WOODBURY NEWS SUBSCRIPTIONS 2023-24

Still just £6 a year with free delivery

In these days of seemingly ever-rising prices, Woodbury News is keeping subscriptions at the current level for another year. Although our costs have gone up, the directors have agreed the magazine will absorb the increases for the next year.

Subscriptions will be due when your volunteer deliverer arrives with the June edition of Woodbury News. The annual payment of £6 covers a whole year from July 2023 to June 2024 - just 50p per month and delivered to your door.

When your collector calls, it would be much appreciated if you could have £6 ready, preferably in an envelope with your name and address.

Many thanks, in advance, to all our loyal readers and deliverers for your continued support of Woodbury, Woodbury Salterton and Exton's community magazine.

Jeremy Boyden,

Chairman

Woodbury Book Club

At the start of the pandemic, many of us were interested in forming a book club and were keen to start one online. A couple of us volunteered to start this up and a new book club for Woodbury and Woodbury Salterton was created on Facebook by Katy, Laura and Sarah. It proved very popular and we had around 60 followers to begin with. However, due to the lockdown restrictions, we were initially only allowed to meet online, moving later onto small group sessions held outside in gardens and then finally into the local pubs. Despite our numbers decreasing to several members who regularly meet, we still review books on a monthly basis. The Woodbury Book Club meets at The White Hart on the first Tuesday of the month, and the Woodbury Salterton Book Club meet at The Digger’s Rest on dates that accommodate everyone.

In March, we read local author Jonathan Posner’s first novel, The Witchfinder’s Well. We invited him to our book club meeting and were delighted when he accepted our invitation. We had a great discussion with Jonathan about his stories and he signed copies of his book for us. We were thrilled to have shared our time with him, thanked him for coming to visit us and wished him the best of luck with his current and future novels.

Anyone wishing to join us in the future, please search for us on Facebook at Woodbury and Woodbury Salterton Book Club.

Laura Watson

Cornerstones

We are a very informal group of Woodbury men who enjoy a monthly gettogether for a meal and good company. No subs, no commitments, just remember to pay your own tab on the day!

On Tuesday 30 May we are planning a morning boat trip from Exmouth to Sidmouth with lunch somewhere in Sidmouth, returning to Exmouth by boat in the afternoon.

Later in September we are hoping to try our hand again at archery at the Exmouth Archery Club, followed by either lunch or supper.

If any men would like to join us they will be most welcome; contact Ken Perry on 01395 232865 or email kvperry@btinternet.com to be included on the circulation list. Ken Perry

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.

Woodbury Camera Club

John Perriam gave Woodbury Camera Club a really interesting talk on creative photography (if you are interested you can find him on Facebook and Instagram). He explained how he made ordinary photos look incredibly stunning by altering backgrounds and effects, some of which were done quite simply, others complex and more time-consuming. He also had some audio visual photographs which were really beautiful as well. He has won many awards in the past and worked with various camera clubs. It was lovely to have a different take on everyday objects and how to create stunning photographs. Some of us discussed the pros and cons of various photo editing sites, such as Photoshop and LightRoom, and how to use simple techniques or more complex ones.

Next month it is over to the members. We have set a theme of Spring and members are asked to submit their entries digitally so that we can project them and each member can talk about their image and what inspired them. We have found in the past this is a very rewarding and enjoyable way of sharing our hobby.

If anyone is interested in joining us, we meet on the third Tuesday of each month at 19.30 in the Church Rooms in Woodbury. Debbie Jung

Woodbury Garden Club

At the beginning of our meeting in April Debby reminded members that for the Fruit, Vegetable and Flower Show in August they would be growing a pelargonium (Apple Blossom) for the Members’ Challenge Cup.

Jenny Short then gave an illustrated talk on Ponds and Water Features for the Small Garden. She trained as a ceramics sculptor at the West of England College of Art and for her a garden is a large piece of ever-changing sculpture. It is coloured and textured by a variety of flowers and vegetation, with the added interest of ponds, water features and other objects. For the last twenty years she has been designing gardens with this in mind. She began by asking which members had a pond or a water feature in their garden and their reasons for including them, such as the sound of running water, the gentle movement of water, seeing reflections and, of course, havens for wildlife.

Jenny thought that to build a pond is a test of skill for the landscaper. Size is not important but depth is. Build a pond as deep as you can but if you cannot get depth, then build up the sides. Whatever edging you use make sure that it overhangs the water. If you have fish, Jenny explained how to fit a heron trip wire. A pond at ground level is ideal for wildlife, newts, frogs etc. If the pond is raised then give wildlife a way in and out by building a raised mound or a stone rockery at the side. There are many things you can do to help keep the water clear: if you have fish don’t over-populate or over-feed and create a proper balance of pond plants.

Water lilies like deep water and their leaves give shade and absorb nutrients. Blanket weed will thrive in nutrient-rich water, so try barley straw to help clear it. Oxygenating plants such as callatriche or starwort that float on the surface can be used. Choose the right size pump and filter to circulate the pond’s water and clear debris from the pond before it has a chance to decay. Shade your pond with aquatic plants to keep the pond water cool in the summer.

Jenny went on to talk about marginal or bog plants, plants that can be placed on a ledge in a pond. An unusual idea for placing plants in the centre of a pond is to use a new chimney pot, the right height for the depth of your pond water, half fill it with stones and then aquatic soil. Jenny finished by giving examples of water features, self-contained, self-circulating features that are attractive to look at and safe for small children. They are easy to install and because they need electricity to power a pump are ideally nearly always placed near the house. She illustrated a dragon water feature at Knoll Gardens, Wimborne, Dorset (see opposite). She ended her talk by giving a list of suitable plants.

Our next meeting is on 9 May when Tom Sharples will be talking about what is new in perennials for a medium-sized garden. Woodbury Village Hall, 19.30.

Joyce Jeans

Woodbury And Newton St Cyres Cricket Club

After a very dry February in which we managed to get the cricket field in good order, along came a very wet March that set us back somewhat. We will continue to work on the ground to ensure we can start our season at the end of April.

The club will have a couple of friendly games before the League games start on 6 May. We also look forward to welcoming parents and youngsters to our Friday night coaching sessions which, all being well, will begin on Friday 28 April.

Please note that the dog ban for the ground starts on 1 May, and dog walkers should use the allocated area to the left of the main gate. Ian Hughes

Woodbury

HISTORY SOCIETY

4 MAY, 19.30, WOODBURY VILLAGE HALL

A talk by Robert Hesketh on A Curious Look at Devon Churches

Robert will explore the wealth of artistic and historic treasures in our parish churches, including impish gargoyles, green men, tinners’ rabbits and much more.

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

Woodbury Surgery

We are sad to say goodbye to Dr James Overton. He has left the surgery for a new adventure and we wish him well in the next stage of his career.

We are delighted to welcome Dr Karen Barwise to the team. She joined us in April with a wealth of experience and some of you may have already met her.

You may have also seen the friendly face of Gemma, one of our healthcare assistants, who has recently returned from maternity leave. The surgery will be offering the Covid Spring Booster Vaccination to eligible patients, those aged over 75, or those between 5 and 74 who are immunosuppressed.

The clinics are running until the end of June.

 Eligible patients will have already received an invitation via text message (including a self-book link) or by letter.

 Appointments can also be booked by phoning us on 01395 232509 or calling in to reception.

Many of you are helping to support the surgery by using our onsite dispensary which is great news as it helps to keep small village surgeries such as ours open.

You may not realise that all your prescriptions are put together by our experienced dispensary team on site. Preparing your medication includes generating the prescriptions, ordering the medication, completing controlled drug records, packaging your prescriptions, preparing trays of medication and so much more, which explains why we require at least five working days to get your repeat medications ready. All of the team are qualified dispensers including Maria who you may have met at the counter. She successfully obtained her qualification late last year. As we put her new skills to use, you will be meeting more of the team as they will now share the staffing of the dispensary counter.

Tanyah Whittaker-Parkes

Woodbury News Closing Dates

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