President, Linda Willan, was delighted to welcome well-known local farmer and guest speaker, Mark Thomas, to the February meeting of the Coad’s Green WI.

Mark’s involvement with the Duchy of Cornwall began in 2006 when he and his wife, Jenny, were invited to some of the Duchy events. This led to him being offered a seat on the Prince’s Council, chaired by Charles, the then Prince of Wales. The council’s role was, and still is, to provide advice to His Royal Highness on the management of the rural estates within the Duchy. Mark’s role was to assist in finding new tenants for the tenant farms within the local area, including the new occupants of Kersbrook, who had a welcome visit from the Prince within the first two years of their occupancy

Meetings of the Prince’s Council were held twice a year at Clarence House in London.

It was a great honour when Mark’s name was put forward for consideration as High Sheriff of Cornwall, the oldest public office in the country. He took up this position, lasting twelve months, early in 2021, relinquishing his seat on the Prince’s Council. His new role was non-political and was to represent the Prince of Wales in matters relating to the judiciary and more widely to service, peace keeping and law and order. The declaration of office took place at the Bridge Church in Launceston and involved wearing traditional court dress and carrying a sword. The official emblem of the High Sheriff consists of two crossed swords; the sharp sword of justice and the blunt sword of mercy.

The position meant there were invitations to many events which gave him the opportunity to support voluntary organisations, emergency workers, charity fund raisers and represent the Royal British Legion at the Remembrance Service in Bodmin. He became patron of a charity that protected police injured in the line of duty, visited Dartmoor prison, whilst still doing the job of supporting the farming community.

One of Mark’s memorable highlights was a visit to St.Austell station, early one morning, to meet not just Queen Elizabeth but three generations of the royal family. The party was on its way to the Eden Project to meet the delegates of the G7 conference.

An unexpected accolade happened in 2023 when Mark received a CVO in the New Year’s Honours List for his service, which he received from King Charles.

The highly entertaining talk, included a number of amusing anecdotes. It also gave a fascinating insight into our monarch’s very real involvement in and his understanding of rural affairs.

Barbara Sleep thanked our speaker, on behalf of everybody for a very interesting evening.

In the business part of the meeting there was a request from Barbara Bennett of Street Pastors for knitted hats and scarves for the homeless.

The monthly competition was won by Linda Willan, with Julia Gaunt in second place and Christine Walters in third. Vivienne Daniel won flower-of-the-month, with Christine Walters awarded second place and Barbara Sleep taking third. Barbara Smith won the draw and Barbara Sleep was presented with birthday flowers. Refreshments were served by Julia Gaunt and Christine Walters.

The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, March 12th, at 7.30 pm in the chapel parlour at Coad’s Green when Sarah, our guest speaker, will be running a session on the art of macrame.

‘What it means to be a councillor’ was the topic of a talk given by club member Leighton Penhale at the first Probus meeting in February. As a former mayor and current councillor for the town Leighton was able to draw on his own experiences to give club members an insight into the role of council members.

Having moved into town after retiring from a successful farming career he was invited to join Launceston town council. Leighton very much saw his role as a servant of his constituents. This involved seeing what he could do to improve the town, and liaising with other organisations such as county highways. One of the first tasks he identified was to stop indiscriminate fly posters in the main shopping area.

Leighton explained how council meetings operated. They made decisions on development in the town and decided local council tax.There was an agenda for each meeting and all members had an opportunity to speak. A vote was then taken on what action to take, on the basis of a majority decision. Members of the public can raise issues for the council to discuss and are invited to attend meetings, but not participate in the voting.

Leighton was then invited to stand for mayor, which he did successfully.The mayor chairs council meetings, ensuring that members only speak when given permission and respect other councillors’ views. The mayor represents the people and council of the town at formal events such as Remembrance Sunday. He saw this as a great honour, giving the opportunity to be an ambassador for the town. In this role the mayor meets prominent people incuding royalty and greets them on behalf of the town. One of Leighton’s most poignant memories was of reading the proclamation of the accession of our current King Charles III, which he had to do at a number of sites round the town. He was relieved that he worded it correctly, unlike his counterpart in another Cornish town!

He then took a number of questions from members. During the answering of questions he re-emphasised that people should see their district councillor as the first point of call on any local issues.

He observed that town centres were changing, and it was important that the rent on shops should always be affordable. He also commented that to fulfill their role town councils must be adequately funded, based on realistic estimates of inflation.

Chairman Chris thanked Leighton on behalf of members for giving them a guide into the role and operations of local councils, and the meeting was followed by socialising over an excellent buffet lunch and drinks,

Our next meeting, in February, will be a follow up discussion on confidence with computers, led by member Jim.

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, please visit our website at probusclub.net/launcestoncornwalluk or our Facebook page ’Probus Club of Launceston - Cornwall’.

Matt Barns who is head of strategic service development at Great Western Railway based in Exeter, was the speaker at last Fridays meeting on February 21.

His presentation was entitled “Reopening the Dartmoor Line”.

Matt started by explaining why the Okehampton line had been chosen as part of the then Governments plans of restoring closed railway lines. Even though Okehampton is in rural area the surrounding area was very much a rail desert. This it would hope draw people from Launceston, Bude and Tavistock. Also by having access to large site at Okehampton station meant materials could be stockpiled easily. This included the great wall of sleepers. The project proceeded well as result of this facility and was completed ahead of the schedule and below budget. Even Natural England could not slow things up even though they made driver training difficult. As the line had been left for many years with no proper control of tree growth this meant driver visibility was comprised.

To being with Natural England were not keen on any trees being cut down. However an ecologist travelled on a train along with the chain saw gang and every time the driver pointed out a tree that was effecting visibility the train would stop and the chain saw gang would be allowed to remove it. This only occurred days before the line opened in November 2021. As is known this restoration of the train service to Okehampton has been a great success with passenger numbers well in excess of what was forecasted.

The next meeting is on March 21 when Jonathan Mann, from the Talyllyn Railway will give a presentation “ The Preservation Pioneers”.

On Monday, January 27, the Bude, Stratton & District Old Cornwall Society held their annual lunch at the Brendon Arms.

This was followed in the afternoon by a meeting in the Parkhouse Centre.

The chairman, Alan McIntosh welcomed the guest speaker – Andrew Langdon.

His subject was “The Medieval Wade Bridge.” with a visual display, with the history of the Fifteenth Century Bridge.

The word ‘wade’ is the old English name for ‘ford’.

The old bridge was built in 1468 by Reverend Lovibond, which was seventeen arches long, and built between two ancient chapels.

In 1863 the bridge was widened to allow for two-way traffic, and was twenty six arches long.

The Wadebridge Institute was built in 1838 (Malletts Ironmongers – Chapel House). Riverside House demolished in 1954.

Several questions and answers followed.

Alan gave a vote of thanks to Andrew, for his most informative and enthusiastic talk, which was obviously well researched at great lengths over the years,

Den Balsdon then proceeded with the raffle, which brought the meeting to a close.

Our next meeting will be on Monday, February 24, 2pm to 5pm. Subscription renewals, followed by our annual general meeting at 7pm. A ‘Display of our Archives’ from 2pm to 9pm. Everyone welcome.

A fascinating glimpse into the world of the old ‘Silk Road’ through Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in the heart of Asia was shown to members of Bude & District U3A at their February open meeting at the Parkhouse Centre. The speaker was Rosemary Lee, author and popular presenter of talks on her extensive travels to distant lands.

Bude U3A Chairman, Jim Buck, welcomed everyone to the meeting on February 20. He mentioned that there are two new U3A Activity Groups, Canasta and Scrabble 3, and also looked ahead to the May monthly meeting and the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the founding of Bude U3A. Deputy chairman, Nick Faulks then introduced Rosemary Lee and we were off to Uzbekistan!

Throughout the presentation, Rosemary used images of people and places to bring life and texture to her subject matter. She took the tour in 2013 to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, a region once part of the Persian Empire, later overrun by Ghenghis Khan’s Mongol armies, and more recently part of the USSR until 1991. The trip also included a visit to Kashgar, China.

Tashkent, the Uzbek capital, was the first stop. Next stop was the historic city of Khiva which became rich thanks to the traders on the Silk Road. The city is famous for its minarets, although only 15 of the original 80 remain. Another old city, Bukhara, also has buildings covered by decorative tiles, some enhanced by a considerable amount of gold leaf, but the oldest building seen was a 9th Century Mausoleum of a Persian ruler, and made entirely of mudbricks.

Bukhara is also famous for its silk carpets – ‘so fine and supple’, said Rosemary’, that they wrinkle like towels rather than heavy rugs!’

Moving north to man-made Lake Aidarkul, the tour’s accommodation was in yurts. ‘Not very comfortable’, said Rosemary. ‘Just a mattress on the floor and a thin duvet.’ The camp did however provide a ride on a Bactrian camel for guests! All a wonderful rural contrast to the splendid city of Samarkand, the final stop before moving on to Kyrgyzstan.

In contrast to the largely desert land of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz is mountainous - situated in the Pamir and Tien Shan Mountains. Ninety per cent of the land is over 5,000 feet and the average elevation is 9,000 feet.

After driving a little way through the Pamir Mountains on a road considered ‘the most dangerous road in the world’, the tour headed back into Kyrgyz. On the way they encountered the zigzag Moldu Ashuu Pass (see photo). ‘Ashuu’, said Rosemary, ‘is one of three different words for pass in the Kyrgyz language. It means a pass which climbs up and down via multiple hairpin bends. A ‘Bel’ is a pass with a steep descent, while an ‘Art’ means an almost vertical road leading up one side and down the other.’

The visit ended with a day of hiking and exploring near Song Kul Lake where there was a memorable encounter with a shepherd on horseback who was keen to demonstrate his shepherding skills by driving his flock straight at the tourists before swerving it away at the last moment! ‘ A dramatic end to our visit to a dramatically scenic country!’ said Rosemary.

Rosemary took questions from the interested and appreciative audience and the talk ended to enthusiastic applause.

Bude and District U3A is part of the national U3A organization, a unique self-help learning movement for people who are retired or semi-retired. As well as the Open Monthly Meetings with guest speakers, Bude U3A offers two open Coffee Mornings each month and members have almost 40 different Activity / Learning Groups they can choose to participate in. For more information: www.budeu3a.co.uk

Rev Richard Ward-Smith led the service at Morwenstow Methodist Chapel at Shop on Sunday, February 16.

Colin Tape was the organist for the hymns.

The lessons were read by Celia Cleave and Elaine Miles.

The prayers of intercession were led by Jill Johns.

The Merrytones Praise Group sang: 'What happened to love'.

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

Tithes, gifts and offerings for chapel and circuit funds continue to be collected in the box at the rear of the chapel each week.

Cottage Pie with a vegetarian option were on the menu at the monthly Luncheon Club at the Methodist Chapel at Shop on Wednesday, February 19. Grace was said by Rev Richard Ward-Smith. Thank you to David and Elaine Miles for preparing the main meal, to those who gave desserts and to the team for serving up, clearing away, washing up and for setting up the chapel ready for worship on the Sunday. Proceeds this month were for chapel and Community Centre funds, with words of thanks given by Colin Tape and Elaine Miles.

Holsworthy Hamlets Flower club started their 2025 program with Louise Brown’s demonstration “Inspired by Elizabeth Taylor’s Jewellery”.

Five designs were created, starting with a parallel arrangement incorporating pussy Willow, purple lisianthus, moonlight carnations, red spray roses and mirror tiles to reflect a 33 carat Krupp diamond ring gifted to Elizabeth Taylor by Richard Burton.

Ping pong diamonds were portrayed in a lazy “s” shaped design using classy, opulent green and white flowers and foliage.

Elizabeth Taylor’s tiara was represented with a hand tied in a homemade armature created from aluminium wire.

Her Taj Mahal pendant was depicted on a beautiful brass stool in a container filled with hot Indian coloured flowers enclosed in a willow cage.

Elizabeth’s La Peregrina pearl was portrayed by Louise in her final asymmetrical piece using fabulous flowers and foliage which included phormium, pussy willow, palm leaves, avalanche roses, green chrysanthemums, piccolini germini and some glitzy white feathers.

Gloria Dymond thanked Louise for an excellent evening of entertainment.

The monthly Community Breakfast for February was served in the Chapel Stable on Saturday, February 15. Thanks must be given to those who cooked and served the full English breakfast, which was, once again thoroughly enjoyed by the good number attending.

Mark Shepherd led the Holy Communion service at the Methodist Chapel on Sunday, February 16.

The duty steward was Karen Shepherd, who led the opening devotions and the prayers of intercession.

The singing was accompanied by Christine Tratt and Sandra Shepherd on keyboards with Pamela Newton and Geoff Broome as vocalists.

The Holy Communion was administered by Mark Shepherd and Karen Shepherd with Ruth Bealing acting as Communion Steward.

Coffee and biscuits were shared after the service.