Felton Eccles retain UK title

Felton Eccles Tug of War team have successfully defended their United Kingdom 680KG title in North Wales. The format of the event saw 2 representative teams from each of England, Wales Scotland, Northern Ireland and one from Jersey compete in a round robin competition with the top four teams progressing to the semi- final stage. Felton, now a seasoned international team, dealt with the group stages with a minimum of fuss despite difficult ground conditions underfoot.

They did though loose one end to the other England team represented by great rivals Congleton of Cheshire; a result that generated much anticipation for the rematch which would come later. The semi finals saw Felton defeat Wales A but not before the partisan crowd had roared their team on to an excellent performance. This result dealt a follow up blow to the Welsh after Felton had triumphed at the Royal Welsh Show in July. On that day 75,000 people and Her Majesty The Queen crammed into the showground and it appeared that every one of them were cheering for the Welsh teams!

At the UK Championships the Final Match was between the 2 England teams and saw Felton utilise their version of rope-a-dope to draw every last ounce of energy from their bigger opponents before taking the Title in ends of 6 minutes 45 and 1 min 30, respectively. Currently the Tug Of War International Federation is striving to increase its affiliate membership from 32 to 50 countries, this in response to the latest directive from the International Olympic Committee and this will be achieved within the IOC's timeframe.

Tug Of War complies to all of the IOC's criteria and is a fully recognised Olympic Sport, unfortunately as yet it does not have full games status, however the signs are very positive especially as Tug Of War, through the results of the World Anti Doping Association (WADA) programme demonstrates that it is a totally clean sport domestically and internationally (yes, the guys you see pounding the lanes around Felton are regularly drug tested)! Unfortunately, inclusion in the Olympics will come a little late for Felton's current squad but in the interim there are the World Championships in the USA to deal with and the opportunity to represent Great Britain as opposed to England at the World Games in Germany in 2005.

UK Pole climbing champions

Father and son, Alan and Peter Gallop of Chew Magna competed against each other in the Euroean Pole Climbing Championships, held at this year's Bath & West Show. This forestry-based sport originated in the USA and Canada and is now practised worldwide. Visitors to the showground may have noticed two very tall poles erected in the forestry section, which is where this unusual sport takes place. Entrants compete against each other and the clock to establish who is the fastest up the 80ft poles.

There are four classes: expert men, novice men, ladies and veterans, in which each competitor wears a pair of racing spikes on the legs, a full climbing harness, crash hat and a strap which encircles the pole and is attached to the body harness. A safety line is used to prevent falls and is operated by a team of belayers on the ground. The time begins when climbers lift their foot from a pressure switch and ends when another switch at the top of the pole is hit. Each pole is slightly different and weather conditions can make a big difference to times. The world record is set at an incredible 9.8 seconds. After having had a few trial climbs, Alan took up competing last year where he climbed at the North of England Championships in Yorkshire and at the Bath & West.

This year he travelled to Newark on Trent for the British National Championships in May. Peter joined his dad to compete in the European Championships, however, Dad kept the edge by just a fifth of a second. Alan also recently came home from the world trials with two world titles: the novice men title and the veterans title and a best time of 16.2 seconds. He would like to thank his family and supporters, Fountain Forestry for the loan of spikes last year and Steve Cosh for the harness.

Winford cyclists scale the heights

Brightly coloured tight lycra (and some say brains) were the only things missing when two teams of cyclists from the Winford, Regil and Felton area took part in the Everest Cheddar Cycle Challenge on July 17 and 18. This long-distance endurance race went on continuously for 32 hours, enough time, according to the organisers, to climb 29,000ft, the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world.

Thirty teams, from all over the country, competed to finish 29 ascents each, either 11kms of rough terrain or 22 kms on roads, in the allocated 32 hour time limit. Each ascent, climbing 1000ft per lap, would prove to take approximately an hour of very challenging cycling. The cyclists had to navigate single track climbs, road stretches and some fire roads, as well as having to ride through the night. Although some teams did not complete the full 29,000 ascents, both local teams completed the challenge with at least an hour to spare. This event was the first of its kind in Cheddar and was held in aid of Arthritis Research (ARC).

It proved to be a very enjoyable weekend and all team members agreed that lack of sleep, aching thighs and sore bottoms were worth it. So much so that another challenge is arranged for early in September: Winford to Weymouth.

Chew Magna could be UK village of the year
Chew Magna has been chosen to represent Avonside in the 2004 Calor Village of the Year Competition. Chew Magna will be one of 45 villages from England and Wales competing for honours. The village will be visited by judges in the regional competition some time in October, and if they win through as the region's representative vilage, they could compete with five other villages from England and Wales in the final in November.

Louise Morse, Coordinator of the scheme, said: 'The focus of the national Calor Village of the Year competition (CVOY) is on the community - what it does to care for different elements of it, such as older people, younger people, its businesses, the environment, ICT and the community life itself. But the focus of Best Kept Village is on its appearance, and how well it keeps its looks.Throughout England and Wales there are counties running BKV and counties running simplified CVOY competitions - and some running both. Where there are only BKV they have different ways of choosing a candidate for the national CVOY. Best Kept Village organisers say that villages that are well kept show a good community spirit, and in a sense that's true. But if you were a lonely older person with nothing going on for you in your village, you wouldn¹t care how lovely it looked, would you!'

The final awards will be announced on December 7 in London.

Vintage year for CV wasps
It may not have been the best Olympics for many of the British team, but it has been a peculiarly good year for the country's wasps. Population explosions of the stubborn little swarmers have been reported in Scotland, London and Northern Ireland - and the Chew Valley is no exception.

Simon Dando of Charlton Pest Control estimates that there are about four times as many wasps as there were last year. 'From May to November last year I made 96 visits to remove nests, this year we're only near the end of August and I've already made 225 visits. It's the same for bees, I've been called out 26 times to deal with bees so far, whereas last year I only made 6 such visits.'

Nests have turned up everywhere in the Valley: holes in the ground, birds nests - even a pile of cardboard boxes full of toy battleships and on the roof next to the Chew Valley Gazette offices. The primary reason for the plague remains elusive. Pregnant queen wasps hibernate throughout the winter before forming their own nests and Simon Dando proposes that the weather is to blame: 'Normally we have a warm spell in early March followed by a cold snap when lots of the queens die off. This year the weather has just gradually got warmer.'

Other experts have pointed to changes in farming practises that are beneficial to all insects. Retired scientist, Dr. Michael Archer, interviewed on BBC Radio 4's Farming Today programme, placed heavy emphasis on countryside stewardship schemes, which offer farmers incentives to set strips of farmland aside in order to encourage diverse plants and animals.

He said: 'The reason I put forward for wasp numbers dropping off [in the 80s and 90s] was intensive agriculture, particularly the increased use of pesticides. Now, in the last few years, government agri-environmental schemes have been trying to encourage wildlife in the countryside and perhaps the increase in wasps is an indication that these schemes might be working.'

Although they may ruin a sunny picnic, wasps may not be uniquely a bad thing. Dr Archer added: 'You need more insects to have a bird population. We are very concerned about our farmland birds, which have suffered greatly.'

Anna Petherick

Concert for cancer research
A concert is being held on Friday September 10 at 7.30pm in St. Andrews Church, Chew Magna, with a collection being held in aid of Cancer Research. The performers will be local woman, Julie Payne from Stanton Drew on oboe, The Ardeton String Ensemble, The Lay Clerks of Bristol Cathedral (singing) and Matthew Redman on organ. Tickets for the concert, which cost £5, or £4 children (11 years and under), will be available at the door, or from Chew Magna Post Office.

Said Julie: 'We'll be performing for all tastes - from baroque to barbershop, and from Mozart to Moon River!' Former Chew Valley pupil Julie Payne, who comes from Stanton Drew, trained at Royal Northern College of Music and is now becoming one of most sought after oboists in the South West, playing regularly with Bath Philharmonia and other orchestras across the area. The Ardeton String Ensemble trained at Birmingham Conservatiore and Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. They are a dynamic, young ensemble making their name known through various recitals!

Matthew Redman, the organist, is Head of Music at Colstons' Girls School and played recitals at Bath Abbey. The Lay Clerks of Bristol Cathedral is a small group of men who sing together daily at Bristol Cathedral. Outside the cathedral they are turning their talents towards barbershop!

Ros Anstey