Prof Teresa Anderson on tv this morning saying that the Lovell telescope “is still a world leading instrument , it’s better now than it ever has been in the past…..upgraded over time so it gets better and better”.

Long may it continue!

We noticed that bluedot was practicing its light show on the Lovell last night (looked impressive!). If you are going to bluedot have a great time….. a reminder of their details for residents:

Anyone with information should contact the police via 101 or  https://www.cheshire.police.uk/contact/general-enquiries/  .

Alternatively information can be given anonymously by contacting Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. 

If you have dashcam footage you can submit it by going to  https://www.cheshire.police.uk/advice-and-support/roads-and-vehicle-safety/submit-dashcam-footage/

If you have information on the Rode Heath robbery please reference IML 452991. If you have information on the Goostrey robbery please reference IML 453099.

Detectives believe the same man may have robbed Goostrey Post Office and a Rode Heath off-licence with the space of 90 minutes.

Officers are appealing for witnesses to the raids, which happened yesterday afternoon (Thursday).

The first robbery was reported at 2.58pm at Bargain Booze in Sandbach Road, Rode Heath. A man entered the shop and threatened staff with a wheel brace before fleeing with cash.

Then at 4.32pm police were called to the post office in Main Road, Goostrey, following reports of staff being threatened with a wheel brace before the man fled with a quantity of cash. Police attended both scenes and made searches of the area, and are continuing to make inquiries in Rode Heath and Goostrey, which are 10 miles apart.

The man being sought is described as white, with scraggy dark hair. He is believed to be 20 to 30 years old, about 6ft tall and of slim build. He was wearing a grey tracksuit and black trainers with white soles. At the Goostrey incident he was wearing a grey and green hooded top with black tracksuit pants and black trainers with white soles.

Jonathan Royle, the sub postmaster responsible for Goostrey Post Office said: “The man came in and demanded cash and produced a wheel brace, which he was waving about. The man had waited until the customers had gone out, and two members of staff were serving at the time. Although no-one was harmed it was an unpleasant experience for them.”

Newsagent Nigel Fallon, whose shop is opposite the post office, said: “The first I was aware of it was when a police car came roaring in. It’s the kind of thing you don’t expect to happen in such a lovely village as here.”

DS Dave Jarvis said: “We are working on the theory that these two incidents may be linked. I would urge anyone who may have seen suspicious activity that may have been connected to the robberies to contact police. If you have dashcam footage and you were in the area between 2.45pm and 3.05pm in Rode Heath, or in Goostrey between 4.25pm and 4.40pm we are keen to hear from you.” Knutsford Guardian

Anyone with information should contact the police via 101 or  https://www.cheshire.police.uk/contact/general-enquiries/  . Alternatively information can be given anonymously by contacting Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. 

If you have dashcam footage you can submit it by going to  https://www.cheshire.police.uk/advice-and-support/roads-and-vehicle-safety/submit-dashcam-footage/

If you have information on the Rode Heath robbery please reference IML 452991. If you have information on the Goostrey robbery please reference IML 453099.

Sadly Goostrey post office was robbed this afternoon, between 4 and 4:30pm shortly before closing. Apparently it was a youth with something resembling a crowbar who took a small amount of cash.

We hear that everyone is ok, thank goodness, though no doubt Steve and Gill will be shaken. (Mrs Kettle was in the back room and was unaware of the incident until after it was over. She was visited by Rev. Heather shortly after and was said to be fine.)

Police with dogs were quickly at the scene – you may have heard all the sirens – and questioned people nearby etc and gathered forensics, searching nearby fields.

Anyone with information should contact the police via 101 or  https://www.cheshire.police.uk/contact/general-enquiries/  . Alternatively information can be given anonymously by contacting Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. 

If you have dashcam footage you can submit it by going to  https://www.cheshire.police.uk/advice-and-support/roads-and-vehicle-safety/submit-dashcam-footage/

If you have information on the Rode Heath robbery please reference IML 452991. If you have information on the Goostrey robbery please reference IML 453099.

It’s an exciting week for two of our neighbours; today the Global HQ of The SKA (Square Kilometre Array) officially opens in the grounds of JBO……hot on the heels of Jodrell Bank Observatory gaining UNESCO World Heritage status. (With bluedot Festival next week)h

Close to 200 guests attended the event including representatives from across the SKA’s many partner countries. The event included a ceremonial handover, with a commemorative key made from an original panel from the Lovell – the key having an etching on it of a trace taken on the Lovell of the first pulsar co-discovered by Prof. Dame Jocelyn Burnell, the renowned astrophysicist Prof. Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, who gave the keynote speech.

Panoramic view of the completed SKA GHQ at Jodrell Bank. Credit: SKAO/Juande Santander-Vela

‘Operated by a partnership of countries from across the world, the GHQ will be the home of the SKA Observatory, only the second intergovernmental organisation to be dedicated to astronomy in the world. It will eventually house up to 150 international staff leading the SKA project and allow to remotely monitor the status of the SKA telescopes 24/7 from its Operations Monitoring Centre. Considered a nexus for astrophysics in the 21^st century, the facility will facilitate a global collaboration in radio astronomy, receiving prestigious international visitors and experts.

The SKA project is an international effort to build the world’s largest radio telescope, led by the SKA Organisation – soon to become the SKA Observatory. The SKA telescopes will be constructed in Australia and South Africa; with a later expansion in both countries and into other African countries. It will address fundamental gaps in our understanding of the Universe.

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project is an international effort to build the world’s largest radio telescope, with eventually over a square kilometre (one million square metres) of collecting area. The scale of the SKA represents a huge leap forward in both engineering and research & development towards building and delivering a unique instrument, with the detailed design and preparation now well under way. As one of the largest scientific endeavours in history, the SKA will bring together a wealth of the world’s finest scientists, engineers and policy makers to bring the project to fruition.

Unprecedented Scale

The SKA will eventually use thousands of dishes and up to a million low-frequency antennas that will enable astronomers to monitor the sky in unprecedented detail and survey the entire sky much faster than any system currently in existence.

Its unique configuration will give the SKA unrivalled scope in observations, largely exceeding the image resolution quality of the Hubble Space Telescope.

It will also have the ability to image huge areas of sky in parallel a feat which no survey telescope has ever achieved on this scale with this level of sensitivity. With a range of other large telescopes in the optical and infra-red being built and launched into space over the coming decades, the SKA will perfectly augment, complement and lead the way in scientific discovery.’ More….SKA organisation

Slug pellets containing Metaldehyde are banned from sale from today.

(If you see them on sale point out it is their legal obligation to remove them from sale). Metaldehyde is toxic to wildlife – hedgehogs, amphibians and wild birds are poisoned by eating contaminated slugs or pellets. If we no longer poison hedgehogs, frogs and birds, more will be around to eat the less welcome pests like slugs!

Michael Gove said “I recognise that significant effort has been put into encouraging growers and gardeners to use this pesticide responsibly by the Metaldehyde Stewardship Group. However, the advice is clear that the risks to wildlife are simply too great – and we must all play our part in helping to protect the environment. I encourage companies and growers to look at the alternatives, such as ferric phosphate, which is authorised and does not carry similar risks.”

A heavy dose of Ferric phosphate (iron) kills slugs and snails.

….but don’t be tempted to try crushed eggshells (snails eat them!) but woodchips seem to deter them.

I have frogs and toads (and a pond) to control slugs but in years when there are toooo many I sink a plastic tub in the ground with the following mix:

To 1 cup water add 1 tsp sugar. 1 tsp flour. Half tsp dry yeast.

#WildAboutGoostrey

Slug pellets banned…and binned