July 2021

WOODBURY NEWS

JULY 2021

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JULY 2021 EDITORIAL I think we might justifiably allow ourselves to be proud of being a small part of the glorious West Country. The recent G7 conference, held in bright and colourful sunny conditions in Carbis Bay in Cornwall, and the associated social gatherings, showcased the beauty of this part of the country, and provided an amazing backdrop for such important discussions. Regardless of the formalities that took place, a barbeque on the beach and a visit to The Eden Project could not have failed to impress our foreign visitors. The smiling vision of Queen Elizabeth and her family added to the uniqueness of the occasion.

Royalty, it seems, was itself impressed by Woodbury 100 years ago. The then Prince of Wales visited Woodbury ‘a tiny village which can boast of delightful scenery’ (see cutting on page 29). I wonder if he would recognise the village now, or if we would in 100 years’ time?

The Garden Club is making an effort to do its small bit towards combatting climate change by filling the planters in the Arch with peat-free compost.

Tony Bennett of Wild-Woodbury draws our attention to the consequences of habitat destruction and the depletion of biodiversity in his latest article (pages 30 and 31); but he also offers a range of suggestions that we could, and should, all follow with little effort or expense. It’s good to read, too, that the Lower Otter restoration project has been delayed so that nesting birds are not disturbed (page 32), and that the RSPB are constructing leaky dams on the river Otter to regulate excess water flow – and the beavers are doing their bit too!

Perhaps one of the reasons why Salon No.8 in Woodbury was a winner at the recent South West of England Prestige Awards and was named ‘New hair and beauty salon of the year’ was because it is eco-friendly and ‘cares about the effect of the products and packaging it uses.’ Well done, Salon No.8!

The cover photo, by Shawn Murdoch, is of Abigail Brown, Stephinie Murdoch, Racheal Haestier and Freya Grove from Salon No. 8 (page 39).

Woodbury News is a Private Company Limited by Guarantee No. 5263356

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 SUNDAY SERVICES 27 June 4th Sunday after Trinity, Zoom Family Service 09.30 - for a link to this please email Jill at dupain@hotmail.co.uk.

(It is the usual Revd Bill Zoom address for those who have been on Zoom before).

4 July 5th Sunday after Trinity, Holy Communion at St Swithun’s, 11.15. Evening Worship at Exton, 18.30.

11 July 6th Sunday after Trinity, Holy Communion at Exton, 09.30.

18 July St Swithun’s Patronal Festival - Festival Holy Communion at St Swithun’s, 18.30.

25 July 8th Sunday after Trinity, Zoom Family Service, 09.30.

Look out for announcements about resumption of weekly lych gate stalls.

Further information will be available on the church noticeboard and 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.

CREAM TEA ON WOODBURY VILLAGE GREEN SUNDAY 1 AUGUST AT 15.00 In aid of FORCE After a long year of events being cancelled, I plan to organise a relaxed gathering on the green. Bring your own chair, rug, and drink.

For £4, I will provide two scones, cream, jam, knife and serviette.

Orders in advance please; pay on the day. Make yourself comfortable on the green (socially distanced if still necessary).

Your scones etc. will be brought to you.

Limited numbers; contact me now.

Chris Lear 01395 232772, mobile 07941 045918, chrisalear06@gmail.com

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WOODBURY NEWS CLOSING DATES 20 JULY. 17 AUGUST. 14 SEPTEMBER. 19 OCTOBER. 16 NOVEMBER. 7 DECEMBER. 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 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 Ann Morris on 01392 875666.

6 WOODBURY BROWNIES Hello everyone. A quick introduction from me. Some of you might have seen me at the door when collecting or dropping off last half term.

My name is Barbara Patterson (Bee) but the girls have chosen to call me Waterlily. I did ask that if they saw me in Tesco not to shout ‘Waterlily’ across the shop!

As you know, Alison is retiring from Brownies at the end of term and I am hoping to take over from her - a hard act to follow. I have a long history of guiding in various roles, as a brownie, guide, ranger, leader and mum. I read about the imminent closure of Woodbury Brownies and decided to dive in head first. At present I am wading my way through the paperwork, guided

by Alison, and hopefully will be completely up to speed come September. I live in the village with my husband, we have two grown-up children and two grandchildren on the way.

I hope to get to know you all over the coming months. Any questions, please ask.

Here is some information about our next half term at Brownies: Hoping for fine weather, we are planning lots of outdoor activities and during the last three weeks of term we will begin to plan a top secret retirement party for Snowdrop and Holly. Details of this will follow.

Shhhh!

Our risk assessment for Covid and meeting face-to-face is filled in and has been sent to the Division Commissioners. May I remind you that at Brownies we do our best to adhere to social distancing but please take note of the following:  your daughter shouldn’t attend if she (or anyone in the household) has Covid symptoms.  if your daughter develops Covid symptoms within 48 hours of the meeting, please inform Barbara (07785237457).

Many thanks for your continued support and I look forward to getting to know you all. Enjoy this glorious weather.

Barbara Patterson (Bee)

Your Woodbury News representative will be visiting you soon to collect your annual subscriptions.

If you could have the correct money - £6.00 in an envelope with your name and address, this would be very much appreciated.

Thank you for subscribing to Woodbury News.

7 WOODBURY TENNIS CLUB There is a lot happening at the top of the playing fields. The tennis courts are in continuous use by members. The teams have all played matches and have scored points: the ladies have had four close-fought matches with one win over league leaders Bovey and two draws; men’s A two wins and two defeats, men’s B one win and three defeats (against the strongest teams) and the mixed have recorded a win and a 4-4 draw and one defeat.

The air ambulance lights have been repositioned and the whole area is now ready for the arrival of the helicopter. While that work was being completed the lights on the lower court were readjusted and are now in working order.

I am delighted to report that both our electrician, Will Childs, and plumber, Richard Stoneman, have been hard at work installing a new toilet with lights and extractor fan in the former football changing room. This will be available to club members, a great relief to many!

We hope to hold a doubles tournament and social barbeque on Sunday 18 July at the courts.

We are delighted to report that the junior coaching has been well supported with 36 youngsters on court in four sessions on Wednesday evening with coach, John Wingate, assisted by member Christine Sheward.

All enquiries on tennis matters should be addressed to Pat Browne.

Pat Browne (ruthandpatb@aol.com) WOODBURY AND DISTRICT ROYAL BRITISH LEGION The Table-Top Sale on 30 May was blessed with good weather and it was really great to see everyone out and about, including some holiday-makers, it being the beginning of half term. People drifted away by lunchtime to go to the beach. We were able to raise £71 for the Poppy Appeal, which adds to our annual total.

I have now planted the tub at the top of Oakhayes Road and Jim Champion and Diana Sowmen have kindly offered to have a watering rota between them. I have also planted up the troughs at the War Memorial and will water them. My thanks to the Parish Council for paying for the plants. The trough at the top of Town Lane has been "adopted" by Phil and Mary Prince who have supplied all the plants - my thanks to them both.

Due to the ongoing Covid restrictions we will not be able to resume our fortnightly coffee mornings until late autumn. Stay safe and have a good summer.

Sandra Huish, Chairman, 01395 232696

8 WOODBURY GARDEN CLUB The plant sales are pretty much over now, though occasionally plants will be available and listed on the website or sold at the show in August. The sale is the main fund-raiser for the club, and this year has also enabled us to make donations to the Exmouth Food Bank (£113.30), St Swithun’s (£41), and Wild-Woodbury (£20.50).

A team of members cleared the planters in the Arch and planted them up with crimson bedder nicotiana and sweet alyssum. Both are scented and should be good for pollinators. We left the best of the violas so that there is something in bloom until the new planting really kicks in. We made a point of using peat-free compost this year; it is important to do what we can to combat global warming (peat bogs left alone are an excellent carbon store, better than trees).

Our first meeting is planned for 13 July, which will be a (very short) AGM followed by Dennis Balsdon speaking on Carnivorous Plants. We are likely to be restricted to 30 people in the hall, so although visitors are welcome, members have priority and it will be first come, first served. For further info email woodburygardenclub @gmail.com or call Debby on 232462. Then in August we have our annual Flower and Veg Show, although this will be a smaller affair than normal to allow for social distancing. We look forward to meeting old and new members.

13 July Short AGM followed by Carnivorous Plants. WVH, 19.15.

Visitors welcome £3.

14 August Flower and Veg Show. WVH, 14.00-16.00.

Debby Mullier WOODBURY VILLAGE TABLE-TOP TRAIL SALE A huge thankyou to the Woodbury and beyond community for supporting our first ever Table-Top Trail Sale, which was held on Sunday 30 May. We were blessed with perfect weather for the event which saw locals, visitors from nearby villages and holiday-makers following the trail map or randomly wandering around the village visiting the various tables to grab a bargain, a slice of delicious cake or a perfect plant for the garden.

It was lovely to see so many people enjoying the village atmosphere, meeting neighbours sometimes for the first time and finally having a villagewide event which we have not been able to do for such a long time.

At the time of writing, we are waiting for the final donations to arrive, but the event has raised around £250 which will be divided equally between the Friends of Woodbury Surgery and the Woodbury Community Playing Field.

Additionally, many of the sellers on the day were raising funds for other charities and good causes including East Devon Home-Start, Motor Neurone Disease, Budleigh and District Hospiscare and Maytree Pre-School, and in total many hundreds of pounds were generated.

9 Our thanks go especially to those sellers who paid to appear on the map, for the donations from other residents who sold items from their gardens on the day and to those who made a separate donation.

Thanks also to Salon No.8, The Maltsters and the Parish Council for selling our maps, to Chris Lear for her on-going support and good counsel, to Daniel Watts (Greenway resident) for designing our map (wattscreative.me) and Paul Stevenson of Marketing Consultancy WTWS (wtws.co.uk) who covered all printing costs.

Deborah Stevenson

Christine Bowers raised £52.60 for Motor Neurone Disease.

Wendy Wills and friends who raised £315 for East Devon Home-Start by selling cakes and plants.

10 HOPE4KIBERA Breaking the Cycle of Poverty through Education <hope4kibera.org.uk> We have just published a June 2021 Newsletter with all the latest news. If you don’t receive one and want to catch up with what’s going on in Kibera, or if you want to register to receive a newsletter, please go to our website <hope4kibera.org.uk> You will also find links to two short video clips so that you can hear the news directly from our friends in Kibera. The videos show how unimaginably tough life is for them and how grateful they are to you, our supporters, for remembering them and encouraging them with the little that we have been able to do.

The students in the school are thriving. To quote from the first term report this year: “mid term exams 8 Feb, Mean 55.7 Grade C+, end of term 13 March, Mean of 74.5 Grade B+, an improvement of 18.8.”

They also showed leadership skills at various mentoring and support groups in the holidays, even though they come from the poorest of the slum families.

Sustainability Our partners in Kibera are making plans to move towards a degree of self-sustainability for the school. This is always a huge challenge but we have to work towards it. They are conscious of the extra difficulty there has been for charities trying to raise funds during Covid-19. Because of that, they have brought forward plans to recruit some fee-paying students from the areas surrounding the slum, in order to subsidise the families from Kibera who cannot pay fees. These new students will be offered a significant discount on standard local rates, but will still pay enough for their own keep and something towards the costs of the Kibera students. This will begin to relieve the pressure on us to fully fund the Kibera students. Because the reputation of the school is already growing, they have 21 students planning to join this part fee-paying class in the next academic year starting on 26 July.

We plan to recruit another class from the slum in 2022.

Dates for your diary: Please come and support these events: 28 August 14.00-17.00. Live Jazz and Cream Tea on Woodbury village green.

9 October 19.00. Quiz evening in Woodbury village hall. ** H4K now registered for Amazon Smile. Shop there to help the Kibera kids.

In the words of school Director, Chris Omondi: “We really want to appreciate you for the support which you have given to us via the School by ensuring that our girls are receiving the quality and affordable education to achieve their dreams.”

Please join the journey and register for regular news or support @ www.hope4kibera.org.uk.

Charlie Collins Chair H4K

11 WOODBURY VILLAGE GOLF SOCIETY Launceston - 19 May Would you believe it, our last outing was at the Kernow Course, St Mellion, on 10 October 2019! During 2020 we managed to squeeze in the Two Villages Competition on 10 September - let us hope that the lockdowns are now behind us and life can return to near normal.

Well, we were most fortunate capturing the only sunny day of the week (the month?). As ever the grass at Launceston GC was juicy and unforgiving and it was wise to keep the balls on the fairway. Those of us used to fast greens were leaving lots of points behind on the greens, often leaving balls short.

The club staff were most welcoming and we sat down to a wholesome meal after our round of golf.

26 out of a possible 27 players turned up to play which meant teams of 6x3 and 2x4. The teams of 4 only counted scores from 3 players with one dropping out on rotation - in fact one player in a team of 4 asked not to be counted in for the total round (although sceptical about his ability having not played for a year, he, I believe, ended up playing quite well!).

After a bit of banter and a few jokes from our new Chairman, Peter Heron, and the welcoming of three guests, Paul Wooley, John Rodgers and John Waite, the prizes were presented. Starting with the twos with a kitty of £52, there were three players, Graham Slack on the 12th and Tony Beck and Richard Perry on the 15th. Nearest the pin on the 15th was Stewart Price. For the teams, in 3rd place with 72 points Tony Beck, Peter de la Mere and John Maidment; in 2nd place with 79 points Alan Quantick, Paul Wooley and Bob Haddow, and the winners also with 79 points, on countback, Graham Slack, John Waite and Andy Joss. For individuals there were four prizes (there are many who were present who may not have realised this!). In 4th place with 34 points was Paul Wooley, in 3rd place was John Waite with 34 points on countback, in 2nd place Richard Perry with 36 points and the winner with 37 points Alan Quantick. Richard's excellent score was missed due to our newly fledged Chairman, becoming thoroughly over-excited by all the countbacks, for which he gives his grovelling apologies. Sadly there will only be three individual prizes at our next meeting at Okehampton.

Jeremy Browne, Past Chairman Have you got an interesting photo to illustrate your article?

If so, we'd love to see it, but please remember that we need high resolution photos - not too dark, but clear and sharp - as low resolution photos do not reproduce well on non-photographic paper.

Please remember to ask permission from any people included in your photos, and that photos of children require parental permission.

Send all submissions to karensquires100@gmail.com

12 WOODBURY C OF E PRIMARY SCHOOL With this edition we have added some pictures from each class celebrating some of the activities and learning the children have been undertaking in school over the last month. It has been glorious weather and the children have enjoyed being outside.

Beech class have been enjoying their ice-cream role play shop, inventing lots of different imaginative flavours.

Willow Class have really enjoyed their forest school sessions.

Oak class had a wonderful time learning how to play the glockenspiels.

They learnt the rhythm by clapping and vocalising different sounds and words. They then played three different notes on the glockenspiels to create a beautiful melody. In their topic on plants they have been planting bulbs and are delighted with how they have grown – they are excited to see what they will turn into.

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Cherry Class have enjoyed learning all about forces. At the end of their topic they designed and created their own experiments to test their knowledge of friction, magnetism and gravity.

Maple Class have plotted the feelings of the character from our poem, Still I Rise, and they have practised maypole dancing.

cont’d/...

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

Chestnut Class took part in a SAMBA workshop to kick-start their learning on South America. They played the tamborim, surdo, ganza shaker and the agogo bell. They ended their session with a parade on the playground, which Beech and Willow class were most interested in, ending in a round of applause.

Ash Class Detective Agency arrived at the scene of a heinous crime, to discover the body of notorious highwayman, Tom King. After completing a crime scene report, they set off in search of evidence to determine who the murderer was. They found the clues - and using the crime database, were able to determine that Tom King had been murdered by the infamous Dick Turpin. They learnt that, eventually, Dick Turpin was hanged for his crimes.

They looked at Alfred Noyes poem, The Highwayman, and how this painted Turpin in a romanticised way.

Hoping this edition finds the community of Woodbury well.

Gillian Pyle, Head of School

15 WOODBURY CRICKET CLUB After a couple of weeks of rain and cancelled matches, Woodbury 2 nd XI welcomed Feniton 2nd XI to Town Lane. With both teams having lost their first (and only) games of the season, this was billed as a bottom of the table clash. However, when they last met on the final day of the 2018 season, Feniton, who had already gained promotion, beat Woodbury to deny them from also gaining promotion. So, this was expected to be a tough match.

Play was delayed by 45 minutes, due to some damp patches in the outfield, but Woodbury’s groundsman, Neil Richards, had done an outstanding job in getting the pitch to the point that play was even possible. Andy Cork, our stand-in captain, won the toss and elected to field.

Tommy Dowle, a stalwart of the club, opened the bowling from the orchard end and bowled a magnificent spell of line and length, from which Feniton struggled to score. He did not take any wickets but restricted Feniton to only 14 runs from his 7 overs. The Feniton openers were proving to be obdurate, and it took a bit of magic from debutant, Finley Shipton, to make the breakthrough. Shipton, whose 13 years belies his acumen, removed one of the openers with a direct hit run-out and then, the very next over, bowled their new batsman. Feniton had gone from 84-0 to 90-2 in the space of 7 balls.

Cork then seized the opportunity. He brought himself on and removed their other opener, leaving Feniton reeling on 104-3. From then on, Woodbury were ruthless. Cork took 2 more wickets for only 10 runs, Oliver Brealy, who had been unfortunate with a couple of decisions in his first spell, took 3 for 31, and Shipton, who also affected another direct hit run-out, took the final wicket of the innings, finishing with 2-31. Feniton were 132 all out.

Having performed such sterling work in the field, Woodbury’s openers were reluctant to let the side down, and this was reflected in the 20 balls it took Shenan Grossberg to get off the mark. However, Ed Salter kept the scoreboard ticking over until Grossberg cut loose, reaching his 50 off the next 44 deliveries. Salter (20) and Grossberg (56) enjoyed a first-wicket partnership of 97, laying the foundation for Chris Collyer (11*) and Dave Church (17*) to see Woodbury home, for the loss of only 2 wickets and with 4 overs to spare.

After a rain-affected few weeks, the sun finally returned to Town Lane as WNSCCC 1st XI welcomed Honiton 1st XI. Yet another exceptionally tight game began with Chouhan winning the toss and putting the visitors in to bat.

At the halfway stage, Honiton were 80-2 and the match was looking in the balance, with a wicket apiece for Pearce and Chouhan. Alford then removed Conway (15) and Silk bowled Haysom (45) in relatively quick succession to tip the balance in Woodbury’s favour. What happened next was undoubtedly the defining moment of the game as an exceptional spell of bowling from Jarvis (3-15-4) and Moretta (3-1-2) reduced Honiton from 116-4 to 135 all out in just six overs. cont’d/...

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cont’d/...

In response WNSCCC got off to an attacking start with a flurry of boundaries from Boundy. Opening partner Vicary fell LBW for a duck with the score on 22. Runs continued to flow before another two LBWs accounted for Jarvis (5) and Boundy (41) leaving the score at 51-3. What followed next can only be described as a total collapse of Woodbury’s middle order, including a calamity run-out from a free hit and three more ‘adjudged’ LBW, equalling a scarcely believable grand total of six LBWs out of the first eight wickets to fall. With the score at 78-8 things were not looking good for WNSCCC. Captain Chouhan was joined by Silk and the fightback began, first and foremost with them both keeping their pads as far away from the ball as humanly possible. Silk was well caught for 10 with the score at 102 bringing number 11 youngster, Daniel Alford, to the crease, with 34 still required to win. Chouhan and Alford watchfully batted together for an impressive 12 overs slowly chipping away at the score as Honiton heads steadily dropped. The pick of Honiton’s bowlers, Somerset Academy player, Matravers (7.2-2-5) returned to the attack with 2 required to win.

Alford (15*) brought the scores level with a quick single to cap off a mature innings. Chouhan (32*) then saw WNSCCC home with a one wicket win.

On a day of bright sunshine, the merry men of WNSC approached the University ground from various locations. Set against the backdrop of the many greater than 2L diesel engines going across the motorway, discussion inevitably turned to whether to bat first or bowl? No discussion needed as the fine body of players agreed it was too hot to field. Unfortunately, captain Hughes tossed up and lost, so a day in the heat and sun awaited. Oli Brealy soon removed two of the Topsham top order while Jo Moretta sought a line and length that would make Tom Sunderland happy! Topsham lost one more top order batsman to a fine caught behind by Sunderland off a snorting Moretta delivery.

A slow recovery by the opposition took place, while being kept in check by the ever-youthful mystery spinner Collyer and the nagging length of Dowle who had the returning opener caught at slip. A few thwacks of the ball to boundary by an enlightened Topsham batter, who realised you can hit the ball off the square, brought about a double bowling change. WNSC’s answer to Embury and Edmonds entered the fray. Dayman and White, not solicitors, wove their magic and soon enough three wickets tumbled. Brealy came back into the attack and took his third wicket while Edworthy bowled a golden 1 wicket over. Topsham had managed to 127-9 at the end of their 40 overs.

17 It was now the turn of WNSC to bat and the adage of never judge an innings until both teams have batted was in evidence as Grossberg and Church departed before the scorer had sharpened his pencil. It was now up to Dayman and Edworthy to construct the reply. The left and right-hand combination worked well and confused the line of the bowlers until Edworthy had a rush of blood to the head and walked past a ball and was stumped. Collyer bristled with intent, as he had previously shaved all his bristles off, but today was not to be his day as he chopped on. Next up was Chalky who was aggressive and started to move along the scoring until, according to Chalky, his bat got caught in the ground and he was bowled.

Leighton was a picture on concentration with a mixture of sound defence and bludgeoning drives and pulls – so good that son Harry had no doubts and decided to go home! Tom Sunderland joined the fray and both batsmen skilfully guided the team home with Leighton 50 not out and some lusty pulls and drives taking Tom to 29 not out. A consecutive win had been achieved and all departed happily to await the next challenge.

On 5 June, WNSC 2nd XI welcomed division leaders, Shobrooke Park, to Town Lane. Earlier in the week, we had decided to introduce Colts to adult cricket, but had expected to do this in friendlies, not league matches.

However, necessity dictated we change this approach, and Jack Church and Sam Harries made their league debuts, along with Jack’s dad, Richard.

Shobrooke won the toss and elected to field. Stand-in skipper, Dave Church (no relation to Richard or Jack), jokingly said Shobrooke bowled ‘unsportingly straight’ and WNSC struggled to score fluently. Richard was top scorer with 32 out of a total 107-9 in 40 overs.

Shobrooke started well in their reply, scoring 41 runs without loss, before Harries was brought into the attack. If there were any nerves, they didn’t show, as he bowled a good line and length, and his discipline was rewarded with two wickets. In a spell of 6 overs, for only 15 runs, he removed one of the openers and the number 3 for a duck! Shobrooke had gone from 41-0 to 42-2 and it looked like Woodbury had a sniff of a chance. However, Shobrooke’s batting line-up proved too strong and, despite Dave’s efforts (31-10-2), Shobrooke reached their target with 5 wickets left. Jack Church returned the following Tuesday to play against the Met Office and scored a quick-fire 11 not out in a good win.

The season continues well for the Colts, with practice for all on Friday evenings and several matches for the U13s and U14s. The U14s have progressed into the next round of the cup after a well fought game against Sidbury where they will meet Budleigh. The U13s face Kenn in their cup competition. Alongside this, many fun and friendly competitive games have been played in the sunshine against local teams of Topsham, Exeter, Ottery St Mary, Clyst St George and Exmouth.

Shenan Grossberg

18 SPORTS AND ACTIVITIES Woodbury Tennis and Cricket clubs continue to thrive and Woodbury News publishes regular accounts of their progress and forthcoming events. This report brings to your attention the other sports clubs in our parish which you may like to participate in as we gradually emerge from lockdown restrictions.

Badminton Club (mixed). Woodbury village hall, Mondays at 20.00.

Starts 6 September. New members welcome.

Contact: Tom Miner 01395 446068.

Badminton Ladies. Tuesday in the Woodbury village hall,10.00 - 12.00.

Contact: Jill Effer 01395 232890; jilleffer100@gmail.com.

Badminton Ladies. Thursday in Woodbury village hall, 10.00 - 12.00.

Starts September.

Contact: Ann Hildred 01395 232294.

Body Blast. Every Monday in Woodbury village hall at 18.30 and online. A mix of aerobics, zumba, body conditioning and body combat.

Great work-out and fun.

Contact: Isabelle 07817 163503 i_oshea@talktalk.net.

Golf Society. Visits seven south-west golf course per year and welcomes golfers from Woodbury and district.

Contact: Peter Heron peterheron@icloud.com.

Ramblers (Exton). Meets every Wednesday. Walks of approximately five miles.

Contact: David Gardner 01392 873829.

Short Mat Bowls. Played in Woodbury village hall from 19.00 - 22.00 on Tuesdays except the second Tuesday in each month. New members welcome.

Contact: Ken Crundwell 01395 232826.

Walkie Talkies. Walking group meeting every Wednesday morning 09.30 at Woodbury village hall car park. Everyone welcome.

Contact: Nita Goffron 01395 232314.

If you run a sports club or activity in the village and would like a mention in Woodbury News, please contact Mike Wallwork mike1wallwork@ gmail.com.

Mike Wallwork

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WOODBURY SALTERTON NEWS RETURN OF THE SCARECROWS! The news that the Scarecrow Challenge, a very popular annual event on the village calendar, is to return this year, has been greeted with great delight.

This year’s theme is Characters or Events from History.

It is hoped that scarecrows will start to appear around the village from the beginning of July, culminating in the judging by popular vote on Sunday 18 July.

Entry forms are available from the organiser, Debbie Jung, from the church or from The Digger’s Rest.

Entries, with the £5 fee, should be returned to Debbie.

On Sunday 18th maps indicating where the scarecrows are situated will be on sale (for £2) from 14.00 in the Glebe Field. Participants can then follow the route and decide which is their favourite scarecrow. There is a prize for the entry which gets the most votes. Teas, coffees and cakes will be on sale from 14.00 until 17.00 and there will be stalls and games – all socially distanced. This event is not only a lovely opportunity for the village to get together but also raises much needed funds to keep our village church going.

Please support it.

WEEKLY COFFEE MORNINGS Church coffee mornings take place each Saturday from 09.30 until 10.30 in the churchyard.

20 VILLAGE LUNCH On 19 May the first of what will be a monthly event, a village lunch, was held in the Digger’s Rest. Monthly lunches had been part of our WI social calendar and it was decided that although we no longer meet as an Institute, we would keep this social event going.

Those attending had to sit on socially distanced tables of six in accordance with current regulations.

After the meal Valerie Davieson presented former WI President Gill Bricknell and Secretary Terrie Newman with orchids. Valerie thanked Gill for all she had done as President before lockdown and for keeping contact through teas etc. during the period when we could not meet. Terrie had spent hours on the computer sending round information. Valerie also thanked former Treasurer Gill Scott in her absence for her financial expertise in putting all our records online.

All three are exceptional people to whom we owe a great debt of gratitude.

Gill added her personal thanks to Terrie and Gill for their support and help during the formal procedures of suspending the WI. The bank account has been formally closed but a sum remains so that the WI could be started up again within the next three years. She said the closure marks the beginning of a new chapter as we all need one another and our friendships.

She invited all former members to take a Devon WI mug as a souvenir.

It was agreed that there will be a village lunch at the Digger’s on the last Wednesday of each month which is inclusive and open to all.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GILL Gill Bricknell decided to celebrate her 70th birthday with a tea in her garden for friends, and to combine this with raising funds for Hospiscare by asking for donations to the charity instead of presents. Donations received amounted to £315. The tea party provided an enjoyable opportunity to socialise and make the special birthday of this very popular lady and much loved friend a memorable occasion.

21

EXTON NEWS ST ANDREW’S CHURCH, EXTON CHURCH SERVICES Sunday 4 July Trinity 5. 18.30, Evening Service. Taken by the Revd Roz Harrison.

Sunday 11 July Trinity 6. 09.30, Holy Communion. Taken by the Revd Peter Nicholson Rawle.

For the present time the church will be open on Sundays from 14.00 –17.00 for private prayer. Please follow the guidelines given in the porch. All are welcome.

Audrey Elphick THE PLANTING OF THE TREE IN THE GROUNDS OF ST ANDREW’S CHURCH, EXTON The photograph was taken soon after completion of the current church building, when Lady Mary Courtenay planted the tree that can still be seen on the right hand side of the car park facing the church. It has the most beautiful pink flowers in the spring and even now, gives good shade for anyone sitting on the nearby seat. The original seat was made of stone, a portion of which can just be seen in the picture. It was a gift from Mr Challice, the architect for the church building. The original stone seat was unfortunately damaged and subsequently deteriorated. It was replaced in 1994 with the wooden one, dedicated to Pat and May Hardy. Pat had been deputy church warden from 1964 to 1989.

Earlier this year the tree was festooned with ribbons and heart-shaped cards bearing prayers for everyone affected by the Covid virus.

Does anyone recognise any of the children in the picture, bearing in mind that this was almost sixty years ago?

Audrey Elphick

22 EXTON GARDEN CLUB We recently held a plant sale which went well with plenty of support in both plant donations and customers. It raised £430 which has been donated to Exmouth Food Bank. After a long break we are hoping to start our monthly meetings again in October. It has been agreed to change the day and time of the meetings in the hope of encouraging new members. When we start in October the meetings will be on the first Friday in the month in the afternoon, so hopefully our first meeting will be on Friday 1 October at 14.30. If you would like more information please contact Eileen Pratt on 01392 877917.

Eileen Pratt

ROUND AND ABOUT DEATH Mike Bull 04.06.1932-28.05.2021 Many Woodbury folk will have fond memories of Mike and especially his hilarious monologues at the annual village music hall shows. He frequently forgot his lines but, thanks to Sally’s ingenious prompts on the back of paddle boards, he kept us in rapturous laughter which often brought tears to our eyes.

Mike was not only a brilliant entertainer but also a hard-working and kind member of our community. In 1995 he went to a Village Hall AGM and, much to his surprise, was immediately elected onto the committee as bookings secretary. Mike continued to do this job for 18 years, always without the aid of a computer but with a big effort to please everyone whenever possible. Mike was also Valentine Dubuisson’s vice chairman and continued in this role when I was chairman from 2007 to 2013. I always appreciated Mike’s valuable support as well as the amount of time and effort he put into the maintenance and smooth-running of the hall. No job was too arduous, too challenging or too messy.

Apart from working hard for Woodbury village hall Mike also found time to volunteer for Exmouth Citizens Advice Bureau for five years.

I very much enjoyed Mike’s company on my boat when a group of us had a long leisurely weekend sailing locally. Mike was one of the first men to join Cornerstones and liked visiting places of interest as well as having lots of cordial meals with friends. He loved singing and was a member of Exeter University choir as well as the Bach choir.

Despite poor health in recent years, Mike regularly walked and latterly drove his mobility scooter around the village and country lanes, always with a smile and cheery greeting for everyone. Nothing was too much trouble for Mike; I am sure there are lots of people, who like me, will miss him very much.

Chris Wakefield

23 THANKS Sally Bull would like to thank so many friends for their cards, letters, emails, flowers and phone calls following the death of her husband Mike. Their support and kindness has been overwhelming and second to none.

WELCOME Helen and Steve Bishop have recently moved from Exeter to 5 Pollybrook, Town Lane, Woodbury. Helen is a secondary school teacher and Steve is an engineer. They are looking forward to living in the village and having a larger garden than they had before.

Jane Greenslade NANCIE GRIST The service to celebrate the life of Nancie Grist, delayed from 2020, will take place on Saturday 7 August 2021 at 13.00 in St Swithun’s church, which would have been her 92nd birthday. Peter, Christine and family very much hope that many of Nancie’s friends and neighbours can join with them for this service, subject to any remaining Covid restrictions on numbers, and to gather at the Maltsters Arms afterwards, to remember and share memories of the remarkable and much-loved Nancie, who touched the lives of many and who is greatly missed. Up-to-date details will be available from Peter Grist on 01395 232712.

OPEN GARDENS EVENT Budleigh and District Hospiscare with Budleigh Croquet Club are holding an Open Gardens Event in Budleigh Salterton on 4 July from 10.00 to 16.00.

This will be a fantastic opportunity to see some of the loveliest gardens in Budleigh. It will also be an opportunity to support your local Hospiscare charity.

Budleigh and District Hospiscare provide the funding for Hospiscare nurses, Hospiscare at Home and in-patient care at the Hospice in Exeter. They also have a team of volunteers who support patients and carers.

These services are available to all patients of the Woodbury Surgery as well as Budleigh Medical Centre.

Tickets are only £5 (children free) and can be purchased at any of the participating gardens and the Croquet club. One ticket provides entrance to all gardens. At the time of writing there are 11 gardens participating.

Some gardens will have refreshments and some plant sales. Maps will be made available nearer the time. Treat yourself to a day out and support your local charity.

For more information contact Sue Hudson 232203 or l.goddard@hospiscare. co.uk.

Sue Hudson 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.

24

FUNDRAISING Percy Pigs in a Jar Competition for Woodbury C of E Primary School PTFA During the recent half term holidays, Naomi Ware raised £34 for Woodbury C of E Primary school PTFA, by running a 'guess the number of Percy Pigs in a jar' competition. Naomi created and ran the competition all by herself, as she was very keen to help raise extra funds for the school during these difficult times.

Naomi would like to say thank-you to everyone who supported her competition and would also like to congratulate Judy Vallance, who selected the winning number of Percy Pigs … 123! Jane Ware

Naomi handing Judy Vallance her prize Christian Aid 2021 During Christian Aid Week, the open garden at Heatherdene and donations box raised £912. Thank you to all who gave generously so that others can be helped to lift themselves out of poverty.

Carolyn Keep

Force Cancer Charity One of my birthday cards received recently said “regret to inform that your sixties have expired” which was stark and accurate!

So I decided to set myself a challenge—at the end of June I will cycle the 56 mile Nello bike ride (now to be virtual) to raise vital funds for Force Cancer Charity.

I would be delighted if anyone felt able to support me in my efforts. You can do this by logging onto www.virginmoneygiving.com, clicking ‘Make a donation’ and then keying ‘Peter Payne 21 Nello’ into the search bar. Thank you.

Peter Payne NEW YOUTUBE CHANNEL I have started a new YouTube channel on archaeology sites in the southwest and the first short video (4 mins) is on the archaeology of Woodbury Castle. This is the link to this video: http://youtu.be/k9qs0JrBzRk Charlotte Roseanna Coles

25

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

From Frank Mulholland bridgefm9@gmail.com Local Mystery Some years ago (probably about four) we returned home, after a few weeks away, to find a delightful pen and ink drawing of Bridge Cottage, by the artist Patricia Fishwick. The drawing was dated 1974 and shows the house as two separate cottages.

There was no note with the drawing, and it was just propped up against the door in its frame.

We assumed that a previous owner of the cottage had decided to leave it for us and so tried to contact as many of the previous owners as we knew, but drew a blank. We also contacted local artists but they new nothing of its origins either.

We would dearly like to thank the kind benefactor for the gift, so, if anyone knows anything about the drawing or even just has an idea about the mystery of the previous owner, we would love to know. Thanks.

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).

26 THE RETREAT ON THE ARCH The original dwelling house on the site of the ironmonger’s shop was known as Hammetts Tenement, one of the farms belonging to the Manor of Woodbury. It consisted of a farmhouse, orchard, and three fields on the east side of the top of Globe Hill. By the 19th century the farmlands had disappeared and the dwelling house was occupied by a master carpenter called William Ekers who also, from 1840, acted as the postmaster. He was succeeded as postmaster by Peter Daley, who moved in the 1880s into Vine House (now Rook Pie) which belonged to Robert Philips, the builder. The old farmhouse was demolished and evidently the land was sold to Dr Brent’s widow, when Lawn Cottage, a shop and workshop were built upon it. From 1901 the cottage was leased for 14 years and occupied by William Abbott, an ironmonger from London who had married Gertrude (nine years his senior), the daughter of Edward Hearne, a vet who lived on Broadway. The lease described the building as having an upper floor with well-lit workshops and stores (35 ft x 17.9 ft); on the ground floor was a double-fronted shop (25 ft x 17.9 ft), a workshop, and wash-house with furnace and pump; the garden formed a desirable building site nearly opposite the Post Office (now the antique shop) with a frontage of 108 ft x 51 ft. In 1903, on the death of Mrs Brent, the whole property was offered for sale at auction, and was bought by William Abbot. Lawn Cottage was the home of William and Gertrude and their family until his death. His two daughters helped in the business but his son moved to Canada.

At some time before 1939 William had named the ironmonger’s shop and premises ‘The Retreat’. The above picture, dating from the 1930s, shows the hand petrol pump in the yard and the buildings before the development, and Lawn Cottage, resplendent with a creeper climbing up the walls, before

27 Kilve Marchant converted the Arch side of the cottage into his curio shop.

The land leading to the Maltsters shows that the present garage, shop and bungalow had not yet been built. The ‘Princess Separator’ can be seen written on the wall above the shop.

William Abbott ran the business until his death in 1953 when it was sold to Jim Rowsell from Ottery St Mary, who lived with his family in Lawn Cottage, ran the business and developed the land. He erected two petrol pumps to replace the hand pump put up by William Abbott on the area where Kilve’s yard now stands.

In the late 1950s he built the bungalow, where Cyril lived with his young wife and family, and finally the garage which stands in front of it. In the 1970s he sold Lawn Cottage together with the land as far as his shop, which was eventually occupied by Kilve Marchant.

28 THE RETREAT ON THE ARCH cont’d/...

Jim retired and built his bungalow called Byways, and Cyril and Pam moved into the flat (the original workshop) above the shop, and The Retreat became the hub of the village.

When Cyril retired in 2016 his friends were delighted that he would spend his retirement in the village, tending his allotment and playing the odd round of golf, but mourned the loss of the fount of local information and gossip.

The picture on the previous page is how the village remembers the shop with Cyril and Pam standing in front of it. A bicycle shop took over the lease, but only lasted about a year. It is now the salon for our local hairdresser and nail specialist.

The shop adjoining the ironmongery has had many uses including a delicatessen, greengrocery and now a Chinese take-away and fish and chip shop.

NB: the ‘Princess Separator’ was a large piece of equipment used in the dairy side of farming. There are two mentions of the machine in Australian newspapers, but it is hard to find out its origins and how and where it was used locally. Perhaps someone in the parish will know more about it.

Gill Selley WEATHER REPORT How dramatic the change from drought conditions of March and April to the monsoon of May! Two days, 12 and 13 May, gave us 60mm of rain here at Ebford, 10mm more than the total for both March and April this year.

May started with over an inch during the first week and over four inches in the second week. The third week yielded another inch of thundery shower rain; the month’s total was a record breaking 177mm or 7.0ins of rain. Last year in the middle of the first lockdown May’s total was only 9mm, which made it the driest month of 2020.

The May average amount here at Ebford over the last 20 years has been almost exactly 2ins. In this context the last 10 years have been significantly drier than the previous decade; with May 2007 and May 2008 recording about 5 inches each.

As I report now at the end of June’s first week, a “flaming” dry period appears to be approaching.

Norman Cann

29

30

There will always be Flat-earthers, Anti-vaxxers, and Moonies. Most of these groups are so small that they do not present a major threat to society.

The people that were always a concern of mine were the climate change deniers. Nowadays that group is relatively small and insignificant.

The people that worry me now are the ones that claim it's not worth trying to take action to stop climate change or the loss of biodiversity. Tackling climate change is a task that we need to embrace every day on a personal level. No-one is going to suddenly completely change the way they live, and to expect that would be unreasonable. Collectively though, we can make a huge difference by taking small actions. Being aware of the implications of the way we live and the consequences has never been more important. One thing that gives me some hope for the future is people's growing awareness of the impact that our current way of life is having on both wildlife and our own mental health, and the importance of the natural world.

In his excellent book, Scales of Injustice, author Richard Pierce examines the effects of the illegal but largely uncontrolled trade in wild animals.

Pangolin meat is the suspected route of Covid-19 from animals to humans.

As he points out that at a cost of trillions of pounds to the world economies, someone's pangolin supper was possibly the most expensive meal in human history! The future cost of inaction regarding climate change and habitat destruction will be even greater.

On a local level the habitat destruction and depletion of biodiversity is taking place at an unprecedented pace. As a society we are fully aware of the damage we are causing and so there are no excuses. Week by week we are seeing local natural and semi-natural habitats destroyed to define the boundaries of our properties or to provide supposedly maintenance-free gardens.

Every bit of hedgerow that is replaced with a fence comes at a cost far greater than the initial capital outlay. The carbon sequestration that would have been carried out naturally is lost. Rainwater cannot be absorbed by the roots, leading to greater surface water run-off and increased flood risk downstream. The breeding ground for the insects and small mammals at the base of the food web is destroyed. Nest sites for birds are removed. In five to ten years’ time the fence will probably need to be replaced at great expense, whereas a hedge will last for decades with a little maintenance every year. The same can be said for lawns and gardens that are replaced with astroturf or paving bricks.

31 Woodbury is rapidly losing its character of being a rural area. The town is gradually becoming a collection of close-boarded boxes and paved gardens that have no ecological or aesthetic benefits. We need to consider our actions very carefully or we will end up living in a bland sterile area depleted of variety and nature.

On the other hand there are lots of things we can do at very little expense.

If every household implemented one or two of the following suggestions we would be adding to the biodiversity of the area and enriching our lives:  Plant a native tree including fruit trees.  Replace or soften a hard boundary with a hedgerow comprising mixed native species.  Provide an access to your garden for hedgehogs and other animals to forage.  Build a hedgehog shelter.  Leave a small corner of your garden "wild and unkept for nature".  Create a small wildlife pond or just leave out a bowl of water (90% of the animals we rescue are suffering from dehydration).  Stop using slug pellets, pesticides and herbicides. They are poisons and kill indiscriminately. Most are hazardous to human health and eventually end up in our water courses.  Put up a bird box or bat box.  Put up a bug hotel or leave logs to decay naturally.  Incorporate some native species plants into your flowerbeds.

If each of us did one of the above we would be helping nature or doing something to alleviate climate change. We need to act now - the time for talking has gone. Pledges by the G7, our own politicians and our local councils will not be of any use unless we all take some action ourselves.

The best way to help nature is to stop destroying it.

If you need help or advice on implementing any of the above or you have any questions, please contact me and we will be pleased to assist you.

If you would like to make a contribution towards our appeal please contact us directly or go to our “GoFundMe” Wild-Woodbury animal treatment centre appeal at https://gf.me/u/yki8t5.

Please join our Facebook group: Wild-Woodbury and check out our website http://www.wild-woodbury.org to find out more about what we are doing to help our local wildlife.

Tony Bennett Tel: 07971 082384. info@wild-woodbury.org Website: http://www.wild-woodbury.org / Facebook: Wild-Woodbury

32

Summer is a busy time. Enjoy this seasonal snapshot from across the Estate.

Clinton Farms The first cut of grass for silage was taken at the end of May to provide winter’s food for our dairy herd. These fields were then fertilised naturally with slurry to give the next crop of grass the best start. These cut and ‘empty’ fields are still delivering an important job, so please respect our farm and those of our tenants. Help keep animals healthy and farmers happy by staying on footpaths and other permissible routes and not walking in fields without access routes or using them to exercise dogs.

We have installed signs on many of the gates to remind people about following the Countryside Code and to explain what is growing in some of the fields. Most of the land on the home farm is either given over to grass for grazing or grass for silage with some other fodder crops, but this year we are also growing 30 hectares of potatoes for Riverford Organics.

Pebblebed Heaths Cattle and Dartmoor ponies help us manage the heathland vegetation.

Animals are now grazing Bicton Common, Hawkerland, Dalditch plantation and behind the temporary electric loop on Colaton Raleigh Common. Please remember to keep gates shut and report any issues to our rangers directly on 07792 242242 or 07976 062717. Thank you.

Delivery of visitor access improvements was delayed last year. But after such a busy time for the heaths we have worked with East Devon District Council to review these plans, making sure they still deliver what is needed to make access easier while protecting the special character of the heaths and the wildlife that lives here. The work will take place in three phases to ensure that there are always some car parks open while others are closed for refurbishment. It is expected that the first phase of improvements will take place later this year. The first will include Four Firs and Joney’s Cross car parks along with the informal roadside parking areas at Frying Pans and at Stowford.

Volunteer teams are poised to begin their summer tasks, whether monitoring bird or invertebrate species on the heaths or getting involved practically with weekly work parties to manage invasive Himalayan balsam plants on the tributaries of the river Otter. If you would like to be involved please contact mail@pebblebedheaths.org.

River Otter The programme of work for the Lower Otter Restoration Project has been revised following our decision to postpone, until this autumn, vegetation clearance that might cause disturbance to nesting birds.

33 Work has started on the site for the new Budleigh Salterton Cricket Club.

This is an exciting and tangible benefit to this project and will secure a sustainable future for this popular community asset.

North of South Farm Road, excavation of the creek network may also begin over the coming months with environmental exclusion zones providing a 50metre buffer zones around hedgerows, allowing birds to raise their young undisturbed.

From July if you walk by the estuary, look out for our colleagues from ABPmer as they will be collecting feedback on your visit to the lower Otter.

An important part of the lower Otter scheme is understanding society’s current use of the site and how it is valued, and tracking how that changes over time once the scheme has been delivered. We are always grateful for any engagements with us you might like to have and the data collected is valuable.

Bicton Arena After the success of delivering a prestigious 4-star International Horse Trials last month, this event also marks the end of an era at Bicton Arena, as Helen West is leaving to become the CEO of British Eventing. Helen joined the Arena in 2013 and immediately saw how Bicton deserved to be up there with the likes of leading equestrian venues such as Blenheim and Bramham.

Back then, Bicton only hosted one British affiliated horse trial. Under Helen’s leadership there are now three, including two international horse trials. As well as three-day eventing Helen and her team oversee a full programme of show jumping and dressage.

Bicton supports riders of all standards. As well as attracting competitors at the highest level it also delivers an impressive offer of grassroots competition, training events and pony club camps. Whilst Clinton Devon Estates will be very sorry to see Helen go, we congratulate her heartily on obtaining such a high-profile role in the equestrian world.

Property and Land Those who visit the businesses trading from Exmouth’s Liverton business park will have noticed welcome improvements to the junction onto Salterton Road, which will alleviate queuing traffic leaving the site. The work was carried out by MAC Plant, a small southwest company which undertakes contact work for Devon County Council.

DCC contributed half the £200,000 bill and the remaining costs were split between Clinton Devon Estates and Exmouth Town Council.

This month the teams also say goodbye to Eliza Raine, who has spent the year on placement and now returns to Harper Adams University to complete her studies to be a land agent. We look forward to welcoming surveyor, Tom Whiffen, who will take up a new full-time graduate position with the Estate. We wish him every success in this new role.

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

34 RSPB AYLESBEARE COMMON Despite the unreasonably wet start to the summer that has spelt disaster for many of the first broods of our garden birds, the birds out on the heath are doing well. There have been plenty of cuckoos heard this year on Aylesbeare and across the wider Pebblebeds. The first nightjars on Aylesbeare were recorded on 17 May. Although unfortunately our first nightjar walk of the year didn’t turn up any birds, it was a beautiful evening. We often tuck ourselves away at first sign of darkness, but really the heathland is spectacular in the dark. When the moon is full, the silvery light floods the landscape and even the most ordinary of plants take on an ethereal quality – if you’re lucky enough to time it right and hear the calls of the nightjar it feels like almost another world. Nightjar walks led by our experienced site manager can be booked online on the Eventbrite website or through the RSPB Exe Estuary Facebook page, and are an excellent way to get closer to nature and gain more insight into the management of the commons for nature. If you decide to go out on your own to hunt for nightjar, don’t forget to wrap up warm – even in the summer temperatures can drop sharply when the sun goes down (hot flasks definitely recommended), and in the interests of safety, take a pair of sturdy boots and a torch, and let someone know when you’re intending to be home.

Dartford warblers are another of our heathland specialists. We had a rather slow start to the surveys identifying their territories, but we have still identified a good number of breeding pairs. Stonechat, yellowhammer, and willow warblers have also been out in full force, and at full volume – it seems you can’t go anywhere without the wheedling voice of the yellowhammer asking for some cheese.

On more practical terms, we spent one afternoon recently putting a few leaky dams in the stream on Harpford. With the dramatic fluctuations in rainfall we’ve seen this year, the water levels in the stream on the reserve and in neighbouring fields have swung from flash flooding to just inches of water.

By building leaky dams, we will still allow the water to flow through the stream, but we will be slowing the flow, and increasing the ability of the stream system to hold back excess water during storm surges to reduce downstream flooding. The building of dams to store potential floodwaters has already been seen to great effect locally, where the beavers on the Otter build their dams to store food during the winter.

Due to the long history of habitation in East Devon, Aylesbeare is home to several features of archaeological interest, among which are two tumuli. We have a duty of care to preserve these ancient monuments, which includes prohibiting the growth of woody vegetation and bracken across the tumuli.

35 During the winter scrub-cutting season, we carefully cleared any encroaching vegetation by hand, and now that the ground has dried out enough, we have collected the arisings to be taken away and made into a habitat pile elsewhere on the reserve. We do all the work on the tumuli by hand rather than mechanically to prevent any damage to the monuments through compaction or disturbance of the surrounding ground.

Of course, bracken is not just a problem for the tumuli. Although bracken is an important part of the heathland community, it is incredibly good at spreading and outcompeting other plants in an area – so we cut and manage the bracken to prevent it overtaking everything. Bracken control is a long and involved process as bracken is able to store sugars and essential growth nutrients in underground rhizomes. This is what allows it to die off during the winter and regrow in the summer each year. It also means bracken can survive being cut repeatedly, which means we must make several visits each year to any patch we are trying to control. With repeated cutting the bracken is unable to photosynthesise and, in constantly regrowing, it depletes its stores in the rhizomes – eventually allowing us to clear the patch (and in time for us to start somewhere new). We will never get rid of all the bracken on the reserve, and we wouldn’t want to as it provides valuable habitat for some of our heathland specialists; however we do need to keep on top of it to prevent it spreading out too far.

Species feature: Nightjar The nightjar is one of the most evocative heathland birds we have on the Pebblebeds. A summer visitor from Africa, it is a bird rarely seen but often heard, and provides a rich soundtrack to summer nights on the heathland. Nightjar are exceptionally well camouflaged when at rest during the day: they are mottled brown, grey, Find out more and tan – like loose bark chippings – but have distinct information on white spots on pointed wings and tail, which are nightjar on the diagnostic in flight. The nightjar is a nocturnal hunter, RSPB website catching moths and other large insects on the wing. By day they rest almost motionless on the ground; unlike most passerines, they often perch along a branch rather than across it, in an attempt to disguise their shape. They have almost comically large bristly mouths, flat heads, and large, sensitive eyes. The best time to find nightjar is at dusk/dawn around a full moon; listen out for the male’s churring calls and ‘wing-claps’ – made to attract females to their territories. The nightjar is an amber-listed bird in the UK; as a ground-nesting heathland specialist it is particularly vulnerable to habitat loss and disturbance during the breeding season (June-September).

Ellie Woolway, Devon Reserves Administrator Exe Estuary (01392 833311) & Aylesbeare Common (01395 233655) Eleanor.woolway@rspb.org.uk. Mobile 07834174541

36

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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

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FORTHCOMING EVENTS 4 July 6 July 8 July 13 July 18 July 18 July 1 August 12 August 14 August 15 August 28 August 2 Sept.

9 Sept.

11 Sept.

19 Sept.

9 Oct. 9 Oct. 14 Oct. 4 Nov. 11 Nov. 9 Dec. 16 Dec.

Budleigh Salterton Open Gardens in aid of Budleigh & District Hospiscare. 10.00-16.00.

Charity Coffee Morning re-opening and 7th Birthday Party.

10.00-12.00.

WI Bring and Share Picnic Lunch. Village Green. 12.30-14.30.

Woodbury Garden Club AGM followed by Carnivorous Plants.

WVH, 19.15.

Woodbury Salterton Scarecrow Challenge.

Tennis club mixed tournament and BBQ. Cream Tea on Woodbury village green. 15.00.

In aid of FORCE. WI Cream Tea on the village green. 14.30-16.00.

W. Garden Club Flower and Veg Show. WVH, 14.00-16.00.

Tennis club triples tournament.

Hope4Kibera. 14.00-17.00. Live Jazz and Cream Tea on Woodbury Village Green.

Local History Society. The Origins of Woodbury Parish and its Manors, a talk by Gill Selley, WVH, 19.30.

WI Sin and Tonic. 14.00. The DuBuisson Room, WVH. Woodbury Salterton Beetle Drive.

FoSS Annual cream tea, 5 Escott Cottages.

Hope4Kibera. 19.00. Quiz evening in Woodbury Village Hall.

Woodbury Salterton Harvest Supper.

WI Emotional Dowsing. 14.00. DuBuisson Room, WVH. The Blackshirts of Devon, a talk by Todd Gray, WVH, 19.30.

WI The Chelsea Flower Show. 14.00. DuBuisson Room, WVH. WI Practical Workshop on Weaving. 14.00. WVH. WI Christmas Lunch. WVH. (time tba) BICTON ARENA Local Residents’ Event Information 2021

British Show Jumping Tour 8 - 12 July and 14 - 17 July Once many of these competitors arrive on Wednesday 7 July we expect the majority to stay onsite for the duration. Arrivals Wednesday 7 (large lorries). Limited number of local competitors will travel in daily.

Departures Saturday 17 & Sunday 18 July.

British Eventing Grassroots 31 July - 1 August Arrivals on both days. Many competitors will travel in daily from 06.00.

Departures throughout the days.

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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.

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Mike Dickson Gardening All Jobs Considered Specialist in hedge cutting, shrub pruning and grass.

Tel: 07985 697205

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

43 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

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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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