Coad’s Green W.I

Coad’s Green committee member, Pat Mallett, stepped up at very short notice when the speaker for the September meeting had to re-schedule. Pat is also a member of the County Federation Cookery and Craft committee and is often asked to run craft sessions but, usually, well in advance.

The aim for the evening was that all members should make a pin cushion. Pat gave a short explanation and laid out all the materials required, so that members could choose to make a butterfly, a heart or a conventional round pin cushion.

It was a very sociable activity. The group enjoyed the task and the company, as well as being able to take their handicrafts home. Pat was thanked by Rosemary O’Brien for organising such a creative and enjoyable evening. 

President Linda Willan made it clear that Coad’s Green W.I. really appreciated the work and effort, especially as Pat and committee member, Alison Gribble, (a fellow member of the County Federation Cookery and Craft Committee), had two imminent cookery demonstrations, during the following week, entitled ‘Shall I Put an Air Fryer in My Trolley?’. The venues at Carnon Downs and Coad’s Green are always well supported by members from throughout the county. 

Linda presented the business side of the evening with reminders of important dates for the diaries. 

The re-launched group meeting, with Launceston, Lezant and Altarnun, will be held on Wednesday, September 25th 

The next Farmers’ Market at Coad’s Green will be on Saturday, September 28 and Coad’s Green W.I. will be organising breakfasts. 

The Annual Council Meeting will take place on Wednesday, October 23, at the Hall for Cornwall. 

The Annual Coad’s Green Anniversary Dinner will be held on Thursday, October 24, at the Archers Arms in Lewannick. 

Birthday flowers were presented to Alison Gribble and Julia Gaunt. Pat Mallett won the raffle. 

The flower-of-the-month competition was won by Vivienne Daniel, with Christine Walters in second place and Carol Titcombe in third. Alison Gribble won the monthly competition, with Carol Titcombe taking second place and Jacky Stephens taking third. 

Refreshments were provided by Celia Jennings and Christine Walters. 

The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, October 9 at 7.30pm in the Coad’s Green Chapel Parlour when Cym Downing will be speaking about “ Memory Clinic”. 

Holsworthy Hamlets Flower Club

The Holsworthy Hamlets Flower Club met at Holsworthy Methodist Church Hall on Tuesday, September 18 after a summer break. 

They were very pleased to welcome Julia Harrison from Exmouth. Her title ‘Through my Garden Gate’ was the inspiration for all the arrangements. 

The first one depicted the Garden Gate with a selection of foliage and smaller garden flowers to complement yellow & orange carnations, with red, orange & striped germinis and yellow antirrhinums.

Many areas of the garden were visited, including the Raised Bed, in foliage and flowers and concluded with two arrangements depicting The Garden Arch. 

Amongst the foliage for this arrangement Julia used Acacia, Mimosa, Abelia and a herbaceous clematis to which she added white and pink carnations, lisianthus and roses.

The members were interested to see Julia use foliage she could grow in South Devon which will not grow in our area. 

The Chairman, Sylvia Harris thanked Julia for all the lovely arrangements, her gardening tips and entertaining thoughts throughout the demonstration. 

The members waited eagerly to see who may take home one of Julia's creations.

A most enjoyable evening Members were reminded the next meeting on Tuesday, October 8 (7.30pm) will be the AGM and members were encouraged to bring a 6" dish and foliage to take part in the 'Have a Go' workshop after the business meeting.   

• Holsworthy Walk and Talk

Glorious sunshine accompanied the group on a new walk to their programme last month at Bratton Clovelly.

What a lovely, unspoilt Devonshire village it is with history at every turn, panoramic views of Dartmoor and a variety of roads, tracks and fields to walk along. The route taken is known as The Packhorse Trail.

At one point, as the group entered a secluded avenue, they noticed a wooden plaque on the fence depicting a packhorse. The same picture is also on the sign for the Clovelly Inn in the village which at one time was known as The Packhorse Inn and now is known in the locality for its excellent food.

At the end of the walk, the group retraced their steps through the village to visit St Mary the Virgin Church, a Norman building constructed on the site of an earlier Saxon church. On the walls of the nave are rare paintings which are thought to depict the prophets. These had been plastered over at one time but were revealed again some years ago. The Church has an excellent information booklet for those wishing to learn more of its history.

There has been a change of funding partners at The Youth Centre where the group meet for their Monday walk and refreshments. The new funders are Devon Mind, an independent mental health charity affiliated to the national Mind association.

On a Monday and hopefully Thursday morning each week they will be open and able to offer anyone living in Devon, information and support for those experiencing a mental health problem, including anxiety and depression.

Two trained mental health counsellors will be present and a confidential space is available for a private chat. No appointments or referrals are necessary. In these difficult times it is good to know that there is a mental health professional on hand to give support and signposting should it be appropriate.

If you would like to join Holsworthy Walk and Talk, they walk on Mondays and Fridays. All walks start at 10.30am and are free. Membership forms are available from the Volunteer Walk Leaders prior to the start of the walk.

Their website has lots of up to date information, together with a current programme of walks, details below. Contacts: email: [email protected]

Website: https://holsworthywalkandtalk.co.uk.

Phone: Gillian Aston on 07584677784                                                  

Launceston & District u3a

Do you have time on your hands? Have you recently moved to Launceston? Would you like to pursue your interests and hobbies (or start something different) and make new, like-minded friends?

If the answer is yes to any of these you may like to join the u3a. They are part of the National u3a organisation and welcome new members. Not only do members enjoy their own group activities, of which there are over 20, including walking, digital photography, literature, table tennis and creative writing, but the organisation also support community events.

Earlier this year they were part of the team who put on the Flower Festival in St. Mary’s Church to celebrate their 500th anniversary and took part in the town’s Summer Market.

The National u3a Week is from September 21–29, when locally we have various activities going on, including a town walk with Councillor Rob Tremain, a life-saving CPR training event, a tree-planting and picnic in the castle grounds, and our coffee morning which also coincides with the Macmillan fundraising day.

The group will be taking part in the town Carnival Parade in October and will be holding a u3a Festive Art and Crafts market in November. They will also be taking part in the Christmas Tree festival in St. Mary’s again this year.

There are organised trips to the Royal Cornwall Show, the Lost Gardens of Heligan and Sterts Theatre this year too, besides regular group meetings which often involve car sharing to travel further around the county.

Would you like to be part of organisation? Find out more information their website at www.launceston.u3asite.uk

• Launceston Stamp Club

Launceston Stamp Club held its September meeting at Ladycross with over 20 members in attendance. The dealer for the evening was Rex Eccott.

The chairman opened the meeting and the secretary reminded members of the forthcoming annual general meeting and inter-club quiz of the Cornwall Philatelic Federation at Falmouth in October and called for three volunteers for a quiz team to represent Launceston.

Rex Eccott, Barry Mudie and Des Kent came forward to represent Launceston. There being no further business the chairman introduced the speaker for the evening David Hatwell whose subject was ‘London’s Stamp Centre-Selfridges 1931-1939.  

David began his presentation by outlining the early life of Harry Gordon Selfridge. He was an American who worked for Marshall Field department stores and worked his way up through the ranks to senior positions until finally he was able to come to London in 1908 and open his own store, Selfridges, on Oxford Street which was to become a household word and later the subject of a television series. Selfridge was a marketing genius and made the experience of shopping an enjoyable one.

In 1909 after Louis Bleriot’s flight across the channel his monoplane was put on display at Selfridges and David showed a postcard featuring Bleriot and his plane. The Selfridges building was of distinctive architecture and during the Jubilee and Coronation celebrations of 1935 and 1937 was extensively decorated and David showed superb coloured illustrations of the decorations. 

In 1931, Selfridges established a stamp department under the management of two well known philatelists of the day. It was also instrumental in publishing the Stamp Magazine. David showed several items relating to the activities of the stamp department including price lists and advertisements.

The stamp department was also active in the production of first day covers. Despite David’s research on the stamp department, when he made enquiries from Selfridges archive people, he was advised it did not exist! The stamp department closed in 1939 after it was alleged that it had been involved in some undesirable philatelic practices. 

David then showed an almost complete collection of the 1937 Coronation first day covers produced by Selfridges and he encouraged a discussion on the possibility of some of the postmarks having been forged. No conclusions were reached. 

Evelyn Sandercock thanked David for an interesting and well researched display and presented him with the Club’s certificate of appreciation. 

Launceston Stamp Club meets at Yeolmbridge Methodist Church Hall, at Ladycross on the first Thursday of each month at 6.30pm during summer and 2.30pm during winter. Visitors and prospective members always welcome. For further information phone 01566 772846. 

Lewtrenchard WI

The group met in the afternoon on September 9 for a Market Garden presentation. 

Barbara welcomed 17 members including Kathryn from Australia, visitors Pam Berry, Kym Ackroyd and Sue Nicolson.

The speakers were Sarah and Simon Milestone from Market Garden, Newton Abbot. Sarah and Simon bought an empty 2-acre field in 2021 and started selling produce in 2022.

They now go to market once a week and provide veg boxes to their local area within a 17m radius. Sarah is crazy about her chickens, started off with 4 and now has 30 plus 2 baby cockerels.

Lewtrenchard is the 3rd WI that they are visiting with more in the pipeline. Sarah went off to cook some of their gorgeous looking produce and Simon took over.

He talked in detail about his past, present and futures plans, his inspirations, spreadsheets, planting, no-dig method, how to be profitable and have produce all year round. This was all informative.

Then we had questions from the floor, including the buzzword this year: slugs! Being an organic gardener, his advice is to go out in the dark, with a torch and pick them off.

In 2022 we had a draught, no slugs then, 2023 a wet summer, followed by a wet autumn, hey presto in 2024 the slugs come out in full force. Because of the drought, they invested in a borehole.

They also dug a couple of ponds for extra water and pest control. Suddenly, the kitchen emitted some delicious smells of cooked food and we all tasted their mixed greens, Aztec broccoli, courgettes & various types of tomatoes. Everyone found the food really tasty.

Date and venue for next meeting: Monday, October 14 at 7:30pm, Lewdown Victory Hall the Cinnamon Trust. Dates for your diary: October 17 - Coffee morning - venue TBA. October 28 - Monday Walk 

Lezant WI

Lezant WI had a most interesting talk presented by Peter Perkins and Andy Rogers from the Cornwall Seal Sanctuary. They explained how the charity was set up 25 years ago in order to help the public understand the life of Grey Seals. The seals mate and have one pup a year. They are born white and they remain white for about 3 weeks.

Grey seals are in decline for several reasons. As a result the charity conducts surveys from boats 3 or 4 times a year. The increase in the number of storms is a major factor in their decline because hundreds of pups get separated from their mothers and as a result die of starvation.  

Warmer seas have resulted in earlier pupping, which largely coincides with the holiday season. Unfortunately, many people do not understand the implications of human presence for the seals. This is a peak time for seals being brought to the sanctuary. More seals are getting into trouble and need the charity's help through rescue, rehabilitation and for the lucky ones, release. The charity also does up to 400 surveys a year with the help of Exeter University.

Seals normally live for between 25 - 40 years. One of the biggest dangers for seals are fishing nets that can get caught around seal necks; even worse are the flying wheels used by fishermen, which can cause a painful death. Another major problem is the increase in the amount of toxic algae blooms which release acid that can effect the seal's nervous system.

An influx of Common Seals, which are much bigger, moving slowly westwards from Devon is also causing problems for their grey counterparts. The main food for seals is Sand Eels and Bass.  

Lizant WI send a big thank you to Peter Perkins and Andy Rogers from the Cornwall Seal Sanctuary.  

Merrytones Praise Group

The Merrytones Praise Group led the service at the Methodist Chapel in Shop on Sunday, September 8.

The prayers of adoration, thanksgiving and repentance were led by Bill Cleave. Singing of hymns were led by Colin Tape at the organ and the hymns were:

New every morning is the love

O Jesus Christ grow thou in me

God of all power, and truth, and grace

and The Church of Christ, in every age.

The lessons were read by John Cleave and Janet Ash. Freda Olde read another of the late Lizzie Oke of Gooseham's poems.

Even though Lizzie passed away in 1960, she lives on in Morwenstow through her inspiring poems, which she wrote during many years of being disabled and house-bound.

The Merrytones Praise Group sang: 'Where no one stands alone' and 'The Wonder of You'. Prayers of intercession were led by Jennifer Vanstone. 

Cath Paddon of Holsworthy led the service at Morwenstow Methodist Chapel at Shop on Sunday 15th. The theme of the service was 'Prayer'. 

Colin Tape was the organist for the hymns:

Lord of all Hopefulness

What a friend we have in Jesus

Dear Lord and Father of Mankind

and Sing we the King who is coming to reign.

The lessons were read by Ken Boundy and Jill Johns. The Merrytones Praise Group sang: 'It's about loving you'.

A warm welcome was given to visitors to the parish who joined in the worship. The projector at both services was controlled by Stuart Ash.

Both services were followed by coffee and a chance to chat in The Wesley Room.