The Parish Magazine May 2022

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18 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>May</strong> <strong>2022</strong> Please mention <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> when responding to advertisements Thinking about Equity Release? <strong>The</strong>n speak to us first! Mortgage Required is a local, friendly award winning Equity Release Specialist who puts their clients first. We don’t spend thousands on expensive TV advertising or employ celebrities to represent us. This enables us to pass these savings on to you. We tick all the boxes Compare our low fees Whole of market Free first appointments Mortgage and Equity Release Advice Initial chat without providing personal details 5 star Google reviews Typical Fees £599 mortgagerequired.com 01628 507477 Finance House, 5 Bath Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 4AQ This is a lifetime mortgage to understand the features and risks, ask for a personalised illustration. <strong>The</strong>re will be no fee for Mortgage Advice. <strong>The</strong>re may be a fee for arranging a mortgage. <strong>The</strong> precise amount will depend upon your circumstances, but we estimate it to be £599. Mortgage Required Ltd, Finance House, 5 Bath Road, Maidenhead, SL6 4AQ is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority reference 573718 at www.fca.org.uk.

feature — 2 <strong>The</strong> signs are looking good for Charvil’s hedgehogs! By Karen Ostrowski Have you noticed the hedgehog road signs that have recently appeared on Charvil’s roads? Last year, prompted by an increasing number of hedgehog fatalities on our roads and thinking that warning signs would help, local residents Sarah Swatridge, Dawn Brenton and I independently wrote to Wokingham Borough Council. We were fortunate to have the support of local councillor Sam Akhtar, who on our behalf, chased the relevant department of the council, and in March all our efforts came to fruition. SAFE HAVEN In the summer, responding to a plea from our local hedgehog rescue centre, Sarah, Dawn and I were fortunate to be in a position where we could each take on a release hedgehog in the hope of giving them a safe haven in our respective gardens. Dawn collected her hedgehog, Phoebe, I received another female called Twinkle and Sarah was given Arthur who had been orphaned as a baby and hand reared. 'For my family', Dawn says, 'Seeing these endearing creatures visiting our garden and thriving in the area is one of the great things about living in Charvil.' Our release hedgehogs came from Herbie Hedgehog Rescue in Lower Earley, which is our nearest hedgehog rehabilitation centre. It is run by Shweta Saikumar (details below). We Karen, Dawn and Sarah, Charvil's hedgehog guardians happily watch the hedgehogs' nightly activities on our trail cameras. However, along with joy comes concern. Knowing that hedgehogs travel over a mile in the course of a night and desperately wanting our releases, along with our regular prickly garden visitors, to thrive, we came up with the idea of applying for the road signs. I am happy to report that more and more houses in Charvil are linking up their gardens with hedgehog highways — gaps in fences — to create a safe wildlife corridor, and I’m hoping that the new road signs will help to increase awareness of the local hedgehog population. As Sarah says, '<strong>The</strong>se signs take us a step closer to becoming Wokingham Borough’s first hedgehog friendly parish.' HOW TO HELP You can also help hedgehogs by support feeding with cat biscuits and leaving out bowls of water. Branded hedgehog foods are available, however, they are not regulated, so please check that they do not contain meal worms, sunflower seeds, nuts, raisins or honey, as these can be harmful to <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>May</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 19 Janpietruszka, dreamstime.com 15 MILLION YEARS OF HEDGEHOGS A hedgehog is any of the small spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae and the order Insectivora. <strong>The</strong>re are 15 species of hedgehog in four genera, found through parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and New Zealand. <strong>The</strong>re are no hedgehogs native to the Americas or Australia. Hedgehogs have changed little over the last 15 million years and are mentioned in the Bible — for example, Isaiah 14:12. Like many of the first mammals they have adapted to a nocturnal, insectivorous way of life. hedgehogs. When gardening, please check the undergrowth before using a strimmer, never light a bonfire without a thorough search, and be mindful that some dogs attack hedgehogs. Other useful information can be found on the website of <strong>The</strong> British Hedgehog Preservation Society: https://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/ SICK OR INJURED If you discover a sick or injured hedgehog, please contact Herbie Hedgehog Rescue as soon as possible, either by phone, 0759 879 4442, (leaving a voicemail), by text message or facebook message: http://www.facebook.com/herbiehedgehogrescue Arthur Sarah Swatridge Twinkle Karen Ostrowski Phoebe Dawn Brenton