November 2001

THANKS: I would like to thank all those who so kindly planted the primroses in the Churchyard for me. I am particularly grateful, as due to an injury I was unable to participate myself. The primroses and the daffodils and snowdrops that were planted last autumn are in memory of my mother. I hope that they give a great deal of pleasure for many years to come.
Jane M. Gibson

BIRTHS: Alison and Brian Montague are pleased to announce the birth of Isabelle Rose on 4th October, sister to Lauren. Many thanks to friends, family and customers for their cards and presents.

Atherington Playing Field Committee would like to thank all those who contributed to the successful Summer Fete, which raised Ł285.

Our next venture is Bonfire Night at the playing field on 3rd November. The bonfire will be lit at 5.30 and fireworks let off at 5.15 (new time). Refreshments will be available. Entry will be Ł2 for adults and children FREE! See you there!

P.S. We have sufficient material for the bonfire and would request that no further material is taken to the playing field. Thanks.

ST MARY’S ATHERINGTON

Our Harvest was a great success once again and Ł515 was raised. Many thanks to those who gave donations, produce and food. Several remarks were made about how beautifully the church was decorated, so well done ladies for your great effort.

Shirley Shapland

High Bickington Methodist News

Hazel Pearce

Mr Mark Chapple led the Harvest Thanksgiving Services. During the Morning Service the children presented their gifts, sang a song, and took part in a drama sketch. Many thanks to all those who helped to decorate the church and swell the congregations at both services. It was a fresh format and the comments have largely been approving of the change. This year there was no weeknight service but after a light buffet supper following the Sunday evening worship, the harvest produce was laid out on tables and baskets provided for donations. Money raised from the gifts will be given to charity.

Children’s Clubs re-started in September. The 5-7’s have made conker animals and planted flower bulbs while the 8-11’s held a quiz and games evening, enjoyed a visitor from hearing Dogs for the Deaf and have made clay items. Any adults willing to help will be very welcome.

Our thoughts, prayers and best wishes are with Rosie Venner who is away on voluntary work until next year.

The November Family Service will be led by Rev Mike parsons on November 4th at 11am. Make a note of the date for the annual Christingle service – in the parish church on December 2nd at 6.30pm. All are welcome to these special services.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Mrs Doris Pidler who has been poorly for several weeks.

St. Mary's Guild

Rosemary Munson

At our meeting on the 8th October there were eleven members present.

Ideas were looked at for our CHRISTMAS FAYRE on SATURDAY 17th NOVEMBER at 2.15p.m. IN THE CHURCH HALL, HIGH BICKINGTON. We would like to receive crafts, cakes and plants. We have always been well supported and I am sure we will be this year, so please come along, thank you.

Our next meeting will be on Monday November 12th at 2.00p.m at the Parsonage Miss Eileen Thorne’s home.

Thought for the Month

Rev John Carvosso

Dear Friends,

The 11th day of the month brings us to Remembrance Day once again and this year only two months on from those horrific events in New York and Washington.

What is it we remember?

The horrible power of evil in our world that can destroy families, individuals, countries!!
Those who died in Wars, and still do!
The heroism and sacrifice.
The sense of facing a common enemy that could, and very often did, bring a new Community togetherness - a common sharing in suffering!

These and so many more things perhaps and, I hope, a new resolve/beginning that these things should not happen again. It has been said that all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

Each Sunday when we celebrate our Holy Communion Services we remember the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus. ‘Greater Love hath no man than this that a man should lay down His life for His friends'

So the greatest good can come from the darkest evil. Jesus’ Resurrection reminds us afresh that death is not the end but for His friends He is the Resurrection and the Life (Eternal).

HIGH BICKINGTON PROJECT 2000

By the time you read this we hope that you will have already taken the opportunity to participate in our Exhibition and Parish Planning Exercise, been able to hear about some of the preliminary findings from the Parish Appraisal and found the process to be both stimulating and enjoyable.

The current members of High Bickington Project 2000 are a small group of local residents commissioned by the County, Parish and District Councils to carry out a Parish Appraisal and to explore possible alternative future uses for the County Council owned Little Bickington Farm. As part of the overall process the Group is part of a ‘Steering Group’ which also includes elected members and officers of the three Councils and a representative from the Community Council of Devon.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete The Parish Appraisal questionnaires. We had an excellent 72% return on the main Appraisal and around 45% on the separate questionnaire sent to local businesses. This is a very high response rate when compared to similar democratic exercises – it was higher than the turnout at the last General Election and considerably higher than any local elections held in recent years! Well done High Bickington!

The responses have now been analysed by an independent expert and work on the production of the final report is in progress. We hope to be able to produce a full written report shortly and will then be arranging a Public Meeting to present the results and distribute copies of the report. At that stage we shall also be considering how the findings can best be implemented. We hope that a high percentage of Parish residents will join us for that meeting and perhaps also be willing to join us in undertaking future work on the project.

This whole process is a unique opportunity to help influence the future of our local community and we are heartened that so many people have been prepared to play a constructive part.

Fred and his brother, "Donkey" walk into a pub and Fred gets the first pint in and says, "I'll have a pint for me and a pint for Donkey."
The two men drink their pints and Fred says, "Right Donkey your round; I'll have a pint of lager."
Donkey walks up to the bar and says, "2 p p p p pints of l l l lager p p p please."
While Donkey gets the drinks, Fred goes to the toilet and the barman says, "You shouldn't let him call you by that silly nickname."
Donkey replies, "I know. He aw.. he aww... he awwwwww, he always calls me Donkey."

HIGH BICKINGTON WI

Josie Maskell

A minute’s silence was observed in respect of the recent American tragedy at the start of our October meeting.

It was good to have Joan Toop back with us again after her accident and to see so many members at our 78th anniversary. Monies were taken for the group meeting at Umberleigh on 24th October and the Quiz at Ashreigney on 18th October.

Discussions were held on the hot lunch to be served at the Meeting Point on 14th November, the price will be Ł4 and booking is advisable owing to the restriction of numbers to about 30. There were several volunteers to enter the Autumn Show at St John’s Nursery, the theme being “In the Kitchen”.

Our speaker needed no introduction as it was Richard Lethbridge our friendly postman! We all enjoyed a lovely evening as we reminisced about the different subject. Richard showed us many films of local people (past and present) and places. It was good to look back on our 70th Birthday celebrations as well as other events held in the village over the years. Rosemary Munson gave the vote of thanks.

The films finished, we went on to enjoy a very nice bring and share supper supplied by members.

Richard judged the competition for a Devon postcard and Jenny D’Olley was the winner. Ella Gooding won the raffle and Josie Maskell the flower of the month with a Freemontodendron.

Next month will be our A.G.M. and the committee will be supplying the refreshments. Anyone wishing to join us will be most welcome.

ATHERINGTON & UMBERLEIGH WI

Judith Domleo

At the October meeting Miss Barbara Maund took us on a “Journey To Tibet” via her exciting slide show. We all thought it was a little too adventurous for us!!

The competition for a “Holiday Souvenir” was won by Wendy Waldon with an embroidered cushion cover from Austria. Flower of the month winner was Jean Lynch. Refreshments were served by Ann Allen, Mair Pluckwell and Caroline Sinclair. Birthday plants were presented to Petra Butcher, Jane Kneil and Wendy Waldon.

Two members went to an excellent Jazz Day at the Woolacombe Bay Hotel where we heard Simon Banks play the piano and clarinet in a variety of jazz styles. The hotel provided an excellent buffet lunch. Another good day out was a visit to Sharpham Vineyard near Totnes. “The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, still finds time to ripen a bunch of grapes as if it has nothing else to do” – Galileo. The fourteen acres of Sharpham’s Vineyard lie between 40 – 250 feet above sea level on the south facing and well drained slopes of the Dart Valley. The tidal waves of the river Dart create a mild micro-climate which favours grapes. We were given an informative guided tour of the vineyard and then we finished in the wooden vinery which was constructed in 1990 and the making and bottling of wine was explained. The afternoon finished with the tasting of various wines and also cheeses that were made on their dairy farm. The scenery was spectacular in the warm autumn sunshine. A very good day out!

A W.I. trip to Italy, organised by the county, was enjoyed by two members. We visited Riva on Lake Garda, Venice with a ride on a gondola, Verona, Montecatini, Lucca, Pisa, the fabulous city of Florence and the Uffizi Gallery. Returning home steeped in culture and ready to put our feet up!!

The Annual Meeting will be on Tuesday, November 13th, 7.30pm at Umberleigh Hall, with a bring and share supper.

When we came to Week (continued)

by Margaret Bolt

Cider Making

Hacknell was noted for cider making, having a pruned and productive orchard, cider press, cellar and plenty of willing helpers to drink the finished product. An old horn beaker was upturned on the barrel ready for the next drinker – it was reckoned that the alcohol sterilized it! I am not sure how many gallons were made in a good year; the talk was of hogsheads and barrels. A hogshead is approximately sixty gallons; the barrels were big, probably three to four hogsheads, and there were quite a few barrels or casks, depending on late spring frosts. Some years very little cider was made and in disastrous years – none!

Late autumn after dessert apples had been picked and stored, was the time to be dealing with cider apples, distinct varieties grown for that purpose only, they were sour and dry. A proportion of windfall dessert and cooking apples could be added, but too many Bramleys made a very sour cider.

Those that had not fallen were knocked down with sticks, gathered up in baskets and bagged ready to be loaded into carts or later a trailer, taken to outside the pound house at the entrance to the yard, where the apple crusher had been brought out for its annual airing. This crusher was a wooden box with sloping sides, two square rollers at the base were turned by a handle on the side, later by a belt connected to a pulley on the tractor, the whole stood on an iron frame.

Apples were tipped into the box, prodded down with a large wood mallet, crushed by the rollers, the resulting pomace sliding down a wood chute into trays below. The press had been prepared with a layer of oat straw extending well beyond the four sides of the square base, pomace was spread on this straw inside the base area, the overhanging straw brought into the centre enfolding the pulp and ends tucked into it. More straw was laid on, repeating the process until the resulting “cheese” was high enough or all the apples used. At this stage the square top was revolved downwards on the thick central iron shaft with deeply cut thread. Able to be turned by hand before settling on the cheese more pressure had to be applied using a short pole, one end made to fit into an iron box, part of the mechanism turning on the shaft. Only enough pressure to make the liquid flow was needed, too much would burst the rolled straw. This squeezing continued for some hours, the short pole being replaced by a longer one for more leverage, for it took a great deal of strength to press the cheese to maximum tightness.

During this time the liquid strained through the straw ran down into the trough surrounding the base to flow out through a short chute into a wooden container called, I believe, a keeve, holding something like five gallons. The sweet or unfermented cider was dipped from the keeve and poured by the bucketful into a funnel inserted in the bung hole of a cask laid on its side. When the cheese had stopped running the sides were trimmed down with a hay knife; the top pressure released enough to be able to throw the resulting trimmings on the top before squeezing down again; this was repeated several times until the cheese finished up as a very small block, guzzled with relish by the pigs.

Bernie and I loved this sweet cider straight from the press, not alcoholic at that stage but strong enough to make a little girl sleep for hours under a cart in the cart linhay, and syrup of figs unnecessary! The fermenting cider produced a beard of white foam up through the bung hole and down the side of the cask, when the fermentation had stopped the cider was “racked” off into a clean barrel and allowed to stand until deemed fit to drink. There was never a shortage of volunteers to sample and pass judgment.

A few other farmers brought apples to Hacknell to make their own cider; one I especially remember is Bob Underhill from Higher Week, because he used to bring dandelions and “milky dashels” (thistles) for my rabbits.

At Week the press was at ground level and the keeve sunk into a pit; using this with difficulty for one season, Dad returned to Hacknell for his remaining cider-making years.

In the light of the dreadful events in America, Armistice Day this year will perhaps take on a special significance for another generation. Last year the older children in Class 3 thought about Armistice Day. They expressed what they had learnt in a series of letters and poems. We would like to share a few of the poems with you.

WORLD WAR I by Melanie

I've just said goodbye to the beloved of mine
It's not fair –
he's going to have a great time!
When the first letter arrived I had to fear he might die
Until I heard the terrible lie
I am very sad
That my child won't see her Dad
So as I wait for you to come home
I wait alone

THE BRAVE MEN AND BOYS THAT DIED by Eddie

No funerals for the dead
Men and Boys,
The men and boys that volunteered to fight.
Nobody knew how bad it was,
The deafening noise,
The rifles that killed so many
Men and Boys,
The brave men and boys who fought in the war.
They thought they were going on a tour
They did not know they were going to war
Men and Boys
Wailing as they die.

THE WAR POEM by Sam and Brian

I've never been out of the village before,
All of a sudden I saw a poster in the shop,
Saying 'Come and fight for the war.'
One Tuesday night I said Goodbye to mum,
I was wearing a special suit, and a massive grin,
I was marching down the road
And singing 'Maisy Dots and Daisy Doze'
I saw a single shotgun and I thought it was the best
When I got to the battlefield I jumped into a trench.
Every moment more I saw my friends just dying.

WAR by Chris

As the men walked off
Away to war and victory
An adventure, to see the world
Marching down the middle of the road
My heart felt cold
Waving goodbye
Saying 'I'll see you soon.'
Going to their doom
They went in trenches,
Monstrous guns
Monsters of war
Anger of the enemy,
Shrill of the bombs
Trenches filled with water
Buckets filled with blood
No funerals for our dead boys
All the children of our village who died
For what?
Are resting in muddy fields.

WHY by Lauren

Why did he go
to the monstrous anger
of the guns
that await him?
He does not know what he is going to find
The waiting
in my eyes
makes me cry
The wailing cries
of the boys
that call 'Help'
makes me shudder
He said goodbye with his eyes
I think each night that he won’t come back
I know at war not all survive
Why won't he come back? Why
Why do we have war?
Why can't we have peace?
Why do shrill guns shoot?
Why did he die?
Why?
Why?
Why?

FIRST WORLD WAR POEM by Joshua and Daniel

I wave my wife goodbye,
And watch her cry.
I will miss you
As I wipe my eyes with a tissue,
Off to adventure and glory!
I never knew it would be a different story.
I went off to fight,
It was a horrible sight.
As I shot my monstrous gun
I thought of icing on a bun,
This is war
I wish it was against the Law.

FOOT AND MOUTH 2001 - Quotes from the Devon Inquiry

“It was a disaster from start to finish…MAFF were playing catch up from day one... It was very difficult to obtain information especially in the early days and this only served to feed the rumour mill among farmers… Contiguous culling led to the unnecessary killing of animals, caused great personal distress among farmers and led to MAFF rapidly losing control… "

David Hill, National Farmers' Union County Chairman.

"Mistakes were made... There were not rendering facilities available… They were too slow to build the pyre sites… It need never have got near Exmoor if it had been dealt within the 48 hours they were talking about."

David May, Farmer

"Some cattle spent days roaming around the village when they bolted after an attempted MAFF cull… Some took four or five shots to kill… It was chaos and a shambles…"

William Norman, Knowstone Parish Council

"My children had never seen me cry before. They have now… In the space of 24 hours we were advised to move by the MoD and offered holiday accommodation by MAFF... it is clear we were seen as an easy and cheap target… All we want is an apology … we want it to go away and restored to how it was."

Mark Tomlinson, (part of personal testimony about impact of decision to build Ash Moor burial pit 200 yards away from his family home.)

"We felt as if we were under siege. I am not a farmer but I felt very much the siege mentality… Farmers felt that if there was somebody closer to them who could translate, interpret, advise and reassure, someone they could turn to, that would have been a great help..."

Ken Lancaster, Kennerleigh Parish Council

"I found the lack of direction and advice most disappointing. People were looking to the school for information and we couldn't provide them with any as we were not getting any support ourselves… We felt totally isolated…”

Mark Raven, Headteacher, Black Torrington Primary School

"Someone needed to take a grip… We needed someone to take government guidance and deploy local resources quickly… Getting accurate information and providing well-grounded feedback is critical to this whole process… It was clear that Government Ministers, however well intentioned, had a lack of understanding of the impact on the ground…"

John Varley, Estates Director for Clinton Devon Estates

"I couldn't believe how poor communication was… Information was haphazard, often vague or contradictory, or simply just refused… What was really required was a single point of regular, good quality information…”

Graham Gilbert, Managing Director of Great Western Radio Group

"There was and is considerable ignorance over how the disease is spread and major pressure to close down the countryside… With hindsight it became clearer that visitors were not a significant factor and therefore some parts of the countryside and vital paths such as the South West Coast path were closed unnecessarily…”

Alex Raeder, National Trust

"The sooner command and control is established the sooner order can be brought to chaos…This is not a natural responsibility for civil servants and the Foot and Mouth Emergency plans did not look like they had been developed since the last major outbreak… The military should have been brought in sooner, but with a clear remit - a better idea of what they were there to do… Whoever takes the lead in future needs to be better at developing contingency plans and the proper level of training and resources to implement them."

Sir John Evans, Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police

“The images of barbaric killing and primeval disposal of cattle and sheep carcasses have been transmitted around the world… People thought they had gone back to the Dark Ages… I honestly believe we could get the business back next year with effective marketing… But it will not drift back on its own…The challenge for some businesses is to survive until next Easter."

Malcolm Bell, South West Tourism

"The public got the idea that Devon and Cornwall was closed… As far as the media and the public were concerned, it was essential to get the story over quickly and it was not done.”

John Fowler, Tourist Operator

"Burning pyres were a legitimate news event and became the single most vivid image of Foot and Mouth. It would be naďve to think these images would not get shown… I am very surprised that there wasn't a game plan in place. In any future emergency, effective communications including the new realities of the mass media must be taken into account."

Chris Foreman, Senior Output Editor, Carlton TV

"Where it was possible to bury, burial was one of the options used… In the event only one farmer said that was a possibility on his land… That is a signal of the rarity with which we found conditions which would not lead to knock-on environmental problems afterwards…We did not want the Ashmoor project to go ahead…”

Geoff Bateman, Environment Agency

"Closing off access to people to enjoy the Devon environment is what has affected the Devon economy… As the months went by and guidance evolved, that would not be the decision we would take now…"

Nick Atkinson, Dartmoor National Park

"Farming was the bedrock of employment in rural areas and young people are now faced with a struggle to find jobs and homes and have to look seriously at moving out of the area…"

Mark Goodman, Devon Federation of Young Farmers

"The pain and fear in our community was palpable. You could feel it coming over the phone… I would get distressed calls at night from people whose husbands had gone out and they didn't know where they were… There is a lot of isolation and psychiatric ill health that exists in the countryside and that is compounded by loneliness and financial worries… It is almost like having mud shovelled on your head and sooner or later you are going to go down."

Rev Paul Fitzpatrick

"Unless fodder can be brought in from outside we are heading for a disastrous welfare problem this winter – for animals and humans..."

Peter Clarke, Farm Crisis Network

"Farmers are not a group traditionally likely to access mental health services… But the 'bereavement' associated with the loss of animals and the hopelessness of the situation is likely to lead to desperation and an increased risk of depressive illness."

Dr Mike Owen, Director of Public Health, North and East Devon Health Authority

THE DEVON FOOT AND MOUTH INQUIRY - October 2001

A first in more ways than one…

Not only was the Devon Inquiry into Foot and Mouth the first to be held in the UK, it was thought to be the first of its kind ever to be organised by a local authority.
It was also the first time such a ‘hearing’ had been broadcast live over the internet. The website created to give the public access to the mountain of information being heard during the inquiry earned much praise and achieved over 60,000 ‘hits’ during the week.
All in all, the Inquiry was a smooth, professionally run and effective operation and will undoubtedly be of great value in representing our experiences in Devon in a useful, coherent, and powerful way.

THE DEVON FOOT AND MOUTH INQUIRY – by Professor Ian Mercer CBE

“When Devon County Council took the brave decision to organise a Foot and Mouth Inquiry for the county I was asked on several occasions whether it would have any genuine value. My response as the newly appointed Chairman of the Inquiry was, in effect, both an invitation and a challenge not only to those organisations involved in the crisis, but also the people of Devon.

Devon's experience of the outbreak is of immense value. There was an enormous collective memory throughout the county full of insights and details which if we did not tap into would be lost over time. Only we could help ourselves to do this, no National Inquiry would gather that grass-roots testimony. Many people had views about the way in which the outbreak was handled and what the future holds for the rural economy. But we would have been no better off if we did no more than let off steam in the letters pages or put the world to rights over a pint in the local. We needed to explore real evidence in a measured way, to tease out the reality from the perceptions and to coolly analyse what lessons have been or should be learned from the 2001 outbreak. We owed that to ourselves as a county, to the individuals and communities whose lives have been blighted, and to the future generations who will need to earn a living from and care for the countryside.

To do all this we needed above all else hard information. We needed people and organisations who were prepared to work together to share ideas and suggest answers to critical questions. Sceptics doubted it could be done and they had some reason for thinking so. After all, no one has attempted to hold a local Inquiry like this before and we had no powers to compel anyone to provide evidence. Yet the response was quite simply magnificent. More than 350 detailed written submissions flooded into the Inquiry's co-ordinating unit at County Hall, Exeter, and some 50 witnesses, either as individuals or representing organisations gave up their time voluntarily to appear before the Inquiry's hearings in public.

The evidence the Inquiry saw truly reflected the broad range of experience across Devon and it came from people from all walks of life. It was sometimes emotional and the more powerful for that, it was always thought provoking, sometimes incredibly detailed, and sometimes measured and compelling.
The Devon Inquiry clearly struck a deep chord with many people and no one could fail to have been touched by some of the very personal stories that emerged. There is no doubt the mounting of the Inquiry proved a cathartic experience for some, and part of our work included looking at the impact that the crisis had on the health of individuals and communities. I am equally in no doubt that within all the awfulness that Foot and Mouth brought in its wake there lies a real opportunity at a national, regional and local level to work out a sustainable future for farming and food production. Cloaked as it was in personal and community-wide damage, it is not the kind of opportunity that anyone would have wished for, but nevertheless it is up to us to seize it.

The Foot and Mouth outbreak and its effects on access and the social life of individuals and communities demonstrated for the first time for most people the complex inter-relationships of all the different rural economies. That in its turn awoke the nation to the fact that farming and the countryside does not exist in isolation from the wider economy. Access to the countryside, for example, was suddenly revealed as the lead attraction upon which a whole host of ancillary services depend.

The closure of rights of way and open moorland cut the income generated by visitors like a tap being turned off. Rearguard efforts to promote “tarmac and teashops, beaches and boats” as still being open and available could do little to maintain the B&Bs, hotels, shops and leisure facilities in the deeper countryside.

Village economies suffered overall. Many a shop dealing in staple goods discovered a good percentage of its custom had grown on passing trade from regular Devonian day trippers. The social life of rural communities also suffered. In the Foot and Mouth hot spots farmers and their families became tied down to their farms, attendance at village events fell away with the result that churches, village halls, community centres all suffered as a consequence.
Farming and the rural economy was in serious trouble long before this crisis, but what Foot and Mouth has done is focus a strong spotlight on a wide complexity of challenges that have to be tackled. The facts and the inter-connections must be collected and exposed so that we can build a better future for rural communities and ensure the countryside remains a precious asset from which our whole society can benefit.

We will publish our findings later this autumn and our aim will be to provide the Government's national Inquiries with a compelling, fact-based report which both exposes the lessons that need to be learned and also signposts a positive way forward.”

Go to December 2001 issue