April 2021

WOODBURY NEWS

APRIL 2021

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APRIL 2021 -

EDITORIAL

Enterprise is certainly flourishing among our local young people! The cover photograph, taken by his mother, is of nine-year-old Tommy Harris, who has taken up the craft of knitting during lockdown, and already has an order book filling up. You can read about his knitting prowess on pages 22 and 23. It is also inspiring to see how creative our village youngsters are, illustrated by the varied photos received from both our primary schools.

How wonderful it is, after months of comparative silence, to hear the happy sounds of children playing in the school playgrounds. When asked what they missed most about home-schooling, almost all replied ‘seeing my friends’.

Followed by an urgent wish for a hair appointment, this same reply would probably be made by most adults. We humans are social beings and it has been completely alien to spend so long either completely alone or with just our closest family members. Let us hope the ongoing vaccination programme and the planned government road map continue apace without any hiccups.

Although social distancing will apparently be with us for some considerable time more, soon we should be able hear the sound of balls bouncing on the tennis courts and the church doors will again be open, albeit for a restricted number of services (see individual village notices on pages 4, 13 and 18 to check out the relevant dates). By the time you read this paper version of Woodbury News – with renewed thanks to our loyal band of deliverers - up to six people or two households should be able to meet outdoors, and we are allowed to travel further afield. From the week beginning 12 April, our local pubs can reopen their outdoor facilities, as can self-contained holiday accommodation, libraries, community centres, zoos and theme parks – the latter no doubt will bring cheer to our young people during the second week of their school Easter holidays.

During lockdown some families will have moved into our locality but we will have been unable to offer them the type of warm welcome that has always been the norm in our villages. As soon as we can, let’s seize the opportunity to welcome them into our community, to introduce them to our friends and neighbours, and encourage them to join the clubs and societies, whose regular meetings we have all been missing.

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Secretary: Karen Squires, Willowfield, Oakhayes Road, Woodbury EX5 1JT. 233299 Registered Office: Willowfield, Oakhayes Road, Woodbury EX5 1JT. Tel: 233299 Chairman: Jeremy Boyden, Rosemary, Broadway, Woodbury EX5 1NR. Tel: 233072 Editor: Sue Bury, Mayflower Cottage, 37 Greenway, Woodbury EX5 1LU. Tel: 233753 Deputy Editor: Val Arndt, Castlehaye, Castle Lane, Woodbury. Tel: 233175 Subscriptions: Jeremy Boyden, Rosemary, Broadway, Woodbury EX5 1NR. Tel: 233072

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ST SWITHUN’S CHURCH, WOODBURY Vicar: Reverend Bill Lemmey 01395 232161 Email: revbillwhitecross@gmail.com Administrator: Jill Dupain dupain@hotmail.co.uk It is with great pleasure that we can announce a resumption of services in our churches beginning on Palm Sunday, 28 March, with Holy Communion at St Swithun’s at 11.15.

Special Services for the whole White Cross Mission Community Thursday 1 April - Maundy Thursday, Holy Communion at Exton 18.30.

Friday 2 April - Good Friday, Meditation of the Cross at Clyst St George 14.00.

Sunday Services 4 April - Easter Sunday, Holy Communion at St Swithun’s, 11.15.

18 April - 3rd Sunday of Easter, Evening Prayer at St Swithun’s 18.30.

25 April - 4th Sunday of Easter, Zoom Family Service 09.30; for a link to this please email dupain@hotmail.co.uk.

Further information will be available in the monthly Digest. To receive this by email please send your email address to st.swithuns.digest@gmail.com.

FLOODLIGHTING ST SWITHUN’S CHURCH For your special event, contact Mike Jeans on 01395 232544. Floodlight dedications are displayed on the church noticeboard at the lych gate, and normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.

FoSS (FRIENDS OF ST SWITHUN’S) Although FoSS members have not been able to meet in person, the AGM was held via Zoom on 4 March. There was a good representation of 20 members and Pat Browne (Chairman) reported on a year of social inactivity with only one supper concert in January and a number of cancelled events.

However, financially FoSS benefitted from two generous legacies and also received £1,250 from changing banks; to receive this payment required a significant amount of dedicated attention to detail by treasurer Chris Sheppard. During the year FoSS provided funds for the final payment to the bell fund and for the materials for the cemetery gates.

It is hoped that there can be some social gathering during the summer - we will await government instructions as to what will be permitted. Pat Browne

The Woodbury News attempts to represent a variety of views within the community, but does not accept responsibility for anything but Editorial comment. While it may publish unacknowledged material, nothing is included unless the Editor knows the name and address of the author(s).

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WOODBURY TENNIS CLUB It is with great joy that we can welcome members back to the courts from Monday 29 March. We are still required to be in groups of 6, thus a maximum of 12 players can be present for club sessions on the two courts.

These sessions will start with ladies on Tuesday 30 March and full club on Easter Sunday 4 April. Our local leagues intend to operate from May and we hope to have two Men’s, one Ladies and one Mixed team representing Woodbury.

There has been a good take-up of membership with over 80% renewing early.

We will only be able to accept new membership from our local area. By the time of publication we hope to have had our planning application for the rebuilding of our club hut approved, and work will then start in the spring.

We intend to continue our successful junior coaching programme during the summer term with experienced Exmouth coach, John Wingate, taking charge of the coaching. All those on last year’s list will be contacted; new members (6+) wishing to join, please email Helen (helenryland@btinternet.com) to express interest.

For new members the annual subscription rates remain at £65 per adult, £40 day membership and £15 junior membership, so we hope Woodbury residents who have played or wish to play the game will visit the club and join in.

Pat Browne 232805 (ruthandpatb@aol.com)

6 WOODBURY GARDEN CLUB – PLANT SALE As Covid restrictions will still be in force in May, our annual Plant Sale will mostly be held online, as it was last year. As usual, bedding and tub plants, hardy perennials and vegetable plants will be added to the website as soon as they are ready. This year we have two new pages, Indoor Plants and Tubs and Equipment. Details of how to order are on the website and, as before, money raised will be for local organisations, including Garden Club, and charities. If you haven’t done so already, simply sign up to follow the blog by email (at the bottom of every page) to get an email notification each time the website has been updated https://woodburydevonplants.wordpress.com/.

Otherwise, for up-to-date information, or to request a free email copy of our monthly newsletter, just email me on woodburygardenclub@gmail.com. If you don’t have email, call on 232462. Details are also on our noticeboard (between Kilve’s yard and Salon No.8) in the Arch.

Debby Mullier WOODBURY WOMEN’S INSTITUTE By far the majority of the 30+ members who replied to a recent questionnaire supported the proposal to change our meeting time to Thursday afternoon from 14.00 to 16.00.

It is still unclear whether we can serve refreshments, whether we have to wear face masks and be socially distanced, and whether or not we can have a speaker (if indeed speakers are still operating and want to travel). We are hoping for some clarity on these matters from NFWI, but until then we can’t really make any plans.

However, we will certainly meet as soon as we are allowed and are looking forward to seeing old friends again.

Members have enjoyed the quizzes, and if you have one you think members might like to tackle, send it to me and I will forward it.

I hope this lovely springtime photo - taken at Budleigh Salterton by Nina Brevik - cheers you up with the promise of days out and meeting up with friends.

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces in the not-toodistant future.

Lin Milsom-Ashby

7 WOODBURY AND DISTRICT ROYAL BRITISH LEGION The Branch would like to send get well wishes to Pauline Clark and to wish her a speedy recovery. Pauline was the branch treasurer for very many years and attended many of our coffee mornings.

As the weather warms up we may see more of our friends to chat to out in the open on our daily exercise walks.

Devon County are planning a series of events across the county to commemorate the formation of the RBL 100 years ago. The information will be posted on the RBL website and anyone is welcome to go along to one of the events, which will be after the middle of June once lockdown is over.

New members are very welcome and members from other branches are able to join Woodbury without having to pay another joining fee, whilst remaining a member of their old branch. Sandra Huish, Chairman (232696) WOODBURY C OF E PRIMARY SCHOOL On 8 March we excitedly welcomed all our children back to school. It has been a delight watching them enthusiastically run through the school gates to see their friends. The school has a wonderful buzz of happy children and feels whole again now that they are all together.

Oak Class Update World Book Day was held on Thursday 4 March and as a school we celebrated by asking the children to design a book character from a potato!

We were very impressed by everyone’s designs.

Each class held a competition for the most creative design: in Oak class 1st place went to The Gruffalo, 2nd place to Peter Rabbit and 3rd Place to Yoda.

The children had a great day of learning based on the Roald Dahl story The Twits including making their own disgusting Mrs Twit's trick menus.

8 WOODBURY C OF E PRIMARY SCHOOL cont’d/...

The children have been learning about healthy eating as part of their design and technology work. They have tasted different fruits and then designed and made their own fruit kebabs. Tasting the finished kebabs was particularly exciting because as a treat we drizzled melted chocolate on them. The children really enjoyed being chefs for the day at home and in school.

In maths the children have been learning about shape this half term and have had fun making 3D shapes to explore faces, vertices and edges. Some used marshmallows and straws and others used anything they could find in their homes. They came up with some fantastic 3D models.

9 In art the children have been working hard on their recycled artwork that has been inspired by Michelle Reader. The children thought very creatively, using recyclable items around the house to make a range of animals.

Chestnut Class Update As part of the curriculum, Chestnut Class have been learning about responding appropriately in an emergency situation: remembering to try to keep calm, the steps to take in an emergency and how to get a person into the recovery position safely. The children practised this manoeuvre on each other.

Over the last few weeks we have been working hard to improve our outside areas. As a school we have planted bulbs and plants and cleared and tidied outdoor spaces to get our grounds looking lovely. Chestnut Class have been very proactive in helping with this project - they have taken a lead on developing our allotment area by putting down weed matting, spreading mulch and woodchip, and weeding. The allotment is now ready for growing some different vegetables and plants and the children are very excited to start doing this, along with sampling what they grow. cont’d/...

10 WOODBURY C OF E PRIMARY SCHOOL cont’d/...

They have really enjoyed being outdoors and working as part of a team to help the school.

We hope that this edition finds the communities of Woodbury Parish safe and well. Gillian Pyle, Head of School

WOODBURY AFTER SCHOOL CLUB We were delighted to reopen the breakfast and after school club and to welcome all children back from 8 March, having been open in the afternoons only for a limited number of children in the recent lockdown period.

The staff in the club create a home-from-home feeling in a fun, safe and stimulating environment and we try to meet the requests for all activities and resources the children would like. We operate in a setting that promotes independence and learning, but we have fun doing so. In the coming weeks we have a number of activities planned, specifically with an Easter theme.

As the weather improves we will aim to take advantage of the outside area as much as possible to allow for space, health and fitness, and also the opportunity to take part in team games which help develop friendships. In the summer most of our sessions are held outside (weather permitting) using lots of natural outdoor resources for planting, making bug hotels and painting. Our shed contains scooters and oversized games such as Jenga and Connect 4. We also play team games such as cricket, rounders and capture the flag.

We currently have spaces in the club, and parents and carers of children joining the school in September will be provided with details of the club’s services in due course via the school. cont’d/...

11 If you would like to find out more about the club please contact the manager, Jenna Walker, on the email address below.

As a charity, the club is required to have a committee and we have vacancies for new committee members, particularly in the roles of Chair and Secretary, with the current holders of these roles due to stand down at the AGM in May, although we also need more general committee members. The committee meets twice a term for roughly one hour and holds its AGM usually in the Spring Term, although this year it will be in the Summer Term. If you are interested in becoming involved on the committee and helping this well run and important community provision to continue, please contact the After School Club manager, Jenna Walker, on woodburyasc@ yahoo.com or the current Chair, Kevin Hughes, on chair.woodburyasc@ gmail.com for more information.

Kevin Hughes

HOPE4KIBERA A new Support Partnership

It is very exciting to let you know that Withycombe Raleigh C of E Primary School has joined the H4K ‘family’ as a support partner.

Tanya Pritchard, a teacher at Withycombe reports on their first fundraising effort: “The school loved taking part in our first fundraising event for Hope4Kibera. This took place during lockdown on a snowy, windy February day, a slight contrast to the weather in Kenya. Lockdown meant that most of the children were at home and a small number in each class bubble were attending school.

The focus was the 4 Challenge. Teachers set their children challenges linked to the number 4, for example taking part in 4 physical activities or producing 4 creative pieces. The range of activities in school was amazing - drumming lessons, yoga, dance, running, physical challenges, art work, learning 4 Swahili words, 4 party games etc. Children at home took part too and sent photos to their classes.

Before the big day, the school took part in a week of collective worship activities linked to Hope4Kibera and the word Hope. cont’d/...

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This included a live link with Linda Collins (H4K Trustee) who spoke to the children in school about the project and told us about her visit to Kibera.

This really inspired and moved both the children and staff.

We were very proud of the incredible efforts and generosity of the school community. It was a very positive start to our connection with Hope4Kibera and we look forward to developing our links with the project in the future.”

We at H4K, and our pupils and partners in Kibera, are so grateful for this new link and the interest and generosity already shown.

The school challenge day raised an amazing £677 which is enough for 45 very needy families to receive a two-week food basket.

Next events In view of Covid restrictions, the inaugural John Wynne Way walk has been postponed to 2022. However, keep training on your bikes, walking boots, or whatever and watch out for LeJog4Kibera in the last two weeks of May. Please join the journey and register for regular news or support at www.hope4kibera.org.uk.

Charlie Collins, Chair H4K

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WOODBURY SALTERTON NEWS HOLY TRINITY CHURCH SERVICES As well as the special services for the whole White Cross Mission Community (see page 4), the following Sunday services will take place at Holy Trinity: 4 April - Easter Sunday, Holy Communion, 09.30.

18 April - 3rd Sunday of Easter, Breakfast Family Service, 09.30.

25 April - via Zoom, Family Service, 09.30.

Annual Parochial Church Meeting The APCM, a meeting which is open to all, has to be held via Zoom this year. It will take place on Wednesday 21 April at 19.30. Anyone who would like to join this meeting can ask Debbie Jung or Jill Dupain for the Zoom link.

Church Quiz Once again the church quiz is receiving a lot of support.

Copies of the Scarecrow Event quiz, based on Colours, published early for lockdown entertainment, are still available from Katharine Wheeler at £2.

Lent Projects As the church buildings are closed during nearly all of Lent this year, churches in the Mission Community are all involved in three projects.

The first is to make a trail of stones or pebbles signifying the start of our journey through Lent towards Easter. Anyone can go into the churchyard and add a stone. We have started by the church door.

The second project is to hang hearts on the tree beside the church path to remember people. Revd Margaret Scrivener has knitted or crocheted lots of coloured hearts and these will be hung in a bag on the tree and you are invited to take one and hang it on the tree.

The third is to tie ribbons on the tree to remember the new life of Easter.

Ribbons will also be provided in a bag so anyone can take one and tie it onto a branch.

We are aiming to show that the life of the church, which is the company of believers, is still active and we look forward to Easter Day. WOODBURY NEWS to your door …

If you are a new resident to the area, or would like your Woodbury News to be delivered to your door monthly, just call Jeremy Boyden on 233072 and he will put you in contact with your local deliverer.

Any queries regarding delivery of Woodbury News within Exton should be directed to Audrey Elphick on 01392 876909.

14 RIP Diana Rosemary Marks The funeral of Diana Marks took place on 8 March at the crematorium. Her ashes were interred in the churchyard later in the month.

Diana grew up in Topsham. She got a job as a nanny in Woodbury and there met her husband Jason. They soon married, making their home in New Way, and had four daughters – Alison, Caroline, Sharon and Samantha. A skilled needlewoman, Diana made clothes for her daughters and took in paid sewing jobs such as making bridesmaids’ dresses and fête queen dresses. She was a keen royalist and made scrapbooks from magazine pictures of the Royal Family. Diana supported Woodbury Cricket Club, in which her husband was a player, and washed the kit for Woodbury Salterton Football Club team.

Her life was devoted to her family of four daughters, nine grandchildren and nine greatgrandchildren.

We extend our sympathy to Jason and all the family who took such care of her in her latter years when her health failed.

Farewell to Alan Nixon Friends and neighbours of Alan Nixon, a longtime and much respected and loved member of our village community, wish him well as he leaves the village in April to move nearer to his family in Oxfordshire. The last time Alan appeared publicly was when he laid the wreath on behalf of the British Legion on Remembrance Sunday last year.

He was wearing his Military Cross.

Once again everyone has been enjoying the colourful carpet of crocuses on The Plantation, which were a gift years ago from Alan and his wife Kay, spending their prize money after winning the best window box competition. We wish Alan every happiness as he spends time with his family and plans to celebrate his coming 100th birthday with them.

Katharine Wheeler

WOODBURY NEWS CLOSING DATES 20 APRIL. 18 MAY. 15 JUNE. ALL MATERIAL FOR THE MAGAZINE SHOULD BE SENT TO KAREN SQUIRES, WILLOWFIELD, OAKHAYES ROAD by 19.00 on the closing date, with a name and telephone number, or email to karensquires100@gmail.com

15 WOODBURY SALTERTON C OF E PRIMARY SCHOOL It is a joy to be writing again on behalf of our school.

Although the school has been open through this latest lockdown, with almost half the pupils attending as their parents are in the frontline worker groups, school life has now fully opened up. The children and staff have been busy and I can share with you their activities so far.

As a school, we appreciate the benefits that outdoor education can provide, particularly to the mental health and wellbeing of our children, as well as increased confidence, social skills, communication, motivation, physical skills and knowledge and understanding of the world around them. After such a tough year, we are eager for our forest school site to once again be a regular place of learning so that the children can enjoy the benefits of working in the natural environment of our rural village location.

The school’s forest school site has seen improvements and repairs with support from the PTFA and Co-Adventurers. There is new signage, seating and a fire pit. The shed has been repaired and a thorough Health and Safety review carried out. We are grateful for the financial support from donors including the White Cross Mission Community and the PTFA to help us to reinstate regular learning sessions which will be led by Co-Adventurers.

This will ensure that the children get the fullest experience in this special space and their emotional health and wellbeing supports their return to learning in the classroom.

Looking on the website, the learning space has already been enjoyed by the children. There are some lovely photos and quotes from the children themselves after a scavenger hunt for different plants and insects. They said: ‘My favourite part of forest school was when we climbed a tree and saw a spider in the grass.’ Autumn.

‘My favourite part of forest school was all the nature surrounding us.’

Elanor.

‘My favourite part of forest school was the treasure hunt.’ Finley.

Clubs are starting up again with Premier Sport both in the morning before school and three afternoons each week, with children of all ages eligible to attend.

Woodbury Salterton is a school that encourages the children’s creative skills and it was lovely to see their creations for World Book Day, which because of lockdown was a model rather than dressing up, and a book cover design.

My favourite is the creature (overleaf) from JK Rowling’s book Ickabog. I don’t know this book but the model has inspired me to read it. cont’d/...

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The winning entry from Key Stage One was Shelby with her Naughtiest Unicorn, our lower Key Stage Two winner was Olivia with The Indian in the Cupboard and the winner from Class Three was Brodie with The Worst Witch. Well done girls – these entries have been sent to Babcock Library Services to represent our school in the competition they are running.

I am writing this on Mother’s Day and looking at the beautiful designs made by the children using watercolours. The children painted these after learning about many of the traditions of this special day, including that, in the 18th century, mothering cakes were given as gifts.

17 They were made of fruit, marzipan and decorated with flowers just as in the lovely painting here.

We pray for the health of the staff, children and their families and that it will not be necessary to close our school to all again because of Covid. We look forward to once again sharing with you the highlights from the learning and life of our school community.

For further information about our school and for latest news see our website https:// www.woodbury-salterton.devon.sch.uk/ and for enquires about places please contact the school office or see our virtual online school tour.

Clare Rooke, SEND Governor, Jubilee with Pebblebed Federation

WEATHER REPORT

The month of February provided us with considerable contrasts in weather: very cold spells with easterly winds and some warm spring days, as the sun climbed a little higher in the winter sky.

The rainfall of 73mm (2.9ins) did not really “fill dykes” as it did last year: February 2020 was recorded as 156mm (6.1ins). This year here at Ebford 43mm (1.7ins) fell during the third week and the total, 73mm for the month, was almost exactly equal to the recent ten year average of 73.7mm.

March has started with sunny dry days and cool nights, continuing the conditions experienced during the last week of February.

Norman Cann

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EXTON NEWS ST ANDREW’S CHURCH EXTON Holy Week Services Although there will be a Holy Communion service on Maundy Thursday, 1 April at 18.30 we are sad that we are unable to have a service on Easter Sunday, but see page 4 for the special services for the whole White Cross Mission Community.

Please look at the White Cross Mission Community poster for Holy Week.

The next service at St Andrew’s will be Holy Communion at 09.30 on Sunday 11 April.

A BRIEF JOURNEY THROUGH THE HISTORY OF EXTON WILDLIFE ON THE ESTUARY In 1935 spartina (cord grass) was introduced into the estuary. The Dawlish Warren Golf Club planted this to stabilise the tidal mud adjacent to their embankment in the hope of preventing erosion. It spread to all parts of the estuary and continued to increase into all areas including the foreshore at Exton. Up until then sheep could be seen grazing on the grass there. But the cord grass did provide good cover for wild birds such as water rail and snipe.

Sheep grazing on Exton foreshore in 1918 If you take a walk along the river front or sit for a while at the station, you can still see many varieties of estuary birds particularly at low tide when the mud becomes a popular feeding ground. There are sandpipers, redshanks, curlews, avocets and if you are lucky sometimes a couple of swans or egrets.

It is best to take a pair of binoculars.

19 Information about the cord grass comes from an article by the late Margaret Parkinson in Woodbury Parish: Living a Century of Change, by Sally and Ramsey Elliot, published in 1994.

Avocet

Snipe

Redshank

Sandpiper

Some of the birds that can be seen from the station or river front in Exton.

Audrey Elphick

WOODBURY NEWS is available online and via Facebook and Twitter.

Editor’s Note : In order to maximise submitted copy and photographs into Woodbury News, it may be necessary to reduce the size of some items.

The Editorial team will attempt to do this as carefully as possible.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

We are not listing any of the anticipated forthcoming events this month, and we will re-consider this decision for future editions of Woodbury News.

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ROUND AND ABOUT DEATHS Shirley Stevens 2 September 1935 – 12 March 2021 Shirley Stevens passed away peacefully at her home in Woodbury on 12 March 2021.

Born at her family home in Ipswich, she was evacuated to the Suffolk countryside during the war and later went on to Ipswich Grammar School where she excelled at swimming, hockey and netball.

After obtaining a degree in bacteriology at Leeds University, Shirley went to work at Beecham's Pharmaceuticals and was part of the small research team that discovered Ampicillin, the first antibiotic to be effective against bacterial meningitis.

Shirley married Geoff in 1959 and a couple of years later Tim and then David were born.

An offer of a job for Geoff at Exeter College prompted a family move from Sussex to Exton in 1969. After Geoff’s death in 2000 Shirley moved to Woodbury and became an active member of the church and Friends of St Swithun’s. She loved to socialise and was always present at village activities, particularly the lych gate where she regularly donated her famous home-made fruit cakes. She also especially liked the blind auctions that went on in the village hall, placing bids on practically every single item, usually in a rather frantic manner! Shirley also enjoyed playing bridge and reading and was an active member of a local book club.

In 2015 Shirley met Alan, a Tasmanian author, at an Exmouth Stroke Association meeting. Both were stroke survivors and a romance ensued but, alas, the authorities would not sanction an international marriage. Shirley bounced back from this as she had always done with previous setbacks.

A housewife for much of her life, Shirley gained executive positions in several charitable organisations including Devon Emergency Volunteers, the WRVS and the Devon County Association for the Blind. She was also a lay reviewer for stroke clinical trials, applications and publications from the Peninsula stroke research unit in Exeter.

I know she would like to thank everyone for the wonderful welcome she received after Geoff’s death and her move to Woodbury, and for the friendships she subsequently made and cherished. Shirley, who really was a character and had a great sense of humour, will be sadly missed.

Tim Stevens

21 Elinor Burton (née Pill) 26 March 1928 - 27 February 2021 Elinor was born in 1926 in Christchurch, New Zealand, the eldest of three sisters. The family moved to the UK when she was four, initially for a two-year stay, but in the event never returned to New Zealand. Elinor’s father was a civil engineer and his work took him all over the UK, settling for a period near Chichester, where Elinor completed her education at Chichester High School for Girls.

When Elinor was 18, she joined the Wrens.

She was stationed in Scotland and trained as an electrician, then assigned to work on the Swordfish aircraft operated by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy.

She met her husband, Jonnie, at the end of the war and was engaged just three weeks later. It was love at first sight: upon spying her across a crowded dance floor, he told his future best man that he had seen the women he was going to marry.

After the war they moved to the Midlands and were happily married until 1968 when Jonnie sadly died at the age of only 45, leaving Elinor a widow with two young daughters.

Elinor’s many interests included travel, live music and theatre, as well as history, gardening, and politics. She travelled extensively both before and after her retirement when she was 65. In 2004 she moved to Woodbury to be nearer her daughters, Mandy and Judie, who coincidentally had moved to the area some years before. She threw herself into village life, joining the WI, History Society and Gardening Club and enjoying many of the other facets of life in Woodbury – coffee mornings, afternoon teas and bacon butties at the lych gate.

In July 2019 she moved to Brandon House in Exmouth, where she was very well cared for until she died there peacefully at the end of February. The family would like to thank Elinor’s good friends in Woodbury for their kindness and support as she became increasingly housebound over the last few years.

She will be sadly missed by her daughters Mandy and Judie, sons-in-law, Nick and David, and her beloved grandchildren Tasha, Anna, Zoe, Eddie and Bella.

Mandie Moore and Judie Attenburrow WELCOME We wish to extend a very warm welcome to Julia Duckworth and Martin Walbank to Oakhayes Road, Woodbury. They have moved from Budleigh Salterton with their spaniel Charlie.

22 THOMAS THE KNITTER Woodbury has an up-and-coming young bobble hat maker with a passion for knitting. I went along to meet 9-year-old Thomas Harris and to see some of his creations.

VA When and how did this all start?

TH During the first lockdown, I guess. I like crafts and thought I would like to learn to knit too, so I got my Mum to teach me how to do the basic knitting stitch. I only know one kind of stitch, but I will learn others later.

VA Why knitting?

TH I don’t really know, but I just wanted to learn. I like doing things by myself.

(Interjection from Thomas’s twin brother Lucas: he does sewing as well – he’s got a sewing machine and a loom – a weaving loom) VA What was the first thing you made?

TH A snood for my teacher – a leaving present. And then I made a scarf – that was weird, ’cos the wool was very thin and it was very different from the thick wool for the snood. So then I went back to thicker wool and made a blanket.

VA Tell me about the blanket.

TH It was Mum’s idea at first – just to knit big squares in different colours and then sew them all together. It took me about an hour to do the first square.

(Interjection from Lucas: it’s VERY heavy, and VERY warm)

23 VA TH

VA TH

VA TH

VA TH

How did you get onto hats?

My next-door neighbour knew I was good at knitting and came and asked me to make a hat to give to someone as a present. And then other people started asking for one.

(Interjection from Lucas: Tom, how many orders do you have coming up?)

I’ve done about 15 so far and I’ve got another 5 on the waiting list. Every time I knit 3, another 4 people want one!

(Interjection from Lucas: if you keep on like this the whole world will want one! And he’s made his own label to attach to the hats) How does knitting make you feel?

It makes me feel relaxed and I can listen to my audio books at the same time – in bed or in the garden. And also I can save up some money to buy the computer games I want.

How long does it take you to knit a hat?

Depends how thick the wool is and how much time I can spare – I think my best score in one day was one and a half [hats] – I’ve got much faster than when I started.

What do your friends think — do they think it’s unusual for boys to knit?

I don’t really know – but they all like what I knit!

Val Arndt

BICTON ARENA Local Residents’ Event Information 2021 British Eventing Horse Trials 23 - 25 April Limited number of arrivals from Thursday 22 April.

Many will travel in daily - 06.00 onwards. Departures throughout the day.

British Show Jumping Show 14 - 16 May Arrivals Thursday 13 May (large lorries). Limited number of local competitors will travel in daily. Departures Sunday 17 May. Inter Area Tetrathlon 1 - 2 June Arrivals Monday 31 May. Limited number of local competitors will travel in daily. Departures Wednesday 2 June (pm).

Pony Premier Show 18 - 20 June Arrivals Thursday 18 June & Friday 19 June (large lorries). Limited number of local competitors will travel in daily. Departures Sunday 20 June.

24 MEDICAL CONTINUITY IN THE PARISH OF WOODBURY In 1722 Gilbert Langdon, the son of the Vicar of Woodbury, was apprenticed for seven years to a cheirosurgeon (doctor) of Bovey Tracey for the sum of £21. He settled in Woodbury, having married the cousin of a distinguished doctor in Exeter, William Holwell, who was born in Woodbury. Gilbert practised medicine in the parish until his death in 1791.

Jacob Butter, the grandson of Dr Gilbert Langdon and the son of Jacob Butter who had married Catherine Langdon and farmed Grindle (now known as Greendale), was described as an apothecary of Woodbury when he was called before the magistrates for an assault in 1785. It seems likely that Jacob was apprenticed to Gilbert Langdon and took over the practice when Gilbert became too old. In 1794 Jacob was described as a cheirosurgeon when he gave evidence at the inquest of Gilbert Langdon’s son, Edward, who had been killed falling from his horse at his father’s farm at Grindle.

Jacob lived in and held his surgery in Higher Venmore farm – there is still a door in the house with ‘surgery’ written on it. Jacob died in 1838 and was succeeded by his son Jacobus, who had been practising medicine in Lympstone. Jacobus moved into Higher Venmore, but sadly his stay there was brief as eight years later, at the age of 53, he died of dropsy.

Dr Jacob Butter had another son, John, born in Woodbury in 1791, the uncle and great-uncle of the doctors Edwin and William Ashford (see below).

John was educated at Exeter Grammar School and studied for the medical profession at the Devon and Exeter Hospital. He obtained his MD at Edinburgh University, becoming a member of the Royal Society in 1822. He was appointed surgeon of the South Devon Militia, and later settled at Plymouth, where he concentrated on diseases of the eye. Along with Dr Edward Moore, he was the originator of the Plymouth Eye Dispensary. He lost one eye through ophthalmic rheumatism, contracted by exposure while examining recruits for the war in the Crimea, and in 1856 became totally blind. John Butter was the author of Ophthalmic Diseases (1821), Dockyard Diseases, or Irritative Fever (1825), and other medical and chirurgical memoirs. He died in 1877.

After the death of Jacobus Butter, Robert Brent, a Wiltshire man, moved to Woodbury in order to take over his medical practice. Higher Venmore Farm had been left in the will of Jacobus to his sister, Catherine, who had married James Ashford, so Brent was obliged to find other premises. He bought Sydney Cottage (Bixley Haven) from the family of the previous vicar of Woodbury, and altered it to present a residence suitable for an up-andcoming young doctor who had just come down from working in a hospital in London. Brent, being a non-conformist, was not able to attend university, so his medical training was as an apprentice to a doctor in Westbury in Wiltshire – Brent’s home was in a village quite close to where his father ran a mill.

25 Meanwhile, living in Venmore Farm were William Ashford and his family.

William was the son of James Ashford who farmed Cooks Farm at Venmore.

This wonderful old photograph, dating to about 1885, shows a gentleman farmer with his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Lee of Sparkhays Farm, and their family.

The three boys standing from the left are Brice Wakeford Lee, James Edwin and John Butter. Brice, named after his mother’s cousin, Brice Wakeford Lee of Ebford Barton, became a bank manager and remained a bachelor all his life. He played rugby for various first class clubs as well as for Devon.

James Edwin worked on the farm with his father before emigrating to Canada where he lived with his wife in Wentworth, Ontario and ran a farm.

John Butter, named after his grandmother’s family, went to the West Indies where he became an overseer on a sugar plantation. His stay there was short -lived as he was attacked by the workmen on the plantation, receiving a head injury which decided him to return to England. As with all the men of the family he had been a very useful cricketer, including playing for Devon. The rest of his life was spent living a bachelor gentleman’s existence with the family, who had moved into Exeter at the turn of the century. He regularly went to the Royal Clarence for coffee in the mornings and died suddenly, sitting in an armchair there.

26 MEDICAL CONTINUITY IN THE PARISH OF WOODBURY cont’d/..

Not much is known about the daughters of the family. Emily Elizabeth, standing at the back in the photo, married the vicar of Woolfardisworthy in 1887 and died 20 years later. Anna Catherine, seated on the left, never married and lived a comfortable life with a private income. The third sister, Julia Mary Ashford, married at the age of 50 a widower from Bristol and settled there until her husband’s death, when she returned to Exeter.

The youngest son in the picture is the one who continued the history of medicine within the family. His uncle Edwin, his father’s brother, was a retired doctor living in Bath, and of course his great-grandfather, Jacob Butter, at an earlier period was part of the medical tradition in Woodbury.

William was trained at St Thomas’s in London. In 1900 he went to South Africa and served as a civilian doctor during the Boer War. He met there a Red Cross nurse, Elise Mary Irwin, whom he married in 1901, and returned with her to England where he settled in Riversmeet Terrace (at the top of Bridge Hill) in Topsham.

He was a very popular doctor in the town, as can be seen from the road which is named after him.

During the First World War his house was opened as a VAD Hospital with William as the Medical Director and his wife as the Matron. Like his brothers, William excelled at sport and played cricket for Devon and four times represented England at rugby. William and Elise had one son, Christopher, the father of Sheila Harding.

I would like to thank Sheila Harding who has given the family photograph and that of the VAD Hospital and staff in Topsham to the History Society Archives, and also contributed such a lot of information about her very interesting family – I have written briefly about just one part of it.

Gill Selley

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Preparatory work to get under way on the Otter Following the unanimous support of East Devon District Council’s planning committee for the Lower Otter Restoration Project, more preparatory work has been going on behind the scenes.

In recent weeks archaeological surveys have been undertaken at the site of the proposed new cricket ground off the B3178 East Budleigh Road and at the locations of what will be temporary works compounds. The results of these surveys will be shared with the public in due course once any finds have been analysed. In addition, the location of key notable plant species that will be translocated as part of the scheme have been marked out - look out for wooden stakes with their tops painted red!

In mid-March ground investigation works began, involving mobile drilling rigs and excavators digging cores and trial pits across the site. Access for machinery will be via temporary aluminium tracks. This work is due to last about six weeks. These ground investigations will obtain geotechnical, archaeological, buried utility and highway construction information. This work is being undertaken by the Environment Agency’s contractor Kier and is part of the preparation for the main scheme, which is due to start in May/ June.

Regular updates on this work will be shared on the social media channels of project partners, including the Pebblebed Heaths Conservation Trust and Clinton Devon Estates, as well as the project website www.lowerotter restorationproject.co.uk, where you can sign up to receive email updates.

Environmental monitoring will include habitat creation, wading birds, physical changes to the valley, carbon storage, marine and freshwater fish.

Studies will also evaluate the success of mitigation planned to replace those habitats that will be lost and the long-term socio-economic impact of the scheme. Please keep an eye out for future updates if you are interested in playing a part in monitoring the project’s environmental success or getting involved with the day-to-day management of this wildlife area in the future.

Ground Investigation works timetable:  Site set up for ground investigations start from 15 March 2021.  Ground investigation works start from 22 March 2021.  Planned completion of this phase is end April 2021.

This will involve:  A site office and staff welfare facilities to be located at the northeast corner of Lime Kiln Car Park. cont’d/...

28  

Temporary trackway to be laid across the fields for machinery and vehicles to access the site.

Trial holes, bore holes and utility services investigations to be carried out across the site, between Lime Kiln Car Park and Otterton.

If you have any questions or comments about these site works, please contact Kier’s Public Liaison Officer Jayne Johnson by email, at exmouth.PLO@ kier.co.uk or for urgent matters call 07716 223056.

Climate change is real and is impacting on society worldwide. The Lower Otter Restoration Project is part of a wider international scheme funded by the European Interreg VA France Channel England programme called Promoting Adaptation to Changing Coasts (PACCo).

Together with a sister project in the Saâne Valley, Normandy (France), PACCo’s aim is to highlight the impacts of climate change on coastal communities and to demonstrate that pre-emptive adaptation to climate change is far better and less costly to society than inaction. The lower Otter and Saâne valleys hope to lead the way in showing how communities can evaluate climate change risk and adapt to current and future risks and highlight the benefits that might result from doing so.

A PACCo website and social media platforms will be launched very soon and this information, together with regular updates throughout the project, will be shared in local print and social media as well as through on-site interpretation. Engagement will also be face-to-face as soon as it is safe to do so.

(Kate Ponting BEd (Hons), Countryside Learning Officer, 01395 443881, kate.ponting@clintondevon.com

The February and March editions of Woodbury News were only provided online.

You can access them, and other back numbers, on Issuu.com/woodburynews

29 RSPB AYLESBEARE COMMON Work continues in the mires on Aylesbeare. After a final push of scrub clearance and burning in some challenging terrain, the habitat management work for the southern damselflies has reached the point where all we can do is wait to see if the fruits of our labour will be rewarded.

Elsewhere on the reserve, management has focused on another of our priority invertebrates, the silver studded blue butterfly. For one week on Harpford we employed the services of a digger to renew some of the old bare ground patches which punctuate the heath – removing the vegetation and top layer of soil containing the bracken rhizomes. Bracken is our largest native fern and a natural part of our heathland plant community, but where it has spread into a dense thicket it dominates the area to the point where little else can grow.

When an area has been cleared by the digger, it allows the seeds of heathers and other small annual plants to germinate without competition and provide vital sources of pollen and nectar to insects. Patches of bare ground interspersed throughout the heathland are also incredibly valuable spaces for wildlife. While they may look barren, bare ground plots offer nesting habitat for many birds and reptiles. One of the species that benefits most from the creation of bare ground is the silver studded blue – the bare ground is an excellent basking spot for the sun-loving adults, and warms up quickly even in the spring, at a crucial time for larval development. The warm bare earth is also favoured by the black ant, which builds nests underground and relies on the sun’s rays reaching the colony ceiling to heat it to a suitable temperature.

These ants are important to us when planning management work for the butterflies, as they play a crucial role in protecting silver studded blue caterpillars from predators and parasites – coaxed into doing so by the sugary solutions secreted by the caterpillars.

As the bare ground we create naturally transitions to fully vegetated heathland, it creates new opportunities for feeding, shelter, and reproduction for our silver studded blue butterflies and a multitude of our other heathland specialists. Intermingled with mature heathland, it creates the necessary variety in habitat to support the rich community of species to which Aylesbeare is home.

Our annual snipe survey took place last month, and found seventy-three common snipe, eight jack snipe, and ten woodcock. These wading birds spend the winter on Aylesbeare, hunkering down in the mires and most inaccessible areas.

Snipe and many other birds on Aylesbeare breed on the ground rather than building nests in trees, females relying on their camouflaged plumage to hide them and their nests from the eyes of predators. cont’d/...

30 RSPB cont’d/...

When a predator gets too close, the female will often fly up and attempt to draw the threat away from her eggs, but if the threat remains for too long, it leaves eggs or chicks exposed to the cold or other predators, and the risk that she will abandon the nest in favour of her own safety increases.

Obviously, the disturbance could be natural, like a passing fox or owl, but curious dogs can also inadvertently scare ground-nesting birds and cause them to abandon their nests.

Aylesbeare Common is Open Access Land, and you have the right to roam across it, but with that prerogative come obligations under the Countryside and Rights Of Way Act – one of which is that between 1 March and 31 July you must keep your dog on a lead no more than 2m long to protect ground-nesting birds from disturbance.

You can find full details of your rights/ responsibilities at gov.uk ‘use your right to roam’. Thank you for protecting the birds on Aylesbeare and across the East Devon Pebblebeds.

RSPB staff dog (Baymax) Species feature: Woodcock setting a great example!

The woodcock (scolopax rusticola) is a bulky, partridge-sized bird, with (compared to its body) a fairly large head and long, straight bill, and a rather short tail and legs. It has mottled brown plumage that resembles leaflitter so well it is rarely seen at rest until it is disturbed, at which point it flushes up in a zigzag pattern before dropping back down to the safety of the undergrowth. During the breeding season, males perform a display flight called ‘roding’, patrolling over their territory with rapid wingbeats and calling in a series of grunts and squeaks, competing with other males to attract females. Female woodcock have occasionally been reported carrying a young chick tucked between body and legs. Woodcock breed in mixed heathland and young conifer woodland, and spend most of the day in dense cover before venturing out to feed at night, probing soft, damp soils with their beaks for earthworms and other soil invertebrates.

Despite the yearly influx of autumn migrants from the continent, woodcock numbers in Britain have fallen by 56% since the 1980s, with populations in Devon, Cornwall, and South Wales faring particularly poorly. As a consequence the woodcock in now red-listed in the UK. Ellie Woolway, Devon Reserves Administrator Exe Estuary (01392 833311) and Aylesbeare Common (01395 233655) Eleanor.woolway@rspb.org.uk, 07834 174541

31 Find more information on Woodcock on the RSPB website

NOTE TO CONTRIBUTORS FROM THE EDITORIAL TEAM We are most grateful to all contributors for sending in copy and photographs for inclusion in Woodbury News. Without your efforts, our monthly publication simply would not exist.

However, please may we remind you to help us by sending in your contributions by the closing date, and even more importantly, before the deadline of 19.00 on that day.

If you are not yet on the list of people who have already provided me with their email address so that I can send you a reminder each month, please do so now. This arrives in your inbox one week before the deadline.

Emails go out bcc, so no-one knows who else is on the list.

Sue Bury (Editor), suebury@aol.com

BUSINESS ADVERTISEMENTS ALTERATIONS TO LADIES AND GENTS WEAR, MADE TO MEASURE CURTAINS AND ROMAN BLINDS, ALTERATIONS TO CURTAINS. Contact Shirley on 01395 223523. (4/12) EXE INTERIORS & HANDYMAN SERVICES for all home improvement requirements inc. painting & decorating, wall & floor tiling, bathrooms & kitchens, handyman service. Call Sean 07967 777396. (5/12) SYNERGI EVERTHING PLUMBING AND HEATING For all your plumbing and heating needs. Large or small jobs at fair prices. Boiler servicing, repairs and care plans. Local, reliable and efficient. Gas, Oil, and LPG. Tel Synergi 01395 542226. www.synergisw.co.uk. (11/12) PROPERTY MAINTENANCE – James Waddell Interior & Exterior, Carpentry, Flooring, Fencing & Gates, Plumbing, Decking, Bathrooms & Kitchens, General Repairs. Free Advice & Estimates 01395 263496. (10/12) COMPUTER REPAIRS AND UPGRADES; Broadband and wireless connections; Data recovery and backup; Windows, iPads and Apple computers, Virus and spyware removal; No fix no fee - Evening visits to suit you. Contact: Mark Doyle 01395 233694. (8/12)

32 BUSINESS ADVERTISEMENTS cont’d/...

ELECTRICIAN James Sliman Local, reliable, fully qualified and experienced. NAPIT registered and insured. From a socket to rewire 01395 276323 07866 313812 www.jslimanelectrician.co.uk. (8/12) ACCOUNTS AND TAX SERVICE Sole Trades, Partnerships, Limited Companies and Personal Tax. Full range of advice. Fixed fee plans and free initial consultation/quotation. Wheelers Accountants Tel: 233184. (14/24) RUBBISH REMOVALS Domestic and Commercial. Environment Agency licensed. No job too small. Tel: 0800 335 7610 / 07979 841376. www.rubbishremovalsexeter.com. (11/12) WE ARE POSH NOSH! With over two decades of experience in the catering industry we are at the forefront of special occasion and event catering in Devon and the West Country. We are committed to providing first class cuisine with outstanding levels of service. Phone: 01392 444877 or email: info@posh-nosh.co.uk. (9/12) WOODBURY HOLIDAY HOME TO RENT in centre of village. Luxury accommodation for 4 people, 2 en-suites, parking, courtyard garden. Weekly holidays & short breaks. www.woodburyholidays.co.uk 01579 350365. (7/12) ROOFING Woodbury based RWI Roofing Specialising in Slating, Tiling, Re -Roof, New Roof, Repairs, Guttering. For a friendly, reliable service call Ray 232926, or 07988 691051 (As recmd in OurLocalExpert.co.uk). (7/12) MATHS TUITION: Experienced, female Maths teacher available to teach primary to GSCE level maths, 11+ and SATs prep. Now providing virtual tutoring and online support. Reasonable rates. Jane Moffatt on 07730 877889 janepmoffatt@gmail.com. (3/12) CARPENTER Chris Isaac Property Maintenance, Kitchens, Doors, Flooring, Fencing, Fascias/Guttering, Tiling, General Repairs. Free Estimates. Reliable tradesman. 07855170674/01395 233933 chrisisaaccarpenter@gmail.com.

(12/12)

WOODBURY NEWS ADVERTISING RATES SMALL ADS: (3 lines) private £2.00.

(3 lines) Business £5.00 (£50.00 p.a.)

DISPLAY ADS: £17.00 ¼ page (£185 p.a.)

To: Karen Squires 233299 karensquires100@gmail.com

The Woodbury News accepts no liability for:- i) Any claims made by the advertiser; ii) Any errors or omissions in the advertisement as submitted by the advertiser; iii) Any legal action as a result of the advertisement.

33

The editor took these photos on one of her many walks around Woodbury during lockdown.

Woodbury Salterton Village Hall Hall –Tables and Chairs, Well equipped kitchen with cooker and fridge, crockery and cutlery inclusive in hire.

Modest Rates.

For bookings please contact:

Pat or Gill Bricknell 01395 232463

Woodbury Village Hall Hall and two meeting rooms, Fully equipped kitchen WIFI, sound system and projector Available for: Dances and Parties Meetings and Classes Exhibitions and Craft Fairs Badminton, Plays, Business Lettings For bookings please contact: Robin or Marian Lennox Tel: 01395 232126 email:- woodburyvh@gmail.com www.woodburyvillagehall.org.uk

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Tel: 01392 795689

35 Further to many recent enquiries:

Robert Miller Local Painter & Decorator of many years, is still in business.

A lifetime of experience!

All painting and decorating jobs considered.

Contact Bob on

01395 233773 or 07800 854839 THORNS COTTAGE, WOODBURY

Welcoming New Patients A friendly, caring practice providing the very latest treatment techniques, in a relaxed setting:

 Routine dental care with oral health assessment

 Cosmetic dental treatments including whitening, implants, veneers

 Crowns made on the day of your visit, with no need for impressions!!

Facial Rejuvenation treatment Discreet clinics now available.

Speak to our friendly team.

Tel: 01395 442552

www.budleighdentalpractice.co.uk

36

Woodbury Dance Studio RAD BALLET Grades and Majors

Children from 2½ years Principal: Mary Griffiths ARAD, MA(Oxon) Tel: 01395 271249 marygriffiths@hotmail.com www.woodburydance.co.uk All classes at Woodbury C of E Primary School

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T.D. BUILDERS General Quality Building Service * New builds & Extensions * Brickwork & Block work * Rendering & Plastering * Drives & Patios * All types of building work undertaken !!

FREE ESTIMATES

01395 233995 or 07751 738092

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