Launceston Folk Dance Club will be holding a 'Spring Dance' on Saturday, May 17, at Launceston Town Hall from 7.30pm to 11pm.

Dance to the Dartmoor Pixie Band with caller Sarah Bazely.

There will also be a bring and share supper and a raffle.

Entry £15. Car park adjacent-free parking evenings.

At our second January meeting club member Stan gave a talk on his family history, farming career and hobbies. As a member of a well-known local family, Stan had traced his roots back to the 1500s.

In those days people were illiterate and did not even know their own proper name, let alone how to write it down. He told Probus what he believed to be the origins of the family name Uglow.

Stan said jokingly that probably a vicar baptising a baby looked at it and commented ’you glow’ and the name was duly registered as Uglow, which made everyone smile.

Starting off as farm workers in the Poundstock area, Stan’s ancestors spread to Marhamchurch, Jacobstow, Egloskerry and North Petherwin. During that time they married into other local farming families and became tenant farmers themselves.

As a very young boy Stan remembered prisoners of war coming to work on his family’s farm. He commented that there was no animosity, even to the point where one prisoner lodged in their farmhouse. He also remembered bath night where members of what was a large family shared a tin bath in the kitchen - a situation most members identified with! At school he was good at arithmetic, not so good at English. As he commented - adding up was a more useful skill for a farmer.

Stan himself became a farmer for many years with a beef herd and a flock of commercial sheep.

He commented that farming was hard work. Also he earned extra money sheep shearing, which gave him the experience to win prizes when a young farmer.

Eventually retiring at 70, Stan moved to Launceston, his only livestock now being his cat. This has given him more time to pursue his hobbies. Very active in the community, his activities include table tennis, skittles and bowling. He has been successful with these hobbies, having a number of trophies to show for it.

A discussion followed, with Stan being asked questions about his family links and time in farming. Several members, particularly the farmers amongst us, recalled their own experiences.

Members then thanked Stan for sharing his life with us, personal experiences always being of interest, before continuing the discussion at the bar.

Our next meeting, in February, will be a talk by member Leighton Penhale on ‘what it means to be a town councillor’.

Probus meet on the second and fourth Monday of each month, with a speaker followed by an optional buffet lunch. The club is primarily for retired or semi-retired people, providing a relaxed atmosphere with a focus on entertainment.

For further information on past and future activities of Probus, including talks and visits, visit the website at probusclub.net/launcestoncornwalluk or the Facebook page ’Probus Club of Launceston - Cornwall’.

The St Giles Women’s Guild recently held its New Year lunch at Holsworthy Golf Club.

We had a wonderful carvery and delicious desserts. The chef and all the staff were very kind and helpful. After the lunch we held a raffle to start the fundraising for our chosen charity for this year, which will be decided at the February meeting. We raised £43, a great start.

Fundraising will continue with a bring and buy sale in March and a Summer Fete in June. The February meeting was discussed, Katie Mansford-Clark is giving a presentation about Pet First Aid.

With so many pet owners in the village it will be very informative and interesting. Everyone is welcome. Members and friends then all went home after having a lovely social and successful lunch.

Ruth Bealing led the service at the Methodist Chapel on Sunday, February 26.

We worshipped the Lord by singing: 'I cannot tell why He whom angels worship', 'And can it be, that I should gain', 'Great is the darkness', 'Be still my soul' and 'Knowing You Jesus'.

The singing was led by Dionne Bere on the piano with Avril Glessing, Maxine Whenmouth, Pamela Newton and Geoff Broome as vocalists.

The lesson was read by Sue Banks and the prayers were led by Mark Shepherd.

The tech desk was operated by Ruth Jones and Alex.

After the service, teas and coffees were served with a selection of cakes in celebration of some 'significant' birthdays in the week ahead.

The Merrytones Praise Group led the service at Morwenstow Methodist Chapel at Shop on Sunday, February 26.

The prayers of adoration, thanksgiving and confession were led by Bill Cleave.

Colin Tape was the organist for the following hymns: ‘When morning gilds the skies’, ‘Lord Thy word abideth’, ‘Will you come and follow me if I but call your name’ and ‘Give me the faith which can remove’.

The lessons were read by Celia Cleave and Elaine Miles and the prayers of intercession were led by John Cleave.

Freda Olde read another of the late Elizabeth Oke of Gooseham's poems. The poem was entitled 'An outing to Coombe' and had been published in the 100th edition of the National Crippled Journal in 1953 and in edition 6 of our Parish Magazine 'Hamlets' in July 1981 which was the International Year of Disabled Persons. Although Lizzie passed away in 1960, she lives on in Morwenstow through the many poems which she wrote while being house-bound as she was disabled for a great part of her life.

The Merrytones Praise Group sang: 'Edelweiss and Five Fingers'.

Tithes, gifts and offerings continue to be collected in the box at the rear of the chapel.

The service was followed by coffee and a chance to chat in The Wesley Room.

Unity Methodist Service will be held at St Ive Village Hall on Sunday, February 9, staring at 10.30am. This will be led by David Wenmoth.

Tea/coffee/biscuits to follow the service. All are welcome.

The next meeting will be held on Monday, February 17, starting at 7.30pm.

When the guest speaker will be Jane Reed, who will give a talk on the work of Baby Basic's. This will take place in the Guild Room at Callington Methodist Church.

Light refreshments to follow. All welcome to join this meeting.

Morning prayer will be at 10am on Mondays only.

On Sunday, February 9, morning prayer will be at 11am.

Informal worship will be at 10am in St Paul’s Church, Upton Cross, on Sunday, February 9.

Digital horse racing will take place in the Parish Hall at Upton Cross on Saturday, February 8, 6.30pm start.

Free entry, cash prizes, eight races which means eight chances to win. Fun for all the family. Own a horse for just £2.50. Tote betting 50p and hot food available.

Next meeting is on Monday, February 10, at the Parish Hall, Upton Cross at 7.30pm.

The next committee meeting will take place on Tuesday, February 11, at 7.30pm.

December and January are the months we usually spend eating! We have the Christmas dinner, the Christmas party and the New Year meal. This time, we ditched the New Year meal in favour of holding a special meeting to discuss and vote on the four Resolutions proposed for the Wi National campaign for 2025.

It is only in recent years that the Resolutions have had to be looked at in January, it used to be May. We have tried discussing them over our New Year meal, but this proved unproductive and unsuccessful. So this year we chose to have a proper meeting and discussion in a group with no distractions. This proved so useful we have resolved to do the same in the future.

Members voted for three of the four proposed Resolutions and the one with the highest number of votes was Resolution 2 "Bystanders can be Lifesavers". This is an initiative to encourage us to work together to increase public confidence and training in the delivery of CPR and to work with local organisations to improve access to defibrillators in our communities. There is a particular focus on women as they have a lower chance of survival than men. We are hoping to have a meeting in which a trainer for CPR and the use of a defibrillator will be our speaker, in the near future.

We were all delighted to be shown photographs of the plaque made to accompany the tree which we planted to celebrate the late Queen's diamond Jubilee. It is now in place, do go and look. This was a very multi-talented project. Those helping to source, make and install the plaque included the spouses, extended family and next door neighbours of several of our members

Our February meeting is on Monday, February 10, at 2pm in the Parish Hall. We hope to welcome Joanne Shepherd aka Mrs Marvellous as our speaker. Regular readers of the Link will recall she was due to talk to us last June but was taken ill at the last minute. She will be talking to us about the use of textiles to create memories. For more information, contact the president on [email protected]

The next meeting will take place in the Parish Hall at Upton Cross at 2pm on Monday, February 10.