Sunday 16 August 2015

Is the Stray a monoculture?

It really isn't so I should probably stop complaining that it is. Apart from grass, there's plantain and bugle and clover and buttercups and daisies, and guess what .....


I'm fairly sure it's Coprinus comatus (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coprinus_comatus), lawyer's wig or shaggy ink cap. But fungi are notoriously difficult to identify - it takes an expert to be sure, and even then not always.

A few days ago I saw field mushrooms, I think, but left them alone, partly because they were pretty ratty, partly because of the amount of dog dirt, mainly because I'm just not confident enough to rely on my identifications. It's a case of don't do this at home ...

On a different subject, we now know when the Fair's coming to town:

 But does anyone know where the free parking is going to be?



5 comments:

  1. Unfortunately Toni the "Free Parking" will be just over the bodged up protective matting that is now just buried under sand! I fail to see how this sand and damaged matting is protecting anything, particularly the grass! The hundreds of cars that drove over that matting during the Spring Bank Holiday Fair finally destroyed the matting and the grass at the Oatlands Drive Stray entrance. Now the Council are going to repeat the exercise! So the "Free Parking" for the Fair will end up costing the Harrogate Council Tax Payer £000's when the the Parks Dept finally replace this dangerous and now very ugly matting and sand! Then they say they cannot afford to protect the Stray! I say they cannot afford to carry on not protecting the Stray.

    Incidentally I sincerely hope that advertising sign was not on the Stray as it would be illegal!

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    Replies
    1. The sign is on the Stray, very near to whether the grass has been so carefully protected by the mesh which has been protected by sand all of which has copletely destroyed the grass. Sometimes the world seems like a very strange place!

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    2. If anyone of the residents of Harrogate tried to hang advertising posters from the trees on the Stray they would be removed by the Council within 24 hours. So why are the same Council allowing these posters to be placed on the Stray twice a year, every year?
      Stray Act Section 7 f refers:
      (f) for the prevention of the posting of bills or placards on any wall, railing, fence, tree, lamp-post, walk, path or seat or elsewhere and the prevention of any other injury to or the removal of any such wall, railing fence, tree, lamp-post, walk, path or seat.

      I talked openly on here regarding my concern about potential problems arising from the recent Fake Festival. I was also the first to admit I had been over cautious and to congratulate the organisers after the event.
      The Fake Festival had a very large attendance, much more than the Stray Fair ever receives. However, for some strange reason the Council allows the visitors to Fair to potentially damage our Stray twice a year by using it as their Free Car Park! The Fake Festival thankfully were not allowed this privilege and managed very well without it so why allow the Fair to do it? We have plenty of parking in the town, let them use it.

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    3. Toni, as you now know I have today written to the Head of Parks at HBC asking him very politely to have the illegal posters removed from the Stray. No one else is allowed to advertise on the Stray so why should they. I do not feel I am being a killjoy as I have not objected to the now traditional fair. I just do not understand why they feel the need to advertise it but if they do then not on our Stray or our trees please.
      I have also queried why HBC are allowing the fair to turn the Stray into a free car park yet again and further damage not only the Stray but the recently patched up protective matting? The Fake Festival were not allowed to park on the Stray and that was a great success.

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    4. Toni, have you noticed the Fair advertising posters attached to the trees on the Stray have gone today? Another little success for your blog, our group and Streetlife! Thank you HBC.

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