WOODBURY NEWS

As I write, it is almost impossible to avoid hearing about the horrors of the earthquakes that have so recently devastated huge swathes of Turkey and Syria. The press, radio, television and social media recount stories of suffering in harrowing detail in both words and pictures. When Rev Bill Lemmey asked if he could write something for Woodbury News about the earthquakes, I welcomed his suggestion, and his article is on page 23, What Are We Going To Do Now? The courage and heroism of the rescuers, the medical personnel and the charitable organisations, who are working tirelessly in situ to do what they can, must be applauded. World leaders are sending financial and practical support, but perhaps the best we can personally do is to put our hands in our pockets and donate much needed funds. It is indeed too easy to think that the news is so awful, we can’t bear to watch or read it.

According to the radio, overnight in Turkey on 13/14 February temperatures plummeted to -7C. Pretty chilly under canvas, especially if next day you were going to work in the temporary field hospitals. Our moans about feeling cold and having to turn down the heating in our homes sound a bit pathetic. We do, of course, remain grateful to our local volunteers who were prepared to provide warm spaces in our villages for those feeling cold – even though there was little demand for this service, which has now been put on hold. Reading this month’s edition of Woodbury News, there are many opportunities for service to the local community supporting charitable events, becoming a school governor, helping to get our churchyards in tiptop condition or planting a few trees, for example. Read on, and you will find the relevant requests.

On a more cheerful note, on page 21 you will find the initial arrangements listed for how our villages plan to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III. As usual, our grateful thanks are extended to all those behind-the-scenes volunteers who are beavering away to ensure that this occasion is celebrated here in our corner of Devon in style.

The cover photo shows the enthusiastic and talented footballers from Woodbury Primary School.

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ST SWITHUN’S CHURCH, WOODBURY

Vicar: Reverend Bill Lemmey 01395 232161 revbillwhitecross@gmail.com

Administrator: Jill Dupain dupain@hotmail.co.uk

Church Services

26 February - Lent 1, Café Service at St Swithun’s, 10.30.

5 March - Lent 2, Holy Communion at St Swithun’s, 11.15. Evening Worship at Exton, 18.00.

12 March - Lent 3, Holy Communion at Exton, 09.30. Holy Communion at St Swithun’s, 11.15.

19 March - Lent 4, Mothering Sunday, Morning Worship at Exton, 09.30. Mothering Sunday Service at St Swithun’s, 11.15.

26 March - Lent 5, Evensong at St Swithun’s, 18.30.

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.

CHURCH ALTAR FLOWERS - MARCH

5, 12, 19, 26 March - Lent (no flowers).

Easter Lilies Please add your name to the list in church if you wish to purchase a lily in memory of a loved one.

Please note, we will decorate church for Easter on Saturday 8 April.

Barbara Hill

Woodbury History Society

2 MARCH, 19.30, WOODBURY VILLAGE HALL

A talk by Kate Ponting, Countryside Learning Officer and Charlotte Hodgson, Archivist of Clinton Devon Estates on The Lower Otter Restoration Project

All very welcome, members free, visitors £4 at the door.

Combined Choir Evensong

The church choirs of St Peter’s Church, Budleigh Salterton, and St Swithun’s Church, Woodbury, joined together in a festival style Evensong on Sunday 12 February.

The service was held in St Peter’s Church, and the choir was directed by Stephen Tanner, director of music and organist at St Peter’s. The two choirs provided 39 voices, and produced a superb sound, enhanced by the excellent organ accompaniment from David Davies. The music programme was put together and the event organised by Stephen Tanner and Colin Ashby, director of music and organist at St Swithun’s. The choir opened the service with Pitoni’s Cantate Domino, followed by the Versicles and Responses by William Smith. Psalm 148 was followed by Stanford’s Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis. The anthem was John Ireland’s Greater Love and the organ voluntary at the end was William Harris’s Flourish for an Occasion. It was a joy to sing in a large choir and it is hoped that it will become an annual event. The next event for St Swithun’s choir will be The Cross of Christ, which will be sung in St Swithun’s on Palm Sunday, 2 April at 18.30.

Sue Hudson

FoSS (FRIENDS OF ST SWITHUN’S)

The FoSS AGM was held on 21 January. There have been three concerts and a cream tea during the year, with membership subscriptions over £400 having been added to FoSS funds. The present committee was willing to stand and was unanimously elected.

The AGM was followed by a concert. The Woodbury Whalers, under the leadership of Mike Jeans and Henry Freeman, started the proceedings giving another performance of favourite sea shanties, with a couple of recent additions. Woodbury Handbells, set up with the tables arranged on stage, gave us four new tunes starting with Country Garden. The Bel Canto choir was next on stage under director Robin Lennox, who gave a helpful introduction to each item. The performance of the choir was outstanding with an excellent variety of music enabling the choir to show their versatility, interspersing serious with humorous music.

Everyone then found a seat at a table for a chicken casserole, prepared by Elspeth Fisher and her team, accompanied by a glass of mulled wine. Over £300 was raised for FoSS funds. The next concert will be held on Saturday 29 April in church from 19.00. This will feature Bel Canto Choir with Catherine Luke as soloist. We will have as guests Devon County Junior Choir under the direction of Andrew Downton. Andrew, an organ scholar, will also play the organ and will make it sing! As there will be many children in the choir, this an excellent opportunity for youngsters in the village to see and hear quality music from other children. Tickets £10 adult, £2 school-age children. Tickets from Pat Browne, the committee or Rook Pie, and available on the door. Pat Browne

Woodbury Craft Group

We will be meeting at 10.00-13.00 at Christ Church on Wednesdays 1, 15 and 29 March; 26 April; 10 and 24 May. All welcome. Trish Sussex

Fnf Friday Night Flix

24 FEBRUARY, 24 MARCH

Doors open at 19.00, film 19.30

WOODBURY VILLAGE HALL

Details of films are on the village hall noticeboard

WOODBURY RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION AGM

TUESDAY 28 FEBRUARY, 19.30

WOODBURY CHURCH ROOMS

Guest speaker: District Councillor Geoff Jung. Contact Jan Owen on jmowenteacher@aol.com.

Woodbury History Society

Woodbury History Society held its AGM on 2 February in Woodbury village hall.

Professor Nick Burgess took the chair and welcomed the attending members. In his Annual Report he said that among the gloom and despondency of the past three years there is positive and cheerful news to report. The society has been very active during the last twelve months with four interesting talks, and an exciting programme already planned by the Meetings Secretary for the coming year. It will include an exhibition in the summer based on materials from the society’s extensive archives.

Membership is enthusiastic and supportive and we elected a full committee of ten including Chairman, Treasurer and Archivist as detailed in the Society’s Constitution. A Society Secretary and a Meetings & Events Secretary were also appointed. Nick explained that after 10 years in the post of Chair he wished to step down but would continue in the very short term until someone comes forward to take over.

Roger Stokes resigned as a full-time member of the committee, remaining as a co-opted member to concentrate solely on the Society’s website. The rest of the committee were re-elected and were joined by a new member, Jim Champion, who is helping Chris Sheppard to revise the existing Churchyard, Cemetery and Christchurch burial records and plans.

The Chairman thanked all the committee members for everything they do at different times and in a variety of ways to make the society what it is, a high quality and valuable asset to the parish. He said their expertise and experience combine to provide a team of which we can all be proud.

David Bowers, the treasurer, reported a healthy bank balance for 2022, with a paid-up membership of 65. Last year’s talks were very well attended by members with an increased number of visitors paying at the door. At the time of the AGM, 40 members had paid up for this coming year with numbers still growing.

Giving the Archivist’s report, Adrian Christopher invited members to let him or Gillian Selley know if they wished to visit the archives at any time.

Adrian also drew attention to the exhibition Woodbury Beneath Our Feet, to be held on Saturday 24 June in Woodbury village hall. This will be based on the late Nigel Tucker’s large collection of finds discovered while metal detecting around Woodbury.

At the conclusion of the business part of the evening everyone was invited to partake of the excellent buffet and a glass of wine laid out at the back of the hall. In addition, there was the opportunity to experience A Taste of History, by sampling some of the following recipes from the past prepared by Joyce Peachey:

 Frumenty A thick boiled grain (wheat) dish, flavoured with spices, sugar and fruit with origins in medieval times. Referenced in Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge.

 Empire Christmas Pudding Made from a 1928 recipe promoting ingredients collected from different parts of the then British Empire.

 Marchpane biscuits These sweetmeats, made from ground almonds and sugar flavoured with rosewater, were very popular in Elizabethan banquets.

 Maids of honour tarts Lemon-flavoured curd pastries that were reputedly enjoyed by Henry VIII.

 Woolton pie From a recipe devised by the head chef of the Savoy Hotel during WW2 and named after Lord Woolton, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. This vegetable pie topped with a cheesy potato pastry fell out of favour with the British public as soon as rationing ended.

 Coronation chicken A recipe devised to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 had a bit of a revival for her platinum jubilee last year, consisting of cold chicken pieces in a sweetened curry-flavoured mayonnaise and yoghurt dressing. The next diary date to note is a talk on The Lower Otter Restoration Project, on 2 March at 19.30 in Woodbury village hall.

Joyce Peachey, Meetings Secretary

Hope 4 Kibera

Breaking the Cycle of Poverty through Education

hope4kibera.org.uk

BARN DANCE YEE-HA!

Charity Number 1189029

Don’t miss out on the Hope4Kibera Barn Dance on Saturday 4 March in Woodbury village hall. Please come and celebrate another active and successful year of H4K, featuring the popular Spinach For Norman band and caller. Tickets @ £12.50 each include a ploughman’s supper. There will be a bar (cash or card) and a raffle. Email: treasurer@hope4kibera.org.uk for tickets. It will be a fun evening and a great way to make a big difference. See you there!

All the funds raised go directly to our partners running the school we support in Kibera. Every £20 puts one of our students from the slum through a full week of school: teaching, board & lodging all included.

H4k Autumn Quiz

The quiz was well supported and we enjoyed Richard Workman's wide range of quirky questions. There were also happy winners of some superb raffle prizes. During the interval, we had a brief update on the progress being made in the school in Kibera and a lovely video message from Kibera to all our supporters. After all expenses, an excellent £812.85 was raised.

Grants To Kibera

Thanks to all this great support, on 18 January 2023, we were able to send out the full budget request of £8,398 to cover the costs of the first term this year. This included £1,350 to provide a new set of school uniforms for the students as they enter their final year. The school is expanding with new classrooms and a laboratory building. The lives of children, who previously had no hope, are being transformed, thanks to your generosity. Join the journey at <hope4kibera.org.uk>

Charlie Collins, Chair H4K

Woodbury And District Royal British Legion Open Event

To raise awareness of the charity RV-ONE and to showcase the Royal British Legion in Devon and beyond.

SATURDAY 25 FEBRUARY, 12.00 - 15.00

THE WHITE HART, WOODBURY All welcome.

Woodbury Living Advent Calendar

Well done Woodbury! First, we would like to thank Liz Dunne and her team of willing volunteers who made the 2022 Woodbury Living Advent Calendar (WLAC) such an enjoyable village event, while also raising much needed funds for two local good causes.

It was always the intention for new custodians to come forward each year to take on the organisation and planning of this community project in order to keep reaching out to as many people as possible and to embrace new ideas. WLAC 2023 will be a chance to celebrate its sixth anniversary and we, Ruth Bagwell and Jules Hester, are delighted to take over the reins from Liz and her team. We will be using Woodbury News, Facebook and Instagram to make announcements over the coming months as we start planning behind the scenes. It also means that we have the privilege of choosing two local charities to benefit from our community fundraising event. These will be announced in due course but, rest assured, they will be close to our collective hearts. Whether you are new to the village or new to the event, we hope to meet in September with anyone interested in designing a window, when we’ll gather together to discuss the finer details. So, lots to look forward to and we are excited to reveal that Woodbury Church Rooms are already booked for a finale on 24 December! Watch this space… With many thanks in advance for your continued support.

Jules Hester and Ruth Bagwell

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).

Maytree Preschool

Maytree Preschool had a successful fundraiser event at the village hall last month to raise funds for Woodbury’s much loved village preschool. The fundraising team, made up of three dynamic mums whose children have attended the preschool, organised a disco and party games for just over 30 toddlers. The theme for the disco was A Celebration of Lights. It was held late afternoon in January when it was nearly dark, to accentuate the fairy lights and colourful up-lighting in the hall (provided generously by local lighting company Socialights). Homemade cup-cakes, glorious doughnuts and sticky chocolate loaf were the order of the day in the tea, coffee and hot chocolate corner, where parents were encouraged to give further donations. Excited two, three and four-yearolds entered the hall full of energy, keen to run around in their princess party dresses and fancy dress costumes. At first the children played with pastel coloured balloons that were strewn around the hall. Then they danced to a selection of songs including, of course, Disney’s Frozen blockbuster Let it Go. After much dancing, the final act was dedicated to classic party games such as What’s the time Mr Wolf, before the children trotted happily home with party bags including a glow-in-the-dark disco bracelet. The event itself was enjoyed in equal measure by the children, parents and organisers, and Maytree is delighted to reveal that on the night we raised an impressive £300! As the community is aware, Maytree is a not-for-profit charity and we rely heavily on the generosity of the local community. The current economic climate is an ongoing challenge for us and our hard-working staff. If anyone reading this would like to donate to Maytree, we are looking to match-fund the £300 raised on the night, so any donation big or small would be gratefully received. Please email chairperson@maytreepreschool.com if you would like to help us achieve our goal and bring our total raised this term to £600. Monies raised would go towards essential day-to-day running costs of our village preschool. With thanks.

Katherine Levy, Chair of Maytree Preschool

Woodbury And District Royal British Legion

19/20 March marks the 20th anniversary of the commencement of the Iraq War.

The branch Open Event on 25 February is to showcase the ongoing work and support the Royal British Legion gives to military personnel and their dependants. Woodbury branch is very involved with raising funds through the Poppy Appeal.

Our open event is also about helping the community through the Charity RV-ONE. Please support your local branch or we’ll lose it.

Sandra Huish (Chairman)

Woodbury Tennis Club

The Club AGM was held in the Church Rooms on Wednesday 1 February when a good discussion took place on hut improvements. It was decided by an almost unanimous vote that the existing hut would be demolished by voluntary labour and a new purpose-built hut be placed on the existing foundations. This would take place in the autumn.

The subscriptions for 2023 will be adult £75 (£70 if paid early), family £150 (£140 if paid early), £50 daytime (£45 if paid early), junior £15. As last year, we will field two Men’s teams, a Ladies team and a mixed team in the summer local leagues.

The junior coaching programme with John Wingate and Christine Sheward will resume at the start of the summer term on Wednesday 19 April for youngsters from 5 to 16 years in separate groups! £5 per session anyone wishing to join please contact Christine (christinesheward58@gmail.com).

Garry and Christine Sheward were awarded commended certificates for Devon LTA volunteer of the year at the county AGM on 8 February.

Club sessions continue to operate 10.00 Sunday and 10.00 Tuesday (ladies). All enquiries on tennis matters should be addressed to Pat Browne (ruthandpatb@aol.com). Pat Browne

Woodbury News Closing Dates

20 MARCH. 17 APRIL. 15 MAY. 19 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

Woodbury C Of E Primary School

Chestnut Class have been lucky enough to have local textile artist, Karen Fanzo, join them in their art lesson. Mrs Fanzo taught the children how to create patterns for their designs, attach these to their material choices and sew them onto their background piece. The children have designed their own piece in groups, inspired by artist Faith Ringgold. The children showed great determination, especially when it came to threading the needle! The final results are fantastic, and we can see we have many potential textile artists in the making.

Beech Class have been busy reading Whatever Next by Jill Murphy. They have been dressing up as astronauts and zooming off into space. They have also been practising their writing skills by sending messages to aliens!

The children have also been having great fun at Forest School each week. They have learnt to move safely around the fire and roast their own marshmallows. They have also been making little dens for fairies and, when the weather has been very cold, discovering how interesting ice is. They have been learning lots of maths outside as well, finding out that you can make shapes out of different natural materials, and practising their counting skills.

As part of their history topic Crime and Punishment of the Last 1,000 Years, Ash Class had the pleasure of visiting Bodmin Jail. Even the adults were mesmerised by how intimidating, fascinating and remarkable was the technology that merged with the remains of a Georgian/Victorian prison. The Dark Walk was exhilarating, combined with squeals and gasps from everyone as they were taken through the crimes committed by a few prisoners - the youngest being an eleven-year-old boy whose sentence was 10 days for stealing a stick of celery! cont’d/...

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

The winding passages littered with artefacts, Harry Potter-esque rotating images of prisoners, interactive punishments and great photo opportunities to punish both children and teachers in the stocks, made the trip good fun. I do wonder what their live museum may include when we bring the topic to a close before Easter.

Sporting Update

Some of our Years 4, 5 and 6 football players have had the opportunity to play football against different teams this half term. A team are currently competing in the Exeter Partnership Football League. Despite the cold temperatures, the children have been in great spirits and Mr Bevan-Smith has commented that he has seen some wonderful interplay and a great team spirit.

We have also taken part in the biggest footballing event of the school calendar, the Exeter City Football Utilita Kids Cup. Thirty teams from across Devon took part. It was a great opportunity for Woodbury to showcase their talents and they did just that winning the group stages undefeated, boasting the most goals scored (12), the least conceded (0) and taking the top spot of all thirty teams. However, in the knockout stages, we came unstuck against a plucky Wynstream who scored two lucky goals late on to knock us out of the cup. Nevertheless, all participants did themselves, their teammates and the school proud. Well done to all players and to Mr Norton and Mr Bevan-Smith for organising and accompanying them.

Would you like to be a governor?

We are looking for school governors from the community. Do you have some time to spare? Serve as a school governor a great opportunity to give something back through our fantastic Church of England schools. You don’t need lots of experience and you don’t need to be a parent. All we ask is that you value Church of England education, share our passion for making our schools the best they can be, and have the commitment and skills needed to be a governor.

As a governor, you’ll get the opportunity to make a positive difference to the educational experiences and outcomes of children and young people. There is nothing more satisfying, and the Diocese of Exeter will support you every step of the way.

To indicate your interest in becoming a governor, please complete our expression of interest form on our website https://exeter.anglican.org/ schools/be-a-governor/ and email beagovernor@exeter.anglican.org and we’ll be in touch. If you prefer, you can speak to the education team on 01392 294 950.

Gillian Pyle (Head of School)

WOODBURY WOMEN’S INSTITUTE

On Thursday 9 February, Woodbury WI met to celebrate our 103rd birthday and to hear a fascinating talk from one of our favourite speakers, Chris Woodward. Chris had helped us to celebrate our 100th birthday in 2020, which turned out to be our last face-to-face meeting for more than 18 months, as the pandemic struck the following month. Lin Ashby, president, opened the meeting by welcoming 24 members and four guests, wished them all a happy birthday and introduced Chris, whose topic was Facts, Myths & Legends of Dartmoor. Chris began the talk with a geology lesson: he told us how Great Britain had been formed from one super continent millions of years ago and, by using diagrams of rock formations (that we now recognise as the granite tors of Dartmoor), he showed how individual areas of Britain had evolved geologically. He told us about the minerals and ores contained within granite, how they are extracted and what they are used for. cont’d/...