Community News

From Devon to Ukraine

On 23 March, seven West Devon residents set off with four vans and a trailer loaded with donations for the people of Ukraine - including medications, long-life food, personal hygiene products and supplies for babies. Princetown and Horrabridge residents, Zuzana Hlincikova, Neil Francis, Marcus Allen, Madison David, Jan Hayes, Richard Staniland and John Rogers travelled for 65 hours to complete the 2866-mile round trip to Lviv.

When war broke out in Ukraine, Zuzana was visiting her family in the Czech Republic and immediately wanted to do something to help the Ukranian people. She launched an appeal at Princetown Pre-school where she works, then other local residents got involved and the project snowballed into the idea of a convoy team taking the donations out to Poland. They made contact with Anna Vynnyk, the co-ordinator of Volonter Liga, a Lviv charity working to help Ukrainians affected by the war, and she sent lists of required items. Donations of supplies and money flooded in from local residents and businesses, and there were also a number of fundraising events such as a charity Zumba organised by Janine Hodge. Marcus’s partner Toni helped to organise fundraising and every day they came home more donations had been left outside their house. The journey to Ukraine was not without its challenges, as the group only got a few hours’ sleep on the way there and experienced difficulties at the border to Ukraine, until a Polish man intervened on their behalf. They then only had a few hours to reach Lviv, drop off the goods and get back to Poland before the curfew came into force. Their memories of Lviv are made up of sand bunkers, tank traps, young soldiers trying to keep warm and people attempting to get on with their lives as news filtered in of more bombings in cities where loved ones had stayed behind. The team crossed back into Poland shortly before the curfew, and when they checked into a hotel at 10pm they were overwhelmed with the welcome, as well as homemade soup and home-brewed beer. They even managed to find a mechanic to replace a brake pad on a Sunday! As long as they continue to receive sponsorship and donations, the group intends to keep transporting them to Ukraine. You can follow their progress at Facebook: UKkyi Bear. Devon to Ukraine, and find out what supplies are required or donate via the link to the crowdfunder at justgiving.com - Princetown#Devo n#Ukraine#NeedYourHelp. Drop-off points include Morrisons, Travis Perkins and Ron’s Pets in Tavistock, The Game Larder, Drake Vets and The Rock Inn in Yelverton, The Burrator Inn in Dousland, The White Thorn Inn in Shaugh Prior, The Prince of Wales in Princetown.

Join Mad Dog Mcrea & Tom Baker on Friday 17 June from 6:30pm in aid of the Ukraine appeal at Higher Bughill Farm, Shaugh Prior, PL7 5EW. Tickets on eventbrite.co.uk - 331684265567 or call 07387 152125.

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New bridge at Calstock Wetlands

The period after Christmas to mid-year is generally a quieter time for Tavistock Lions Club, but members have still been busy helping out Tavistock Athletic Club as road marshals for the Tavy13 race, and the BBQ team provided its excellent range of hot food and drinks for a competition at Tavistock Community Football Club. Club members were also out in force in Bedford Square collecting in aid of Ukrainian refugees, resulting in a donation including Gift Aid of £875 to the Lions Club International Foundation which ensures all money donated is channelled to similar clubs in the area of conflict. The club has also been planning activities with BID to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, with a children’s parade of flags on Thursday 2 June and a Picnic in the Park the following Sunday with music and cream teas. Planning is also well underway for this year’s carnival after a gap of three years due to the pandemic. This year’s theme is ‘We are the World’ which the club believes is hopefully what we are feeling despite the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Carnival week starts on Sunday 10 July – see What’s On for details of all the events – and culminates on Saturday 16 July, when Tavistock will be filled with marching bands, floats and walkers in costume as the carnival procession wends its way through the town. Members are delighted to bring the carnival back after such a difficult time and hope everybody will join in with enthusiasm and give generously during the procession. The club’s plans for the rest of the year include the fireworks display on Saturday 5 November at Tavistock Football Club, Trees of Light on Friday 25 November and the return of the popular Christmas postal service. For more information visit tavistocklions.org. uk; Facebook: Lions Club of Tavistock or call 03458 334807.

A new footbridge, created as part of the River Tamar Walkway & Wetland Project in Calstock, is now open, enabling the local community and visitors to enjoy the wildlife that is flocking to the recently flooded wetland area. The footbridge is the final piece of the jigsaw in this £3.1 million flood defence scheme, delivered by a partnership between the Environment Agency, Tamar Community Trust, Calstock Parish Council, Calstock Footpath Society and Tamar Valley AONB. It has been designed and constructed to span the breach through the old flood embankment (now redundant as a flood defence) and to maintain the much-valued permissive footpath – described as a jewel in the crown of the Tamar Valley Discovery Trail. Walkers can safely use the bridge now, and it will be officially opened on Tuesday 14 June at 4:30pm.

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A busy time for Tavistock

The town is in bloom again and we are looking forward to the summer months. There has been a notable return of foreign visitors to the town, which is great to see and very welcome. We have also seen an upturn in those visiting from other parts of the UK, with COVID changing the way we view travel and encouraging us to explore our own backyard. With all this in mind, we have turned our focus to growing the Visit Tavistock brand and are engaged in a number of projects to increase visits from different groups and demographics. We believe that Tavistock has so much to offer and is also perfectly situated for exploring Dartmoor, West Devon and Cornwall. We are working on developing official town merchandise, producing new interpretation signage for visitors at entry points into the town, creating a food & drink booklet and a new Green Spaces trail. COVID has made people more aware of the need for space and, here in Tavistock, we are blessed to have lots of green, open areas to enjoy. There is plenty happening in the town over the coming months. Starting off June will be our Platinum Jubilee celebrations – the Jubilee Gala Day on 2 June is set to be a wonderful day for all the family, followed by a town Jubilee Picnic in The Meadows on 5 June. Tavistock’s first ever Pride festival will be happening on 25 June and Tavistock Carnival is set to return on 16 July with the theme ‘We Are The World’. Along with the much-loved Steam & Vintage Fair on 5 June, street food festivals, guided walks from the Guildhall Gateway Centre, craft markets and a summer fair in Butchers’ Hall, it looks set to be a busy and vibrant few months in town. For more details on all the upcoming events visit www.visittavistock.co.uk/whats-on

Tavistock BID