Moor Links - Dec-Jan 2016

MOOR LINKS December / January 2017

Issue 25

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YELVERTON • BUCKLAND MONACHORUM • WALKHAMPTON • HORRABRIDGE • CLEARBROOK MEAVY • MILTON COMBE CRAPSTONE • BERE PENINSULA • DOUSLAND • PRINCETOWN • SAMPFORD SPINEY • SHEEPSTOR • POSTBRIDGE

. Tavy

s n a s i t r A l a c o L Celebrating our wealth of local arts and crafts talent this WINTER...

A FREE bi-monthly magazine delivered by the Royal Mail INSIDE THIS ISSUE: VILLAGE NEWS • GARDENING • EDUCATION • FOOD • HEALTH • HISTORY • WHAT’S ON

WINTER GARDENING

Stunning sculptures to enhance a winter garden

MAKING OF A GARLAND

The famous garland at Cotehele celebrates its Diamond Anniversary

WHAT’S ON

Lots of festive activities and a NEW full guide to events at the Wharf

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Whilst writing this in my garden studio, on a blustery but bright, sunny and unusually warm November day, I can’t quite believe the festive season is now only a few weeks away!

This season sees an endless supply of Christmas fairs and art exhibitions to visit and discover crafts and talents of all shapes and sizes. So in this issue of the magazine we have featured three local artisans and their skills to give you a small taste of the local talent on offer and some ideas for alternative spending.

Sue Fisher has also suggested various gardening events and exhibitions throughout the year to find artisan products for sculptural features for our gardens (page 30) and Rebecca Martin has been talking with ‘Devon Rural Skills’ to find out how we can all take a step back from our hectic lives and perhaps learn some traditional rural skills to ensure these techniques don’t fade away.

Our feature for this issue is the making of the world famous Christmas garland at National Trust’s, Cotehele. We started our discussions with Cotehele back at the beginning of this year and with the help of John Parker and his wonderful photography, taken throughout the year, we have a step-by-step guide to how it has been created. This year the garland celebrates its Diamond Anniversary and looks more magnificent than ever. I urge you to visit! (see pages 38 & 39).

We are also delighted that we are now able to publish a full listings guide on behalf of Tavistock Wharf. The listing will be a regular double page in our magazines, so do check this out for an astonishing array of events – all on our doorstep. (see pages 48 & 49) Two weeks ago on the 21st November our third magazine was launched – Oke Links. We are very excited about our new sister magazine to Moor Links and Tavy Links, which has been several months in the planning and is now a reality! We are delighted to have Jane Honey as our new Editor, to cover all the stories and events in and around the Okehampton area. If you would like to see a copy, they will be distributed by the Royal Mail, to all addresses with EX20 1, 2 & 4 postcodes or in and around the town for free pick-up.

With a jam-packed year now almost at an end, I’m certainly looking forward to some time to relax with family and friends over the Christmas period. So from all the team, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Lizzie

Lizzie Watt - Editor

editorial@moorlinks.co.uk 01822 853110 The deadline for any inclusions in the Feb/March issue of Moor Links will be 6th January 2017.

We would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to our many local contributors for so kindly giving us their time and expertise and making our magazine so interesting to all.

See our new community website www.dartmoorlinks.co.uk

Some useful information about our magazines: • We now publish three magazine titles: Moor Links, Tavy Links and Oke Links • They are all FREE bi-monthly magazines (Feb/ March, April/May etc) • Just under 25,000 copies are distributed by the Royal Mail within our three areas, to every house and business address.

• All our magazines are written by local people, for local people. If you’d like to be a contributor, please get in touch, we’d love to hear from you!

• A minimum of 60% editorial content – always ensuring a ‘really good local read’.

• Several 1000s of copies are also placed within local Doctors, Dentists, Libraries, Pubs and Supermarkets etc. – for general pick up.

• Our community website - dartmoorlinks.co.uk.

See all our magazine stories, local news, blogs, weather and a fully comprehensive What’s On listing. Our handy Business Directory lists all our local businesses and services. Updated daily !

If you would like to ADVERTISE your businesscontact Tim, Jane or Victoria on 01822 615627 or 07450 161 929 Email: advertising@moorlinks.co.uk Website: www.dartmoorlinks.co.uk Please note that the opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the editorial team.

We have done our utmost to ensure that all the content is correct and accurate at the time of print, but we emphasise that Moor Links or Olijam Communications Ltd accepts no responsibility for any mistakes or omissions. All data contained in advertisements are subject to the Advertising Standards Authority guidelines and are accepted by us in good faith at the time of going to press. Reproduction of editorial is strictly prohibited without prior permission from the publisher.

All rights reserved copyright © 2016

Moorly is o we’ve sp ut and about an d otted him througho 8 ut the m times a g Can you a spot him zine. too?

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INSIDE THIS ❤ ISSUE...

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CONTENTS

. Tavy

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20

EDUCATION

26

HEALTH & BEAUTY

30

GARDENING

40

WHAT’S ON

56

MUSIC & ART

64

DOGWALK

06 VILLAGE NEWS

Princetown Youth Club, Roborough Common with DPA and much more….

LOCAL PEOPLE

Some of our talented and entrepreneurial, local artisans: From an artist, a local pottery and an award winning wool product.

13

18 CHARITY FOCUS

A vital fund-raising time of year for Children’s Hospice South West.

You’re never too old or too young to learn! Rebecca has some great suggestions for alternative learning.

The importance of Dementia Research and how to get involved.

Sue Fisher suggests some useful places to visit for some garden ‘sculpture’ ideas, along with some top gardening tips for winter.

A full listing guide to events throughout December and January and a NEW full programme guide to Tavistock’s Wharf.

The Stannary Brass Band and music from Mount Kelly Choral Society Angus and Sennen headed over to Plymbridge Woods for a slightly less muddy walk than usual!

38 FEATURE

We spend a year following the progress of the famous garland at Cotehele – from preparation to final hanging.

See our new community website www.dartmoorlinks.co.uk

66

HISTORY

The hidden stories and treasures that make Sheepstor Church a wonderful place to visit and worship.

5

VILLAGE NEWS

Princetown Pavilion Youth Club – Re-opened I’ve just received a £2,000 gas and electricity bill for payments going back two years. I’m not sure if I owe this money - what should I do?

The first thing you should do is work out whether your energy supplier has made a mistake.

Your supplier may have the wrong meter reading or your meter may not be working properly. They may even have sent you someone else’s bill. Take a meter reading then call your supplier to discuss your bill.

If your supplier hasn’t sent you an accurate bill for more than a year, they shouldn’t ask you to pay for more than 12 months’ usage. This is the ‘back-billing’ principle, which applies to all suppliers.

If you think your supplier is at fault but they are still trying to charge you for energy used more than 12 months ago, make a complaint. They should look into your case and provide an explanation.

You may find that your supplier has billed you for the right amount and they are not at fault, particularly if you haven’t provided regular or accurate meter readings. In this case you will probably have to pay some or all of the money. If you don’t think you can afford to pay all at once, ask for a repayment plan. Tell your supplier how much you can afford each month. Be ready to give details of your income and regular spending. You may find it helpful to send them this information in writing too.

If you feel that you need further advice or help negotiating with your supplier, get in touch with the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 040 506 or pop into your local office.

For the most up-to-date advice, please visit: www.citizensadvice.org.uk pop into your local office or call Adviceline on 03444 111 444 Tavistock Citizens Advice (Kingdon House) Mon, Weds, Fri 10am-2pm www.ruraldevoncab.org.uk

The Princetown Pavilion Youth Club was reopened in 2013 following 2 years of closure as local authority funding was reduced. A local Management Committee, Chaired by Cllr Wendy Stones, developed a partnership with ‘One Step Beyond’ CiC, a professional youth organisation, to re-establish activities for children and young people in this most isolated community.

Over 3 years, the club established a number of activities in response to the requests of the young people. A clear creative theme became evident, with music as a real passion for many of the members, who put forward the idea of a dedicated music project.

In June this year, we were successful in obtaining grants from both ‘The People’s Health Trust’ and the ‘Youth Music Trust’ totalling £78,000 with funding provided to develop a broader range of music interests over the next 2 years. The money enabled us to refurbish some existing instruments and equipment plus purchase new keyboards, guitars, piano and sound system, allowing more young people to learn and perform music. The money will also pay for specialist music tutors and youth support workers to help develop the project and encourage a wider group of young people to explore their creativity, attend music performances, organise and take part in local events.

The youth club also runs a range of other activities, creative arts and crafts, indoor games and has a small computer suite. The other very popular activity is our ‘Moor to Mouth’ programme, teaching young people about growing their own food and how to prepare and cook it. Each week a group work out a new recipe and produce a meal for all those who attend. This element of the programme has also been supported by ‘The Big Lottery Awards 4 All’ and is currently a finalist in the ‘Tesco Bags of Help’ competition. See us in Tavistock Tesco!

For further information or to get involved in these new exciting projects, please contact: Jo Potter, Senior Youth Worker, at the club or email: princetownyouthclub@yahoo.co.uk

Copyright Torridge, North, Mid and West Devon Citizens Advice.

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MUSIC & ART

VILLAGE NEWS

A Goodfrom YearBuckland for Tavy Tars Notes Monachorum Parish Council Tavy Tars are a group of nine singers and musicians based in ‘Green’ Burials Bere Ferrers, whose repertoire is based on sea shanties and songs of the sea.

The Parish Council has been asked to consider allocating

a partTars of the BucklandatCemetery for ‘green burials’.

The performed John Lewis in Oxford StreetThese for burials are Christmas for those who wish toPlymouth be buried Pirate in a more natural last year’s shoppers, weekend, surrounding and withoutShanty the more formal Plymouth headstoneSeafood or other Falmouth International Festival, marks identifying the burial plot.

A possible siteAnother for such burials Festival plus various Seasalt shop openings. might be part of the already planned cemetery extension.

The PC highlight was, for the second year running, singing on the would be interested to hear from parish residents on whether Scillonian to Scilly and back as an RNLI fundraiser-and yes it this would be a welcomed facility. was rolly!

Better Broadband To celebrate their 10th anniversary, Tars recorded a new CD last that released ‘Take Me Someautumn time ago wewas asked if thosethis whospring. had a Called poor broadband in Your (less Lifeboat’ thewould title track of the album, sales service than after 2Mb/s) be interested in joining a from community improve things.

TheRNLI take up in single the CD havescheme alreadytoraised £530 for the andwas a cheque figures and sopresented the proposal no further.

It was interesting was recently onwill the go RNLI’s Plymouth lifeboat.

The to note that most parts of the Parish already have ‘reasonable’ album is available from any member of the Tars, through the broadband (Milton Combe, which until hadAmazon one of the Tar’s website www.tavytars.co.uk, or recently iTunes and poorer services now has a fibre connected cabinet as do many downloads. parts of Yelverton and Crapstone).

The Tars have also done many local events and if you would like to book Field them, contact details are on their website as are Crapstone links to videos of them performing.

We also asked if residents of Crapstone could come up with ideas for a better use for the Parish owned field Mike in Crapstone Grimshaw (at the bottom of the Stonemoor Estate). To date no ideas have come forward but it’s not too late! So if you would like something done with the field, do let us know.

Business Sponsorship Finally, a local business has approached the Parish Council with the idea of ‘sponsoring’ the bus shelter by the war memorial at Crapstone. This would involve ‘smartening’ it up and possibly providing some planting. We already have a ‘sponsored’ roundabout at Yelverton which helps with the cost of maintaining it in good shape. If other businesses or organisations would like to know more about these schemes, again, just get in touch.

If you would like to comment on any of the above, please get in touch with the Parish Clerk (email: clerk@bmpc.info) Photo courtesy of Barry Perrins (RNLI)

Dartmoor Park Consultation Walkstock National 2015 Saturday Issues for the28th NewFebruary Local Plan

Having thefirst datestep of Walkstock February) We are posted taking the in reviewing(28th Dartmoor’s localonplan.

Facebook, we had 42 people saying they were ‘joining’ The local plan is the starting point when we make a decision on within the application first few hours some were a planning in theand National Park. even discussing babysitters!

Bearing in mind this was 4 months the We have a current local plan for Dartmoor, but a lotbefore has changed event, it shows how keen people are on Walkstock.

If you since it was produced. haven’t about it, us explain: for It isresidents, a fundraising This firstheard consultation is let an opportunity event for the Walkhampton Preschool, but is for the adults communities, visitors, businesses and other organisations to (and older teens.)

Local bands play to an overwhelmingly offer views on how the new local plan should guide future appreciative For most it is the development crowd. on Dartmoor.

Theband localmembers plan will cover issues such highlight of their gigging year.

The bands are Fallenbuildings, Cedarsas; house extensions, design, the environment, listed with original material and covers, this is a very talented housing, business, farming, tourism, quarrying, and land forfive development.

piece (nowlike with an excellent drummer), Longfaces (originally We would everyone interested in Dartmoor’s future to tell us named The Cashiers) this band does classic rock/pop covers what is important about Dartmoor for them. to really get the party going. Last but not least, Threes a Please visit our web site to view or download our consultation Crowd- 3 young lads whose witty covers of unlikely pop paper, where you will see a number of ‘Talking Points’ we would songs keep any crowd thoroughly entertained. like you to comment on. You can also join us on Twitter @ DartmoorPlan or facebook/DartmoorPlan.

Venue: Walkhampton Memorial Hall Date:closing February 7.30-11.30on this consultation is the The date28th for comments Tickets: £8 available Woodgate (details by emailing 16th December 2016. from If youPat have any questions about the consultation or the local plan review,Bring or would discuss poshpat@live.com) Other details: your like owntodrink. some the issues, do contact Fancyofdress theme please (optional) come asus.anything beginning with the letter ‘T’.

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VILLAGE NEWS

Filling the Gap Plymouth to Princetown cycling route Most of the spectacular Princetown Railway path has been operated by Dartmoor National Park for many years and the bridge at Peekhill was replaced by the County Council last year under the Granite and Gears programme. However there is currently a gap between the Drakes Trail at Yelverton and Dousland (http://www. exploredevon.info/activities/cycle/drakes-trail-3/)

To Princetown

Peekhill Bridge

To Tavistock

Discussions with the local community have been held to design a suitable scheme that, if built, will help connect the Princetown Railway to Drakes Trail and Plymouth, making a very attractive addition to Devon’s growing rural network of cycle trails for families to enjoy.

Dousland

Yelverton

Proposed Scheme Drake’s Trail NCN 27

As well as utilising the existing National Cycle Network, initial plans for the route include a combination of quiet roads and the former railway and embankment east of Yelverton, which would avoid the busy B3212. Every effort is being taken to ensure that the route can be safely promoted as a cycle route and to minimise visual impacts on properties, seeking to utilise low cuttings and banks.

To Plymouth

Preparatory work on this scheme is ongoing, although there is no set timetable as its progress depends on the outcome of investigations and future funding applications.

“If built, this route will provide further improvements to the cycle access to Dartmoor with visitors and locals, including families, enjoying a spectacular day of cycling through dramatic moorland landscapes, almost entirely off road and downhill from Princetown all the way to Plymouth.”

The map shows the most promising bypass route being Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council’s Cabinet investigated.

Member responsible for Highway Management, said: “The Granite and Gears project is making it possible to achieve extensive improvements to the cycling infrastructure across the Engineering Design Group Princetown Railway Route Development Dartmoor area, and the investment will deliver substantial longYelverton to Princetown Yelverton to Dousland term benefits to the economy.

Do not scale from this drawing in either hard or electronic format. No responsibility is accepted where this

© Crown Copyright and database right 2014. Ordnance Survey 100019783 drawing is used in circumstances

JOB

Matford Offices County Hall Topsham Road Exeter EX2 4QD

Tel. Fax

DRAWING TITLE

0845 155 1004 01392 382342

other than that for which it was originally prepared and issued.

designer drawn

Graham Cornish Jane Oliver

scale(s)

customer@devon.gov.uk www.devon.gov.uk

Dwg. No.

date

October 2016

Not to Scale

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VILLAGE NEWS

Rediscovering secrets of Roborough Common with DPA

Butterfly work day on Roborough Common: Jenny Plackett (Butterfly Conservation) briefing DPA volunteers

Dartmoor Preservation Association (DPA) conservation volunteers have been improving two breeding ground sites for rare, endangered butterflies - the Marsh Fritillary, the High Brown Fritillary and the Heath Fritillary for the “Two Moors Endangered Butterflies Project” with Butterfly Conservation project officer, Jenny Plackett. The valuable work has involved removing invasive Alder buckthorn as well as encroaching gorse and bramble, to maintain a good feeding environment for the caterpillars.

DPA volunteers have also been busy this autumn clearing stretches of Devonport Leat near Yelverton. The DPA blog recounts: “I am always amazed at how efficient this team is …

The “recce” a few days ago indicated that there were brambles enough for all [but we] cleared the whole section with ease – then foregathering at the Rock Inn for a well-earned debriefing session!”

The Elizabethan Drake’s Leat, completed in 1591, once brought water into Plymouth and was a business venture with a fine Act of Parliament containing several conditions for building it, none of which were met. There was no mention of water for the people, the water was to drive mills along the way, several

of which were leased from the Corporation by Drake! The Georgian Devonport Leat, completed in 1801, was built after Plymouth refused to share their water with the growing town of Devonport. Part of it still supplies Burrator Reservoir. Both leats can be seen across the road from Roborough Rock, from where they run to the western end of the Common.

The ‘dry’ leats became overgrown with gorse, bramble and hawthorn and since 2007 they have been cleared by the Dartmoor Preservation Association, the second oldest environmental group in the country, founded in 1883 and looking to Dartmoor’s well-being for 133 years. Nowadays, DPA looks over the National Park Authority’s shoulder as a critical friend.

Conservation work is done by volunteers who regard it as a free ‘green gym’, doing as much or as little as they can. They do not have to be members of the DPA and new faces are always welcome – why not give it a try?

Details can be found at www.dartmoorpreservation.co.uk/ under Conservation, Volunteering, Events and Blog. Email: info@ dartmoorpreservation.co.uk. Tel. 01855 890646.

DPA work party at Devonport Leat

DPA introduces new short walks Dartmoor Preservation Association is introducing free, short guided walks each month, starting on 25th January. They will be just two hours in length, walking about three miles. They are designed for members and their friends who feel they cannot join the longer walks that the Association has offered for many years. They will start at 10.00 am and following the walk, there will be an optional lunch at a local hostelry -- the lunches are not included! It is hoped that in this way, that they can introduce new walkers to the pleasures of the moor in a safe manner, or attract older walkers who no longer undertake strenuous

See our new community website www.dartmoorlinks.co.uk

walks, or walkers who do not want to venture out on their own.

The walks will start from easy-to-reach car parks, not too far from Plymouth and Tavistock, and will be on ground that is not difficult, often following established tracks. So, if you would like to try the delights of Dartmoor walking, why not come along and give it a ‘go’?

Visit www.dartmoorpreservation.co.uk for more details Email: info@dartmoorpreservation.co.uk or Tel: 01855 890646

9

VILLAGE NEWS

Rotary Clubs of Tavistock and Yelverton - Autumn Round-Up Throughout the autumn, Yelverton and Tavistock Rotary Clubs have hardly stopped. It’s been an incredibly busy few months.

The Hurricane Matthew disaster in Haiti, saw a quick reaction and response with collecting on behalf of ShelterBox at Morrisons, but perhaps even more impressive, two youngsters Lily Mitchell and Siena Critchley baked and sold cakes. No praise is too high for these young girls – well done!

Tavistock Club was 70 years old this October and, on Halloween, we celebrated at the Bedford Hotel. Club President Catherine Bailey welcomed the Mayor of Tavistock, Rotary District Governor Elect George Eamer, Rotarians from throughout the country and their guests. Referring to the speech made by the Club’s Founder President in 1946, Catherine was certain that in the past 70 years, Tavistock Rotary has achieved what the original members had hoped for and more. She told the audience of almost 80 guests, “We may be a club in a small town – a bantamweight in Rotary – but, over the years, we’ve packed the punch of a heavyweight. Looking to the future, I genuinely believe that through co-operation, we can achieve even more than we have in the past 70 years.”

Throughout the autumn, the Tavistock Club have also been selling crocuses to raise money to eradicate polio. The Bill and

Melinda Gates Foundation will treble our contribution, so every bag of crocus corms sold for £2 will immunise 30 children against Polio. The two clubs are planning a mass crocus planting at Princetown.

The Sensory Garden in the Meadows is also coming forward at a rate of knots. The work started on October 31st. Our ‘Buy a Brick’ campaign, at £35 per brick, is a fantastic way of commemorating peoples’ support for this wonderful project.

As we look forward, we will be helping Santa Claus when he visits. Throughout December, we will be accompanying him as he visits Tavistock, Princetown, Horrabridge, Crapstone, Buckland, Dousland and Walkhampton. He will also be found outside Morrisons and Tesco in Tavistock and at Yelverton and Bedford Square. All money raised will go to local charities and good causes.

As we did last year, the Tavistock Club will be proud to help CHICKS children’s Charity with their Santa Sprint on December 10th. Hundreds of people, all dressed in their free Santa outfits, will run, jog, walk, hop, skip, dance and generally have fun on a 1.5 mile course around Tavistock.

This year, Tavistock Rotary Club is also organising the annual Christmas Day Lunch at the Tavistock United Reform Church.

This is the first time that we have been involved in this amazing event and we look forward to working with the existing volunteers who have been doing this for many years and to meeting the many people who will be spending Christmas Day with us.

If you are interested in joining one of your local clubs, or supporting Purple for Polio or the Sensory Garden, please contact Graham Parker at grahamparker1@me.com

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VILLAGE NEWS

Mass Otter Release Planned on Dartmoor for Summer 2017 Dartmoor National Park are seeking sponsors for a new public art initiative The Chinese zodiac may say rooster but on Dartmoor, 2017 is set to be the year of the otter, as Dartmoor National Park launches a new public arts initiative to celebrate the incredible diversity of habitats and wildlife on the Moor and raise important funds to enhance visitor experiences and protect these amazing natural wonders.

Why otters? It may not seem the most obvious fit with Dartmoor but in reality, otters have a long history with the National Park and it currently provides an important stronghold for the globally threatened and protected species. Otters use Dartmoor’s rivers but also venture on to other habitats including Dartmoor’s blanket bogs where they search for food.

‘Moor Otters’ will be a series of 100 unique pieces of art that will be displayed in accessible public areas around Dartmoor and the gateway towns during the summer of 2017. Each threefoot tall resin otter sculpture will be designed and decorated by

See our new community website www.dartmoorlinks.co.uk

a different artist, and will portray the artist’s own interpretations of wildlife and conservation issues.

Visitors to Dartmoor will be encouraged to explore the trail between June and September next year, with a dedicated website and trail map available. The artworks will then be auctioned off at live and online auctions.

The project aims to raise £100,000 through business sponsorship and sales, which will be used for projects to conserve and enhance Dartmoor’s landscape and wildlife, as well as improve access for everybody. The money will also help develop Dartmoor’s Young Ranger programme, which supports educational access and engages young people in conservation projects, creating the conservationists of the future.

Businesses interested in sponsoring an otter should contact Dave Southern on 07491 925157 or email dave@moorotters. co.uk.

11

VILLAGE NEWS

Looking Forward Heritage Project at Burrator The Project has been an exemplar in terms of the levels of community consultation, activity and engagement, as well as keeping us up to date and informed throughout its progress (One of our funders) South West Lakes Trust have reached the end of the three year Burrator Historic and Natural Environment Project. To recognise all that has been achieved the charity held an end of Project Celebration Event on Thursday 22 September, to which everyone who had been involved in it, from funders and contractors to work experience organisations, volunteering groups and families, were invited. Some of the families attending had come to our very first wildlife watch sessions in 2013! Over 150 people attended, spending time looking over the extensive photo displays showing the projects journey, along with taking part in activities of bird box making, marshmallow toasting, tea drinking, cake eating, bat detecting, and we also used the opportunity to use our cob oven for the first time, which had been made last autumn by our volunteers, and the mini pizzas went down a treat!

Many people also naturally asked what will happen next as the funding has come to an end? Well the good news is earlier this summer our SWLT Trustees made the decision that they would like to continue the Community and Engagement post here at Burrator permanently, funded through the charity’s trading arm, due to its success in community engagement and the projects’ invaluable role in achieving the charity’s aims of conservation, education and access.

This is amazing news and I would like to personally say a massive thank you to everyone that has supported the Project, because without which none of this would have been achieved!

Emily Cannon Burrator Heritage Learning Office

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LOCAL PEOPLE

Doreen Gardner and Tony Smither Pottery in the form of garden sculpture comes to life as Lawn Sheep and Hens, being displayed at prestigious events such as Hampton Court Palace and Chelsea Flower Show Doreen Gardner and Tony Smither started to make pottery professionally when Doreen retired from her post of Senior Lecturer in Ceramics at the University of St. Mark & St. John (Marjon) and Tony graduated Orchard Pottery was started in 1980. The name is derived from the fact that the property stands on what was one of the many orchards on the Bere peninsula. The partners have made a variety of work since then, but for the last twenty years have concentrated on the design and production of sculptural animals and designer pots for the contemporary home and garden. All their products are frostproof.

Often when we think of pottery, we imagine a potter working at his wheel ‘throwing’ pots and turning a wobbly, unrecognisable lump of clay into something beautiful. Doreen and Tony use a wide variety of methods to make their sculpture.

Small pieces are ‘slip-cast’ using plaster of Paris moulds filled with ‘slip’ (a mixture of clay and water) that is left in the mould for an hour and then drained to leave a ‘skin´of clay. Larger Lawn Sheep and Hens are ‘press moulded’ where sheets of clay (like pastry) are laid into plaster moulds. Doreen specialises in making large vessels by the ‘coiling’ method. It looks very much like rolling pastry into long, sausage shapes, which are then pressed layer upon layer onto a clay base and then worked into the desired shape. The glaze is sprayed on and the colours can be affected by manipulating the firing. Some pieces are

hand painted before being fired. So what starts out as a rather nondescript piece of clay becomes a very attractive and unique sculpture.

So, where can Doreen’s and Tony’s art be found? They don’t sell from home or have a showroom. Instead, they exhibit at shows up and down the country and in galleries. They first exhibited in the Tavistock Pannier Market, before moving on to trade shows in Torquay and then Birmingham NEC where shops and galleries started to buy their work.

When the animal sculptures were first developed it seemed logical to exhibit at garden shows. Eventually Doreen and Tony were showing at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and the Chelsea Flower Show. Though they can be profitable, these shows are a logistical nightmare with everything having to be built from scratch on a bare plot. The breakdown at the end of Chelsea is particularly stressful, exhibitors even needing a police escort to keep them in order as they cross Battersea Bridge at the end of a very long day.

Their work is increasingly to be seen in garden sculpture exhibitions at Delamore House, (Cornwood), Mythic Garden (Chagford) and RHS Rosemoor (Torrington).

Devon outlets for their work include the Dartington Cider Press, the National Trust Shop at Widdecombe and their website (www.orchardpottery.com). An exhibition date for your diary – The Winter Sculpture Exhibition, RHS Rosemoor Gardens, Torrington from November until February.

Doreen Gardner and Lizzie Spiers

See our new community website www.dartmoorlinks.co.uk

13

LOCAL PEOPLE

Jade Bryant Despite on-going difficulties with her sight, her passion for art has only continued to grow and has recently become an essential lifeline.

By the time Jade was four she would sit and draw for hours at a time, in fact she spent so much time engrossed in the activity that the vision in her left eye started to deteriorate, so that as a child she often had to wear one lens of her glasses covered to strengthen the other eye. Despite on-going difficulties with her sight, her passion for art has only continued to grow and has recently become an essential lifeline.

Jade grew up in Horrabridge and remembers spending a lot of her childhood writing stories and creating artwork, so when she left school it seemed an obvious choice to move onto Plymouth College of Art, where she studied for a year, before securing a place to study literature at the University of St Mark & St John.

It was at this point that everything began to unravel as anxiety issues started to take over her life, preventing her from sitting in a room full of people and forcing her to withdraw from lectures.

She battled on, trying to keep up with the workload through private study, but eventually decided to leave at the end of the first year, feeling let down by the education system.

Jade was diagnosed with a severe dual personality disorder, BPD (borderline personality disorder) and ASPD (antisocial personality disorder). She entered the mental health system but still felt that she was dealing with everything on her own while

To Wed Or Not To Wed? Latest figures released by the Office of National Statistics reveal that there has been a decline in the number of couples deciding to marry with an increase in people preferring to just to live together. With a 4% decrease in marriage rates over the last 13 years and a 3% increase in people cohabiting during that same period, there is suggestion that this is a modern trend which is only likely to be more and more popular.

It is common for people to think that when couples are not married, a separation may be more straight forward to achieve. However, legally, there is a significant lack of protection for cohabiting couples when they separate which can often lead to complicated disputes when it comes to dividing property and assets.

Although married couples have wide protection from legislation called the Matrimonial Causes Act, there is no such legislation which assists to protect couples who live together in the event of a separation.

Cohabiting couples faced with a relationship breakdown instead have to turn to the rules under Civil Law which can prove to be complicated and at times, expensive.

Resolving a relationship breakdown when you are not married can be difficult and there may not be clear evidence about ownership of assets. For example, one person may own a property in their name only but the other person may have made significant financial contributions to the property whilst living there. There may be dispute about the extent of those contributions; how they give one person an interest in the property and how that legal interest may be quantified.

There may also be children of the relationship whose needs need to be Wolferstans your local legal family considered. Separation can sometimes initially lead to the non legal owner experts, here for you when you need us finding themselves homeless, as they may not realise what rights they have.

The legal protection hasn’t yet caught up with this trend of living together without being married and there is no immediate plan for the Government to change this.

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her name progressed up the waiting lists, and that there was no real support available. She turned back to her first passion and lost herself in her art: “art gave me the power to paint my pain, and painting that pain, giving my illness a face, gave me clarity and understanding of my own mental health, better than any therapist ever had at the time. Essentially, it helped me find my core personality again.”

Jade then met Charlotte Farhan, Managing Director of Art Saves Lives International (ASLI) through an online group for BPD Support and she featured Jade’s artwork and mental health story in the ASLI online magazine. Jade was later invited to join the ASLI team and now works as Arts and Mental Health Campaigner and Feature Writer for the charity, helping to support people with mental health issues by sharing her experiences and encouraging them to use art to express emotions they may find hard to voice. She also uses her art and feature articles to raise awareness of the difficulties and stigma faced by people dealing with mental health issues.

See our new community website www.dartmoorlinks.co.uk

Although Jade studied art at school her current level of expertise is largely self-taught; she enjoys working in a number of mediums but is most comfortable when she is experimenting with delicate watercolours. There is nothing watered down about her courageous art though, with subjects such as Anger, Tension, Longing and Acceptance. Yet her love of nature and animals means she is equally at home creating gentle watercolours of animals in abstract colourings for a series of mental health ‘wellness cards’. Jade does not claim to have all the answers yet, but she has proved that art self-therapy can work and is full of ideas to help ease the lives of other people dealing with mental health issues while seeking to promote a wider understanding of those issues in the community.

You can see more of Jade’s artwork at her online shop or Facebook page: http://jadebryantartwork.bigcartel.com/ https://www.facebook.com/jadebryantartwork/ Rosemary Best

15

LOCAL PEOPLE

Kim Stead The inspiration behind ‘twool’ – an artisan product growing in awards and popularity!

Five years ago Kim Stead had a frustrating day in the garden attempting to rescue battered runner beans and raspberry canes after the twine she had used to tie them up with had rotted and come loose. Telling her sorry tale to a local farmer she asked why there isn’t a better alternative, was wool an effective option? It has been a steep learning curve, but Kim is now the successful owner of twool, a unique sustainable product made in Devon, from the wool of the rare breed Whiteface Dartmoor sheep.

Kim was born in Plymouth and trained in Graphic Design at the Plymouth College of Art and Design. She moved to London in her twenties and went on to forge a successful career with respected companies such as Conrans, Rodney Fitch and Peter Murdoch Designs, eventually heading up her own company.

After the birth of daughter Charlotte, she and her husband left the urban lifestyle behind and relocated to rural Devon.

After the initial idea for using wool as an eco-friendly British alternative to jute, Kim undertook a course at Coldharbour Mill to learn about the many processes in wool manufacture. She discovered that the long lustre wool from the local Whiteface Dartmoor sheep has a long staple length, the perfect natural material for creating a versatile, durable yarn.

Within six months Kim had sourced a small team of heritage craftspeople to help work the raw wool fleece. After shearing, the wool is scoured (cleaned) then carded (combed), spun and dyed. After which it can be spooled before weaving. Kim has worked closely with British companies who have all collaborated on each stage in the development of twool. “They are all experts in their field and it would have been foolish not to seek their advice”.

With nothing to lose, she sent a sample of twool to the RHS and received an order along with affirmation that this was a viable product. Kim went into full time production and was soon receiving orders from local garden centres and artisan companies. She was encouraged to enter a stand at RHS

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Chelsea Flower show in 2012 sponsored by the British wool marketing board. Kim was delighted to have been a finalist in Chelsea’s “Product of the Year” competition and has continued to be shortlisted three years running.

Kim is now very busy. Her beautiful bags have been taken up by Waitrose and she now supplies 15 local branches. She is in talks with a Dutch company who want to use her twine to enhance their garden hand tools and is currently pitching a concept to the RNIB to create their new line of dog leads. She has created a beautiful selection of coloured twine with a matching selection of heritage variety seeds and her recent feature on BBC’s Countryfile has increased the demand for twool - especially dog leads!

twool it seemed came from nowhere, at a time that was neither particularly convenient nor expected. “The lightbulb moment was the easiest thing, making it commercial has taken hard work.” Kim and her husband have had to make sacrifices and have taken a leap of faith, but Kim is determined to make a success of this product she believes in. “Our hope is twool will be a modern day thread linking sheep and wool in a commercial marketplace and be a potential life-line for this rare breed sheep.”

For more information call 01364 654467 or email on: info@ twool.co.uk Nichola Williams

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If you lose the mental capacity to make decisions, your family is not automatically entitled to deal with your affairs unless you have prepared a Lasting Power of Attorney.

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17

CHARITY FOCUS

Children’s Hospice South West Children’s Hospice South West is now in its 25th year of providing hospice care for children with lifelimiting conditions, and making the most of short and precious lives. Christmas is an important fundraising time of year for the charity.

Little Harbour - St Austell

Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW) was founded by Eddie Farwell and his late wife, Jill, after they became carers for their two life-limited children, Katie and Tom, who had been diagnosed with a rare degenerative disorder. The mental and physical toll of caring was immense and when they had the chance to visit the only Children’s Hospice in the world, Helen House, five hours away in Oxford, they realised what a wonderful resource it provided, allowing them to recharge their batteries and simply enjoy time with their family.

They started to form the idea of establishing a children’s hospice in the South West, so that hundreds of families in the same situation in the West Country could also benefit from a welcome break. By the end of 1990 they had formed a committee with a small band of friends and applied for charitable status. After several years of campaigning, fundraising and hard work, Little Bridge House opened in North Devon in 1995. Sadly, Jill was diagnosed with cancer and passed away in 2004. Eddie gave up work to concentrate on Children’s Hospice South West and took over as CEO, opening Charlton Farm in North Somerset in 2007

18

and Little Harbour in mid Cornwall in 2011. As a result, there is now a children’s hospice within 1½ hours for all families in the South West.

CHSW provides hospice care for children with life-limiting conditions, as well as their family, with available care ranging from respite and short breaks to emergency care, palliative care and end-of-life care. There is no charge to families for the care offered and the ethos of the hospices revolves around enriching the lives of children and all the members of their family, rather than just providing medical and nursing care. In fact, the main priority is making sure everyone can relax and have fun using amazing facilities, such as the messy play room, a multi-sensory room with lights, sounds and textures to soothe and calm, a soft play area, a games room and a jacuzzi for relieving stiff joints and muscle spasm, as well as the beautiful grounds and a chance to share experiences with people who understand.

Children stay in bedrooms filled with their favourite books, toys and DVDs, while their families also have spacious homely

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accommodation. When parents are caring for a sick child it can often put quite a strain on other siblings, so there is even a dedicated sibling team to ensure brothers and sisters have a chance to play and enjoy themselves.

Families are usually referred to CHSW through their care provider, although they can also self-refer. Some families visit regularly over a number of years staying three to four times per year at their nearest hospice, whereas some children might only stay in a hospice at end of life or for emergency care. However, all the families seem to be unanimous in their praise for the home-from-home atmosphere, the wonderful facilities and above all the dedicated staff who provide nursing care but are also there just to listen and support families at all times. The Children’s Hospice experience allows families a chance to draw breath and spend time together, enjoying activities they will never forget and can put in their ‘treasure chest’ of memories for a time when they no longer have their much-loved child or children.

Little Bridge House - Barnstaple

CHSW is funded almost entirely by voluntary donations. If you would like to make a real difference to children in the South West living with life-limiting conditions, then there are many ways to help. You could make a donation to the Christmas appeal, become a volunteer, join a Friends group and help with fundraising or shop online for Christmas gifts, cards, calendars and diaries. Alternatively, you could take part in ‘Santas on the Run’ - adults, children and even family pets dress up as Santa for a festive 2k run in Launceston (see website for other locations) on Sunday 11th Dec at 11am.

Rosemary Best

For more details visit http://www.chsw.org.uk/ or contact 01271 325 270 To make a donation text CHSW44, followed by the amount, to 70070 See our new community website www.dartmoorlinks.co.uk

19

EDUCATION

Going Rural with Your Skills Devon Rural Skills Trust I met with the inspirational Maxine McAdams to talk about changing her life dramatically from one sat in a windowless broadcasting room to one full of physical work outside creating ‘walls of art’ after taking part in a dry stone walling training scheme with the Devon Rural Skills Trust.

The Beginning After many years working in broadcast journalism for the BBC, Maxine wanted to undo the 4am starts and days inside a dim studio by getting outside and learning in the countryside during her limited spare time. Having grown up on Dartmoor, she decided that it would be exciting and rewarding to learn about the old traditional skills used in the countryside and contacted the Devon Rural Skills Trust. She applied for a free training course in dry stone walling with the trust which included 18 months of training of one-to-one sessions and Saturday courses.

Fast forward 18 months and she had left her repetitive and unsociable desk life for one of the outdoors, teams, physical

work and a new ‘life is too short’ attitude.

Devon Rural Skills Trust The trust was set up in 1980 because it was obvious that the use of important and traditional rural skills was dying out. Many old family traditions were no longer being passed on the next generation and it seemed these skills would slowly become extinct. To preserve these, the trust was created to ensure the methods were continued. They offer a variety of courses including: hedge-laying, stone-walling, charcoal making stoning and green wood working.

People from all walks of life are able to join trainee schemes and one-off Saturday courses to learn about the old traditional methods of the countryside. For many it gives them the opportunity to complete projects at home and preserve the history of their own properties; for others it can create a completely different career path or enjoyable pass-time.

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EDUCATION

The Benefits Having met Maxine, it is easy to see the health benefits of the outdoors. She feels the connection to the seasons and environment benefits people physically and mentally, as it is the natural way our bodies function so you genuinely feel happier.

Adults become more confident as they learn the skills which gives an alternate and useful hobby for people in the outdoors.

However, for Maxine, most of all, it is the satisfaction of seeing something come together like a work of art and changing something from chaos to being tamed.

people compete to create the best Devonian hedge. They need a good stretch of hedge and ample parking on one site. They continue to offer three trainee schemes a year and perhaps after reading this, it may be you!

Anyone interested in learning new rural skills or finding out more about the trust, can go onto the website at www.drst.org.uk.

Rebecca Martin Exciting Education

The Future The trust continues to grow but sites are needed for courses throughout the year and special events. For example, in October they have their popular hedge-laying competition where 50-60

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21

EDUCATION

Autumn Family Fun at Burrator We’ve had an action packed season, especially as there is so much to see in autumn!

During the half term holiday, we held another family drop in day following on from the success of our August programme.

A staggering 146 people attended and learnt how to make conker people, cook bannock over the fire, enjoy pumpkin soup and create some amazing wild art, including a free standing giraffe!

At the end of October as part of our monthly family wildlife watch programme, families took part in an autumnal scavenger hunt, made leaf crowns, animals and dens, and learnt how to make apple juice.

Finally on Monday 31 October, we held our annual ‘Spooktacular’ event in partnership with DNPA. The evening started with a night walk to Lowery Barn, then lots of traditional Halloween fun, making ghost and bat mobiles, carving pumpkins, toasting marshmallows, and bobbing for apples, and finishing with spooky story telling by our very own Dartmoor Storyteller. I have to say the costumes get better and better every year!

See our website for all our forthcoming events over the winter here at Burrator: www.swlakestrust. org.uk

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EDUCATION

Princetown Primary School’s Perfect Pasty The Princetown Perfect Pasty Bake-off is a great example of school and community collaboration. The children from Princetown Primary School are being supported by Tavistock Rotary Club in a project to create a unique recipe for a pasty which personifies Princetown and can then be sold in local cafes.

New headmaster, Phil Whittley said: “We want this fun enterprise to help children understand the end-to-end process, from ingredients, to designing and baking the product and working out the price and business margin - so we are setting up links with the Duchy and local farming community, as well as local businesses.”

Phil Whittley has only been in the role for a few weeks but is already having a huge impact on the school with children now having opportunities to go swimming at Mount Kelly and join a

multitude of new clubs such as football, cricket, cookery, choir and is in the process of organising a yacht club. He has been seconded to work with the school to raise standards, enrich the curriculum and help the school create a framework for long-term sustainability. He has set about this by starting to forge links with many groups in both the Princetown and wider communities which promise to be extremely beneficial for the pupils on an ongoing basis.

Another initiative taking place on 1st February 2017 is the Aspirations Fair where children will have the opportunity to talk to local people about their work and the skill-set required for each profession. The school is looking for people from a wide variety of careers and trades so if you would like to get involved in helping to improve children’s life opportunities please email: head@princetown-primary.devon.sch.uk

Secondary school admissions round now open Despite increasing pupil numbers, Devon is still meeting 95 per cent of parents’ first choices for primary and secondary school places.

Parents in Devon are being reminded that the admissions round for primary schools, including moving from infant to junior schools, is now open.

The primary admissions round opened on November 1 and closes on Sunday, January 15 2017.

Cllr James McInnes, Devon County Council’s cabinet member with responsibility for education said: ‘We want every child to get a place at their designated school, but it’s important,

especially for schools that are popular with parents, that applications are made in a timely manner.

‘We work very closely with our school partners to try to maximise parental preferences, but unfortunately there are sometimes occasions when applications are received late and children have missed out on a place at their local school.’

For further information on how to apply, or if you are in any doubt whether you should be applying for a school place, visit the council’s website, http://devon.cc/admissions or contact the council’s admissions team on 0345 155 1019.

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23

KIDS WHAT'S ON BUCKLAND ABBEY

COTEHELE

FESTIVE FAMILY FELT

THE FATHER CHRISTMAS FAMILY TRAIL AT COTEHELE

4th, 11th, 20th, 21st and 22nd December, 11am-3pm Get ready for Christmas as Claire Packer from The Wet Felting Company arrives to help you create tree decorations, gifts and more.

Cost: £3 per child.

WINTER NATUREMAKE

Saturday 17th – Wednesday 21st December, 12noon-4pm Join the team from Naturemake as you turn unusual natural materials into winter wonderlands, reindeers, tree decorations and more.

Cost: £3 per person.

AN AUDIENCE WITH OLDE FATHER CHRISTMAS

Monday 19th to Friday 23rd December, various times.

Rediscover the Christmas magic as Olde Father Christmas invites you into the Great Hall for tales of Christmas past.

Cost: Adult £2.50, Child £4.50 (including a gift.)

WASSAIL

Sunday 8th January, 12noon-4pm Grab your bells, bring along your pots and pans and help the team from Buckland Abbey and Dartmoor Border Morris to make as much noise as possible to awaken the orchard and to wish them a bountiful new year.

Learn in our friendly and exciting indoor and outdoor environment, including access to the playpark, led by a qualified teacher and highly trained staff Walkhampton Memorial Hall Open Monday to Friday 8.30-1pm Children 2-4 year olds Parent/toddler time Friday mornings 9-11am

Playleader: Pat Woodgate 07981175487 www.walkhamptonpreschool.co.uk 24

Saturday 3rd - Saturday 24th December, 11am-3pm Follow the Father Christmas trail through the woods from reception to the Edgcumbe tea-room on Cotehele Quay, finding clues along the way and collect your Father Christmas biscuit at the end.

Dogs welcome.

Cost: free but normal admission charges apply.

LET’S WASSAIL AT COTEHELE

Saturday 17 December, 11.30am-12pm Come along for this pagan festival to scare away the evil spirits in the orchards and ensure a good harvest in 2017. Drums, kazoos and fancy dress encouraged.

Assistance dogs only, Cost: free, but normal admission prices apply.

AT HOME WITH MOTHER AND FATHER CHRISTMAS

Saturday 17th, Sunday 18th , Thursday 22nd , Friday, 23rd December, 1-3.30pm.

Come and meet Mother and Father Christmas in their grotto.

Cost: £3 per child (includes a gift) and normal admission charges apply

FESTIVE ART AND CRAFT FUN (WITH SPECIAL GUESTS)

Monday 19th - Wednesday 21st December, 1-3pm Have fun making art using garland flowers, glue and paper (free). Father Christmas and his helpers will be dropping in too Gifts for children available at £3 per gift.

Normal admission charges apply

HANNAH’S AT SEALEHAYNE HANNAH’S WINTER WONDERLAND

Friday 18th November – Friday 23rd December, 10am – 5pm.

For the first time ever, the Edwardian Quad at Hannah’s is being transformed into a Winter Wonderland, with a 15m x 20m

skating rink, a giant 50 foot snowman (with a bouncy castle in his stomach!), pop-up gift and food stalls, musical Christmas light shows and even regular snow showers. There will be a whole month of special events.

Visit their dedicated website at www. winterwonderland.org.uk for more information.

LATERN WORKSHOPS

Saturday 10th December, 10am-1pm and 2pm – 5pm.

Join Creation Myth Puppets Public to make lanterns for the Newton Abbot Town Council’s annual Great Puppet Lantern Parade on Wednesday 14 December (starting at 6pm).

CHRISTMAS AT PENNYWELL FARM Various times and days from 1st – 24th December.

Experience the Nativity story brought to life where every child can be a star performer in a magical setting with the animals looking on.

Booking is essential.

Contact them online at www. pennywellfarm.co.uk or phone 01364 642023

PLYMOUTH MUSEUM WILD ABOUT PLYMOUTH: CHRISTMAS STARS

Saturday 10 December, 10am to 12pm and 1pm to 3pm Get in the Christmas mood with specimens from the spirit collections including festive pickles, sea horses and star fish.

You can work with their guest artist to make yuletide decorations inspired by the natural world.

Mayflower Museum, Barbican Tourist Information Centre, Southside Street, The Barbican, Plymouth PL1 2LR Cost: Adults £3. Children £2 (5-16 years).

Under 5s go free.

Book now at www.wapstars.eventbrite. com

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KIDS WHAT'S ON WILD ABOUT PLYMOUTH: NATURAL HISTORY SCIENTISTS

Saturday 21 January, 10am to 12pm Go along for a quiz with a difference and a chance to see inside one of the labs at Plymouth University. They will be donning our lab coats and investigating some weird and wonderful animals, just like real scientists. Peer down a telescope, examine skeletons and more!

Davy Building, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA This event is suitable for children aged 5+.

Cost: Adults £3. Children £2 (5-16 years).

Under 5s go free.

Advance booking and payment by 13 January are essential.

Book now at www.wapscientists. eventbrite.com

SOUTH DEVON RAILWAY CAROLS DOWN THE LINE

Thursday 8th and Friday 9th December, 7pm.

Enjoy a festive train trip, singing carols at stations on the line, including complimentary tea or coffee and a mince pie. The train will leave for a trip to Totnes and back with carol singing on the train and at the stations at Totnes Littlehempston and Staverton. The Exeter Railway Band will provide the music at Buckfastleigh before the train departs and then at the other stations.

Booking essential. Call 01364 644370 or go to www.southdevonrailway.co.uk for more details.

Cost: £12 per person

SANTA BY STEAM

3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th December and daily from the 17th - 24th December, various times.

Father Christmas and all his elves will all be at the South Devon Raliway this December..

During your trip from Buckfastleigh to the North Pole, all the children go and see Father Christmas in his wonderful grotto to collect their Christmas present and enjoy a drink and a biscuit. The grown ups aren’t forgotten: there’s a warming glass of mulled wine or a non alcoholic alternative

and a mince pie for each of them.

Go online to book at: www. southdevonrailway.co.uk.

WHARF CINEMA FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

Friday 2nd December to Thursday 8th, various days and times.

Follow the adventures of writer Newt Scamander in New York’s secret community of witches and wizards seventy years before Harry Potter reads his book in school.

Cost: Adults 5.50; Under 16 4.50

MOANA

Saturday 17th December, 10.30 am.

A young woman uses her navigational talents to set sail for a fabled island.

Joining her on the adventure is her hero, the legendary demi-god Maui.

Cost: Adults 5.50; Under 16 4.50.

THE NUTCRACKER FROM THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE ENCORE

Sunday 18th December, 2pm.

Join the Wharf for this life production of the Nutcracker. A young girl’s enchanted present leads her on a wonderful adventure in this classic ballet, danced to Tchaikovsky’s glittering score Cost: Adult £15.00; Under 18s £12.50

THEATRE ROYAL PLYMOUTH THE EMPORER’S NEW CLOTHES

Tuesday 29th November, 1.30 pm Following sell out performances of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Stuff and Nonsense return to the Theatre Royal Plymouth with their latest production.

Inspired by the Muppets, Danny Kaye and good old family movies, this romp through a classic, eccentric tale tells the story of an Emperor who loves clothes more than anything. But there is a problem… despite a wardrobe the size of Paris, he’s run out of outfits and it’s his birthday tomorrow! He hasn’t got a stitch to wear!

Phone 01752 267222 or go to www. theatreroyal.com for more details.

See our new community website www.dartmoorlinks.co.uk

SNOW WHITE & THE SEVEN DWARFS Friday 16 December 2016-Saturday 14 January 2017, various times.

With star of television and Strictly Come Dancing Lesley Joseph and Blue pop sensation Duncan James leading a sensational cast, the Theatre Royal Plymouth’s pantomime will be the fairest of them all!

Phone 01752 267222 or go to www. theatreroyal.com for more details.

BURRATOR DISCOVERY CENTRE FAMILY WILDLIFE WATCH SESSION

Sunday 18 Dec, 10.30am-12.30pm Join the team at Burrator to make Christmas Woodland Crafts. Don’t forget wear your outdoor clothes.

Cost: £1 per person

FAMILY CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES

Tuesday 20 Dec, anytime between 10am4pm Children and adults can come along and join in the fun Christmas holiday activities.

Cost: £1 per person.

FAMILY WILDLIFE WATCH SESSION

Sunday 29th January, 10.30am-12.30pm.

Take part in the exciting session where all the family can learn more about the birds around us. Remember your outdoor clothes.

Cost: £1 per person

To find out about...

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HEALTH & BEAUTY

Matching Volunteers with Dementia Research West Devon residents diagnosed with dementia and their caregivers can be one step closer to the opportunity of taking part in the latest clinical dementia research studies by signing up to Join Dementia Research.

Dr Ray Sheridan

The Clinical Research Network (CRN) for the South West peninsula hopes to increase the number of people diagnosed with the condition on the Join Dementia Research register to support recruitment to dementia clinical studies being run in the region.

CRN Clinical Research Speciality Lead for Dementias and Neurodegeneration Dr Ray Sheridan said: “Join Dementia Research provides a single point where people who would like to support research can make themselves known to researchers recruiting to studies. In the South West we currently have eight dementia research studies open for recruitment.”

Current research studies range from clinical trials of new treatments to surveys identifying ways to improve the quality of life of people with dementia and carers.

Dr Sheridan added: “There are currently 1,290 volunteers in this region registered with Join Dementia Research, of which 14.3% are people living with dementia. We are seeking more volunteers with a dementia diagnosis as well as their caregivers to take part in research; though healthy members of

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HEALTH & BEAUTY

Why dementia research matters the public can support this initiative too. Registering interest in clinical research with this service gets potential participants one step closer to taking part in a study. Research ranges from new treatments to surveys about what works in improving quality of life for people living with dementia and their carers.”

Dementia is a broad umbrella term used to describe a range of progressive neurological disorders. There are many different types of dementia and some people may present with a combination of types. Regardless of which type is diagnosed, each person will experience their dementia in their own unique way but symptoms can include memory loss, impaired cognitive ability, confusion and problems with communicating.

Join Dementia Research is funded by the Department of Health and provided by a partnership between the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Alzheimer’s Research UK, Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer Scotland.

Dementia is increasingly touching more of us and research gives hope.

Dementia affects over 850,000 people in the UK, with 25 million of the UK population having a close friend or family member affected. In England there were 316,864 patients on GP dementia registers in 2013 and 16,786 of these patients were in the South West Peninsula.

The prevalence of dementia in the South West Peninsula (Devon, Cornwall & Somerset) is 0.74% of the population compared with 0.57% nationally. We are confident that the South West will have one of the highest sign up rates to this initiative in the country.

People over 18 years old can register their interest and it is possible to act as a representative on behalf of someone interested in taking part in dementia research through Join Dementia Research via a national telephone service with charity helplines – Alzheimer’s Research UK 0300 1115 111 or Alzheimer’s Society 0300 222 1122 – or online at: www.joindementiaresearch.nihr.ac.uk

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HEALTH & BEAUTY

On your marks… parkrun comes to the Tamar Trails The global, free-to-all running phenomenon, parkrun has launched at the Tamar Trails Centre near Gulworthy.

Since its launch in 2004 in Bushy Park in Teddington, parkrun has grown to encompass thousands of events around the world. Each weekly 5km ‘fun run’, organised by volunteers, is free and open to everyone.

The Tamar Trails parkrun launched on 29 October and takes place every Saturday at 9am. Runners of all abilities are welcome, and are timed for their own personal development, the ethos being “it’s you against the clock”. There is no cost to take part, but participants have to register with parkrun (a one-off, free registration).

The course is run entirely on trail paths, through the woodlands of the Tamar Trails, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site. Heading north with a flat start, the path takes in some of the old mine buildings before winding downhill towards the Tamar River, followed by a steep climb and a flat section finishing close to the Trail Centre car park.

For more information see http://www.parkrun.org.uk/ tamartrails/.

The weekly team of volunteers is led by a small group of running enthusiasts, headed by event director, Stuart Queen.

They are always keen to hear from new volunteers, email tamartrailshelpers@parkrun.com.

The weekly parkrun sessions come in addition to the recent launch of the Tamar Trail Runners and the opening of a running hub retail outlet at the Tamar Trails Centre. Organised by local runner Colin Kirk-Potter, the running club meets on Tuesday evenings and Thursday mornings.

See www.runventureonline.com.

It offers an opportunity for the whole community to come together on a regular basis to enjoy this beautiful area and get physically active into the bargain. It’s an opportunity to socialise too, with runners invited to grab a post parkrun coffee in the Beach Tree Café.

Tamar Valley Walk & Talk Tamar Valley Walk & Talk meets every Wednesday morning.

Every Thursday morning is the gentler paced Walking for Health. Both walk groups are free, no need to book, and are great ways of meeting new people while exploring the area.

Full details of the walking programmes for the winter months can be found at www.tamarvalley.org.uk - click on the ‘Explore’ tab and then select ‘Walking’.

See our new community website www.dartmoorlinks.co.uk

29

GARDENING

Ornamental Features...

As Sue Fisher explains, ornamental features make a beautiful contribution to the garden right through the year, but as leaves fall and perennials die back to reveal the bare bones of the garden, they really come into their own.

Many of the talented artisans that live and work around our region produce wonderful pieces ideal to use outdoors: decorative sculptures of all sizes in a range of media such as metal, wood, or glass, as well as larger features that have a practical use such as arbours or seats.

inspiration on how to place features to be seen at their very best. Garden shows, plant fairs and craft shows are likely to include some garden art too, plus there’s the Drawn to the Valley and Devon Open Studios schemes as well. We’re spoilt for choice around here!

Finding the ideal features for your garden can be a real pleasure in itself and provide a great excuse for some lovely days out. Around the South West there’s a wealth of outdoor sculpture exhibitions (mostly in spring or summer, not surprisingly), including Stone Lane Gardens near Chagford, Delamore Arts Exhibition at Cornwood and Coombe Sculpture Garden near Milton Abbot, while RHS Rosemoor near Torrington has a winter exhibition. These have the outstanding advantage of seeing exhibits in a garden environment so you can start getting an idea of how something will look at home, plus you’re likely to gain

To place features to be seen at their best, consider key viewpoints. Start from indoors, looking out from the most frequently used windows indoors (don’t forget the kitchen sink…….), and then observe which spots are seen most whilst going in and out every day. Out in the garden, decorative features make excellent focal points – best described as a visual way of taking someone by the hand and leading them around the garden from one point to the next.

Having something truly individual to admire, discover and enjoy will be a source of pleasure for a great many years.

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Looking good now...

Fruits and berries. Birds are likely to have already scoffed their favourites, but long-lasting crab apples like ‘Golden Hornet’ and ‘Evereste’ look good until the New Year.

Winter flowers. A few tough shrubs bloom in winter and are often scented too. Viburnum bodnantense is one of the first of the season.

Foliage. Gold leaves brighten the dullest of days. Good shrubs include Choisya Sundance and Goldfinger; Elaeagnus ebbingei Limelight; Euonymus japonicus Ovatus Aureus and Emerald n’Gold;

Crab Apple - Golden Hornet

Seasonal Jobs • Evergreens in containers are vulnerable to frost: move pots into sheltered spots or against house walls, and wrap in frost fleece during prolonged cold weather. Water during dry spells, but sparingly.

For pots and borders. Heuchera are immensely decorative evergreen perennials with large, scalloped edged leaves and now in a fantastic range of colours from purple to orange and lime-green.

Viburnum bodnantense

• To avoid pots of dormant bulbs suffering from waterlogging in winter, simply turn on their sides.

Remember to stand upright before growth starts, though.

• Put out a regular supply of bird food now the colder weather is here. Fresh water is essential too.

• C lear weeds: they’ve been a nightmare this year and the mild autumn saw a whole new crop emerging. If the lawn is still growing, mow during dry weather but with the blades set higher than usual.

See our new community website www.dartmoorlinks.co.uk

Sue Fisher is a garden designer and writer based on the Bere peninsula.

31

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GARDENING

Sue’s Top Tips Wildlife. Create hibernation homes

all around the garden: beneath hedges, mound up leaves and hollow stems and make piles of stone, woody stems and logs. For creative ideas, do an internet search for ‘wildlife hotel’. It’s not too early to put up nestboxes either: birds need cosy overnight roosts during the winter months.

‘Green’. Recycle kitchen waste into rich, nutritious compost that is wonderful for improving soil, encouraging healthy plant growth and plentiful crops, as well as minimising waste. While raw veg peelings, teabags, coffee grounds and the like can go in general garden compost, use a wormery or vermin-proof bin to compost cooked food scraps.

Something for the Christmas list, maybe?

Time saving. Robot mowers: I’ve just researched and tested these for the Christmas issue of Gardeners’ World magazine, and I was very impressed.

Quiet, efficient and emission-free; programmable for automatic operation; no clippings to dispose of; cuts little and often so the lawn always looks tidy. But – and a big but - very pricey!

Thrifty. Grow your own fruit - plant

now and start enjoying a delicious harvest from next summer onwards.

On walls, fences and post-and-wires, plant trained fruit trees in espalier, fan or cordon shapes. Climbers such as berry fruits, grape vines or kiwifruit do well on the vertical too, as well as over arches and pergolas. No space? Check out the fast-expanding range of patio fruit including bush raspberry ‘Ruby Beauty’ and hanging basket Blackberry ‘Black Cascade’. And strawberries, of course, which can be grown almost anywhere. Just bear in mind that a reasonable amount of sun is the main requirement for all fruit.

Favourite plant.

Chinese red birch (Betula albo-sinensis var. septentionalis). A winter star in my garden, with pink-bloomed bark that peels in ragged scrolls to reveal the rich brown underside that shimmers with colour when backlit by low winter sun.

Sue Fisher is a garden designer and writer based on the Bere Peninsula.

Tel 01822 841895.

Email: suefisher@talktalk.net Website: www.suefishergardens.co.uk

Betula albo sinensisSeptentionalis

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NATURALIST

The Rowdy Robin Before you sit down for your Christmas mince pies, please make sure that the bird table is just as well-stocked.

Life in the open country is becoming increasingly difficult for many of our well loved birds as stubble fields become a thing of the past and weed seeds as a food source are eliminated from modern agriculture.

Hedgerows and gardens are indeed now essential for the survival of many of the nation’s favourite species. The Christmas period is probably when many of us have the time to sit and observe the behaviour of the living world around us, and there is no better place to start than the bird table, especially if it is sited within view of our own dining table! After the ravages of the breeding season, a new set of feathers grown during the August moult, birds’ plumage is probably at its finest,. Hopefully they have replenished their bodily reserves during the autumn which at least this year has been quite benign. However the worst of the winter months are still to come and, surprisingly the early preparations for next years breeding season will soon be underway.

Much of this dramatic struggle to survive takes place in front of us. Groups of long-tailed tits, constantly flit through the tree and shrub branches before descending en masse onto the bird table - our record is 14 simultaneously on the fat-ball container we put out. Most other members of the tit family and species such as the dunnock are also fairly ubiquitous with groups of six or more often seen. Despite there being a similar

sized garden population robins tend to feed alone and when two arrive to feed at the same time quite a vicious scuffle usually ensues which only ends when one of the combatants withdraws.

out of view. His aggessive response is temporarily dissipated, but the process has to be repeated several times until he becomes accustomed to her as a prospective mating partner.

Male robins are not shy in announcing their presence and New Year finds them in full voice singing from the top of a bush or post when they repeatedly use the same vantage point. Singing is their form of advertising, both warning off rival males and attracting any females and ‘staking out’ a territory large enough to provide food for their future family.

Boundary disputes occur regularly, often at the table, with two birds squaring up to each other, red breast feathers puffed out trying to outdo their rival.

Experiments have shown that the red colour is the trigger, a strategically placed tuft of red wool may produce the same response! Now watch for the arrival of a prospective mate. This is problematic, as not only does she appear absolutely identical to our eyes, but elicits the same initial response from the male who will immediately zoom in to attack the new ‘rival’. However at the last moment he pulls up short when, instead of meeting an equally puffed-up male, she ducks her head in a way that puts her red breast

Naked aggression is less apparent in the other species I have mentioned.

The apparent co-operative nature of the long-tailed tits will even extend into the breeding season when parents are willing to lend a hand in raising generally large broods in a neighbour’s nest (often a close relative) if they have lost their own brood. And the female dunnock is happy to accept the attention of another male while their ‘original’ partner is out gathering the family food!

These different strategies are ways to achieve the same end and provide the best opportunity for survival of an individual’s genes and continuation of the “family”line.

See our new community website www.dartmoorlinks.co.uk

I hope that I have shown that there is a lot to see from your window in winter and that even some well loved and common species can surprise us when we look more closely.

Pete Mayston

35

FARMING DIARY

Shaun the Sheep © Aardman Animations Ltd

Party time down at Greenwell Farm!

Sheep dining in five star restaurants and rams with their feet up – what’s going on at Greenwell…!? Mat Cole tells us more.

With the Christmas party season closing fast I would just like to tip my hat to the fantastic Autumn weather we had. We were in t-shirts in the first week in November and although some of the animals didn’t like it, most were very happy. Those extra few weeks when we are able to keep the cows out make such a difference. The saving on the ground and the feed store was significant and all help save costs. I am sure we will pay for it somewhere but as a wise man once said “they can’t take what we’ve had” and beautiful autumns like this are welcome back anytime.

The cattle are now all shut in the barns and yards for the worst of the winter and the routine of feeding and bedding every day is well established. The cattle come in so we are able to feed them more easily and monitor their diet, condition, welfare and give them shelter and a dry place to bed down. If they stayed in the fields they would happily cope with the weather but accessing good feed is not so easy and it can be a struggle for the younger ones, especially if you want them to continue to grow and thrive to their potential. So to save the ground from damage and make their management much easier most farms these days house their cattle through the winter months.

We have a TB test looming in January and as I was reading an article I wrote last year I was reminded of the horror of TB and the affect it had on our herd and business last year when we had a breakdown with positive reactors. Fingers crossed we go clear and are able to relax for another 12 months, the trouble is having been affected in 2015 it is not a case of ‘if’ we go down again but ‘when’…. Let’s just hope that the actions being taken to eradicate this horrible disease work and we can get rid of the dark cloud of bovine TB for good.

The ewes are now well in lamb, the rams have loved them and left them and now have their feet up, the ewes however after

their brief liaison will now have to work. They will be scanned in January to establish how many lambs they are carrying. Usually ewes carry singles and twins, with a much smaller number with triplets and sadly there’ll be a few baron ewes. This of course is influenced by many factors including breed, body condition, weather and age but ideally we want two lambs from each ewe.

In reality we get just over 150 % at scanning. Once we have the results we split them into groups according to how many they are carrying and we can then look towards lambing, well able to manage the ewes needs accordingly. The most influential of which is the ewe’s diet and as you can imagine the more lambs a ewe carries the better star hotel and restaurant she gets to stay and eat at - all with a hope that come lambing we have as many viable lives as possible.

Whilst the farms core business is beef and sheep we have been known to diversify as opportunities present themselves. This autumn we hosted local band Mad Dog McCrea in one of our barns for a local fundraiser. It was a fabulous night with about 600 people in attendance; even local folk singer Seth Lakeman turned up for a spin. The evening was a great success and ran like a dream, the weather helped obviously… But Gemma and I in the post gig euphoria are nurturing ideas of becoming the next go to site of choice for the movers and shakers of the music world - so watch this space…

Wishing you all a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all at Greenwell.

Mat Cole

See our new community website www.dartmoorlinks.co.uk

37

FEATURE

A YEAR IN THE MAKING

Cotehele’s Garland

The famous garland at National Trust Cotehele is certainly not your average Christmas garland that hangs above the fireplace - but one that is 60 foot long, takes over a year to create, holds approximately 33,000 flower stems and needs greenery taken from over 60 trees! This year it is celebrating its Diamond Anniversary.

Having always marveled at the sheer size and complexity of it’s creation, I was thrilled to go and talk to Cotehele’s Head Gardener, Dave Boucher, to get a step by step guide to the making of this incredible work of floral art and what for me, really marks the start of Christmas.

January The preparation for the garland starts as soon as the previous year’s garland is taken down. In early January ordering of the seed packets of ‘annuals’ from suppliers Thompson & Morgan takes priority and the decision as to the colour theme for that particular year. This year the garland is white and blue to represent 60 years and the garland’s Diamond Anniversary.

Dave sticks with tried and tested flower varieties – those that will flower well over a long picking season, hold their shape and colour, will dry without becoming too brittle and are generally ‘reliable’. Over 2000 plants will need to be grown to achieve the required 30,000+ heads of flowers – so ‘reliability’ is key.

glass over them), within the greenhouse. Once strong enough they are then potted on. With space at a premium ‘overflowing with pots’ can become an issue! Once the final frosts have they are then planted out into well prepared ‘single dug’ beds. The plants are then ordered into neat straight rows and carefully labeled with the traditional Tamar Valley white labels.

May From mid May the flowers are picked on a weekly basis, increasing to daily from June. Flowers are picked constantly to ensure continuous flowering to achieve the numbers Dave needs

February & March The sowing of the seeds in trays starts in earnest from mid February and continues until mid March when all varieties will have been started. All sit in their seed trays (with a cover of 38

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for the final garland. As they are picked/cut they are stripped of all leaves and bunched in 20s, into varieties and colours – and tied with elastic bands. At there peak this process can take up to 70 man hours per week continuing right through to September.

September & October As soon as the bunches have been prepared they are hung upside down on washing lines of string within the roof space of the old potting shed or barn, where they hang in the dark to fully Once all is in place visitors are invited to come and view the annual spectacle in the Great Hall. For the visitor it is a truly wondrous site and for the gardening team the end of a year’s worth of preparation and hard toil.

Lizzie Watt The Garland can be viewed at Cotehele until 31st December (closed Christmas and Boxing Day) Photos courtesy of John Parker

dry out. Once dried, October sees the start of the grand ‘sorting’.

Dave creates 16 large boxes of identical numbers and varieties of flowers in each box to correspond with the 16 sections of the garland ensuring that every section will be identical.

November & December At the end of October and early November the base layer of Pittisporum is cut from over 60 trees from one of Cotehele’s tenanted farms. The top 18” of new growth is taken and bunched before being tied around the 60ft long rope. With its considerable weight it is carried into the hall by all 40 plus members of the gardening team and slowly hoisted into position across the length of the Great Hall. It then takes eight full days, working from a scaffold tower, from 7.30am to 4pm each day, for the gardening team to individually place every flower head.

See our new community website www.dartmoorlinks.co.uk

39

WHAT’S ON

DECEMBER

8 December

1 – 23 December

Moors Edge U3A Christmas Party

An Elizabethan Christmas at Buckland Abbey

1 – 23 December

Christmas at Buckland Abbey

First Nowell.

The First Nowell 10.30am-4pm Celebrate the Christmas season as the Great Barn is filled with festive joy as local flower arranging groups present their seasonal interpretation of the carol, The

Step back in time to experience an Elizabethan Christmas at home. See the kitchen getting ready for a festive feast, admire the greenery in the Great Hall and discover the peace and tranquillity within the Chapel. 11am-2.30pm 3 - 11 December

A Festival of Nativity Scenes

St John’s Church, Horrabridge. This is now an annual event, when the church is filled with Nativity Scenes in a variety of media: wood, wool, paper, flowers, and so on, all created by members of local organisations and churches, and also individuals. The effect is magical and the event has grown in popularity over the last two years. Entry is by donation. From 10.30am - 4pm each day (from 12noon on Sundays).

7, 14 and 19-23 December

Winter Lates at Buckland Abbey

Experience the Christmas magic under the evening stars inside and out, as the Great Barn and shop stay open late for more chances to get into the festive spirit and to tick off your Christmas shopping list.

4-8pm

General meetings are held the second Thursday of each month at 2.30pm in the Woolwell Community Centre.

8 December

Tamar Valley Walk & Talk

St Ann’s Chapel/Honicombe Circular, 45-90 mins - meet: Tamar Valley Centre Tamar Valley Walk & Talk (10am) 9 December

Tamar Valley Male Voice Choir Annual Christmas Concert

To be held at St Mary’s Church, Callington, 7pm.

More details from www.tamarvalleymvc. co.uk 9 December

The Cavaliers’ Bottle Auction

This will take place at the London Inn, Horrabridge, at 7pm. All welcome 10 December

Mount Kelly Choral Society

Will present a programme of Christmas music, 7.30p.m. at St Eustachius’ Church Admission is £10 by programme, available from Bookstop , Ward & Chowen in Tavistock, or on the door.

Why not give an Afternoon Tea Voucher?

Ring for details

Traditional Clotted Cream Teas and Elegant High Teas Licenced for Weddings – available for private functions

Princetown Yelverton Devon PL20 6SL 40

To promote your business to 25,000 homes - call 01822 615627

Booking essential at www.torroyal.co.uk or 01822 890189

editorial@moorlinks.co.uk

WHAT’S ON 10, 11 & 17-24 December

Christmas Special at Morwellham Quay

Santa will welcome you into his Grotto, you can sit by the warm fire and listen to a Christmas Story, whilst enjoying free mulled wine, squash and mince pies, and then make a special Christmas Decoration to take home and hang on your tree. 10am until 4.30pm Full details on the web site: www.morwellhamquay.org Tel: 01822 832766 11 December

Dartmoor Border Morris Mummers Play

Performed in “ The Round” of the Ox yard of Buckland Abbey. Come & watch brave Sir Francis Drake defeat the evil King Phillip of Spain, with the help of a Doctor & a Morris beast called “ Chatterly”. This family show is the traditional medieval story of how good always overcomes evil, with a help from the Winter Queen!!!

Starting at 1 pm followed by some dancing, then repeated again at 2.30 pm. www.dartmoorbordermorris.com 13 December

Christmas Edible Wreath and Room Sprays Hoots Roots – Shilla Mill Price £35 for day (10am -4pm) plus £5 Materials. www.hootsroots.co.uk 14 December

Dine out at Buckland Abbey

Enjoy a mid-week meal in the Ox Yard restaurant as the restaurant doors stay

open late for selected dates in December , 6.30pm Booking essential, call 01822 853607 to book. £23.95 per person. Other dates available for larger parties.

15 December

Tamar Valley Walk & Talk

Todsworthy/Frieseland Triangle, 45-90 mins - meet: Tamar Valley Centre 10am.

17 December

Stannary Brass Band Christmas Concert

Patron, Angela Rippon, O.B.E, will be hosting their Christmas Concert which will take place in Tavistock Town Hall at 7:30 pm. Tickets are available from Ward & Chowen in Tavistock and Yelverton and are priced at £8 adult and £2 under 18.”

www.beau-yelverton.co.uk

17 December

Christmas Door Wreath Workshop with Amanda Randell

Christmas workshop: Thu 1 Dec and 17 Dec 9.30am £67 Christmas door wreath (all equipment included) including two course lunch and glass of wine.

Hotel Endsleigh, Milton Abbot, Tavistock 01822 870000 (booking essential).

17 December

Plymouth Arts Centre Xmas Workshop

Christmas Workshop with Maddy 1–4pm.

For families of all ages. £5 per family. On the fifth day of Christmas, my arts centre gave to me.....An ‘ Instant Christmassy Cloth Book Workshop’ Cut, arrange and

ANTIQUES, JEWELLERY & CERAMICS VALUATION DAY TAVISTOCK Thursday 23rd February 2017 The Bedford Hotel Plymouth Road Tavistock 10.00am - 1.00pm

stitch a cloth book using a range of fabrics.

Explore colour, composition, collage and pattern to make a simple narrative for your book. No sewing experience required and all materials provided. Advance booking essential.

One of twelve George II armchairs Sold for £46,000

St. Edmund’s Court, Okehampton Street, Exeter EX4 1DU T: 01392 413100 W: www.bhandl.co.uk E: enquiries@bhandl.co.uk

See our new community website www.dartmoorlinks.co.uk

this Stunning new collections for w Autumn /Winter Season no arriving at Beau x

Winter Opening Hours Tuesday-Saturday 10am-5pm Evening Appointmtents Available O’Meara House Leg O’Mutton • Yelverton Devon PL20 6AA

01822 853900

Beauboutique1@aol.com 41

WHAT’S ON 17 December

18 December

21 December

Nine Lessons and Carols

Burrator Discovery Centre Family Wildlife Watch Session

Dogworthy’s Christmas Cracker

At Our Lady of the Assumption, Tavistock. A festival of Nine Lessons and Carols inspired by the original 1880 Truro Cathedral Service. For choir and congregation - featuring Canticorum. 7pm – 9pm. All welcome - Refreshments will be available after the festival. www.ourladytavistock.org.uk

10.30am-12.30pm -Christmas Woodland Crafts. Wear outdoor clothes. £1 per person 18 December

Wreath Making Workshop

Burrator Discovery Centre drop in between 10am-4pm. £5 per wreath.

We specialise in valuations for auction, insurance and probate purposes Regular auctions for antique furniture, paintings, ceramics, glass, clocks, gold, silver, jewellery, stamps, medals, coins and collectors’ items

20 December

Family Christmas Holiday Activities

Burrator Discovery Centre. Drop in between 10am-4pm. £1 per person.

19 December

Tavy Turners Club Family Social Evening

The Scout Hut in Pixon Lane in Tavistock at 7.30pm Gallery exhibition of work.

19 – 23 December

An audience with Olde Father Christmas Clarice Cliff Cowslip tea set SOLD £1,700 Lister & Sons rosewood clock SOLD £9,000

Buckland Abbey, on the hour from 3-7pm.

Rediscover the Christmas magic as Olde Father Christmas invites you into the Great Hall for tales of Christmas past. Booking essential, call 0344 249 1895 or visit nationaltrust.org.uk/buckland to book.

Children £4.50 (includes gift), adults £2.50.

21 December

Emerald & diamond ring SOLD £7,400

Collection of South Atlantic stamps SOLD £8,600

For professional advice and free valuations, please call 01752 721199 or email images to enquiries@eldreds.net

www.eldreds.net

1 Belliver Way, Roborough, Plymouth PL6 7BP 42

The Christmas Extravaganza

St Mary’s, Sampford Spiney, the Christmas Extravaganza is something of an institution – a mix of popular carols, bad jokes and light hearted music and song, helped along by hot mulled wine and mince pies in the interval. Tickets are £5 per adult with children free; available from members of the PCC or at the door on the night.

Programme will begin at 7.15pm.

Family show. Jacolly Puppet Theatre’s Dogworthy entertains with his latest magic tricks. Refreshments in aid of Children’s Hospice South West. St Paul’s Church Hall, Yelverton, 2:30pm Tickets £5 (£4.50 for bookings of 4 or more) from the Cornish Riviera Box Office tel. 01726 879500 & online at www.crbo.co.uk/jacolly; or in person from Mansbridge Balment, Yelverton.

22 December

Tamar Valley Walk & Talk

Beyond Walking for Health...Around Kit Hill, 90mins+. Meet: 10am Tamar Valley Centre (or first Kit Hill car park at 10:20am) 22 December

Dogworthy’s Christmas Cracker

Family show. Jacolly Puppet Theatre’s Dogworthy entertains with his latest magic tricks. Refreshments in aid of Children’s Hospice South West. Tavistock Town Hall, 2:30pm Tickets £5 (£4.50 for bookings of 4 or more) from the Cornish Riviera Box Office tel. 01726 879500 & online at www.crbo.co.uk/jacolly; or in person from Bookstop, 3 Market St, Tavistock.

22 December

Sheepstor Candlelight Carol Service

A traditional candlelit carol service at St Leonard’s Church, Sheepstor at 4pm followed by festive refreshments. Don’t forget your torch as you will need it to find your car! All very welcome 23 December

Christmas Wine Tasting Dinner

Enjoy a complimentary aperitif with seasonal canapés to begin, then join us in the restaurant for a delicious four-course dinner, with a carefully matched wine to accompany each course, introroduced by our wine expert Charles Steevenson.

Discover some tantalising wines from around the globe, and learn about their key

Design, Print & Copywriting services - call us to discuss your next project 01822 853110

editorial@moorlinks.co.uk

WHAT’S ON characteristics and styles, in the historic setting of The Bedford Hotel. £50per person – booking essential.

JANUARY

orchard!! There will be pasties & song, but also a small charge on the door. www. dartmoorbordermorris.com

26th December

New Year Charity Breakfast

8 January

Dartmoor Border Morris

We will be out and dancing at their local pub, the Royal Oak in Meavy, from 12 lunch time!! Come and dance that Christmas dinner off, or bring your own instrument & join in the Morris style music session afterwards. www. dartmoorbordermorris.com 29th December

Tamar Valley Walk & Talk

10am - Calstock Quay Circular, 30-60 mins - meet: Calstock Quay, by the bus stop

2nd January

Clearbrook village hall - come along for a delicious, hearty breakfast between 9.00 and 12.00 a.m. in the Clearbrook village hall. Please contact Chris Britton at chris@ clearbrookdevon.co.uk to book or for further information.

5th January

Tamar Valley Walk & Talk

Wassail at Buckland Abbey

Grab your bells, bring along your pots and pans and help the team from Buckland Abbey and Dartmoor Border Morris to make as much noise as possible to awaken the orchard and to wish them a bountiful new year. 12noon-4pm 16 January 2017

10:10am - Hingston Down Circular, up to 30 mins - meet: Tamar Valley Centre to car share to Hingston Down Quarry 7th January

Bere Ferrers Wassail

Come & help Dartmoor Border Morris scare away the evil spirits with your pot`s & pans, making a racket that no evil spirit would want to hang around the

Tavy Turners Demonstration

At 7.30pm by Mike Edmonds at the Scout Hut in Pixon Lane in Tavistock followed by a hands-on opportunity. Competition: a pear 3” high.

17 January

Volunteer recruitment day Buckland Abbey, 11-2pm

YELVERTON CINEMA Winter Film Programme HELD AT YELVERTON CHURCH HALL Saturday Evenings Café Cinema

Children’s Cinema

Jan 21st

The Man who knew Infinity (12A) Jan 21st

Feb 25th

The Magnificent Seven (12A)

Finding Dory (U)

Morning screening

Feb 25th

Doors open 10.45 Film starts 11.15am

Pete’s Dragon (PG)

Afternoon screening

Doors open 7.15pm • Films start at 8pm BYO and refreshments available £4 on the door

Doors open 3.45 Film starts 4pm

Special Family Evening Screening Saturday December 10th at 6pm The BFG (PG) Doors Open 5.30

Feature film at 6pm

Suggested donation £2

For film details check our website www.yelvertoncinema.co.uk

See our new community website www.dartmoorlinks.co.uk

43

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WHAT’S ON Have you ever thought about volunteering at Buckland Abbey? Volunteering can be a very rewarding experience and a way to learn new skills and make friends. Come for a chat, meet the team, enjoy some tea and find out how we can work together throughout the year ahead.

29 January

17 January

FEBRUARY

Yelverton & District Local History Society Meavy Parish Hall 7.30pm “Dartmoor Prison’s Conscientious Objectors of WW1”- a talk by Simon Dell 26 January

Evening Talk on ‘Sett Makers Bankers’ by Simon Dell

Burrator Discovery Centre 7pm arrival, 7.30pm-8.30pm £3 per person. Please book your place in advance, ring 01822 855700, e-mail heritage@swlakestrust.org.uk or just pop into the Centre.

Family Wildlife Watch Session

All about Birds. Burrator Discovery Centre 10.30am-12.30pm - Wear outdoor clothes. £1 per person.

5 February

Car boot and Table Top Sale

Bere Alston Bowling Club - sellers at 9am and buyers at 10 am. £5 per car/table.

Refreshments available.

FUTURE DATES FOR THE DIARY in 2017 Tuesday 18th April to Sunday 7th May

TAVISTOCK FESTIVAL

The fifteenth Tavistock Festival is planned in partnership with the Wharf Arts Centre, Mount Kelly College, the

See our new community website www.dartmoorlinks.co.uk

Bedford Hotel and the Links magazines with events taking place in venues in and around Tavistock; the Wharf is acting as the Box Office for many of the ticketed events. A twenty day feast of activity and entertainment – both at the Wharf and at many venues in and around the town.

Festival brochures will be available from mid March and details will be published in Links magazines in April/May; details will also be available on the website www. tavistockmusic.co.uk from early February

We have included as many events as possible here in the magazine but for a full and comprehensive list please see our new community website: www.dartmoorlinks.co.uk All event listings are FREE. Send details to editorial@ moorlinks.co.uk or upload directly to our website by pressing the SUBMIT button.

45

Welcome to...

We at Tavistock Wharf are over the moon to now be publishing our events in Moor Links and Tavy Links magazines and as such be able to get the message out to everyone in the area that we are a premier theatre venue staging live music, live theatre, and cinema!

We are also a great venue for locals to drop in, visit our cafe and have a look around our art gallery.

As the Links magazines are delivered to every home in specific postcode areas – all very much in our vicinity - we hope with more people now being able to access our programming, we will be able to welcome more customers through our doors.

At the Wharf we are a friendly bunch and pride ourselves on operating a well run friendly and popular venue. Whether you are a cinema buff or like to hear bands on stage playing 100% live music, we will have something in our programming to interest all of you. Maybe you love opera but have never been able to afford a visit to the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden? If so, check out our live broadcasts where you can be part of the audience, but at a fraction of the cost.

Box Office: 01822 611166

46

FILMS...........................

I, Daniel Blake

Moana (PG) 103 minutes

9 December - 15 December

16 December - 29 December

Snowden (15) 134 minutes

Collateral Beauty (TBC)

30 December - 5 January

6 January - 12 January

Passengers (12A) TBC

Sully (12A) 96 minutes

13 January - 19 January

20 January - 26 January

(15) 100 minutes A middle aged carpenter who requires state welfare after injuring himself, is joined by a single mother in a similar scenario.

The NSA’s illegal surveillance techniques are leaked to the public by one of the agency’s employees, Edward Snowden.

A spacecraft travelling to a distant planet & transporting thousands of people has a malfunction in its sleep chamber awakening two passengers 90 years early.

A young woman uses her navigational talents to set sail for a fabled island.

Joining her on the adventure is her hero, the legendary demi-god Maui.

An advertising executive encounters three mysterious figures who encourage him to move on from the past.

The story of Chesley Sullenberger, an American pilot who became a hero after landing his damaged plane on the Hudson River in order to save the flight’s passengers and crew.

GALLERY.......................

Mount Kelly Exhibition The artwork of Jennie Hale and Mary Gillet will be presented alongside that of our pupils, showcasing artists of the present and potentially, of the future.

Monday 28 November to Friday 6 January 2017

LIVE brOADCASTS......

No Man’s Land live from the National Theatre

The Nutcracker From The Royal Opera House

Thursday 15 December 7pm

Sunday 18 December 2pm

The Tempest The Royal Shakespeare Company

Il trovatore

On a distant island a man waits. Today’s most advanced technology in a bold reimagining of Shakespeare’s magical play.

The first revival of David Bösch’s new production for The Royal Opera, with two casts inc. Maria Agresta, Lianna Haroutounian, Anita Rachvelishvili and Dmitri Hvorostovsky

Wednesday 11 January 7pm

Tuesday 31 January 7pm

Following their hit run on Broadway, Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart return to the West End stage in Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land

A young girl’s enchanted present leads her on a wonderful adventure in this classic ballet, danced to Tchaikovsky’s glittering score

Tavistock Wharf Box Office 01822 611166

MUSIC.......................................

Online booking available for all music events at...

Total Who Show

Friday 2 December

Joey the Lips

Saturday 3 December

Martin Harley

Tuesday 8 December Martin Harley is a supremely talented Roots and Blues guitarist, singer and songwriter with a burgeoning global reputation.

Lindisfarne This show plays all the hits from The Who’s early years: Tommy, Live at Leeds, Quadrophenia and many more.

Whole Lotta Led

Friday 16 December

Joey The Lips are renowned for their live performances featuring a varied portfolio of classic soul, blues, funk and motown material.

Bjorn Belief - Abba Tribute

Saturday 17 December

Friday 9 December Rod Clement’s keeps alive the unique legacy of one of British rock’s great bands.

Run for Home, Fog on the Tyne, Lady Eleanor, all the hits will be played!

Desperado

Saturday 10 December Hotel California is arguably one of the most iconic albums ever released, and probably the album the Eagles are most proud of.

Voodoo Room On 7th January 1996 Whole Lotta Led played their first show at The Farrier’s Arms in Bristol. Little did the band realise then that twenty years later they would still be together and performing.

Formed in Swansea in 2002, the band is made up of four accomplished musicians who not only sound like the famous Swedish performers they look just like them too.

Mad Dog Mcrae

Rock and Roll Outlaws

Friday 23 December

Saturday 31 December

Saturday 14 January VOODOO ROOM are a new and exciting Classic Power Trio, paying tribute to both “Hendrix” & “Cream.” Featuring some of the U.K.’s finest musicians.

Sam Brockington

Saturday 21 January

“A fantastic vocal talent with stand out lyrics and huge potential.” Sam Bonham (BBC Introducing Presenter)

Guns 2 Roses

Saturday 28 January Mad Dog Mcrea raise hands, lift feet and start parties wherever they play with their dance-demanding recipe of folk, pop, rock, jazz and bluegrass.

Tavistock’s finest and most popular rock bands are back with us to help bring in the New Year in full party style, always a fun fabulous night but be sure to get your tickets.

The most notorious Guns n Roses tribute and the only Guns n Roses Tribute to play lives with 4 different members of Guns N Roses!

FACEBOOK.COM/TAVISTOCKWHARF

For full details and how to book events visit our website: www.tavistockwharf.com

47

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WHAT’S ON EXTRA

The Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and the Arts TAVISTOCK & WEST DEVON BRANCH

The Devonshire Association was founded just over 150 years ago and is dedicated to the study and appreciation of all matters relating to Devon. It is the only society concerned with every aspect of the county and is probably the only one of its kind in Britain.

In 1861 a Cornishman, William Pengelly, advocated the establishment of a local organisation concentrating on Devon and covering all aspects of scholarly enquiry. At that time various meetings of the Royal Society and the Royal Institution were being convened regarding the possibility that the planet earth was thousands and maybe even millions of years old and November 1859 had seen the publication of Darwin’s Origin of Species. At this controversial period the Devonshire Association was formed, holding its first meeting in Exeter in 1862.

Membership grew from an initial 69 in 1887 to reach a record of over 1,800 in the Association’s centenary year. Today there are some 1,300 members. The Association is open to all who have an interest in Devon’s exceptionally rich history, natural science and cultural heritage.

Over 100 activities take place each year throughout the county – talks, exhibitions, symposia, concerts, excursions, walks, field trips and courses. Open to all is the three-day Annual Conference traditionally held in a different Devon town each year and including the AGM, a public lecture, research papers, a Dinner and a programme of local excursions. Another major annual event is the President’s Symposium, an event conceived and co-organised by the incumbent President.

The most significant record of the Association’s activities is contained in its annual Reports and Transactions series which has provided an outlet for a wide range of original research, reviews and scholarship on Devon since 1863. How fortunate we are to have, here on our doorstep in the Devonshire Association, the greatest source of information anywhere about the great county in which we live. For additional information please log into our web-site http://devonassoc.org.uk The Tavistock & West Devon Branch of the Association holds meetings on a monthly basis from September to April attracting highly renowned speakers on a wide variety of topics of local interest from science, literature and the arts to Dartmoor, industrial archaeology and folklore. Great emphasis is placed on the social aspect of our evenings. Over the summer months we enjoy outings to places of interest in the county and guided walks and excursions on Dartmoor. The annual highlight is our social evening – a buffet supper followed by a light-hearted talk, affording us a chance to reminisce and engage with new members.

Our next meeting on Friday, 16th December at 7.30 pm will be an illustrated talk on the "Discovery of the Sittaford Circle" by the archaeologist, Alan Endacott, followed on Friday 20th January by the annual Social Evening. Pre-booking essential. Both meetings will be held at the Tavistock Parish Centre. You are warmly welcome to come to either or both of these events. For further details, please ring 01822 852 636

Drake’s Auctions Drake’s Auctions Tavistock Tavistock

Auctioneers

Valuers

Sales are held at Parade Business Park, Tavistock, fortnightly on Mondays.

Viewings held from 9-12 noon Saturday and 12-4.30pm on the Sunday preceding sale.

See our website for the full auction calendar.

Antiques • Collectables • Jewellery • Quality Furniture • Household Appliances • Garden Furniture • Tools & Machinery We offer house clearance and valuation services, and take in goods at our office, every Monday to Thursday 9.30am - 4pm and Saturday 9am - 12 noon.

For more information call us on: 01822 616992

www.drakesauctions.co.uk Unit 6 Parade Business Park, Pixon Lane, Tavistock PL19 9RQ courtesy of Steve Mason) (Photo

See our new community website www.dartmoorlinks.co.uk

49

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50

Design, Print & Copywriting services - call us to discuss your next project 01822 853110

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WHAT’S ON EXTRA

St. Andrew’s, Buckland Monachorum, and Holy Spirit, Milton Combe SUNDAY 18 December 3pm Service of carols and readings at Milton Combe.

6.30pm Service of lessons and carols by candlelight, followed by mulled wine and mince pies.

Christmas Eve 4.00pm Christingle service of light.

11.00pm Midnight Christmas Holy Communion by candlelight.

Christmas Day 8.00am Holy Communion from the Book of Common Prayer.

9.15am Christmas Holy Communion at Milton Combe.

10.30am Christmas gathering for all ages with carols.

11.20am Shortened Holy Communion from the Book of Common Prayer.

New Year’s Eve 11.45pm Ringing in the New Year, followed by prayers in church.

West Dartmoor Mission Community TUESDAY 13 December 6pm - Prison & Community Carol Service, St Michael & All Angels, Princetown

Christmas Eve - Crib Services 4pm St Paul’s, Yelverton 5pm St John’s, Horrabridge

SUNDAY 18 December 6pm – Carols

by Candlelight – St Paul’s Yelverton

Midnight Services (all starting at 11pm) St Peter’s, Meavy, St John’s, Horrabridge, St Mary’s, Walkhampton, St Paul’s, Yelverton, Princetown United Church

THURSDAY 22 December 4pm – St Leonard’s, Sheepstor Carol Service FRIDAY 23 December 6pm – Community Carol Service in St Mary’s, Walkhampton

Christmas Day 10.30am St Peter’s Meavy

11.00am St Leonard’s Sheepstor 9.30am St Mary’s Walkhampton 8.00am & 9.30am & 11.00am St Paul’s Yelverton Princetown Church 10.30am St John’s Horrabridge 9.30am St Mary’s Sampford Spiney Post-Christmas Services 27 December – 5pm - St Peter’s Meavy – Carols for Christmas

Holy Trinity & United Church, Bere Alston & St Andrew’s,Bere Ferrers Monday 12 December 2:00pm Hope Cottage Service of 9 lessons & Carols (Bere Alston Primary School Choir) Sunday 18 December 9.30am Holy Communion BCP - Holy Trinity 10:30am Family Carol Service - United Church 11.00am Elevenses - Bere Ferrers Church Hall 3.00pm Carols & Tea - Trinity Hall 6.00pm Informal Carol Service - St Andrew

Wednesday 21 December 6.00pm Christingle - Holy Trinity 7:00pm Carols by Candlelight - United Church Thursday 22 DECEMBER 7.00pm Chordial Ladies Choir - United Church Christmas Eve 2.30pm Nativity Service - St Andrew 4.00pm Nativity Service - St Andrew

11.30pm Midnight Mass - Holy Trinity Christmas Day 9:30 am Christmas Day Celebration United Church 10.00am Communion & Carols - St Andrew New Year’s Day 10.30am ‘Welcome to the New Year’ Holy Trinity

High Quality Watch Repairs - Watch batteries, straps and simple watch repairs.

- High quality watch servicing and repairs.

- Omega certified on-site watch workshop.

We can repair and service a range of watch brands including the following: Omega, Tag Heuer, Longines, Tissot, Gucci, Calvin Klein, Hamilton, Raymond Weil.

Open Tuesday - Saturday 9.30am - 5pm | Outside these hours by appointment

1 The Old Dairy, Paddons Row, Tavistock PL19 0HF | 01822 614153 | info@barrettsoftavistock.co.uk | www.barrettsoftavistock.co.uk

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51

NATIONAL TRUST

Buckland Abbey

Join us for an Elizabethan Christmas and floral festivities in the Great Barn.

The most wonderful time of the year has arrived – as we celebrate the festive season with a huge programme of events inside and out at Buckland Abbey this Christmas.

Open from 1-23 December, the ground floor of the Abbey is dressed for an Elizabethan Christmas. Discover the sights and smells of festive cookery in the kitchen, admire the greenery in the Great Hall and find a moment to reflect on the year gone by in the chapel.

Outdoors, the Great Barn once again comes alive with colour as local flower arranging societies have put together a unique interpretation of the carol The First Nowell. The Christmas display in the Great Barn is open every day from 1 December – 2 January (closed 24-25 December) from 10.30am – 4pm.

For the first time, the estate walks, garden, restaurant and shop will be opening up every weekend throughout January. Open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am-4pm,.

For more details on all of Buckland Abbey’s events this winter, head to the website nationaltrust.org.uk/buckland or give us a call on 01822 853607.

Winter Lates 7, 14 and 19-23 December, 4-8pm

Experience the Christmas magic under the evening stars inside and out, as the Great Barn and shop stay open late for more chances to get into the festive spirit and to tick off your Christmas shopping list.

The Great Tudor Christmas Cook-off 1, 6, 8, 13 and 15 December, 11am-3.30pm

Meet the Tudor cooks hard at work as they cook up a festive feast in the Abbey kitchen. Pick up a recipe card to try a modern day version of a Tudor classic at home.

An audience with Olde Father Christmas 19 – 23 December, on the hour from 3-7pm.

Rediscover the Christmas magic as Olde Father Christmas invites you into the Great Hall for tales of Christmas past.

Booking essential, call 0344 249 1895 or visit nationaltrust.org. uk/buckland to book. Children £4.50 (includes gift), adults £2.50.

Christmas at Buckland Abbey

When you come to enjoy a Tudor Christmas, you help us look after the Abbey all year round When you visit, donate, volunteer or join the National Trust, your support helps us to look after special places around Tavistock such as Buckland Abbey, Cotehele and Lydford Gorge for ever, for everyone.

nationaltrust.org.uk/buckland

© National Trust 2016. The National Trust is an independent registered charity, number 205846. Photography © National Trust Images \ Grant Wyness

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NATIONAL TRUST

Feeling jolly at Cotehele The 60th-anniversary flower garland is up, the choirs have started to sing and the chefs are busy cooking festive lunches in the restaurants. It’s feeling a lot like Christmas at Cotehele, the National Trust place near Saltash.

In honour of the garland’s diamond anniversary, this year the gardeners have given it a new look. Choirs and local musicians are performing under it every afternoon until 24 December. The 60ft swag will adorn the Tudor Hall until 31 December (closed Christmas and Boxing Day).

Family activities include a Father Christmas dog-friendly family trail through the woods, festive art and craft fun with Father Christmas, and Mother and Father Christmas will be receiving visitors in their grotto for four days.

The Barn Restaurant at the House and the Edgcumbe tea-room on Cotehele Quay are serving holiday menus for lunch and afternoon tea. There are beautiful gift ideas for everyone on your list in the shop and in the ‘All Wrapped Up’ exhibition in Cotehele Gallery.

Lyrical links in the Library at Cotehele Saturday 26 November – 24 December, 11am-4pm Discover some items in Cotehele’s collection, and some aspects of its history, that link with the lyrics of Christmas carols and songs. Normal admission charges apply.

Let’s Wassail at Cotehele Saturday 17 December, 11.30am-12pm Come along for this pagan festival to scare away the evil spirits in the orchards and ensure a good harvest in 2017. Drums, kazoos and fancy dress encouraged. Assistance dogs only, free.

Volunteer recruitment day at Cotehele Wednesday 18 January, 11am-3pm Have you ever thought about volunteering at Cotehele? Pop in for a chat, meet the team, have some tea and find out how we might work together in 2017, free.

Find details of dates, times and prices at: www.nationaltrust. org.uk/cotehele.

Escape from the hurly burly and enjoy a traditional Christmas at Cotehele.

01579 351346 nationaltrust.org.uk/cotehele

See our new community website www.dartmoorlinks.co.uk

© National Trust Images/Matt Stockman. Registered Charity Number 205846.

Christmas at Cotehele

53

MUSIC & ART Saturday 17th December

Stannary Brass Band Angela Rippon, O.B.E, patron of Stannary Brass Band will be the host for their Christmas Concert which will take place in Tavistock Town Hall on Saturday December 17th starting a 7:30.

Angela is looking forward to hosting this extremely popular annual event and hopes that a full house will be entertained to not only traditional Brass Band music, Christmas pieces and joining in with carol singing.

The band’s special guests this year are the Plymouth Mayflower Harmony Chorus with the Carousel Quartet. The band is once again grateful to the continued support of the Lions Club of Tavistock, Fairway Furniture and Ward & Chowen Estate Agents.

Tickets are available from Ward & Chowen in Tavistock and Yelverton and are priced at £8 adult and £2 under 18.

Saturday 10th December

Mount Kelly Choral Society Mount Kelly Choral Society will present a programme of Christmas music on Saturday 10th December, 7.30p.m. at St Eustachius’ Church in Tavistock including Vivaldi’s exuberant setting of the Gloria and favourite carols for choir. The concert features soloists Rosemary Turner and Helen Haviland and will be conducted by Mount Kelly Director of Music, Julian Jensen.

Admission is £10 by programme, available from Bookstop , Ward & Chowen in Tavistock, or on the door.

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Saturday 11th February

Judie Tzuke

Songs and Stories tour comes to Tavistock After the sell out success of the Songs and Stories 2015 tour, which saw Judie perform over 40 concerts around the country, she is back on the road performing these special acoustic concerts and will be calling at Tavistock Wharf on February 11th.

This promises to be an intimate evening of old favourites and new songs and tales from across her life and career.

Judie Tzuke is one of the UK’s finest Singer/Songwriters and is known all over the world for her timeless song, ‘Stay With Me Till Dawn’, with many top 10 albums, including the revered classic, ‘Welcome to the Cruise’ and her exquisite live shows.

Judie will be showing once again what an extraordinary artist she is!

She was born Judie Myers in London to an English mother and a Polish father. Her father’s family had come to Britain from Poland in the 1920’s and originally settled in Yorkshire. They changed their name from their original Polish name “Tzuke” to Myers because it was one of the more common names in Yorkshire at that time and they wanted to blend into the community where they had come to live.

Her father Sefton Myers, was a successful Park Lane based property developer, who also managed artists and singers. He co-managed and supported Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice while they wrote Jesus Christ Superstar but unfortunately he died a few weeks before the musical opened. He had also been Chief Barker of The Variety Club of Great Britain and was a very popular impresario. Her mother Jean Silverside was an actress in films and popular TV series’ such as The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin, The Marty Feldman show, The Goodies and various other TV plays.

Simply Flowers Simply Flowers Florist

After an education in the arts, music and drama, by the age of 15 Judie spent most of her time writing poems which she turned into songs and playing folk clubs, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar. In 1975 she met Mike Paxman and together they started to write the songs that were to become her first releases. After making some demo tapes, they managed to get a record deal with David Bowie and T.Rex producer Tony Visconti’s label Good Earth.

Judie decided to change her name back to her original family’s surname “Tzuke”. A single was released: “These are The Laws” which was recorded and produced by Tony Visconti and came out under the name of “Tzuke and Paxo”. Whilst at Good Earth, Judie and Mike met Bob Noble and Paul Muggleton who were also on the label with their band “Omaha Sheriff”.

Judie’s first album ‘Welcome To The Cruise’ was released in 1979 along with the single ‘Stay With Me ‘Till Dawn’. The song stayed in the UK charts for 16 weeks, and she made three live appearances on Top of the Pops.

Tickets to see Judi Tzuke cost £20 in advance from the Wharf’s box office on 01822 611166

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55

FOOD & WINE

An alternative approach to a classic Christmas For the avid readers of this publication, you may recall that twelve months ago I did in some detail wax lyrical on a flight of more traditional wines to compliment the festive season. That still holds true but with so many exciting and innovative new wines constantly flooding the market, there are inevitably many eclectic alternatives for the adventurous, open minded and enthusiastic imbiber.

There is no doubt that for many, Christmas is just not Christmas without bubbles. Champagne, whilst the undisputed champion might push the budget too far. Can I suggest that one does not automatically steer towards Prosecco, trust me, there are many plausible alternatives. My top tip is ‘Cava’, - top quality Cava has so much to offer.

With a little extra bottle age quality Cava is more akin to a Champagne than Prosecco.

For the perfect Christmas Day Red, aim for lighter, less punchy Reds. Turkey really does not sit happily alongside big, robust Red wines ... so, how about revisiting the all too confusing world of Claret, that being any Red from Bordeaux.

Ranging in price from £7 to thousands of pounds, my handy hint is to go for a Cru Bourgeois. Our star is still Chateau Cissac Haut Medoc 2011.

This vintage is in great shape and with a classic label will add elegance to any Christmas table ... at £16.99, a rare treat.

Viognier. My white grape of the moment, and no one seems to produce better than the French.

From the bouquet to the lingering palate there is the characteristic peachy-apricot fruit with an intriguing waxy texture and a twist of citrus.

Ideal with turkey and smoked salmon.

For many, Boxing Day offers the real focus for food. Previously I recommended any of the Cru Beaujolais, but why not try the less obvious Barbera d’Alba or a young Chianti both bursting with cherry and damson fruit, culinary spice and an invigorating edge... My Barbera d’Alba ...£19.49 .. might seem a little pricey but it is Christmas!

And now pudding wine. So important and with so many options and levels of intensity and style. Rutherglen Muscat is a hard one to beat at £11.99 .. Christmas in a bottle. That said, for less intensity try the Casa Silva GewurztraminerSemillon. Spicy ginger, rose petal and Turkish delight, not too cloying and a zippy citrus finish at £7.99 a half bottle. Do remember that a half bottle of pudding wine will serve 7 people so a little goes a long way.

The editor insisted that I focus on a mere 5 wines ... orders are orders ... but let’s not forget Port…!

Charles Steevenson Steevenson Wines

The private wine division of Steevenson Wines.

"VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR YOUR CHRISTMAS WINES" CLICK & COLLECT... OR FREE LOCAL DELIVERY T: 01822 616272

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E: info@farflungwines.com

farflungwines.com

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Approved For Wills & Inheritance Quality Scheme Wolferstans Solicitors are celebrating having been successfully reaccredited to the Law Society Wills and Inheritance Quality Scheme (WIQS), for the second year.

It is recognised that individuals who choose an unregulated Will writer to draft their Will risk leaving their loved ones in a legal minefield. Although your Will is one of the most important financial and personal decisions that you will make, very often individuals choose to draft a Will themselves or choose not to use a specialist solicitor, running the risk that their Will may be invalid, incomplete or contested after death, often at very considerable financial or emotional cost.

Currently there is no regulation surrounding Will drafting so anyone is able to hold themselves out as an expert in drafting Wills.

Samantha Buckthought, Partner and Head of the Wills and Trust Department at Wolferstans says “It is very difficult for those seeking advice to know who to trust and what to look for in choosing an adviser. This is why the WIQS scheme is so important, as it identifies firms who are skilled and accredited in the work, and who have signed up to stringent quality standards. We were delighted to have been one of only a handful of firms locally who were originally accredited under the scheme, and are really pleased to renew that accreditation this year.”

It is extremely important to talk to a specialist solicitor who can make sure that the Will is correctly and appropriately drafted, but also provides for exactly what the individual needs and chooses. A specialist will also be able to advise on complex financial issues such as inheritance tax and trusts planning, and advise upon potential challenges that could be made to the Will.

Wolferstans your local legal family Samantha adds “At the heart of WIQs is the Law Society standard for delivering experts, here for you when you need us tailored Wills and probate advice. In achieving our WIQs accreditation, we underwent an application and assessment process to demonstrate our adoption of best practice procedures in delivering Wills and probate advice. This benefits our clients by ensuring that they understand the issues in preparing a Will or seeking probate advice, and are aware of the options, costs and timescales in order to make an informed choice from the outset. This means that our clients can be confident that they will be seen by a specialist who will be able to give them advice to meet their individual needs.”

If you would like information or advice regarding drafting a Will or probate matters please contact Rebecca Bawler on 01752 292322 or email rbawler@wolferstans.com or alternatively visit www.wolferstans.com

01752 292322

www.wolferstans.com

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57

BOOK REVIEW

Goodbye Pet & See You in Heaven,

by Bel Mooney Review by Natasha Church at Book Stop, Tavistock

Bel Mooney explores our relationship with pet animals, through the death of her beloved dog, Bonnie. The more I read this book, the more I became aware of my own complex connection with animal kind.

While highlighting the necessity of learning to let go of departed pets and keep living 'in the moment', Bel honours the depth of grief that can be felt when a pet dies. and reiterates that animals are just as worthy of our love as humans.

She describes the journey with Bonnie, from being an abandoned rescue dog to acting as a loyal, mindful, loving companion - a “chief comforter” - through life's ups and downs.

She says “Your dog will love you, no matter what you have become”.

the dog': “And why was I so attached so profoundly to this little mad dog...?

Why have I cried as one cries for a lost friend?

Is it not that the unquenchable tenderness which I feel for everything that lives...is a brotherhood of suffering”? Emile Zola (1840-1902) Partly biographical, partly spiritual and fully honest and delightful.

Do watch this space, as I am planning to hold an event with Bel Mooney in Spring 2017!

Literary quotes are scattered throughout, emphasising the validity of the human-animal connection and the 'ancient love of

Book Stop’s Top Ten for Christmas…..

• The Tobacconist by Robert Seethaler. A 17-year-old boy moves from 1937 Austria to Vienna – a novel in which the light illuminates dark times. Hardback £12.99 • His Bloody Project, by Graeme Macrae. Shortlisted for the Booker 2016. Triple murder in 1869. Paperback £8.99 • Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, by Carlo Rovelli. Everything you need to know about modern physics. Paperback £6.99 • Private Eye Annual, edited by Ian Hislop – No explanation needed! Hardback £9.99 • Eileen, by Otttessa Mosfegh. A hard-hitting depiction of a double life. Paperback £8.99 • Road to Little Dribbling, by Bill Bryson. Follow up to Notes From a Small Island. Paperback £8.99 • Night School, by Lee Child. New Jack Reacher thriller.

Hardback £20.00 • Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins. Mystery witnessed from a train window. Recently made into a film. Paperback £8.99

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Children’s Books • The Racehorse Who Wouldn’t Gallop, by Clare Balding. Girl protagonist helps a horse with a crisis of confidence. Hardback £10.99 • Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down. Greg Heffley under pressure! Hardback £12.99

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Make your own Christmas Garland or Wreath We’ve been hugely inspired by the wonderful Christmas garland at Cotehele and so thought it would be fun to re-create our own smaller version for Christmas. We joined Lyn Edwards at Hoots Roots who showed us a simple but effective way to make our own:

Step 3.

Add each bunch to your ring or rope – twisting in to place with more florists wire. Keep all the bunches going round in the same direction (clockwise etc.)

to create willow stars, Christmas trees, garlands and table-centres.

Step 4.

Step 1.

Leave as simple foliage at this stage or adorn with festive pine cones, baubles, cinnamon sticks or orange slices – again attaching with florists wire.

Use a woven willow ring for a wreath or a length of 1”inch thick rope if making a garland. (Willow rings should be available from good florists shops)

Hang on the door with a further length of string or use as a table decoration.

Regularly spray with water and it should last a good 2-3 weeks.

Step 2.

Create approximately 10 – 14 small bunches of foliage (all of a similar length of about 6”inches). Choose a variety of garden foliage with varying colours. Hold each bunch together with a good twisting of florists wire.

Lyn will be running her ‘Christmas from the Hedgerow’ course at Hoots Roots on Wednesday 14th December. Learn how

Craft Courses

Set in the Tavy Valley beneath the Shillamill Viaduct and the Tavistock Canal, we invite you to join us on an exciting programme of rural craft courses. We offer expert tuition in a tranquil setting in small friendly groups to suit all abilities.

December

Luxury Christmas Wreath Felted Christmas Wreath Edible Christmas Wreath Christmas from the Hedgerow

Regular Clubs

Tuesday 6th December Wednesday 7th December Tuesday 13th December Wednesday 14th December

January

Wet Felting Willow (Snails & Dragonflies) Willow (Zarzo Platter & Basket)

Spinning - Wednesdays and Saturdays Foraging - Commences in March

Wednesday 11th January Saturday 14 January Tuesday 17 January

Gardening and Craft for Children – coming soon!

To find out more please telephone Anne on 01822 258802 or check our Hoot’s Roots Facebook page.

Visit our website www.hootsroots.co.uk for full details, times and prices

See our new community website www.dartmoorlinks.co.uk

59

FOOD & WINE

Popcorn Christmas Stars Make your own edible decorations for Christmas!

Method

Ingredients 340g (12oz) sugar

•

Combine sugar and next 3 ingredients in a heavy based saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium and bring to a slow boil. Cook, without stirring, until a jam thermometer registers 255 degrees F. (CAUTION: Supervise children at all times when making caramel, can cause severe burns.)

•

Remove from heat; stir in salt and vanilla. Quickly pour mixture over popcorn; toss or stir gently to coat. Add hundreds and thousands, tossing gently to combine.

•

Moisten or grease hands. Working quickly, press the mixture into a star-shaped cookie cutter. Press coloured smarties on the star to decorate further. If the carameled corn becomes too hard to shape, place in a warm (200 degrees F) oven for a few minutes to soften.

•

Create a hole in the top using a skewer or straw - ready to thread with ribbon and hang on your tree

115g (4oz) golden syrup 115g (4oz) water 3oz butter ¼ tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla essence 150g pack of popping corn (or large pack of ready popped corn) 115g (4oz) red and/ or green smarties 3tbsp hundreds and thousands

Keep out of the reach of dogs and cats !

WA BIDDER & SONS Orders now being taken for Free Range meat, game and poultry for Christmas Christmas opening hours 22nd & 23rd Dec 24th Dec

6am - 6pm 6am - 4pm

SW Hospice volunteers will be serving refreshments

Closed: 25/26/27thDecember December Closed: 25/26/27/28th January 1 1/2/3rd & 2nd January Open: December Open:28/29/30/31st 29/30/31st December Normalopening Openinghours Hours Normal

2 Moorland Villas, Yelverton, PL20 6DT 01822 852008 60

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CHINESE RESTAURANT AND TAKE AWAY The secret of the Bird’s Nest long-running success can be attributed to two factors; the rich experience of its staff and management, and the high quality of its ingredients. Browsing through the menu is like taking a journey across Asia: from the fresh, exciting flavours of Thailand and China to the rich, complex spices of Malaysia, and from innovative Japanese dishes to the timeless classics of traditional Cantonese cookery.

We do not use MSG in any of our food!

AN AUTHENTIC TASTE OF THE ORIENT Sunday – Thursday 5 – 10:30pm Friday & Saturday 5 – 11pm Open All Bank Holidays Closed Tuesdays

4 Barley Market Street, Tavistock PL19 0JF TO RESERVE A TABLE OR ORDER YOUR TAKE AWAY PLEASE CALL

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61

BUSINESS

Tech Tips from ChezvousPC Microsoft have replaced their “Hotmail Connector” software, and if you previously had Outlook set up with it, it will probably have stopped working by now! It’s an easy job to replace your account settings after removing the connector and you should be back receiving mail just like before!

Are you having iPad update problems?

If your iPad prompts to install updates, don’t set them going, then wander off. One of the updates requires you to create a Passcode and if you just leave your iPad to it, it seems to eventually give up waiting and lock you out. You now have a Passcode that you didn’t create! A trip to see us or the Apple store can get your iPad reset, but just easier if you haven’t got to do it at all!

When was the last time you backed things up?

Have a think about it – how many files or photos have you created since the last time you ran a backup? If the answer is

“Nothing important”, then congratulations; you back up regularly enough! If however there are things you would be worried about losing if your PC/Laptop refused to turn on tomorrow, then maybe it is time to consider dusting off that USB drive and taking 5 minutes to get up to date!

We are STILL getting reports of scam phone-calls!

People are still trying to con their way onto your PC – although we’ve now also started to come across the scam working the other way around – your web browser gets hijacked, and shows you a VERY convincing message, seemingly from Microsoft telling you to ring a number to get your PC fixed! DO NOT ring the number! It is the same scam and you are giving the same scammers full access to your PC! Just turn it off and if you keep getting the message, give us a ring and we’ll sort it out for you!

TIM, Tim & Carol - ChezvousPC For help with any home or business IT needs, give us a ring on 01822 855822 or visit our website at chezvouspc.com

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CONSTITUENCY NEWS News from Geoffrey Cox MP

Mobile phone reception update...

In areas of Torridge and West Devon mobile phone reception is patchy at best, with many locations experiencing non-existent coverage, making it difficult to stay in touch with others while on the move, or even while at home.

I am contacted regularly by constituents who are concerned about poor mobile phone reception, with businesses and individuals stressing to me how difficult their lives can be without good coverage. They are especially concerned that they perceive Devon to be lagging behind other areas, which now benefit from strong mobile coverage.

landmass will have mobile reception by 2017. Alongside other programmes, this will ensure that 98 per cent of people will be able to get 4G mobile coverage by 2017. With its national parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Devon faces many geographical challenges in its pursuit of stronger mobile phone signals, with the addition of large telecoms masts to rectify the problem also raising concerns in terms of aesthetic damage to the natural beauty of the area.

This is why I am pleased to see the work being undertaken by Vodafone’s Rural Open Sure Signal programme, which offers a smaller and more discreet option to obtaining a signal, and is currently being rolled out in various areas across Devon.

In the 21st Century, having a reliable means of communication is essential, and the Government has been firmly committed to improving mobile coverage, such as through the Mobile Infrastructure Project (MIP), as well as improving the wider mobile telecoms market. My colleagues have also ensured that 4G speeds become the norm, and signed a landmark deal with the four main mobile networks to invest £5 billion in the UK communications network, guaranteeing 90 per cent of the UK’s

The Government will now ensure that Britain seizes the chance to be a world leader in the development of 5G, playing a key role in defining industry standards, as well as continuing investment in mobile infrastructure to ensure that everybody can benefit from good voice and text coverage.

Geoffrey Cox MP

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63

DOG WALK

Plymbridge Woods & Cann Woods

th i w s k l Wa en n n e S & s u g n A

This is a rough guide to a woodland walk of two halves. You can extend the walk by crossing over from the National Trust ancient woodland and riverside meadows at Plymbridge to the neighbouring Forestry Commission woodland of Cann Woods. Alternatively, follow the cycle track up river towards Clearbrook or down to Plympton.

Park at the car park next to Plymbridge OS SX524585 and walk back along the road to a gate on the right. Walk down towards the river and follow the paths through the wooded valley for as long as you like exploring the beautiful valley of the River Plym.

Due to erosion you may find the footpath becomes inaccessible along the river, but there are alternative paths higher up which take you past dramatic industrial remains, towering quarry faces and on to the Sustrans cycle track along the Great Western Railway Track.

Cross the Cann viaduct on to the other side of the river, back towards the bridge and car park. From March to early Summer there is a peregrine falcon viewing platform on the viaduct.

Phone 01752 341377 for more information.

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Unit 5 Atlas House West Devon Business Park Tavistock PL19 9DP T. 01822 611110/617811 E. shop@ronspets.co.uk

There is also a car park at Cann woods accessible from the Plympton road. They are a great place to explore in the muddy months as the main track which leads in to the heart of the WIN WITH DENTAL BENEFITS

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Local Delivery Service 64

As you near the bridge there is a sign by a gate on your left to Cann woods. The track is steep and rough and follows the course of a stream. At the top of the track you meet a wide road/path and can turn in either direction. Left takes you up into 230 hectares of Forestry Commission woods with rows of dense, dark coniferous plantation alongside broad leaved open woodland and many criss-crossing paths. You can explore here for hours although it is best to be aware of your bearings as ultimately you have to find your way back to the track alongside the stream in order to return to Plymbridge and your car!

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65

HISTORY

Sheepstor Church

A church that links a Victorian adventurer, the medieval tin trade, two women wood carvers and Flanders in modern Belgium‌.

Reeds of Exeter. The fine bench ends are some of the best work by the famous Pinwell sisters who ran a workshop in Plymouth between the two world wars. Their glorious work re-invokes some of the imagery you will find in much older churches, for example at St Keverne on the Lizard and St Dominic in the Tamar valley. But perhaps the most surprising object in the church is a fine Pua Kumbu or ceremonial blanket, given to the church by Christian well-wishers in Sarawak, a Malaysian part of Borneo.

Why on earth Sarawak in Sheepstor you may ask? Well the

Visit Sheepstor and the answers become clear. The Church was built like many moorland churches in the mid C15th when tin mining and the wool trade with Flanders were prosperous and the parish of Sheepstor had more people living in it than any time since. So the size which seems large for the present village was about right then. Visit the church and you will be bowled over by the elaborate and beautifully carved Rood Screen and the bench ends.

But all is not what it seems. They are much younger than the church. The screen was a restoration installed in 1910, made by 66

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Civil Records-Part 1 We have looked at using the census records in the last two issues. Like the census records, civil registration records also cover much of the 19th century, but also continue into the 20th century, and give us useful information on births, marriages and deaths. For England and Wales, only the indexes to the civil registers are available to view freely, but further information can be obtained by ordering birth, marriage or death certificates from the General Register Office [http://www.gro.gov. uk/gro/content/] at £9.25 including postage.

All the main subscription databases such as Ancestry and FindMyPast hold these indexes, and there are also free sites such as FreeBMD [http:// www.freebmd.org.uk]. The indexes show names, the Quarter of the year in which the event was registered, and the registration district, with the volume and page number of the register entry, so that you can send for the certificate. They also sometimes give ages, which can be useful. In FreeBMD, clicking on the district brings up a list of the parishes it covered, with relevant dates - be careful here as boundaries changed over time.

answer is at the back of the church on a memorial plaque, window and bust commemorating the Rajah’s of Sarawak.

James Brooke the first Rajah was sailing round the world in his yacht, as one did in the 1840s, and arrived off the coast of Borneo in time to help put down an insurrection. He was then asked to become the Rajah and the family ruled Sarawak until 1946 when they handed it over to the British Crown. James when he retired lived in Sheepstor and was buried in the churchyard as were his successors.

The village of Sheepstor now has only 45 inhabitants so the cost of maintaining the church falls on a small number of shoulders. The tower has just been reroofed at a cost of £63,000 and the community is now looking to repoint the exterior of the church as well as fitting out the old Lady Chapel as an exhibition space for visitors - to help tell some of these stories better.

are very welcome, as are contributions to the costs of repair! Or come to one of the services. Festivals such as Harvest and Carols are especially well attended.

Details on http://www.westdartmoor. church/

The church is open every day and visitors The annual Good Friday walk with the West Dartmoor Mission to the top of Sheeps tor.

See our new community website www.dartmoorlinks.co.uk

Richard Bayly

You may need to try different spellings of names, and to remember that people sometimes used their middle names. It is not always possible to locate the person you are looking for via these indexes, especially if the name is a common one, or the person lived in a large city. But where you can be reasonably sure that you have found the correct match, the next step is to verify this by sending for the birth, marriage or death certificate.

In Part 2 we’ll look at the kind of information found in birth, marriage and death certificates, and how it can be useful Susan Francia Historian and genealogist. family-historyresearch.co.uk 01822 820855

67

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TRADE SECRETS Crispin Jordan Furniture Maker

Why did you become a furniture maker?

Who else works with you?

How much training is involved and what qualifications do you need to become a furniture maker?

What is involved in being a furniture maker? How does your day usually unfold?

I have always loved wood and feel an affinity with wood grain. It is a living material and has so much potential to make beautiful furniture .

There are plenty of vocational courses and apprenticeship schemes. The Guild of Master Craftsmen has information on qualifications and courses too. I have an ‘O’ level in design technology, but then I went off to university to study something completely different. I was later an apprentice to a coach builder who taught me all of the carpentry skills and secrets of the trade. The learning never ends though as there are always new techniques and new tools being developed.

How long have you been a furniture maker?

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Where do you work and what do you make?

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I work from home where I have a workshop. It’s an unheated space which presents difficulties working with wood in different seasons. I make and design bespoke furniture; from solid wood kitchens to chunky outdoor furniture and everything in between. I really like making individual and unusual pieces.

78

I am self-employed and work on my own, although you have to build up a good working relationship with clients.

Each day is made up of different tasks: I order in the wood I need for each individual job, visit clients and price up jobs as well as design and construct furniture.

What would you say to someone thinking of this as a career?

Think carefully and consider your skill set. You need to be committed to making furniture every day rather than holding a romantic idea of creating a few pieces of beautiful woodwork. It helps if you love wood, for me it is a vocation and a very satisfying career.

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To contact Crispin call 01822 852862

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