3rd April 2025 • The HERALD • Page 69 v READ THE HERALD ONLINE: www.herald-publishing.co.uk v ANIMAL MAGIC NEW FOREST FRENCHIE FEST EGGSTRAVAGANZA e New Forest’s biggest ever French Bulldog meet up, New Forest Frenchie Fest, is taking place on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th April at Exbury Club. ere will be a dog show sponsored by BB’s Boutique with pawsome prizes to be won, training and behaviour talks from e Family Dog Club, photo booths and pawfect stalls for all of your doggie delights. Plus an Easter Egg hunt for the kids, a BBQ and licensed bar and a free puppacino for every dog. Tickets are £10 (kids go free!) and available from: www. frenchiefest.co.uk 10% of ticket sales will go to the charity Mast Cell Action. Local Agility Star Crowned Winner At Crufts Bebe, a Working Cocker Spaniel, and Michael Green from Southampton, have won e Kennel Club Medium ABC (Anything But Collie) agility competition, a er battling it out against seven other finalists at Cru s, the world’s greatest dog show, on Friday 7th March. The final, which was sponsored by YuMOVE, saw eight medium dogs, other than Border Collies and Working Sheepdogs, competing to win, having all qualified from the semi- nals at e International Horse Show in December 2024. Proud owner Michael said: “This is amazing. Bebe can often struggle so the fact that she did so well is brilliant.” Helen Kerfoot, Cru s Show Manager, said: “Congratulations to Michael and Bebe for their outstanding performance in today’s final. They demonstrated incredible confidence in front of the Crufts audience, showcasing their dedication to agility. The ABC Agility competition is a brilliant opportunity for owners with a variety of breeds to compete in agility. Well done to everyone who took part and made it to the final.” Fiona Hope, CEO of YuMOVE, which sponsored the event, said: “Huge congratulations to Michael Green and Bebe on their fantastic victory in The Kennel Club Medium ABC final.” New Forest Frenchie Fest Michael Green with Bebe (Credit: BeatMedia and The Kennel Club) check out the Climate Change Gardening website at climatechangegardening.org For up to date and further information please visit our website: evoice.org/ waterCAN, or our Facebook page, or email: watercan2025@gmail.com What better way to spend Easter Monday morning (21st April) than a guided tour of Holbury Manor Park and Warren Copse, led by Eddie Holtham, chairman of Warren Copse and Holbury Manor Conservation Group. Eddie invites you to come and learn about the history of Holbury Manor Park, which was one of the granges supplying food to the monastery at Beaulieu. e tour starts at 11am and will last approximately one and a half hours. Meet at the car park on Holbury Drove (opposite Depedene Close). All welcome. Following on the heels of the news of Community Energy New Forest’s (CENF) rst project at Gang Warily, the project has now received its grid licence allowing it to go ahead. Further plans are in the pipeline, and hopefully will be supported by the passing of the clause in the Great British Energy bill allowing the growth of community-led energy projects. Mike Bundock, our community energy lead, has been undertaking around 20 thermal imaging exercises around the Waterside over the course of the past winter. Hopefully this will resume next winter. CENF are also linking with the University of Southampton on a project to develop solar powered charging stations in car parks which will operate independently of the grid. e rst test project is running at Marwell Zoo, and it’s hoped to be able to expand this model to local council run car parks. Phase two of the aluminium can collection project has kicked o with the second skip starting to ll. If any businesses are able to collect cans, or volunteers able to help with crushing and transporting please email: watercressqueen1@gmail.com Pro ts from the rst shipload were shared between Hythe Sea Scouts, waterCAN, Pennington allotments and the range of community projects run by New Forest Aquaponics. Our members from the Waterside Cycling Action Group (WCAG) have joined in the campaign for a safer pedestrian/cyclist A326 crossing point following the third crash in ve months on the road. WCAG are also continuing their campaign to improve the cycle route to Southampton. See their Facebook page for further information. On the national good news front, the government’s climate change committee’s latest report suggests that all the necessary steps to reach the legally binding target of net zero by 2050 are within reach. ey point out the lessons of other countries managing to roll out heat vehicles, heat pumps and home insulation in particular. e full report is available on: www.theccc. org.uk is follows the publication of an independently reviewed report which nds that people in London are breathing signi cantly cleaner air since the expansion of the city’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez). And on a similar pollution related note, Which? research found that “cooking on gas can create pollution worse than a busy road”. And nally, if you’re interested in using your garden to mitigate climate change, Waterside Climate Action Network (waterCAN) Update from Waterside Climate Action Network (WaterCAN) Art in the Park Join artist Mandy at Lepe Country Park on Friday 25th April, 10am–12noon, to develop your ideas and hone your skills. Enjoy a monthly, social, art session for your own wellbeing, meeting with like-minded people, exploring a di erent theme each month. Fill up your sketchbook whilst exchanging ideas and tips while you work. Please note: this is not a taught session but more a chance to meet with other creative people socially for your own well-being. is is a bookable event, please contact visitor services via email: lepe. enquiries@hants.gov.uk or call: 023 8089 9108. £5 per session, usual parking charges apply. Waterside Repair Café If you have an item sitting at home, not working, take it along to the Waterside Repair Café on the last Saturday of each month, the next session will be on 26th April. eir volunteers will do their best to repair it and if they can’t they might know someone who can. If your item is beyond repair the team will tell you the best way to dispose of it. From clocks, household electricals to umbrellas, they have seen it all. Go on down and say hello and enjoy a cup of tea and a slice of cake while you wait. e Repair Café takes place on the last Saturday of each month at Black eld Baptist Church Hall. Doors open at 10.30am last repair checked in at 1pm. Free parking on site. You can follow the Waterside Repair Café Facebook page for regular updates.
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