Garden Helpers: the busy world of pollinators takes place on Sunday, June 7, and will cover what goes on in our gardens and the important role bees and bugs play in our ecosystems.

Dobbies Garden Centres’ Little Seedlings Club, a free-to-attend monthly children’s gardening workshop, is back this June at its Sandyholm store in the Clyde Valley.

Garden Helpers: the busy world of pollinators takes place on Sunday, June 7, and will cover what goes on in our gardens and the important role bees and bugs play in our ecosystems.

June’s Little Seedlings Club at Dobbies’ Sandyholm will explore how plants spread and grow, why flowers need a little extra help, and how pollen moves between flowers.

Children will then be introduced to ‘garden helpers’, learn about why they are so important, what plants they love and how they help our flowers and food grow.

This workshop offers children the chance to take part in hands-on activities, and this month they’ll have the opportunity to plant a pollinators’ perfect pot to take home and display in their gardens.

These creations are an excellent way for children to spend time outdoors, caring for their displays, and they’ll also get to enjoy watching the bugs and bees visit.

Dobbies’ Plant Buyer, Nigel Lawton, said: “The busy world of pollinators is a fascinating topic for June’s Little Seedlings Club at our Sandyholm store.

“Bugs and bees play a vital role in our ecosystem so it’s very important to attract these garden helpers to our green spaces.

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“This month’s free workshop will allow kids to expand their knowledge on pollinating plants, such as lavender and rosemary, and take part in a hands-on activity to attract bees and butterflies to their own gardens.

“This time of year is perfect for introducing popular summer flowers that are great for attracting pollinators, and our Little

Seedlings Club is a great way to get children learning about nature and gardens this summer.”

Those looking to get involved in Dobbies’ Little Seedlings Club this June can book a free space, visit www.dobbies.com/events.

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“Some people might say these values are now old-fashioned and obsolete, but they are important for us and for our nations – rule of law, democracy, human rights, the sense of solidarity with others and the intention to protect their security and their welfare. That is the foundation of the treaty.”

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel said Wednesday it targeted and killed the new leader of Hamas’ military wing during airstrikes in Gaza City less than two weeks after killing his predecessor.

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz and the Israeli military said the strikes carried out Tuesday killed Mohammed Odeh. Hamas did not comment on Odeh.

At least five people were killed and 12 injured in Tuesday’s strike on a market including Odeh, his wife, son and daughter and another woman, local hospitals said. The attack came on the eve of Eid al-Adha, a major Muslim holiday.

Thousands of people gathered Wednesday for the joint funeral of Odeh’s family in Gaza City. Mourners covered the four bodies with green Hamas flags and marched from a mosque through the city, chanting and firing shots in the air. Some carried posters with Odeh’s poster emblazoned with the words “one of the chiefs of staffs of the Qassam Brigades,” referring to Hamas’ military wing.

Katz called him “one of the architects” of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that triggered over two years of war in Gaza and said it was the fourth time Israel has killed the head of Hamas’ military wing since that massacre. Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the previous head, was killed on May 16.

“We pledged to eliminate everyone who led the October 7 massacre and this is what we will do: they are all bound to die, everywhere,” Katz wrote on X on Wednesday. “We pledged that Hamas will not hold civilian or military rule.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is preparing for elections in the fall, also threatened that Israel will target everyone involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

A grim Eid in Gaza

The attack came as Muslims prepared for Eid al-Adha, normally a joyous time of family gatherings and large meals.

The holiday once again is subdued this year in Gaza, where the vast majority of people remain displaced and live in tents or temporary shelters after a devastating war. Around 90% of Gaza’s more than 2 million people have lost their homes, according to U.N. estimates, with most of them now sheltering in huge tent camps with rat infestations and pools of sewage. They are dependent on aid to survive.

Eid al-Adha, or “Feast of Sacrifice,” is an Islamic holiday celebrated by millions of Muslims across the globe. The four-day holiday, which begins during the Hajj pilgrimage, also is known for being a joyous occasion during which families gather, and children are given new clothes and gifts.

“This is not Eid … we’re dead,” said Mahmoud Saqer, a displaced man from Khan Younis, who described people as being distressed by the ongoing human suffering and killings in the territory.

In Khan Younis and Gaza City, amid destroyed buildings, including a ruined mosque, people gathered for Eid prayers with few signs of celebration beyond a few clusters of balloons lining one street. Tahrir al-Khatib said the joy that accompanies Eid has been silenced in Gaza.

“There’s no Eid. My children were killed. Eid is only for the people who lost no one,” said Ayda Al-Banna, a displaced women from Gaza City, who prayed Eid prayers with her granddaughter.

Fragile ceasefire holds in Gaza

A ceasefire reached between Israel and Hamas in October remains fragile. Israeli attacks have killed more than 880 Palestinians since the ceasefire took effect. Israel says its attacks are in response to violations by Hamas or threats to its soldiers, but Palestinian health officials say scores of civilians have been among the dead. Four Israeli soldiers have also been killed during this period in Gaza.

Israel launched its offensive in Gaza in response to the Hamas attacks in October 2023, which killed some 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza says over 72,803 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire. The ministry, part of Gaza’s Hamas government, does not give a breakdown of civilian and militant deaths. ___

Associated Press writer Fatma Khaled contributed from Cairo.

Both men inside the car were taken to hospital

Two people have been taken to hospital after a car crashed into a garden hedge in a Cambridgeshire hamlet near Wisbech. Cambridgeshire Police were called to March Road, Coldham, at just before 7pm on Friday, May 22, following reports of a collision.

Two men who were inside the car, a Volvo XC90, were taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn. One of the men suffered serious and potentially life-changing injuries and remains in hospital. The front garden hedge was positioned in front of a house. Police confirmed that nobody inside the house was injured.

An investigation has been launched into the incident. Police are now asking for anyone who witnessed the collision, saw the vehicles before the crash or has relevant dashcam footage to come forward.

You can report any information through the force website quoting incident 515 of 22 May. You can also call 101 if you do not have access to the internet.

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But after being breathalysed the driver was found to under the legal limit, North Yorkshire Police said.

Three police vans were seen at the Asda Express petrol station in Boroughbridge Road at around 8.30pm on Tuesday (May 26).

A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said it followed a “call with good intent reporting two men who appeared to be drunk and a potential drink driving offence”.

However, “the driver was found to be under the legal limit” when breathalysed, they said.

With urban homes often having limited outside space, many city-dwellers are forced to head to the park when it’s hot out.

Every grassy knoll becomes prime real estate once temperatures hit 20°C — but while this influx of people makes for a lively summer atmosphere, it can also cause clashes.

For some, a park is a sanctuary: somewhere to stretch out with a book, catch up with friends or let children toddle around safely. For others, however, green spaces for kickabouts, frisbee matches and impromptu games of catch.

The result, during crowded periods, is a seasonal battle between those seeking peace and those determined to play — a tension which often spills over online.

Users on social media have complained about what they see as inconsiderate behaviour from a group Metro has dubbed ‘ball-busters’, who obliviously encroach on packed public spaces with their games.

It’s important to caveat that parks are for everyone, and not every park-goer who enjoying impromptu five-a-side match with their mates is being disruptive.

The offending party here is instead defined by a lack of awareness (or care) of those around them; sending objects flying into quiet picnics and sunbathers, busting apart others’ enjoyment and unwritten social rules alike.

‘My four-year-old daughter has had a ball kicked full force in to the side of her face and her leg so we stay away now,’ Clare Court wrote on one UK park Facebook group.

‘I won’t take my little one there after nearly having a ball to her face, I just caught it myself,’ added another, Charlene Thompson. ‘After explaining to the kid it says no balls I had a mouthful of language back.’

Dad Andy Coley, from Hither Green, London, has experienced this first-hand, telling Metro: ‘I’ve been at the park and had footballs cruising through the middle of the picnic, almost knocking the food over. And sometimes people get more energetic and start swearing, which isn’t very nice

The 50-year-old leadership trainer and author of Leadership is a Skill, continues: ‘It’s just situational awareness; checking on the people around you, and making sure it’s appropriate for where you are.’

Some dismiss these complaints as over-sensitive grumbling though, including 45-year-old Jen Mellor from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, who tells Metro: ‘[People playing games like football or frisbee] promotes physical activity for all ages, encourages a community spirit if others join in, and makes good use of these spaces.

‘No one has any right above anyone else, so just position yourself away from anyone that’s doing anything you will interrupt or find will annoy you. Parks are for everyone young and old.’

Under a Facebook post where a woman complained about being hit by a stray ball, one user commented: It’s a park and a ball. It’s not the end of the world.’

‘Get a life, I’d rather kids play with balls on grass than watch them smash up a car because they are bored,’ added another, while a third, this time on Reddit, wrote: ‘You’re the same miserable people who moan that kids spend too much time indoors and need to get out more in the fresh air.’

But ‘ball-busting’ isn’t a new phenomenon, and many public parks have had rules in place for decades to combat the behaviour.

In the Government’s model byelaws — which local authorities can adapt as required — councils have the option to ban ball games altogether, restrict them to designated areas, or require players outside these zones not to ‘exclude persons not playing ball games from use of that part’ or ’cause danger or give reasonable grounds for annoyance to any other person’.

Meanwhile, the The Royal Parks website states: ‘Ball games are only permitted in certain areas of some of the parks. These ball games must also be informal, which we define as “jumpers for goalposts”.’

The psychology of ‘ball-busting’

So, why do some people become ‘ball-busters’ in the first place — and why do others struggle without calm and quiet, even in public spaces?

According to Dr Bijal Chheda, consultant chartered psychologist and founder of Nos Curare, it’s all down to differences in how people experience stimulation, social environments and shared space.

‘Many people genuinely see public parks as spaces designed for movement and social interaction, so activities like ball games or frisbee feel completely appropriate to them,’ she tells Metro.

‘It’s not that they’re being inconsiderate, they’re often just experiencing the environment differently from those around them.’

Dr Chheda says some may not immediately recognise the impact their behaviour has on others due to differences in ‘spatial awareness, impulsivity or attention regulation’, which can be linked to neurodivergent conditions such as ADHD and autism.

She also notes that we each naturally have a different tolerance for noise, movement and unpredictability in shared space, explaining: ‘In many cases, individuals underestimate the impact of their behaviour because they assume everyone shares the same expectations of public space that they do.’

On the opposite end of the scale, certain people may find it difficult to relax unless in a calmer, more predictable environment — particularly if they have anxiety, autism, OCD or sensory sensitivities.

‘Their brain may process surrounding stimulation more intensely, making busy public spaces harder to emotionally manage,’ Dr Chheda adds.

Over time, she warns, this can lead some people to avoid public spaces altogether if they begin associating them with sensory overwhelm or distressing past experiences.

Upbringing may shape how people react to noisy park behaviour too, as preferences ‘often rooted in how our values were internalised over time’.

The psychologist stresses that neither side is inherently wrong, but ‘when we understand where others are coming from, we’re better equipped to navigate these shared spaces with kindness and respect.’

‘Be sure to notice how crowded the space is, how close others are sitting and whether children, elderly people or nervous dogs are nearby,’ she advises.

‘Small adjustments, such as moving to a more open area or lowering noise levels when spaces are busy, often help shared environments feel more respectful without stopping you from enjoying the fun.’

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