As we begin our annual round of Harvest Festivals, I have been thinking about how important 'taste' is to us. As very small babies as soon as we find something new, we put it in our mouth! If it's nice, it stays there, if not we spit it out! As we grow, we tend to use our hands and eyes more than our mouths but taste still remains important to us. We even use the word to describe our preferences for something - 'I like the way she has decorated her home, clearly a woman of taste.' 'He's a nice chap but I'm not sure about his taste in music.' Taste is something which remains an important part of our lives long after we start using our others senses. King David was aware of this and included it when writing in Psalm 34: "O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him."

The way in which council services are provided in Devon look set to change and residents across the county have never had a better opportunity to influence this change to meet the needs of their local community. The Boundary Committee has been asked by the Government to see if a new system of local government could replace current system of county and district, city and borough councils. At the heart of the proposal is a desire to devolve power and resources to local communities in a new style of democracy.

The big day has arrived as the 2008 Tour of Britain South-West stage powers into action today.

Nearly 100 world-class athletes will be cycling through Hemyock for stage three of the event and activities and entertainment will be on offer to the many spectators expected to cheer on the cyclists.

Land owners in the Hemyock area are being advised to cut their hedges in the interests of road safety. 

The excavation of a Medieval settlement at Playstreet, Bickenhall, which had been delayed due to the wet weather, has been re-scheduled to start on Monday 15th September.  There are spaces available for those who wish to join in the dig during the day, or bring the kids along after school to join in (Under 16's must be accompannied by an adult). 

The annual village Harvest Festival service will take place at St Mary's on Friday 19th September at 7pm. This will be followed by a bring and share supper in the Church Room.

For several years, I have been collecting information about house martins in this area. Such information includes date of arrival and departure of the birds; number of nests being used; address of the site etc.