS ADVICE SURGERIES
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Benefits Advice Surgery
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Bridport Disabled Carers and Friends Club
(inc. Bridport Disabled Peoples Forum)
Age UK Dorchester and West Dorset District Council are working together to ensure that disabled residents and their carers are maximising their benefit entitlements
Drop-in surgeries will operate on the second Tuesday in each month,
between 9am and 12pm at Kings House, East Street Car Park, Bridport
Next Surgery: 14th February 2012
For further information, please contact: Peter Bowditch on 01308 897364
Large council car park and public toilets available, with good access to Kings House |
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Benefits Advice Surgeries
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Age Concern Bridport
(an initiative by Dorset Welfare Benefits Partnership)
Age Concern Bridport and Dorset County Council’s Welfare Benefits Team are working together to help older West Dorset residents to maximise their benefits entitlements.
Surgeries will operate on the second Wednesday in each month, between 9.30am and 12.00 at Age Concern Bridport, and will be strictly by appointment.
To make an appointment, please contact Age Concern Bridport on 01308 424357 or at Chancery House, Chancery Lane, Bridport DT6 3JT
Next surgeries: 8th February & 14th March 2012 |
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SAFETY IN THE HOME
HOW SAFE IS YOUR HOME?
Let me introduce myself - my name is Vanessa Harvey and I am your local Home Fire Safety Advisor working for Dorset Fire and Rescue Service. I help people in the Dorchester area reduce the risk of fire and stay as safe as possible in their own homes.
In 2010, Dorset Fire and Rescue Service (DFRS) attended 468 accidental fires in the home. These could have been avoided if people were more aware of basic fire safety in their homes. Knowing the dangers and taking preventative measures could help save the lives of you and your family. Your home is full of potential fire risks; if you are aware of them you can ensure that you reduce the chances of a fire starting in your home.
Fires strike when you least expect them, often during the night. They spread quickly but it is smoke that is the real killer. If you are asleep when a fire starts and you don't have a smoke alarm to wake you, your chances of surviving are zero. They can be purchased for around £5, a small price to pay to save you and your loved ones. Remember your smoke alarm must work to save your life. Dust it every six months, check the battery once a week, change the battery every twelve months (unless it’s a ten year alarm) and change your alarm every ten years. There are also alarms with strobe lighting and vibrating pads for people who are hard of hearing or deaf.
As part of our commitment to reduce deaths and injuries caused by accidental fires in the home, DFRS provides free and confidential Home Safety Checks. These involve a DFRS Home Safety Advisor, like myself, visiting homes and ensuring each premises has the correct number of working smoke alarms, fitting or replacing them free of charge if appropriate, carrying out a visual check of appliances for electrical safety, identifying any high risk activities, looking at the position of furniture and equipment, checking for overloaded electrical sockets, discussing practical and safe escape routes and what to do if the worst should happen (none of us are invincible!) simply pointing out any potential risks and offering advice as to how they can be minimised. Each home is different in content and layout so visits are tailored to the person and their own unique circumstances.
To request a Free Home Safety Check call 01305 252600 or use the new online form found at http://www.dorsetfire.gov.uk/. Just fill out the form with your name and address details and click ‘submit’. Our new PinPoint technology will analyse whether or not we can make your home safer and you will either receive a FREE Home Safety Check or Home Safety Information Pack, containing a leaflet on safety and a checklist for the home.
DFRS are working hard to prevent avoidable fires and you can help us do that – if you would like a free home safety check, contact us. Alternatively, if you know of someone who may be vulnerable and would benefit from a visit, please get their permission and then contact us on their behalf to arrange an appointment. Thank You.
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THE SKY IN FEBRUARY
The fabulous star cluster, the Pleiades or Seven Sisters, is visible high in the sky in the constellation Taurus (The Bull). Generally, on a clear night, a person with good eyesight can pick out seven stars in the cluster with the naked eye but through binoculars or a small telescope the true beauty of the cluster can be seen. It consists of at least 1000 young stars, many of which are hot blue stars, and interstellar dust clouds illuminated by these stars. More information on the star cluster can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleiades_(star_cluster) .
A second star cluster, also in Taurus, is the Hyades. This cluster consists some 500 stars, the four brightest of which are red giants. Close to, but not part of this cluster, lies one of the brightest stars in the night sky – Aldebaran. This star is an orange giant that has a diameter 44 times that of the Sun and is 150 times brighter. You should easily spot this star because of its colour and relative brightness but, if you are not sure, look at the three stars that form the belt of Orion in that constellation and follow the line of these stars to the right. The first bright star you come across will be Aldebaran, you will then also see the Hyades cluster next to it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyades_(star_cluster)
PLANETS
Mercury is very close to the Sun at the start of the month so not convenient (or safe) to observe. However, from about the middle of the month it will be further from the Sun and easier to see just after sunset. The best time to take a look will be at the end of the month when the planet is furthest from the Sun and will look like a tiny gibbous moon.
Venus is the very bright star-like object in the western sky after sunset. It is the brightest planet in the Solar System but very disappointing to view through a telescope as it appears totally featureless being completely covered in cloud. Venus is sometimes referred to as Earth’s twin because it is of a similar size and is one of the four inner rocky planets (the other two being Mercury and Mars). However, it has a very hostile environment with a very acidic atmosphere that is both hot and has a very high pressure. No life as we know it could survive there.
Mars starts the month in constellation Virgo but moves into Leo after a few days. It is best observed around midnight. It is always worth viewing if you have a telescope as you can then see the northern polar cap and the light and dark contrasting features on its surface that so puzzled earlier astronomers.
Jupiter is still a nice early-evening object though it is proceeding westward and will eventually set soon after the Sun a little later in the year. At the end of the month it will lie quite close to Venus giving us the opportunity to see the two brightest planets together. Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System with a mass of two and a half times that of all the other planets put together; it is the fifth furthest from the Sun. It is classed as a gas giant and is made up mainly of hydrogen and helium though it may have a rocky core. Jupiter has no less than 63 moons, four of which were discovered by Galileo at the beginning of the seventeenth century. These four moons are easy to see with the aid of binoculars.
Saturn lies in constellation Virgo this month and is easy to spot as it is the bright yellowish star-like object in the south-eastern sky. It is the second largest planet in the Solar System. Through good binoculars or a telescope, it looks like a disc with some darker cloud formations and its famous rings visible.
Uranus sets soon after the Sun so is becoming hard to see in the twilight. On the 9th it will be only half a degree from the very much brighter Venus – that is about the apparent diameter of the Moon.
Meteors There are two meteor showers that peak this month – the Aurigids (7th) and the α Centaurids (8th); neither are very exciting. They both only have about ten meteors per hour though the latter do have some very bright, swift meteors.
Sun Sunspot activity has suddenly increased. Last month there were several events when enormous clouds of charged particles were ejected from the Sun towards the Earth causing spectacular displays of Northern Lights. None visible, sadly, from southern England but some were seen as far south as Yorkshire. We can expect the Sun to continue to be active for two years or so before it calms down again so we may be lucky and see Northern Lights from Dorset – weather permitting.
MOON New Moon is on the 7th and Full Moon on the 21st.
Did you know that all the hydrogen in our bodies was created 13.7 billion years ago shortly after the Big Bang and that virtually every other element that we are made from was formed in stars long since dead?
These are just a few of the things to see in the sky this month but there are many more. To see the sky at its best you should allow at least fifteen minutes for your eyes to become dark-adapted. If you share my interest in astronomy I hope you find these few pointers of help.
Steve Kourik
To help you find your way around the night sky please use the following star charts. The first star chart shows the night sky as it appears about 11pm on 1st, 10pm on 15th and 9pm on 28th.
The second star chart shows the night sky as it appears about 4 amon 1st, 3 am on 15th and 2 am on 28th:
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OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY
On Thursday 12th July 2012 the Olympic Torch Relay will travel from Dorchester to Bridport via the A35. Precise details of timings etc. will be announced during 2012.
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