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April 1999THANKS: Joyce, Ashley, Sarah and family would like to thank everyone for their kindness and messages of sympathy received, in their sad loss of Bill. Ed. Here is a message from Eve Hill, who we are pleased to see is back home. Welcome back from all at Ramblings, Eve.I have now returned home after several months in hospital trying to recover after a brain haemorrhage. I have so many people to thank for help, visits, cards and enquiries. I cannot ever do everyone justice. Ruby Beer went in and looked after my cat, several times a day, for all that time. Hilda Otto also went in and fed the birds. Friends outside the village did so much - there is much to attend to when you suddenly pass out and land in hospital. So many people came to see me and brought flowers etc. and Christmas came as well. I can’t say I feel like I used to being so weak, but with household help I can just manage. Thank you Atherington, I was lucky. DEEPEST SYMPATHY: To Joyce Underhill, Ashley and Sarah and family and friends on the loss of Bill who will be greatly missed by everyone. High Bickington Methodist News - Hazel PearceWomen’s World Day of Prayer: Over 30 ladies and 1 man, took part in this annual international service on the first Sunday in March. The speaker was Mrs Sandra Juniper, who was born at Vauterhill and is training to be a C of E lay reader. Easter Day, April 4th Sunrise Service: 6.30am on the top of Codden Hill. If you have never been to experience this special event, why not join other Christians from all over North Devon this year. Park cars by the road near to the entrance to Downrew House. We are pleased to report that Sheila Bolt is now at home making slow but steady progress. I am sure many mums were pleased to receive their Mothering Sunday gifts made at the Children’s Clubs. The younger group presented their mums with baskets of pansies and the older group gave baskets of sweets with a paper craft daffodil and card. Over the passed weeks the younger group have decorated bottles with shells, created a spring picture frieze and decorated salt dough name plaques while the older group have had visits from Westcountry Ambulance and Red Cross to refresh our memory on resuscitation and bandaging wounds and sprains. Our thanks to all who have led and helped at these club sessions. The March Guild meeting was a choice of favourite hymns with some surprising reasons for their choice. The winter programme has ended -watch this space for summer events. ST MARY’S CHURCH, ATHERINGTONMy thanks to those who supported our Coffee Morning on Thursday, 18th February. £145.50 was raised for the cleaning and treating of our beautiful carved oak screen. Thanks also to those who gave donations and draw prizes. It is hoped that the good work will start at the end of April. I shall be letting the people know who have offered to help as soon as the scaffolding is put up. Shirley Shapland EASTER POEM“Which way did He go, the Man with the wooden cross?” WELL DONE! To Daniel Finn, who is three years old and swam 5 metres without his armbands during his swimming lesson. All the mothers of the children in his group sponsored him and he raised £6.00 for Children In Need. His sister, Tara, raised £16.00 by having a short fight with her judo teacher Sensei Bob Otto and Olivia Finn and Joella Tucker raised £14.00 by dressing up "Odd and Even" for the day. Readers Lettersand from probably our only reader in Surrey, Pauline Hamblin....
Dear Angela, I was very sorry to hear of the death of Miss Norah Cole. She showed me great hospitality and shared her vast knowledge of village life. We had quite a few laughs in the process and were looking forward to my next visit when we planned to have a talk in the village hall. Perhaps when I do visit we might be able to arrange something, as I now have quite a collection of items of interest to those living in High Bickington. Once again thank you for the Ramblings. Pauline Hamblin PARISH COUNCIL ELECTIONSHigh Bickington Parish Parish Council elections will take place on Thursday 6 May. High Bickington Parish Council has 8 members. Is there anyone out there who would like to consider becoming a Councillor? Being a Councillor enables you to take part in and influence local affairs. Please do consider this – the Parish Council needs at least 1 new Councillor. If you need any further information, either to find out what is involved or to get a set of nomination papers, please give me a ring. Final date for the submission of nomination papers is 8 April. (It is advisable to request an informal check beforehand.) If there is insufficient applications for an election, the ‘unopposed’ result will be released on 13 April. The election is on 6 May. Diana Lunn, Parish Clerk Best Kept Village CompetitionHigh Bickington has again entered this competition for 1999. This year our electoral roll has gone over the 500 mark so we have to enter as a larger village. The aim of the competition is to encourage villages to improve their local environment by caring for buildings, clearing litter and improve the general appearance of the area. The judges are not looking for architectural merit, masses of flowers or prettiness. Nor do they expect neatness for its own sake, for example, nettles can be left where they are not a hazard to people using the village, churchyards do not need to be nearly mown. The first judging is in May. The marks awarded will be for the following: Absence of litter and unsightly refuse dumps on verges 10 So you can see that EVERYONE can help to make a difference. Lets hope we can improve on last year’s result. Diana Lunn, Parish Clerk AN UNUSUAL THANK YOUThank God for dirty dishes (Found in a charity recipe book for a church) TAW VALLEY GARDENING CLUBFor the meeting in March we invited David Venner, who although he said he was not an expert, did a splendid job of showing us how to make Hazel/Willow hurdles and plant supports. He had an extremely sharp blade, which he used to split the canes, it looked most dangerous to me but he used it with great dexterity! He gave us a brief history on how the Shepherds used the hurdles to keep their flock together and how they were designed with a ‘twirling hole’ used for picking them up (several at a time) using a crook. Next month’s meeting will be held on Wednesday 21st April, at High Bickington Village Hall, 7.30 p.m. when we will have a talk from the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary Liaison Officer for Wildlife. I for one didn’t know such a post existed in our Police force so it should prove very interesting. Anyone wishing to know more about our club should contact Barry Checksfield. Judi Waring "Tell me a story!"Today we can sit the children in front of the television with a good video, a drink and a packet of crisps - but nothing is quite the same as sitting down with them to tell a story. A good storyteller captures the imagination of all ages; the stories will be told and retold, will live on in the memory to tell to another generation. I heard recently of a conference planned for parents, to teach and explore nursery rhymes - to recapture old rhymes that were being forgotten. The course was creating a lot of interest. Telling stories, singing rhymes, sharing time together - there’s really no substitute for this; it's fun, something parents and children can do together. In the church too we are recapturing story-telling - bringing alive the Bible stories and stories of Christian experience and adventure through the generations. The Bible has an image problem - many recall stories read unimaginatively from a Big Black Book using long and difficult words, or stories that had to be memorised in accurate detail in order to pass exams! The Bible is packed full of stories that long to be lifted out of the pages and brought alive by good storytellers - along with pictures, or puppets, or drama. What fun we can all have retelling the stories of the Bible. And at the heart of it all is the story told and retold every Easter, in different ways by different Christian congregations, in story and song and drama. The story of a man who gave his life for his friends, and who rose from the dead to declare victory over the power of death and sin. Open the Book - and let loose the story of God's love. Rev Marilyn, Minister, High Bickington Methodist Church. At the last Deanery Synod meeting the Rev. D Ursell spoke on the crisis in the farming industry. It was felt that his talk should be included in Ramblings and it is printed below AGRICULTURAL CRISISWe are blessed with living in one of the most beautiful parts of England. Behind the patchwork of fields and tucked away farms lie a group of people that face a real crisis. Agriculture is greatly pressurised at this time. Devon has the largest number of sheep in any county, over 10,000 farmers plus all those that work on the land. It doesn’t stop there. It is estimated that nearly one third of the working population are or will be affected by this present crisis - rural communities are all suffering. BSE was probably the trigger for our present problems. Before the ban, £500 million of beef was exported. It is not just the beef industry, but all livestock enterprises, including pigs and poultry and arable units that are demoralised. Sadly one of the greatest tolls has been that of suicides amongst farmers. When you work an average of 70 hours per week and discover that the next generation do not want to continue, life can be discouraging to say the least. Add to that fact that one supermarket alone will make more profit than the whole of British agriculture, then no wonder there is a crisis. What can the church do? Many things, but to start with we have a network of people who are willing to help. They are giving their time, those with the knowledge of farming, land agency, arable cropping, farm finance, non-food cropping, diversification enterprises, engineering, retailing of farm produce and of course many listeners too. If you know anyone who needs help at this crisis time, please inform them of our existence and willingness to help. Confidentiality will always be kept. Contact can be made with Rev David Ursell. ...and from Chris and Jo, at the Village Shoppe in Atherington... In reply to the article in the January Ramblings both Jo and myself would like to thank everybody who has welcomed us to the village. We would like to announce that we are planning to open on Friday evenings, starting on April 9th with a Curry Supper, with a theme evening possibly every month. Theme requests for future evenings will be welcomed. Book early to avoid disappointment. High Bickington United Anglican and Methodist ChurchesThe United Mothering day service on Sunday, March 14th at 10.30am at the Methodist Church was led by Mr Alan Hill from the Scripture Union. Lisa assisted him with a drama sketch. Bunches of daffodils were given to all mothers from the Sunday School children. The collection of £75 was given towards the work of the Scripture Union. From the archives - Researched by Richard LethbridgeApril 2nd 1937 - HIGH BICKINGTON A smart wedding was solemnised at the United Methodist Church on Saturday when Miss Mary Maud Dunn, only daughter of Mrs. Dunn and the late Mr Walter Dunn (North Road) was married to Mr W E Halifax. The Rev A Dunn assisted by the Rev Stevens (circuit minister) were the officiating clergy. The bride, given away by her brother, Mr H Dunn, wore an ivory satin dress with a train from the skirt, with a tulle veil held in place by a coronet of orange blossom, and carried a sheaf of arum lilies. She was attended by four little nieces as bridesmaids, who wore pale pink slipper length dresses with wreaths of roses to match in their hair, and carried posies of flowers. The bridegroom was accompanied by Mr F Dunn as best man. Mrs J Laramy (organist) played suitable music. A reception was held in the Church Hall. Mr and Mrs Halifax left later on a motoring honeymoon, the bride travelling in a navy blue pin stripe costume with hat, shoes en suite. Their future home will be at Crediton. They were the recipients of numerous presents. The bells were rung on Easter morning before the early celebration, at which there was a good attendance, and also, again at the mid-day celebration. The church was beautifully decorated by members of the congregation. October 9th 1953 - HIGH BICKINGTON, NORTH DEVON 9 miles from Barnstaple - A Stone-built, DETATCHED COTTAGE for sale with possession
JOHN C WEBBER & SON have received instructions from Mrs E Lang to offer for Sale by auction (unless previously sold
privately) at the Bridge Hall, Barnstaple, on FRIDAY, October 23rd, at 3 pm, the FREEHOLD, DETATCHED COUNTRY COTTAGE and
GARDEN known as Vacant possession on completion of the purchase. The above property can be recommended, it faces south, is soundly constructed, and in excellent condition. To view apply on the premises on Tuesdays and Thursdays, between 2.30 and 4.30 pm. For all further particulars and conditions of sale apply the Auctioneers, Barnstaple, or the Solicitors concerned: Messrs Toller, Oerton & Balsdon, Barnstaple. UNIVERSAL AUNTS - Pat TrevaldwynIn 1950 I had a small son and it was necessary form me to work during the term time. Thanks to a marvellous employment agency, “The Universal Aunts”, I found work for each nine months of the year and then be free to spend three months of the school holidays with my son. I never knew what to expect from work. The first was an American Concert Pianist, answering her fan mail and getting her off for concerts at the Albert Hall! For some months I worked for a Big Game Hunter from Kenya during his stay in England, then three consultant doctors in Harley Street which I found rather boring and after eighteen months I worked in a Wine Bar in Wigmore Street. I knew nothing about wine and simply poured out on request and by 10 pm caught my number 9 bus home to my flat. I always thought “Universal Aunts” was a fantastic name for an agency, based on the fact that they specialised in collecting children off trains from boarding school. ST MARY’S GUILD - Rosemary MunsonAt our Annual Meeting in March Mrs Sally Webb took the Chair as we had sadly lost our Chairman, Miss Norah Cole. It was reported that we had a very successful year. Our outing was a great success as were all our fund raising efforts. Miss Eileen Thorne was voted in as Chairman. Mrs Sally Webb as Treasurer and Mrs Rosemary Munson as Secretary. Our outing this year will be to Otter Nurseries and then on to Sidmouth on the second Monday in July, the 12th. Put this date in your diary. We still have a stall at the North Devon Show, so come and see us. ATHERINGTON & UMBERLEIGH WI - Judith DomleoAt the March meeting Cheryl Barrett, who is one of our own members gave us a fascinating illustrated talk entitled “The Threads of Life”. She started at an evening class making pottery - which was not a success! - but changed to sewing and now she makes the most beautiful embroidered ecclesiastical copes as well as colourful collages and cushions. Cheryl brought a varied selection of her work to show us. The competition for “A Piece of Embroidery” was won by Margaret Squire who was also the speakers hostess. Refreshments were served by Christine Clemens, Eve Butler and Eileen Chambers. Flower of the Month winner was Irene Sutton with a camellia. Birthday flowers were presented to Ann White, Joy Padworth, June Langer, Mary Burgess and Judith Domleo. We have been on several outings and events since our last meeting. A trip to Windsor castle to see the wonderful restoration work in the state apartments, completed exactly five years after the terrible fire, St George’s Chapel and Queen Mary’s Doll’s House. Our Institute provided fifty lunches for county members attending the gardening Day at Umberleigh, several of our members also attended the event. Peter Burkes from the Eggesford Garden Centre brought a van full of unusual plants and shrubs, explaining their merits and how to care for them etc. They were for sale at the end of the talk and they all went except for a few heathers!! After lunch, Janice Cock, a NAFAS demonstrator from Braunton did some beautiful flower arrangements depicting interpretation of schedules for exhibiting and showing. They were all included in the raffle and Jennifer Gooding was one of the lucky winners. Two members went to the Easter Cookery demonstration at North Devon College. Tutor Rob Burns ably assisted by Henry demonstrated the following menu. A nest of warm quails eggs with balsamic vinaigrette and shallot confit followed by a steamed chicken breast with smoked salmon and lemon cream sauce served with Persian rice, mange-tout and braised carrots. For dessert, hot crossed drop scones with raspberry and mango sauce. After the demonstration we went to the Tawstock Room for lunch of tomato and red pepper soup, roast rack of lamb with a selection vegetables, chocolate and vanilla parfait with chocolate sauce, tea or coffee. Then we all went home to prepare supper! Twenty members saw “The Merry Widow” at the Queen’s Theatre performed by the Barnstaple Amateur Operatic Society. Very colourful costumes and songs everyone knows. A coach trip to visit the National Marine Aquarium and Barbican at Plymouth was much enjoyed. A spectacular building housing fish of river, stream, estuary and shore - all in their natural surroundings. The huge deep reef tank contains over half a million litres of water and a window which weighs 17 tons, provides an ideal home for fish that live in the deeper waters off shore around the British Isles. The final tank contained three species of sharks. We also saw the largest collection of sea-horse species in Europe, fascinating little creatures in beautiful colours. Our next meeting is on Tuesday, April 20th at Umberleigh Hall when Jonathan Waterer will give a talk on “Shire Horses”. All visitors are very welcome. HIGH BICKINGTON YOUTH JUDO CLUBFebruary Club Gradings, Examiner Bob Otto 3rd Dan SENIOR GRADE AWARDS
JUNIOR GRADE AWARDS
PRIMARY GRADES:
HIGH BICKINGTON WI - Peggy StintonFor our March meeting 20 members went to Barnstaple for a visit to Tesco. We were welcomed and split into three groups and then introduced to Kerry, Nicola and Richard who escorted us around the store. We started off in the bakery and one of the bakers explained how they managed to bake the thousands of loaves, rolls and cakes they produce every day. Along the corridor to the cool room - very chilly! Here they store cheeses, salads, fruits etc. and we saw the computers, on which they order all the goods from the warehouses and suppliers. We went along to the freezer for a quick look - no one wanted to linger there. The staff are issued with special clothes to work (for short periods) in there. Nicola then took us past the offices for a quick look in the store, stopping at the fresh fish counter. The bravest amongst us tried baby octopus which proved not to be that bad, if a bit chewy. Then we went to the unloading bay, a huge room which was getting filled with enormous sacks all sealed in polythene. A lorry at the far end was being unloaded, all deliveries to the store are made at night. The goods incoming were awaiting the arrival of the night shift who unpack them and fill the shelves. All the plastics, cardboard etc. is piled for recycling. All very efficient. We met up in the lecture room for a talk by Kerry accompanied by slides of the history of Tesco’s. Jack Cohen opened his first shop in 1930 and by 1939 had expanded to 100 stores. After the war they carried on and by 1960 there was a total of 800 shops. Today they have bigger and better superstores and some smaller town centre supermarkets which are proving popular, the total now stands at 588 and the turnover is vast. We then went to the canteen where a splendid buffet had been prepared for us. had a really informative and enjoyable visit and Eva Burke, our President thanked Tesco staff for their hospitality. Our jumble sale on 6th March was a great success. Our thanks go to everyone who supported us, and to all members who helped. Our next meeting is on April 7th, to be held in the Church Hall at 7.15pm - Birds of Prey. New friends welcome.
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