Editors: Jenny and John Collyer, email collyer@evemail.net

Contents

• Pauline Stevens- Jack Isbester
• Editorial - John and Jenny Collyer
• Chairman's Chat - Martin Sellens
• Captain's Corner - Jenny Collyer
• Schools' League Update - Dave Birkett
• SOS Notice Board including:- -
  • Explorer Challenge - Julie Laver
  • SOS 2004 EAGAL winners
  • SOS Programme for 2006
  • SOS National Rankings
• Splits Browsers - Jack Isbester
• Orienteering and Hashing - Lyn West
• The Woodland Trust - Jack Isbester
• Fixtures List - Jack Isbester

Pauline Stevens 1925-2005

Pauline Stevens of Essex Stragglers' Orienteering Society died on 24th February 2005 aged 79. For the last three weeks of her life she had been in a local cottage hospital.

She and her husband Bill joined Essex Stragglers' OS in September 1973, as I did, at the time of the club's reconstitution by Derek and Jessie Keeble. For the next thirty years she was usually a club officer - Secretary, Newsletter Editor, Equipment Officer - and always a ready volunteer for club activities.

At Highland '87 Bill and Pauline were poised to retire to Derbyshire and had been made life members of SOS in appreciation of the massive contribution they had both made to the good health and success of the club in its early years. Then Bill returned after his Day 1 run saying, "That was the hardest it's ever been". Two hours later he had died and most of us thought that it was a good way, though not a good time, to go.

In the changed circumstances Pauline decided to stay in Essex where she discarded her life membership and continued to give wholehearted support to SOS as an exceptional 'ordinary' member. She was well known and regarded with affection throughout East Anglia thanks to her positive, cheerful, friendly and unpretentious attitude which helped to make newcomers to the club and the sport feel welcome and was guaranteed to give old friends a lift.

She joined several overseas orienteering tours including the Second SOS Swedish Tour and tours to the Veteran World Championships in Australia, New Zealand and the USA and would, I believe, have cheerfully agreed that she had probably been totally lost in as many different parts of the world as any woman of her age.

I recall an occasion in Sweden when our host took several of us swimming in the sea near Göteborg and explained that Swedes and their British guests normally swim naked. I recall the glee with which Pauline set off to observe us and my relief when, having returned for her camera, her orienteering skill deserted her and she was unable to find us again.

She is survived by her son Graham, daughter Janet and granddaughters Anna and Emily who have affectionate memories of her.

Pauline and the warmth and good cheer she brought to orienteering in East Anglia will be greatly missed.

Jack Isbester

Laurie Niven, now in Melbourne, writes on behalf of herself and Rex:

We loved Pauline very much. I will never forget her standard, stock response at the end of a course, as she brushed the hair back off her face - "Wasn't that lovely!" Emphatically said, with a beautifully satisfied smile.

And no matter how long she might have been out for or how lost she might have been. It would pick up anyone's day.

I also remember how she used to draw a little orienteering control on to the picture on greeting cards. I have since adopted this myself from time to time.

The attitude she had to her orienteering courses, she had to life, and she was one of life's unforgettable people.

Gordon Neilson (in Scotland) writes:

One of my earliest Stragglers memories is of Bill and Pauline cheerfully describing that the first and foremost orienteering technique is to be able to find the event car park - and acknowledging that they had some way to go in this area!

She seemed to typify what I always regarded as a great Stragglers' attribute - that of taking orienteering seriously - but also of not minding poor results.

Editorial - Jenny and John Collyer

We were both very sad to hear of Pauline's death. We have so many fond memories of her going back to the mid 1970's. She, along with Bill and their two spaniels, would be seen at events all over the country. Since Bill's death Pauline continued to travel all over the country with her little caravan - often needing the help of others to get her on and off a pitch. However hard the course or bad the weather she never complained. On emerging from the forest, however long she had taken, there would be a smiling face and the phrase we will all remember her by - "Wasn't that lovely".

On a happier note SOS won their qualifying round of the Compass Sport Trophy against strong opposition from the SE. and now travel to the Final near Burnley on October 16th (see Captain's Corner for more information and accommodation)

From reading this issue it can be seen how busy so many of our members are out of the forest. Events have to be planned, organized and controlled and Jack is continually after offers of help for what is a very satisfying experience. Richard and Steve C have improved their coaching qualifications, and there is plenty of encouragement for juniors with the "Explorer Challenge" (see Julie Laver's article) and the Schools League. Finally, what would we do without maps. At the moment a number of members are involved in the updating and drawing of four maps.

If you are happy to receive your newsletter in future via the website please let us know. If you subscribe to "sosmembers" you will be notified when the newsletter is posted on the website. To subscribe to "sosmembers" go to the SOS website http://stragglers.info and click on 'Members Resources'.

Chairman's Chat - Martin Sellens

Well, there's some bad news and some good news to kick off this issue of CC. The bad news is the recent death of Pauline Stevens, a Straggler's institution, without whom there will forever be a gap at map sales. Others will have written her obituary in these pages, so I will not be biographical. Old stagers will have their own memories; some will even stretch back into the 1980s when Pauline and husband Bill were cornerstones of the club, familiar from their blue Peugeot and battered Sprite caravan that provided a base for the results team at many a Straggler's event. When Bill died tragically young from a heart attack at the Scottish 6-days, (when was it; about 1988?) many thought that Pauline, who didn't drive, would fade from the O scene; but she was made of sterner stuff. Who can forget her legendary caravan reversing skills or the perennial amazement when she arrived at distant event unscathed in her faithful Metro? My own abiding memory of Pauline will be of her inevitable response to post-race enquiry about how she had done. Eyes crinkled with pleasure, "it was lovely" she would assert. Those around her might complain about the planner, or the lack of loos, or the desperate quality of the map, or their real and imagined ailments, but Pauline was a little oasis of satisfaction in a desert of discontent. If heaven is a sun drenched forest, there she will be, plodding steadily around the orange course, delighted if she finds all the controls. She was lovely.

For years, Pauline faithfully turned out to represent the Stragglers in Compass Sport Cup competitions, and, years ago, she sometimes scored valuable points. Although never pre-occupied by competition, she would have been delighted by the famous Straggler's victory in the Surrey snowfields at the regional heats of the Compass-Sport Cup/Trophy on 27th February. No doubt new club Captain, Jenny Collyer, will provide a full report elsewhere. Jenny's band of Stragglers comprehensively saw off strong competition from the cream of South East Orienteering clubs, winning by a convincing margin to go through to the final in October. Many thanks to Jenny for putting together an unstoppable team, and to fellow Stragglers who answered the call to arms. The new scoring format (you don't want to know) probably favoured Straggler's strength in depth. It also meant that those who didn't score could still make a numerical contribution to the results by relegating the competition to the lower scoring places down the rankings. It was great to see so many of our student members, veterans of many a skirmish on the junior courses, returning from Sheffield to support the club. Congratulations and thanks to all. Let's bring that trophy back to Essex in October!

I suppose I should tell you what your committee has been up to since the last Newsletter. As I can't find a way to make it sound exciting, I'll just keep it brief.

• Nancy Powell Davies has put together a new, comprehensive version of the guide for event Organisers which will be available on the Stragglers web pages. No excuse now not to volunteer to organize your first event.
• Speaking of organizing /planning / controlling, Jack Isbester, fixtures secretary, is always on the look out for personnel to take on these roles at club events and is currently recruiting for the 2006 calendar. Contact him at IsbesterJ@aol.com.
• We decided not to hold a traditional winter Straggler?s Social (prematurely billed for this month in the last newsletter!), but, instead, to put together a series of informal club summer events with attached barbeques. Programme to be announced in the next newsletter.
• New maps are currently being produced for events later this year at the Naze and Brandon. The new Naze map, drawn in OCAD so that it can be updated regularly, will mean that planners on this shrinking area will no longer have to reconstruct collapsed cliffs or take a strimmer to the brambles to make the ground fit the map.
• Funds are being sought to produce maps of Tiptree Heath, and maybe a triad of woods on the Colchester side of Tiptree (Pods, Layer and Conyfield). The Tiptree Heath project would be to provide a permanent course for the ReCreate scheme that aims to promote recreational activity for health in the Tiptree area.
• Geraldine Russell has produced a beautiful and impressive Stragglers flag that will act as an assembly point and talisman for the club at future events. Look for it flying atop Jack?s flagpole. The CAA has been notified about this mobile hazard to low flying aircraft.
• Congratulations to Richard Barker (level 3) and Stephen Cartwright (level 2) who have both boosted their coaching qualifications. Perhaps they can be persuaded to pass on a few tips through these pages!

Well, I think that's it. How did it take nearly 3 h to achieve these modest outcomes at the last committee meeting?

And now, back to the more fundamental issue of food.

The GI diet.

In the last newsletter I evaluated the Atkins diet and came to the conclusion that, although it is an effective way to lose weight, its low carbohydrate content is not compatible with training, it is deficient in some important nutrients, and its high fat content might damage cardiovascular health in the long term. Perhaps a better bet for the cautious orienteer who wants to boost their performance by carrying less lard around the forest, might be the G.I. diet, recently promoted by the Sunday Times. This diet is much less heretical than Atkins, and really just follows traditional nutritional advice that has been around, but largely ignored, for decades. G.I. stands for glycaemic index. This index is a measure of the extent to which a particular food causes a rise in blood sugar (glucose) levels. In essence, food containing glucose or sucrose (table sugar) has a high G.I., whereas food rich in complex carbohydrates such as starch and fibre has a low G.I. The blood glucose surge that high G.I. foods produce stimulates the release of insulin, a hormone that functions to promote storage of energy after a meal. Under the influence of insulin the glucose is rapidly removed from the blood to top up the glycogen (carbohydrate store) in muscles and liver, and any left over is converted into fat. Although this sequence of events is perfectly normal, it is exaggerated with high G.I. foods because of the large fluctuations in blood glucose levels and consequent large fluctuations in insulin release. Frequent surges of insulin can make the body resistant to its actions and this is the cause of type 2 diabetes; a potentially life shortening condition that has reached epidemic proportions in much of the developed world. High G.I. foods are usually full of calories, tasty, but unsatisfying because they lack bulk. The rapid removal of glucose from the blood stimulates appetite, so we have a junk food double-whammy of over eating and potential insulin insensitivity.

The basic message of the G.I. diet is simple. Replace high G.I. foods with low G.I., bulky foods and you will eat fewer calories and maintain stable insulin levels. There are added benefits to this strategy. Low GI foods are generally those that we have always known are "healthy"; for example fresh vegetables, fruits and cereals without added sugar. Their bulkiness means that they satisfy hunger and the fibre that provides this bulk is good for intestinal and cardiovascular health. High fibre diets are associated with lower risk of colonic cancer and heart disease. These foods also provide vitamins and minerals that are sometimes lacking in the sugar-rich, processed foods that tend to dominate the modern "convenience" diet.

So what's stopping you? Part of the practical problem is knowing which food to put in your shopping trolley as you get in a bit of endurance training round the supermarket shelves. The contribution of the author of the best-selling book "The G.I. diet", Rick Gallop, who will, no doubt, soon be a new entry on the Filthy Rich list, has been to put foods in three categories, green (eat as much as you like) amber (avoid in the weight loss phase, eat sparingly thereafter) and red (you guess!). His web site is http://www.gidiet.com/ but you will have to buy his book if you want comprehensive lists of the good, the bad and the ugly. Some extra guidelines can be found for free at http://women.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,18030-1440410_2,00.html. and other sites you can access through Google.

Finally, a couple of complications. Some low G.I. foods are low G.I. because they are high fat, low carbohydrate. Remind you of Atkins? These are OK in moderation, but most of the diet should be high carbohydrate low G.I. And finally, high G.I. foods have their place in an orienteer's diet. Use them to get a quick energy boost during mountain marathons or long training runs and to aid recovery when you return from an hour or so of yomping through the forest. Then go over to Wilf's and enjoy a low G.I. extravaganza of pita bread (wholemeal, of course) with vegetarian chili. Enjoy!

Captain's log - Jenny Collyer

Well, we had an emphatic win over six other clubs in the S.E qualifying round of the Compass Sport Trophy on the 27th February at Banstead Heath, Surrey. My thanks to all thirty three who turned out to run for the club in the icy and sometimes blizzard conditions which prevailed on the North Downs on that day. Our juniors were brilliant with maximum points on both their courses. Congratulations to our three course winners - Chris Sellens (Men's open), Joanne West (M/W18-) and James Park (M/W14-) and to the rest of the SOS team.

The final is at Clowbridge, just south of Burnley, on the 16th Oct. Write this date in your diaries now. Lyn has provisionally booked 20 beds at Haworth Youth Hostel but will soon need to firm up on numbers. If you would like this accommodation could you contact Lyn ASAP and pay a £5 deposit (or give it to her at JK). The total cost will be £12.50 for adults and £9 for under 18's. Breakfast (optional) is in addition to this. It would be helpful if the hostel can be given an indication of the likely take up of meals - possibly doing your own thing for the evening meal, but some of you may want to order breakfast. Lyn's email is orienteering@grovehillhouse.wanadoo.co.uk Contact her now.

I have entered the following teams in the JK relay. I don't put the runners names to the teams until that weekend.

I am happy for the runners in the two teams in E class (Men 120+) to decide themselves which team they run in - similarly the competitors in B (Women's Trophy) and D (Women's Short) may want to change. Just let me know of any changes.

B. Women's Trophy - SOSHOCKLEY - Ann Roller, Nicola Robertson, Hazel Tant

C. Men's Short - SOSBROAKS - Bert Park, David West, James Lyne

D. Women's Short - SOSROMAN - Katie Sellens,Joanne West, Nina Tant

E. Men 120+ - SOSWIVENHOE - Martin Sellens, Clive Tant, Jeff Powell Davies

E. Men 120+ - SOSFORDHAM - Colin West, David Sanderson, Mark Lyne

H. Women 165+ - SOSNAZE - Lyn West, Geraldine Russell, Jenny Collyer

L. M / W 40- - SOSHYLANDS - James Park (orange), Michael Park (yellow), Ellen Sanderson (orange)

>N. Mixed Ad Hoc - SOSCHALKNEY (green, light green and orange) - Sarah Park (Other 2 out of John Russell, John Collyer, Julia and Thomas Robertson, Nancy PD and Helen). If wanted I can enter another Ad Hoc team at the event.

The British Orienteering Championship Relays take place on the sand dunes at Penhale, near Newquay, Cornwall on Sunday 17th April. Again, let me know immediately if you are going and by March 23rd at the latest. Entry fees are £10/£5.

Finally, I have been sent details of the North Downs Way Relay taking place on the 25th June. A team consists of 16 runners and legs range from 8km to 17km in length. I will pass on the details if anyone is interested in organising this.

Membership Secretary - Geraldine Russell

This is the last newsletter to those of you who have not yet renewed your club membership. You will find a form enclosed.

SOS Juniors

Jo West has agreed to act as “Junior Captain” and arrange teams for the Peter Palmer and Yvette Baker events.

Schools League update - Dave Birkett

Current year group top two results:

Year 5&6 Boys	Girls
Michael Park, Broke Hall School 472 pts	Leonora Cashin, Barnardiston 390 pt
Hugh Cashin, Barnardiston 390 points	Helen Laurie, Barnardiston 375 pts
Year 7&8 Boys	Girls
Robert Barker, Barnardiston 299 points	Sarah Roach, Barnardiston 359 pts
Tom Bright, Barnardiston 284 points	Camilla Duthie, Barnardiston 278 pts
Year 9&10 Boys	Girls
Joe Hooton, school/group not known 188 pts	Sarah Park, Copleston High 461pts
Philip Hardingham, KEGS 180 points	Ellen Sanderson, 251 points
Year 11, 12 &anp;13 Boys	Girls
Alex Machin, CRGS 69 points	Emma Johnson, Chelmer Valley 335 pts
James Lyne, KEGS 100 points	Nicola Barker, Culford 89 points

There are two ESSOL events left for this season 3rd April 2005 The Broaks and 8th May 2005 The Naze.

Trophies and certificates will be awarded at The Naze event once results are finalised. Please check the SOS web site http://stragglers.info for full list of results and further details of forth coming events. Anyone wishing to progress the ESSOL co-ordinators role and take over for next year please get in touch at david.birkett@blueyonder.co.uk

SOS Notice Board

EXPLORER CHALLENGE - Julie Laver

As I have just taken on the task of promoting the EXPLORER CHALLENGE on behalf of the club I have been asked to say a few words in the newsletter to try to recruit some new participants so here goes.

What is it?
A four stage incentive scheme to encourage young people to take part and maintain an interest in orienteering.

Who can take part?
Any junior can participate but the scheme will particularly benefit those who are just starting out.

What do you do?
The participants are issued with a logbook which they take to events with them. A point is earned for every control they find even if the course is not completed so if the course has 12 controls to find and only 10 are punched then 10 points are awarded. The participant must present the logbook to be signed by an official-there are usually plenty lurking about!- at the end of their run after download.

What then?
For every 25 points earned a certificate and a cloth badge are awarded to the participant. There are 4 awards available.

Do I have to run solo?
No, not at first. The idea of the scheme is to build confidence and provide an incentive to improve performance. The first points may be earned by a junior being shadowed and it is to be hoped that as their ability and experience increase they will be able to run as pairs then solo by the end. This will however depend on the age and ability of the individual.

How much will it cost?
Nothing-free-nil-zero-nought-no pence etc! extra. Just pay the normal entry fee for the event.

How do I get involved?
Collect a logbook from the enquiries point at any S.O.S. event and start collecting those control points. The event does not have to be run by S.O.S. to count towards your total.

My children have participated in the scheme and I found the promise of earning a badge counted a lot towards them turning out with enthusiasm on a rotten winter morning when the appeal of Sunday morning kids T.V. seemed a better alternative to them. After completing all the stages my two oldest are competing regularly and are keen to progress through the normal colour codes of the sport. My youngest has just started to collect the points and I hope she will soon be as proud of her badges and certificates as the others were.

Congratulations to Rhiannon Ware and Rebecca Wastell who have just completed their Explorer Challenge.

SOS 2004 EAGAL WINNERS

M14 - James Park
M45 - Richard Bonnett
W14 - Ellen Sanderson
W16 - Jo West
W55 - Jenny Collyer
W60 - Geraldine Russell

SOS Programme for 2006

Jack Isbester urges his clubmates to sign on for an enthralling experience

Listed hereunder are the SOS events for 2006. This probably still seems a long time away but now is the time for all of you with experience in Organising and Planning, particularly the few who have done none in 2005, to put yourselves or each other forward for next year.

Would you like a peaceful house? Volunteer your partner to a stint of planning in a distant wood. Fancy the chance to socialise more? Organising is the job for you.

If you want to get experience of organising or planning let me know and I'll arrange for you to understudy an experienced clubmate. Both parties benefit from the sharing of the work, the exchange of ideas and the questioning of accepted practice and can enjoy the glow of satisfaction and a glass or two of wine when the job is well done.

2006	Venue	Grade	Event
Jan 1st	TBA	C5	Novelty
Feb 19th	Chalkney	C4	ESSOL
Mar 19th	Hatfield	C4	ESSOL
Apr 23rd	Roman Valley	C4	EAGAL
Jun 11th	Hylands	C4	ESSOL & EA Schools Champs
Jul 2nd	The Broaks	C5	SOS Relays
Sep 24th	Hockley	C4	ESSOL
Nov 19th	Danbury Park	C5	ESSOL

Email me (IsbesterJ@aol.com) or give me a bell (01621 815501) - no offer refused - but DO IT NOW!

SOS National Ranking Positions

M21L 87th Jeff Powell Davies 225th Nick Thorpe M21S 16th Stephan Pugh M35S 82nd Robert Hammond M40L 123rd Bert Park (3) M45S 33rd Mark Lyne M50L 22nd Martin Sellens 57th Steve Robertson 63rd Nick Pugh 167th Clive Tant (4) 181st Geoff Pye (4) 217th Colin West (3)

M50S 53rd Richard Barker M60L 91st John Russell M60S 28th John Collyer (4) M70L 34th Jack Isbester W21L 29th Hazel Tant (W20)(3) 86th Nicola Robertson (3) W45S 15th Wendy Welham W50L 46th Lyn West W50S 27th Julia Robertson W60L 26th Geraldine Russell 55th Jenny Collyer (4)

Splits Browsers - the best thing since sliced bread?

Are you realising your full orienteering potential, ask Jack Isbester

For almost thirty years I orienteered knowing vaguely when I'd had a bad run that I'd messed up Controls Nos. 1 and 2, say, as I did at Bromehill (Thetford Thrash Day 2) and knowing the people who regularly beat me but not knowing too much about my own strengths or those of my competitors.

Now all that has changed and after most events I spend half an hour or so studying the splits with the help of the browser. Most readers will know that the display provides a graph of the performance of each competitor compared with that of the fastest time on that leg. There are other possible comparisons but the fastest time gives the most useful measure of what is possible. Select your course or class and click the names of any competitors in whom you have an interest, starting with yourself.

That rare thing a near straight line on the graph, level or sloping down, shows a good run with no apparent errors. The only improvement to be made is to run faster. Most of us don't achieve too many straight lines. Each plunge in the line marks a leg on which you were worse than your average performance measured against your rivals. From time to time it will show you that you did badly on a leg when you thought nothing had gone wrong - it's worth spending a bit of time considering how that could be. Could you have made a better route choice or did you dither at some point?

It is even more surprising to find that, without realising it you have run rather a good leg. At Bromehill I finished 11 minutes behind the winner but I actually ran three of the legs faster than him, or anyone else on my course! It is easy to find this by allowing the cursor to hover over the leg on the screen. The text against each name shows the time taken and the competitor's position for that leg. What did I do right on those legs? If I can remember I can do it again!

What the browser will not give you directly is a measure of your speed over varied terrain. If you want to know whether it is quicker to stumble straight across the ploughed field or through the brashings, or to take the easy run along the path around two sides of the triangle you will have to get the map and calculate with distances as well as times taken.

Thanks to this wonderful tool I now know that my running speed increases over the course of an event - or is it that my rivals' speeds drop off over the last few controls? I've a better idea now of which of my rivals (its pretty intense in the M70s) have greater running speed and which are slower but do well by virtue of their accuracy.

I often run the same courses as the W50s and 60s and with the help of the browser I can tell you which of them runs like a gazelle and thinks like a headless chicken, always good to know.

The splits browser is, in my view, far, far better than sliced bread.

Orienteering and hashing

You may have noticed a few new faces around at local events recently. These enthusiasts are members of Mersea Island Hash House Harriers and are a good bunch of people with a lot in common with us orienteers - ie they are suitably mad.

Colin and I were first introduced to Hashing by a friend in Barbados. A couple of years ago, we discovered the existence of Mersea Island HHH and, although the footpaths of Essex bear very little similarity to the sugar plantations of Barbados, we decided to have another go, largely as a way of adding another run to our week and hopefully improving fitness levels. We were made very welcome and have been hashing sporadically ever since - on Saturday mornings in the winter and Monday evenings in the summer.

What is hashing? Basically hashing is a form of non-competitive cross-country running. The Hash generally meets at a pub chosen by the HARES and the HOUNDS set off at the appointed hour along a clearly defined trail (blobs of chalk or sawdust) with the front runners calling "ON , ON" for the benefit of the slower runners and latecomers catching up. Every 500 metres or so the trail will end signified by a check mark. The frontrunners on reaching the check start searching for the new trail. This can start up to 50 metres from the check in any direction. The time taken by the frontrunners to find the new trail allows the runners at the back to catch up thus increasing the chances of everyone returning to the pub at the end at roughly the same time. The frontrunners will usually find that the cunning hares have laid some FALSE TRAILs in addition to the real trail. Hash runs are usually 4 - 7 miles long and are designed to last just over 1 hour. The main objective seems to be to work up a decent thirst and almost all hashers end in the pub for a drink and a chat at the end.

About a year ago, chat in the pub turned to orienteering. A couple of army lads who orienteered had recently joined the hash. They persuaded a number of people to come to Roman Valley. This was much enjoyed and has become popular with a good proportion of the hashers coming to local events - sometimes in an army minibus.

So if you fancy a training run with a difference, why not join in. The way the hash works means that it doesn't matter how fast or how fit you are, you will get a run that stretches you. Colin and I will almost certainly be at Leisure World on April 9th, so hope to see you there.

Date	Location or Pub
SATURDAY AT 11:00
April 02	The Cock, Polstead
April 09	Colchester Leisure World, Mega Bowl C.P
April 16	Friday Woods, Bounstead Road, C.P. afterwards at The Maypole P.H.
MONDAY AT 19:00
April 25	Swan Inn, Stanway
BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY AT 19:00
May 02	CP next to Village Hall on Woodrolfe Road, Tollesbury
MONDAY AT 19:30
May 09	Fitness First C.P. by ASDA
May 16	The Beehive, Little Horkesley
SATURDAY May 21	5 mile trail race (walk/run) starting in HAMILTON LODGE GROUNDS. Suitable for runners or walkers. Walkers start about 1000 hrs, runners about 1100 hrs. so finish by 1200 hrs for a lunch time barbeque. DOGS WELCOME. CP. In grounds of Hamilton Lodge.
BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY - 19.30 hrs.
May 30	Dedham (but not as you know it) starting from Dedham Mill Car Park

The Woodland Trust - Jack Isbester

Items from their local Essex newsletter

Anyone wanting to be put on the circulation list for the Woodland Trust's Fordham, Essex, Newsletter should contact Geoff Sinclair (contact details below)

March 26th: 10 am. Local naturalists Joe Firmin and Phillip Smith are leading a 'Bird walk' in the nearby Woodland Trust Wood, Hillhouse Wood at 10 am. The walk start form the Old Church at West Bergholt and is a great chance to find out more of spring birds and butterflies. This walk is hosted by the Friends of Hillhouse Wood, contact Mike Pluck for more details Tel 01206 514 173

May 8th 3.45 am! Dawn Chorus walk at Hillhouse Wood. Your chance to hear the nightingales for which Hillhouse Wood is famous as well as many other spring bird songsters in the company of local naturalists Joe Firmin and Phillip Smith. The walk start form the Old Church at West Bergholt and is hosted by the Friends of Hillhouse Wood, contact Mike Pluck for more details Tel 01206 514 173 >May 18th 6.30-8.30 pm: Bird Box making and erecting Fordham Hall Estate. Come along and help us make and erect bird boxes as part of our work to conserve farmland birds at Fordham Hall Estate. Contact Geoff Sinclair for more details Tel 01473 327 771 email geoffreysinclair@woodland-trust.org.uk

July 13th 6.30-8.30 pm: Stag Beetle and Kestrel/Owl Conservation at Fordham Hall Estate. Come and help us construct special woodpiles to attract Stag Beetles, our largest and one of our less common beetles. We also hope to erect a number of perch post across the planted areas for owls and other raptors to help me control the vole population. Voles also like to eat young trees! Contact Geoff Sinclair for more details Tel 01473 327 771 email geoffreysinclair@woodland-trust.org.uk

September 14th 6.30-8.30 pm. Meet the Woodmen Walk. An informal chance to walk the site and discuss its management with the site manger. All topics open for discussion! Contact Geoff Sinclair for more details Tel 01473 327 771 email geoffreysinclair@woodland-trust.org.uk

Contact
Geoff Sinclair (Woodland Trust Site Manager) 2 Five Acres, Holbrook, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP9 2 QE Tel 01473 327 771 email geoffreysinclair@woodland-trust.org.uk

Fixtures in East Anglia and Nearby Regions

For up-to-date fixtures information, see the following websites -
Essex stragglers fixtures
East Anglian Orienteering Association fixtures
British Orienteering Federation fixtures

The information provided below normally consists of Event Date, Region (eg EA = East Anglia), Event Grade and Type (Grade 1 is highest grade, Grade 5 is lowest.   Type C is a conventional Cross Country event in which controls must be visited in the sequence listed on the description sheet).   Event & Location Names and map reference.   Organiser's contact details.   Contact details, costs, closing date etc. for Pre-entry when provided.   Whether Entry on the Day (EOD) is possible and the surcharge payable.   The range of courses offered.   The address of a website from which additional information can be obtained.   Additional information in plain language.

At Essex Stragglers' events registration normally opens at 1000hrs, starts are from 1030hrs until 1230hrs and courses close at 1430hrs.