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September 2001IN MEMORIUM: It was with sadness that we learnt of the death of Evelyn Makins who lived with her husband Frank at Round House Cottage for some years prior to moving to Braunton. She was a valued member of the Church, the W.I. and the Church Guild. SPEEDY RECOVERY: To Marilyn Milton following her accident. FOR CHURCH FUNDS: A Coffee Morning will be held at "Silver Weir," at the kind invitation of Mrs Anne Fielder, on Thursday 13th September - 10 am until noon. All are welcome to attend. CONGRATULATIONS: Bill and Andrea Smith send Jonathan many congratulations on graduating with a 2.1 in English from Plymouth University. ATHERINGTON PARISH COUNCILPrior to the recent meeting Mr M Knight, Project Manager for the Great Torrington Small Area Review gave a short talk regarding a questionnaire and a series of meetings reviewing all social services. There will be a meeting in the Church Hall on 25th September when parishioners will have an opportunity to discuss any concerns they may have. Highways: The proprietor of the Village Shoppe Mr C Hart complained that NDDC had issued a licence for road resurfacing at the height of the season. A letter of complaint to be sent to NDDC. Mr W White, District Councillor, would like to hold a Public Meeting to discuss transport problems in Atherington. Mr White also suggested writing to Mr R Brassington, Chief Executive of Torridge DC expressing concern regarding the increase in traffic if the development at Little Bickington Farm goes ahead. Lengthmen: The lengthmen will be in Atherington parish in September and the parish Council would like to hear from villagers of any work they feel needs attention. Common Players: As the annual summer event could not go ahead due to foot and mouth a winter play had been proposed. Unfortunately as NDDC were unable to give the usual grant some sponsorship would have to be found to enable the event to go ahead. Playing Field: The annual fete had raised £258 plus a donation of £10. The next Parish Council meeting will be on 18th September in the Church hall at 7.30 pm. ST.MARY'S GUILDRosemary Munson The Guild had their summer outing in July to Plymouth. We missed out on our usual brilliant weather, but everyone enjoyed their day. We had our usual stall at the Church Fete, thanks to all who helped. Our next meeting will be on Monday 10th September at 2.00p.m. at Miss Eileen Thorne's home, the Parsonage. New friends are welcome. We have to start thinking of our Christmas Fayre, it seems early but November soon arrives. High Bickington Methodist NewsHazel Pearce For many years the first Sunday in August has been the date of our family picnic/barbecue. For something different this year, we went to Fishleigh for a service in the summer house garden, where umbrellas were raised to ward the sun off some of the 40 gathered there for Rev Marilyn’s final service, and a picnic afterwards. Many thanks to Rebecca and Stephen for the use of their garden. Sunday School begins again on September 9th – all little people will be most welcome, and on the following Sunday at 11.00am we welcome Rev Mark Noakes, his wife Sarah and son Ethan for his first service as our minister. We welcome Fiona Stewart home from her travels and can’t wait to hear of her experiences in Africa. Harvest Thanksgiving, Sunday October 7th 11am and 6.30pm – Mr Mark Chapple will preach at both services. There will be a “Bring & Share” supper after the evening service and the harvest produce will be on offer for voluntary contributions in the schoolroom. Congratulations to Rosie Venner and Fiona Stewart – both gained 4 A levels. Also to Laura Clarke who passed her AS level exam. We wish them all well for the future. Thought for the MonthDon Chitty, Atherington Baptist The Valley of the Rocks near Lynton never fails to impress and inspire me. They stand high, demanding attention, full of grandeur and strength. The low clouds swirled around on our recent visit, giving them an awe and foreboding that we had never noticed before. However, nothing could hide their majesty and power, neither take away the feeling of their invincible and timeless energy. Precariously balanced rocks that have stood the ravages of time to amaze us today! This reminded me of the need for stability and certainty in our own lives. As we change with time, and things change around us we often put our faith in things passing, like sand running through our fingers, instead of rock that holds our weight. David in the Bible encourages us to put our trust in the Lord. He tells us that God is dependable and trustworthy. He reminds us that whatever the changes God is always the same. The Lord is my Rock..and my strength.. Psalm 18:1/2. The Bible tells us that Israel were given water from the rock, and Paul (1 Cor 10:4) uses this as an illustration of the 'spiritual Rock’ that represent Jesus Christ. Trusting Him will be our Satisfaction and strength. Stability and certainty are in 'standing on this Rock’ “the Lord my Rock!" HIGH BICKINGTON YOUTH JUDO CLUBAlex Urwin was awarded a White Belt and 2 Red Stripes at the May and June gradings. Unfortunately this award had not been entered in the August Ramblings. Sorry Alex. Sensei Bob Waste Paper CollectionMany thanks to all who save their waste paper regularly for charity, and to Jennifer Gooding for providing a depot and stacking it so neatly. We had a full load in the village – the first time ever! We are now stockpiling for the next collection – watch this space! Last but not least, thank you to the people who helped load the lorry and for bringing their wheelbarrow. POEM FOR SEPTEMBERSomething Told the Wild Geese
Something told the wild geese
All the sagging orchards ATHERINGTON & UMBERLEIGH WIJudith Domleo Our Garden Party was held on the hottest sunny day in August, at the home of Ann Harrison in George Nympton. We had a "Bring & Buy" stall, Raffle and several quizzes to test our brains! A treasure hunt had been organised around the attractive little village of George Nympton and we were able to explore several lovely gardens. Of course it goes without saying that we had a delicious tea! We made a grand total of £140.60 to go towards A.C.W.W., the FIVER FUND and our own W.I. Very many thanks to all who came and all those who helped to make the afternoon such a success. Five members thoroughly enjoyed the Bideford Heritage Trail that was well organised on another lovely sunny day. In the morning there was a conducted tour of the Town Hall to learn of its history and see its present day workings. We had a picnic lunch by the river and then a guided walk around the town. Its narrow twisting streets have barely changed over the years and the town contains much historical and environmental interest, including elegant buildings, riverside walks, churches and commercial enterprises. The September meeting will be on Tuesday 11th, 7.30 pm at Umberleigh Hall when Jonathan Lomas will be the speaker on "Devon Plaster Ceilings" in Devon. Visitors very welcome at any of our meetings. From the archivesResearched by Richard Lethbridge 21st February 1935 - High Bickington Many friends in the village are sorry to learn that Mr. J. Harris of The Stores, is lying very ill in North Devon Infirmary. Mr. Charles Heales, the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Heales, of Week Park, who met with a serious accident on the Barnstaple main road, and was taken to the North Devon Infirmary, is stated to be progressing favourably. A pretty wedding took place at Chittlehamholt Church on Tuesday of last week, between Miss Elizabeth Ellen Turner, elder daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. Turner of Cholwells, and Mr. Leonard John Pickard, youngest son of Mrs. Pickard, and the late Mr. W. Pickard, of High Bickington. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. H. Carter and Miss Carter was at the organ. Hymns were “Lead us, Heavenly Father,” and ”O perfect love.” The bride given away, by her father, was daintily attired in an ivory satin dress, ankle length, with along bridal veil held in place with orange blossom. She also wore silver shoes, and carried a bouquet of pink carnations, white heather, and trailing fern. Her bridesmaids were Miss Gertrude Turner (sister), and Miss Lily camp (her cousin), who were prettily attired in dresses of Marina green crepe suede, with hats and shoes to match, and carried bouquets of pink tulips. They wore strings of pearls, the gift of the bridegroom. Mr. L. Brownscombe carried out the duties of the best man. The bride’s gift to the bridegroom was gold cuff links, and to his bride a stone marten fur. The bridegroom’s gift to the best man was a gold tie-pin. Other presents numbered over seventy, which included n oak clock from the Bickington ringers, and also an eiderdown from Rev. H. Carter. Merry peals were rung on the church bell during the day at High Bickington. A reception was held at the home of the bride, and later Mr. and Mrs. L. Pickard left for their honeymoon at Torquay and Kingsnympton. The bride travelled in a bottle green wool crepon dress, a tweed coat with a light green hat, and a stone marten fur. When we came to Week (continued)by Margaret Bolt Around the parish In 1946 many houses in the village and parish were thatched. Mains electric, water and sewage systems had not arrived but Mr. Jim Western supplied some village properties with electricity generated by an engine housed in a shed behind his petrol pump, opposite the oak tree. He and his family ran the post office, where stationery, sweets and drapery were also for sale. Mr. Western was a cobbler by trade, making and repairing all kinds of boots and shoes in his workshop at the back of the house. At Church Gate cottage lived Jack Cooke and his wife, Rose. Jack was a tailor making suits, sports jackets, trousers and breeches for many local men. He stocked a special thorn proof tight-woven worsted to make jackets for gamekeepers in a dull dark green. My father had a jacket made for himself which wore for years needing only a stiff brushing to be kept clean. As well as making new clothes, Mr. Cooke repaired garments such as re-fronting corduroy working breeches by replacing the section above the buttoned fitted leg part to wherever necessary up to the waistband and seamed in at each side. I believe Mrs. John Watkins still has a pair of new unworn breeches, with the original bill from Mr. Cooke. Copperfields was at that time a grocers and ironmongers run by Mr. Gilbert Parker and his family from the room on the right hand side of the door. The Barnstaple Inn, a Starkey, Knight & Ford pub, much smaller then with all the north end being sheds and storerooms, was run by Mr. & Mrs. Jim Webber with their family of unusually named children: Mowbray John, Hilton Morland, Sidonia Melva Gwen, Norma Pam Joy, Anita Cherry Reese, Patricia Judith Dawn and Karen Nancy (Queenie). The smooth piece of cement on the end of the shed behind the signpost facing Pound Lane was used by Hannaford, Ward & Southcombe to stick posters advertising markets and farm sales. No doubt the auctioneers paid rent for this privilege as they did to Col. Gracey for a board in the former market at Portsmouth Arms – now the Sawmills. The shed was used by Palfreyman & Joint as a store, as was the “Old Reading room” – now London House Cottage. In Mr. Tancock’s field beside this stone shed was a Nissan hut which was used to store ammunition, entered through a small gate in the hedge. Mr. & Mrs. Miller ran the London House Stores – grandparents of Anne and Denise – stocking just about everything that country people needed. I believe Mrs. Miller was a soft touch for late night shoppers at her side door, probably by some who could just as easily have come earlier in the day. Next door Mr. Fred Harris ran his coal business, coal having to be fetched from the goods yard at the station. In those days of petrol rationing I remember him delivering by horse and butt. The butt being kept in a shed between the back of Ticavin Cottages and the tarmac part of the playground; a shed we children sneaked into when Mrs. Lizzy Friend or Miss Gillies were not watching – which was not often! A resident policeman, Frank Holman, lived in the village and district nurse, Ada Carter, at No.1. Balls Corner, William Parker’s Transport was based in the quarry at Bridge, the small wooden office is still there as is the Church of England Mission Church on the opposite side of the road. Built in the 1860s and finally closed in the 1960s, it was still being used for monthly services in 1946. The ornate altar and reredos were removed to the parish church after the closure, and Mr. John Watkins managed to buy the bell, after the vicar had sold it to a dealer. The station at Portsmouth Arms was quite busy then with passengers and goods and has been dealt with more fully in another article. The pub there was very plain and simple, geared to the local working man – as many rural pubs were. Being part of the Northcote estate, Col. Gracey held twice-yearly Lady Day and Michaelmas dinners there when tenants paid their rents. Northcote Manor was a private house until Col. Gracey’s death in 1962.
Week Cross was so narrow before being widened twice, in 1967 and 1970, and visibility improved when the Murch’s thatched
cottage was demolished in approximately 1980. There was no passing lay-by between the two lanes to Week. Larger vehicles were unable to pass in the narrower section even though it had been a part of the Exeter to Barnstaple Stagecoach route branching to Torrington from Week Cross. The granite milestones purchased by the Turnpike Trust are all still in position in the parish at Dole park cross, opposite the stone depot above Bryher Cottage, set into the London House shop wall (a former Inn) and at the top of Bircham Hill. The next is this side of the river Taw at Handsford in Ashreigney parish. Back in the village, the temporary corrugated asbestos village hall had been erected after the earlier building burnt to the ground in November 1944. On the Green there was no play equipment and the rough grass was cut only once a year for Burrington Fair. The school was just the main building –no kitchen or extra classroom then- and having seven children going to secondary education that year from less than a total of thirty, the space was probably adequate. The Vicarage – now Meadow House – was then occupied by the resident Vicar for Burrington, Rev. Wrenford, and had been a larger house at one time, being one or two rooms longer to the east. I remember Sylvia Heal using long-handled pruners to prune a shrub which grew against the front of the house. I had been sent by Miss Gilles with a message for the Vicar. Many years later as correspondent to the School Governors, I was able to read in the “Minutes of governors’ meetings” for that time, many notes of complaint by both the Vicar and Miss Gilles regarding their conduct to each other. This obviously made interesting reading for me, and explained the coolness and studied politeness between those two when the Vicar made his frequent visits to the school. Around the parish some families remain at the same address, even if the second or third generation. Baileys delivered milk from Crosspark, Crockers were at Northcote Farm, Elworthys at Upcott, Harrises and Friends at Ticavin Cottages, Millers at the shop, Snells at Elscott, Shorts at Homelands, Hillcrest and Catham, Tancocks at the Barton (Marilyn Smale, nee Tancock) and at Lakepark, Thomases at Pavington, Webbers at Curzeland, Pincombes at Abbotsmarsh and, of course, Eastmans (Bolt) at Week Farm. Snells at Elscott are the winners by a wide margin, having been there since the 1840s – the rest of us are newcomers! Some businesses have disappeared, some buildings have changed usage. Others have been built: the Radar Station on Burrington Moor, Eaglescott Airfield, Aylescott Driers, the industrial units at the bottom of Bircham Hill, the galvanized sheds at Pickards, Portsmouth Arms Sawmills, Acorn Woodcraft, Riverside Garage (now closed) and the sewage works building at Town Bridge are just some of the changes since we came to Week. COUNTY LEADERS URGE MINISTER TO SPEED UP AID
Leaders from Devon County Council have urged the Government to speed up the process of delivering support to businesses and
communities affected by Foot and Mouth and to target more assistance on Devon as the worst affected county in the region. Leaders of all Devon's political groups - Cll Brian Greenslade (Lib Dem), Cllr Christine Channon (Con), Cllr Saxon Spence (Lab) and Cllr David Morrish (non-aligned) who are all members of Devon County Council's all-party Executive Committee attended the meeting. Specific matters raised included the projected shortfall in immediate support for businesses applying for help via the Regional Development Agency and concerns over the plight of small farmers and questions of Government policy following recent announcements by Lord Haskins (appointed as Cumbria's new Foot and Mouth Tsar). The meeting, which was described as 'positive' and 'helpful', was a follow-up to a presentation of the Devon Recovery Plan to the national Rural Task Force, chaired by Mr Michael, in July and was called to check progress on gaining Government support for the £180 million aid package. Welcoming the Minister's personal praise for Devon's positive approach to recovery, Brian Greenslade, Chairman of Devon County Council's Executive Committee said: "This was a very positive and helpful meeting. It gave us a golden opportunity to impress on the Minister the need for more urgency in delivering support to where it is needed most. Obviously we warmly welcome the strong personal backing of the Minister and his recognition of the hard work and enterprise of all those involved in preparing the Devon Recovery Plan. But having his support is one thing, what we need now is action. Time is against us and we were able to strongly urge an acceleration in the process of gaining the right financial support to deliver the Recovery Plan. For example, if effective support to local businesses hardest hit by Foot and Mouth is not delivered now then there will be no businesses to support. This point, and the need to focus the help already available in the South West on Devon both seemed to be accepted by the Minister as did the need to take account of local knowledge in the debate over the future of farming and food production. It genuinely seems that our willingness to take the initiative, help ourselves and to work together with Government are being recognised not just by the Minister but in Whitehall. This kind of support can only be helpful now that serious and constructive dialogue with Government officials over the Recovery Plan has begun." WARNING – The poem below is about the danger of drinking and driving and tells a very sad story. It is published to make people think and I hope our readers are not too upset by it. You don’t have to read it ...ed. DRINK and DRIVE?I went to a party, Mum
I went to a party,
I felt proud of myself,
I made a healthy choice,
I got into my car,
Now I'm lying on the pavement,
My own blood's all around me,
I'm sure the guy had no idea,
So why do people do it, Mum
Tell sister not to be afraid, Mum
Someone should have taught him,
My breath is getting shorter, Mum
I wish that you could hold me Mum, (Sent in by one of our readers who received it as an e-mail from the United States).
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