Hemyock

Daniel Twyford, a 10 year old pupil at our primary school, is becoming well known locally for his photography with a number of his pictures displayed at the Surgery. Last year he won a competition in Exmouth and 10 of his photos have been purchased with a view to turning them into jigsaw puzzles.  Well done Daniel! Thousands of people over many years would have been served at our Post Office by Margaret Mitchell and it was with great sadness we heard that she had lost the fight against her ill health. Margaret had been involved in a number of village activities over the years being an enthusiastic supporter of the village carnival, a fantastic collector for the Poppy Appeal, a gifted flower arranger and a fount of knowledge at work.

John Mallinson had lived in Hemyock for over 25 years where his work saw him visiting local farms in his capacity as an Area Marketing Officer for the Milk Marketing Board. In recent years he had worked for the National Blood Service.  John had been Chairman of Uffculme School PTA and took an active part in Hemyock PTA, Scout Group Committee and Hemyock Singers. Many will also remember the enjoyment he brought when supporting local fund raising events with Punch and Judy Shows.

Dorothy Gammon was one of our older parishioners who lived in Eastlands and Prowses before moving to a Care Home. Many years ago she could be seen on a Saturday morning delivering freshly baked bread around the village in a handcart (for a time accompanied by me on my first weekend job). She had been a member of the local Bowling Club and there was nothing better she liked than her regular game of cards with friends.

We also just heard that Marjorie Cork had passed away.

Personally I knew both of these ladies very well. Dorothy had been a neighbour during most of my childhood and David and I lived next to Marj for 20 years before she moved to Prowses. One could not have wished for better neighbours.

Love and condolences to all those who have recently lost a loved one.

Amongst those who have recently needed hospital treatment are Pastor Steven Reed, Jean Vowles and Jane Root with numerous people including Rev David Sherwood having been plagued with chest infections. Following his operation towards the end of last year it is good to see Alan Craig back to his sprightly self. We send good wishes to all those within our community who are unwell at
this time.

What great news to hear that the village has received a grant of £160,000 from the Football Foundation for facilities at Longmead Field after a great deal of hard work by numerous people. It was also good to hear that the Pre School has at long last been able to move into their own building in the school grounds. I am not sure quite how long they had been aiming for this but I do remember it being discussed in committee when our children attended the group.

The church clock has been standing idle for a while hopefully it won't be long before it has been repaired as many folk have said how they miss checking their watches against it.

Far away in New Zealand lives Kirsty (daughter of Jenny and Ashley Alford) and her husband. We send warmest congratulations to them on the birth of their daughter and to all who have recently seen a new addition to their family.

Anna Bimson writes from India that she is settling well into her placement where she is staying in a house with 100 girls whose parents have leprosy. There are also 300 boys on site. When not teaching or caring for the youngsters Anna speaks of the various activities she is experiencing which vary from learning the language and flute to visiting a cinema where she almost fell asleep watching along film to gradually accepting that her taste buds tingle less and less as she gets use to the curries which are served daily!

Here in the village we say a fond farewell to those who will be leaving the area in the coming weeks and extend a warm welcome to all those who have recently moved here including Paula (nee Mitchell) and Guy Turner who are living at Withy Lane.

2007 sees the centenary of Scouting. Here plans are going ahead for a return trip to Denmark in the summer to enjoy camping and home hospitality. The local youngsters also have the opportunity of joining about a thousand others in a Centenary Camp at Powderham Castle. During the weekend of May 26/27th it is hoped as many members of the Scouting Movement as possible will join in camps to mark this celebration. To all who can remember Old Skip - I'm sure you would agree that he really would have enjoyed this special year and made sure all those in his charge did as well making it a year to remember.

Wherever you are when you read this, we hope you will have enjoyed keeping up with village events and we send you all good wishes for 2007.

Janice Bawler
01823 680352