WOODBURY SALTERTON NEWS

Holy Trinity Church

Family Service

Mark Lovett conducted the February Family Service which was very well attended. He talked about Love and Forgiveness and asked the congregation, in groups, to write down things they loved and then things they loved but other people might not love - tomatoes and noise being among suggestions for the latter! Chris Heyball and Paul Ayshford read the bible passages and Clare Rooke led prayers.

Church Quiz

Our church spring quiz, entitled The 4th Scarecrow Quiz, is now on sale at £2 a copy. The theme this time is Sweet Treats. Lin Ashby is kindly helping us by selling copies in Woodbury, as is Liz Whittaker in Clyst St Mary. Paper copies can be obtained from Katharine Wheeler or can be requested by email from avmx79@dsl.pipex.

Coffee Morning

The April Coffee Morning will take place on Saturday 1 April in church from 09.30 until 10.30.

Good Friday Play

On Good Friday (7 April) we will again be performing the Good Friday play in church. This is open to everyone across all the churches in the Mission Community. Children are invited to assemble in church at 09.30 when parts will be allocated (the script to be read) and we will rehearse the play. There will be a break for hot cross buns, coffee and squash, and parents and friends are invited to come at 11.00 to watch the performance.

Katharine Wheeler

Exton News

APRIL SERVICES FOR ST ANDREW’S CHURCH, EXTON

2 April - Palm Sunday - Evening Worship. Revd Bill Lemmey, 18.00 inc. AGM.

9 April - Easter Day - No service here. Holy Communion at St Swithun’s, Bishop Jackie, 09.30.

16 April - Lay led Morning Worship, 09.30.

EXTON GARDEN CLUB

Janet Atkins

PLANT SALE AND REFRESHMENTS

SATURDAY 13 MAY, 10.30-12.00

THE GREENHOUSE, STATION ROAD, EXTON * * *

THURSDAY 22 JUNE, 10.30

VISIT TO STONELANDS GARDEN

Exton Garden Club

The Club AGM was held at Exton village hall on Friday 3 March. There was a good attendance of members to receive and adopt the usual reports and elect the committee for the year. After announcing her retirement as chair, Eileen Pratt introduced Sarah Kellagher as the new chair. Eileen was presented with a gift (a jigsaw puzzle of roses), and thanked for her invaluable contribution both to the committee and the club since the inaugural meeting 30 years ago.

The programme for 2023/24 was distributed and many members renewed their annual membership (£10).

The formal meeting was followed enthusiastically by a beetle drive, and light refreshments were served.

A sale of narcissi from a member’s garden raised money for the Turkey/ Syria Earthquake appeal, and members were invited to relieve a member of surplus seed packets and to get sowing for the plant sale!

Coming up: Exton Garden Club will be hosting a games and flower activity stall at the Exton coronation event on Sunday 7 May, 13.30-15.30 at the Goosefield.

All enquiries to skellagher@btinternet.com.

Exton Village Events Agm

Sarah Kellagher

16 March Annual General Meetings are not renowned for their crowdpulling quality and this was no exception! Doubtless the wet weather didn’t help, nor the plethora of gripping/exciting/fascinating TV programmes on offer that evening. Nevertheless, a small number of Exton residents gathered, and a lively and useful meeting took place in the village hall. The EVE committee now consists of Sally Cole (Chair), Holly Lawrence (Secretary), Jackie Jacobs (Treasurer) and Katrina White. It was reported that the organisation is financially stable, there were several very successful events over the past year (especially the Platinum Jubilee), and it was confirmed that plans for future events are well under way e.g. the Easter Decoration Challenge, and of course the celebrations for the forthcoming coronation. It is now accepted that the Goosefield has become the new ‘official’ venue for secular village events and celebrations, rather than the children’s play area and field.

Time was set aside after the meeting to discuss the coronation celebrations on Sunday 7 May, details of which can be found on pages 30 and 31, on posters around the village, emails, etc. The committee members work incredibly hard to get village events organised and running smoothly and we are very grateful to them. We can all do our bit to make a success of these occasions, even if it’s just turning up and buying a cake, risking the tombola (it is rumoured that the large red plastic lobster is still in circulation) or generally joining in the fun. See you on 7 May.

Liz Williams

Roundandabout Deaths

Maureen Wright

(16 June 1940 - 28 January 2023. Born in Sunderland in 1940, Maureen Purdy faced many challenges. Her father died when she was 18, so while her mother, Florence, was running the family wool shop, Maureen looked after her younger brother, Paul, and sister, Viv. She took elocution lessons and won many verse speaking competitions, later gaining a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Spotted by a talent scout, she joined the Canterbury Playhouse. Her landlord in Canterbury introduced her to Anthroposophy, the philosophical teachings of Rudolph Steiner, which was to change her life.

Returning north, she worked in Sunderland Playhouse and York and Whitby Theatres. Whitby was not far from Botton Hall, Harold MacMillan’s family estate. He gifted Botton Village to the Camphill Village Trust on the understanding that they would care for his disabled son. The Camphill Trust had been formed by wartime interred German Jews, who had set up communities to support less able adults, following the philosophy of Rudolph Steiner. Maureen undertook a voluntary role running the doll workshop at Camphill, where she met Alan, another volunteer; they married in 1968.

Later they moved to East Sussex, where they helped to set up a Camphill school for disabled children. Another move followed, to Halstead Place, a school for children with special educational needs where Alan taught art and gardening and Maureen did supply teaching at the local school. Jamie came along in 1975 and Jessica in1978. During this time both Maureen and Alan gained Open University degrees, quite an achievement with a young family.

In 1982, they relocated to Devon and established a home for adults at Stallcombe House Farm. This was a joint venture between the NHS and Devon County Council to help in rehousing the residents of Starcross Hospital. Maureen opened the door to many experiences for the residents: she encouraged their individual talents and organised experiences to enrich their lives. She even took a group to Edinburgh to perform in the Festival. Maureen initiated many fund-raising activities for Stallcombe: barn dances and later concerts - which led to the Village Varieties. Maureen was instrumental in every show both in its organisation and on stage. Her enthusiasm and sense of humour were infectious and contributed greatly to these shows, which ran for almost 30 years.

In 1998, Maureen started her psychotherapy and psychodrama training. At an age when the rest of us would be thinking of putting away the textbooks she flourished. She became a highly valued member of the therapeutic psychology community.

Maureen loved singing and at 78 years old, she took and passed her Grade 8 singing exam. She sang in the church choir and was one of the first and most enthusiastic members of the Community Choir. Maureen loved her family; she loved to share her passion for the theatre and took her nieces and nephews to her beloved Globe Theatre. She especially loved spending time with her two granddaughters, Heidi and Maple. The lime tree on the village green was planted by Maureen on behalf of Stallcombe almost 40 years ago and on recent walks around the village Maureen loved to stop at “her tree” - which will be a living reminder of Mo. She loved life and the people that she shared it with. She lived life to the full. We will miss her.

Linda Freeman

I first met Maureen in 1997. She was already an accomplished psychodramatist and developing her group work skills with Joy Thompson, the Bishop of Exeter’s wife. Joy was a well-known Group Analyst and Maureen helped to organise and participate in some notable events at the Bishop’s Palace, such as holding a Large Group for over a hundred overwhelmed clergy following the death of Princess Diana. Maureen went on to train as a Group Analyst and had a great commitment to working with groups as a psychotherapist and as a trainer. She played a significant role in supporting students on the newly formed Doctorate in Psychoanalytic Practice with Richard Mizen and the psychiatrist Jeremy Holmes, and co-ran for many years the Introductory Course in Group Analysis at Wonford House hospital with myself. She helped organise numerous Group Analytic conferences at the Deanery with famous figures in the Group Analytic and Psychoanalytic world on topics such as The Nature of Time, Social Dreaming, Unconscious Processes and challenging themes like Envy in Society and Sibling Rivalry in Groups. Her style as a therapist was generally gentle, non-confrontational and curious - but also very determined. She was completely unconcerned at trying to be clever and always concerned with those who were suffering and disadvantaged. She could be very funny, and debriefing with Maureen after groups and events was frequently full of laughter. She was always committed to supporting the clergy in their work and together with the priest and Group Analyst, Robert Plant, contributed to processes to support them in their complex work.

Nicholas Sarra