Ivy
Not the good lady, but the insidious climbing plant which is becoming rampant everywhere. We all too easily accept it's invasion, and become unaware of the rapid growth it can make.
As I look out of my office window I can see trees that are covered almost to the top branches with this thick green foliage. In time these trees will succumb to the extra weight, and branches fall off, nearly dead from lack of light. The broader countryside is also affected, leaving rows of stunted trees where there would have been fine tall specimens.
When I first arrived here the trees on the Estate were kept in order by the Squire who had retained the shooting rights, and the trees. Mr Goddard who lived in the cottage at the entrance of Coopers Lane had the full time job of cutting through the lower growth of the ivy, thus killing it dead. Land management does not seem to value this task today, and throughout the area I travel in, ivy covered trees are everywhere.
Even the hedgerows are hosts to this pest. A dose of "roundup" in the spring usually stops any invasion, and will not hurt the hedgerow if sprayed on the lower branches where there are no leaves. How to get this job done is difficult, as so few people work the land these days, and the traditional wet day blitz of the staff, armed with saws and hatchets just does not happen anymore.
It is all very well getting larger and larger machines, many of them hired complete with driver, thus reducing the labour force so that very little maintenance is done. The number of people who work on the farms, and who live nearby has reduced to single figures in this parish. Where will it all end ?
On the television this morning, January 24, great concern was expressed about the huge rise in population, the growing need for clean water, and a regular supply of nourishing food. Admittedly this was a global analysis. But it does affect us here in Cambridgeshire.
It is all very well the National Trust trying to alter the trend of keeping the very fertile fens in food production, by neglecting all the work done in the past to reclaim the land from a bog, and letting it revert to scrubby third rate pasture. Even the word pasture is too good for what we see today; it is poor grazing.
The new pathway just completed is an adventure for the mature cyclists. I have spoken to many who enjoy the experience of riding through former forbidden territory, and seeing the fen countryside. The bridges do present quite a formidable obstacle, as the steps are very steep for a bike. I suppose the managers have noticed that this path and the smart new bridge lie in the lowest area of the fen, and would be flooded first if that was the final decision to let the water in.
Perhaps it is just a small area that they intend to flood, but even this is too much in my opinion. Priory farm, now derelict, was once a hive of industry under the management of Mr Ingram, growing root crops, which should never be imported, and providing jobs for the local people. Not so many as previously perhaps, due to modern techniques, but gainful employment nevertheless for some.
I must get off my fault-finding narrative, and get back to something more constructive- the heating of St Mary's church. We do have a system of pumping heat into the building, which has been tried and tested, and found to be partly effective. The trouble is most of the heat rises to the roof (not many folk up there) and stays there until we leave chilled through. I suggest we install three slow rotating fans near the ceiling to blow the warm air back down to us. This has been done in All Saints Church Newmarket, and is very successful.
I hope the PCC will look sympathetically on this idea, as we do have some cash to help pay for it. I have found that if you feel comfortable you will perform so much better, and might even be inclined to watch the ivy in your patch.