On Sunday, January 12, sometimes known as Plough Sunday, St Peter ad Vincula Church in Ashwater revived the tradition of blessing agricultural tools at the start of the year. An antique plough, seed hopper and other old farming tools were set up in church and local farmers presented soil and seeds to be blessed. In these days of no-till field management a new version of the hymn "We plough the fields and scatter" was written by a local farming family:

“We mow our fields for silage,

“We bale our fields for hay

“With all your rain and sunshine

“It's watered every day.

“Our cows and calves are grazing

“Our lambs are skipping high,

“O Lord we want to thank you for

“Our peaceful evening sky

“Animals, plants and insects,

“Tractors, combines too.

“Yes all of these we marvel at,

“All with the help of you.”

After the service tea and cakes were shared and a collection was taken for a local farming charity. Rev Dr Paul Fitzpatrick Rector of Ashwater and Tony March a PCC member devised the new service. Catherine Bowness, church warden, said: "We felt that this event linked our church and village with all the previous generations who once lived and worked in our rural farming community and we hope to make this an annual Ashwater occasion.”

Firstly, a very belated Thank You to the volunteers at the Youth Centre who so generously hosted our Monday Walk Christmas Bring and Share lunch. We had a very festive morning with much food and laughter. It’s good now to get back to our weekly walks again.

Our new programme started on January 10 and walks have been very well attended throughout. We have our Group Lunch on February 7 when we will not be walking. In times past we had used to have lunch after the walk but, having had some wet walks, it was decided that steaming in soggy clothes wasn’t too conducive to enjoyment or digestion!

At this time of year gym subscriptions generally have a boost, which is good, but variety is the key to overall fitness. Working different muscles or the same muscles in a different way can be beneficial and enjoyable. Walking in a group and ‘walking and talking’ can take the mind away from the more physical element. When stopping to ‘admire the scenery’ and take a breather it can be a surprise to look back and see how much ground you have covered adding a sense of achievement.

If you would like to join us at any time we walk on Mondays and Fridays. All walks start at 10.30am and are free. Membership forms are available from volunteer walk leaders prior to the start of the walk.

Launceston Stamp Club held its first meeting of the year with new chairman Barrie Mudie welcoming members and the dealer for the evening Rex Eccott. The chairman opened the meeting with a discussion on upcoming events including the club’s annual stamp fair on March 1 at a new venue in Lifton.

After the official business was concluded members showed items which they had recently acquired. First off Rex Eccott displayed some items of postal history notably correspondence sent to a firm of local solicitors. Next Roger Winn put up a copy of a personal message from Montgomery to his troops on the eve of D Day followed by items from Suez, US revenue stamps and lastly an interesting paquebot marking on a Turks and Caicos Island stamp. Mark Thomas followed with a display of travelling post office postmarks from Dahomey accompanied with a comprehensive map of the railroads in the country. Evelyn Sandercock presented an unusual showing with a selection of New Zealand labels issued in 1906 as publicity for the Christchurch Exhibition. Brian Whyte came with items from his favourite country namely the Faroe Islands The items a miniature sheet and an artist proof engraved by Martin Morck were issued in commemoration of Hafnia and celebrating 400 years of the postal system on the Faroes. Next Viv Sandercock displayed some items from the Republic of Honduras consisting of a selection of stamps from 1933 which had been validated by the postal authorities with the signatures of local departmental administrators. David Richards showed some items from Barbados consisting of a selection of registered envelopes. Finally the chairman showed some newspaper reports on the liberation of the Channel Islands and a cover with the liberation stamps of 1948 postmarked Tristan da Cunha and another example overprinted ‘cancelled’. The chairman thanked those who had displayed and shown their recent acquisitions.

Launceston Stamp Club meets each month at the Yeolmbridge Methodist Chapel Schoolroom, Ladycross, PL15 8TN on the first Thursday at 2.30pm during winter (from November to April) and 6.30pm during summer (from May to October). Further information from the secretary on 01566 786826.

Peter Parsons led Rehoboth Singalong on January 12.

He related more memories of local people and events, and read extracts both unusual and amusing from John Wesley's Journal. Pam Daniel played the keyboard for the hymns.

The charity box continues at the back of the chapel. Supper concluded the interesting evening.

After the excesses of Christmas and the fact that it is “No Meat January”, Members welcomed Al from Trigon Farm who praised the values of vegetables. Al, his wife and son originally lived in London but moved to Northampton as they felt the need to connect more with the land and rented an allotment. Both parents and grandparents were farmers and, because they also wanted to keep animals, they moved to Trigon Farm near Holsworthy in 2020.

It was important to them to start from scratch and design a new farm using permaculture principles, no-dig and regenerative agriculture practices. They are passionate about growing chemical free food. They use the no-dig method to grow vegetables and flowers, where they do not disturb the soil but let the micro-organisms, fungi and worms do their work and, in turn, the whole soil structure improves over time. The aim is to create a stable, bio-diverse ecosystem. Although there are also chickens which eat the caterpillars and ducks which help with the slugs!

We were encouraged to move to appreciating the taste of fresh food and to enjoy eating seasonally. The farm is now virtually self-sufficient in vegetables and fruit including winter time. This is helped by the use of poly-tunnels, because of the uncertain weather, and the addition of food that has been preserved or frozen. Although Al’s wife is a vegetarian, Al eats meat but only when he knows the source as he is concerned about animal welfare. As we know this means that the meat is generally more expensive – another reason for increasing the amount of vegetables in one’s diet.

The farm offers no-dig and permaculture courses, flower workshops, educational days out for schools, Farm to Table dinners, sustainable weddings, private events, sustainability talks for company Green Day events and seasonal flowers and vegetables. They offer sustainable flowers for any occasion with the flower arrangements using only natural, compostable ingredients and innovation in flower displays. Individual events include Natural skincare workshops, Permaculture in your garden, Floral workshops (flower arrangements, wreaths and dried flowers), Pizza masterclasses, Guided farm tours, Herbs and edible flowers in your kitchen, Tomato feast, Food preservation courses and Pizza evenings Apart from this, depending on the season, the farm also sells skincare salves, vegetable boxes, PYO flowers, posies, bouquets and wreaths.

We were all delighted to discover that all this was on our doorstep and have plans to visit the farm. Al told us that the best time to visit was from summer to October. Details can be found at trigonfarm.co.uk.

There will be morning prayer in St Melor’s Church on Mondays only at 10am.

Morning prayer will be held at 11am on Sunday, January 26.

There will be a ‘Meet & Eat Breakfast’ at the Cross Link Centre at 10am on Sunday, January 26.

The Beaver Colony have continued working towards their First Aid Badge, enjoyed a craft evening, played party games followed by a special visit with gifts. Guess who?

The Cubs and Scouts have been team building, also played games, had a uniform inspection, hiked around Sibleyback Lake and also enjoyed a party with prizes for the best outfits. Well done to everyone. Report by Sarah Doney, PRO.

A quiz night will take place in the Parish Hall at Upton Cross on Saturday, January 25, 7pm for 7.30pm start. The cost is £2 per player, a maximum of six per team. £40 prize for the winning team. Bring your own drinks and nibbles. Booking essential.

The January council meeting took place one week later than scheduled due to the snowy weather conditions that prevailed on the evening of January 8 and led to the closure of the A30 at Bolventor and the disruption of many peoples plans and likewise our meeting!

Therefore, well over a month since the last meeting and still the main topic of discussions related to the progress being made to lobby for a proper solution to the Plusha junction safety issues. The efforts of the Safer Plusha Action Group in conjunction with our tireless Cornwall Councillor Adrian Parsons and MP Ben Maguire have certainly made an impact in aligning a campaign aimed at taking out the half-baked proposals that are currently on the National Highways table. It was reported that every possible opportunity is being taken to get in front of those who can influence National Highways to build a substantive graded junction at Plusha and not make permanent the temporary solution that continues to cause havoc. Unfortunately, the issues of time and money are getting in the way of a clear hope of success, a hurdle Adrian is looking to navigate, by gaining Cornwall Council’s formal support and financial commitment to kick start the momentum towards gaining favour with the Department for Transport.

Altarnun councillors were pleased to fund the last tranche of money needed to complete the Pipers Pool and Trewint superfast fibre Broadband scheme. Initially the parish was asked to underwrite a grant backed figure in excess of £92,000, being subject to the consumers subscriptions. It was particularly pleasing that after a successful take up of services, the final figure was only just short of £9000. It was reported to the meeting that consumers are now seeing the real benefits of superfast Broadband which is making a real difference to their businesses and overall connectivity.

In planning matters this month councillors supported the application for the reduction of three trees at The Vicarage, Altarnun for safety reasons, after a recent event caused damage to an adjoining property when a tree limb fell. Also calling for Altarnun Parish Councils’ consultee involvement was an application for an extension to Jollsground Barn at Trewint. This was also supported after discussion and was seen to be a sympathetic development to enhance the existing property. Although it was noted the applicants may have to pay close attention to the presence of bats.

The meeting heard that whilst the Altarnun Christmas lights were enjoyed by residents and visitors alike the weather this year was not a friend to say the least. Adverse conditions forced the cancellation of a big event scheduled for the grand ‘switch on’ and also caused the river to rise to levels not seen since 2009, thus washing away lights and equipment that were painstakingly installed as part of the spectacle. However, we are pleased to say that this has no way deterred our stalwart volunteers from doing it all again next year albeit with some amended plans!

All other goings on, which in the main were ‘housekeeping matters’ concerned with the control of costs, all of which will be published in the full minutes as usual.

The February parish council meeting is to be held on Wednesday, February 5, at 7.30pm in Altarnun Village Hall. All are very welcome.

A busy few days for representatives of the Branch! We were represented together with Standard at the funeral of ex-Wren, Jennie Sharp, at St Paul's Church, Charlestown, St Austell (January 16).

With four Branch Standards in attendance, together with a Guard of Honour from HMS Raleigh and HMS Seahawk, it was a privilege to pay due respect to this ex-shipmate who served within the FAA between 1942-46. Jennie attained the remarkable age of 102yrs, two days (19/12/22 to 21/12/24) and the supportive attendance at her funeral mass was a tribute to her. RIP Jennie Wren!

It was with real sadness that our S/m Chris Bennett lost his wife Sue suddenly - the Branch's sincere condolences are extended.

Completing a busy three days, the branch President/Chair, Honorary Secretary, and Welfare/Wellbeing Secretary attended the Area4 AGM and Area4 meeting at Dorchester on Saturday, January 18. As always an illuminating event with the finer details to be relayed i.d.c.

New to the Area and ex-RN (any branch)? Your membership warmly welcomed at Bude Branch RNA. Contact: [email protected]

THE annual Covenant Service was held at Morwenstow Methodist Chapel at Shop on Sunday, January 12, and was led by Rev Meg Slingo. We were joined by friends from nearby Woodford Chapel and the Parish Church for the service.

Colin Tape was the organist for the following hymns: ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’, ‘Be Thou my vision’, ‘Take my life and let it be’ and ‘All praise to our redeeming Lord’.

The lessons were read by Janet Ash, John Cleave and Jill Johns.

Our Covenant Service is always a special service in the Church year, but this year it was extra special as Debbie French was Confirmed and Eric and Debbie French made their Membership Promises and were welcomed into the Membership of the Methodist Church when the Stewards and Chapel Family made their way to the front to give them a personal welcome. They were also presented with a card signed by all present.

The Holy Communion was administered by Rev Richard Ward-Smith (bread) and Rev Meg (wine), in the form of intinction.

The service was followed by coffee and a chance to chat, with savoury and sweet refreshments served in The Wesley Room, rounding off a very special service.

Thanks go to David and Elaine Miles for preparing the delicious Beef Casserole, served with vegetables with a vegetarian option at Morwenstow Methodist Chapel at Shop monthly Luncheon Club on Wednesday 15th. Grace was said by Barry Bryne. A hearty 'Happy Birthday' was sung to Freda Olde who was celebrating her birthday that day and a cake with candles was duly presented to her, cut up and shared. Freda was blessed to have all four of her children, including daughter Rosemary who has been visiting from Australia with her for the meal. The Chapel was full for the luncheon, which was followed by a huge selection of delicious desserts, teas and coffees. Proceeds, this month were for Chapel funds and Bude Food Bank. Thanks must go to everyone who helped in any way, laying up beforehand, serving the meal, washing up afterwards and setting up the Chapel ready for worship the following Sunday.