Sunday 16th January will be the last service to be taken at St. Mary's Parish Church by Rev. David Sherwood before he and his family leave Hemyock for Ashburton.

The service will begin at 11a.m. and be followed by a  hot 2 course lunch (with vegetarian option) at the Parish Hall. Tickets will be £3 pp. and are available from Hazel  (01823 680069), Maurice (01823 680665), Anthea (01823 680430) and Hazel (01884 840646)  and need to be purchased by Weds 12th January.

Anyone wishing to make a donation to David's farewell gift is asked to pass it to David Bawler, 4 South View, Hemyock or their local Churchwarden as soon as possible.

‘Mind the Gap’ was a mini conference held in Hemyock recently to consider the provision of increased elderly care services in Hemyock and in particular housing.  Hosted by the Parish Council and including representatives from the Abbeyfield Society, WCHA the local housing association and Mid Devon District Council the group began by reflecting on the existing services available to local people provided by both public and voluntary sector.  These were not insignificant and the work of organisations such as the Healthy Living Centre, Blackdown GP Practice and Blackdown Support Group were highlighted and commended.

There is a warning of snow on the way.  Are you prepared?  If you follow this link to the DCC Emergency Planning Newsletter you will find sections of interest to help you prepare.    http://www.devon.gov.uk/ep_newsletter_dec10.pdf

If the snow does come, please check on your neighbours, especially the elderly.

Let's plan for the worst whilst expecting the best.

As darkness fell and with lights switched off, candlelight shone on the faces of excited children as they and the congregation at St Mary's formed a circle within the church to celebrate the annual Christingle service and to sing the well loved carol 'Away In A Manger'

 Due to the weather numbers attending were lower than normal but the joy and fellowship was unmistakable. The service was conducted by Val White, the talk given by Becky Doble, Peter and Frederike Reed with readings by Cheyenne and Erika Jordan. The service is organised on behalf of the Children's Society to whom the collection will be sent.

The Christingles consist of an orange to represent the world, cocktail sticks to represent the four seasons along with fruit and sweets for harvests, a red ribbon for Christs blood and the candle to show Him as Light of the World.

This very special annual service will be held at the Parish Church on Sunday 5th December at 4pm.

All are warmly welcome especially those with children.

This Saturday, 4th December, 2.30pm, St Mary's Parish Church Christmas Fair at the Parish Hall. To be opened by Rev David Sherwood.

Stalls, mulled wine, raffles, refreshments.

At a very opportune time comes this advice from Devon Association of Local Councils www.dapc.org.uk about the responsibilities and consequences of clearing snow from public areas.  The Big Society has arrived!

Our very own Ron White wrote a book once, which has long been sold out, called 'Strength of the Hills: The Story of the Blackdown Hills Mission'.  Fortunately Brian Chapel of Bishopswood Chapel has laboriously typed it all out and it is available on his web site.

Letters from 13 key businesses were presented at a recent Parish Council meeting in Hemyock demanding action on the need for passing places on Pencross Hill to the North of the village.  As the village has grown, there has been a marked increase in the number and size of commercial vehicles on this route to the M5, Taunton and Wellington.  Councillors heard that when buses and HGVs meet, there is just no room for them to pass and no specific passing places for them to reverse into, on what is a very steep hill.