301 IPTON FEBRUARY AND

John Hayward TIMES MARCH 2021

Tipton Times was started in 1969 and is produced and distributed to local households every two months by volunteers. Costs are met from voluntary contributions TT advertising is free and limited to local non-profit organisations and charities, with a once per year opportunity for businesses in our delivery area

TAKE A STROLL HELP THE PTFA NEW DRIVE TO AROUND THE WHILST DOING KEEP TIPTON VILLAGE WITH YOUR SPRING LITTER-FREE ANN KNIGHT CLEAN

COPY DEADLINE For 302, April and May 2021 Friday 19 March

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Editors: David Birch 01404 815402 3 Tipton Lodge, Tipton St John, EX10 0AW Paula Faulkner; Anne Sadler Treasurer: Andrew Sadler Proofreader/Printers: Pauline Belton; Janet Croud

Distribution and General Production:

John & Pauline Belton; Maggie Bowley; Janet Croud; Tony & Joyce Cuerdon; Jenny Dorrington; Roy Faulkner; Michelle Grover; John Harding; Yvonne Hartland; Kyle Hayes; Sue Kensdale; Nicky Knight; Katherine Lilley; Diane Mann; Linda Martin; Gill and Allen Marks; Ann Matthews; Ann Moore; Jan Passmore; Tania Phillips; Barbara and Tony Pugh, Anne Reid; Liz Rogers; Maggie Rule; Nikki Sanford; Chris Schofield; Alison and David Stevens; Megan Watton; Denise Wightman

COVER PHOTOGRAPH: We welcome letters and contributions but reserve the right to edit and amend Tipton Village from Fire Beacon such offerings. courtesy of David Birch Views expressed within each article are the author’s own. - 3 - Editorial Welcome to the first Tipton Times of 2021. We are sorry that we are unable to produce a paper copy of the magazine again because of lockdown. We’d be very grateful if everyone could do all they can to spread the word that Tipton Times can be downloaded from our website or sent by email by request. It was suggested to us the other day that readers might want to ‘print and pass on’ copies or individual articles to friends and relatives who find it difficult to access the magazine electronically. Just a thought!

Deep into our third lockdown and in the depths of winter, we might be forgiven for taking a bleak outlook on the weeks and months ahead. Yet there are some reasons to be optimistic. Every day we hear of more local people receiving the vaccine that will eventually help us out of the pandemic, especially if we can all keep ourselves and each other safe by following the rules. It’s also wonderful to have the village shop open again. Welcome back, Alita!

This is nowhere more relevant than the playing field, where people are likely to visit in greater numbers in order to take exercise. Please take time to read the playing field article on page 7 and take note of the new notices at the field when you visit.

We are sure many are now aware of the initiative Lisette and Clinton Johnson, and supported by Jo Earlam, have taken to tackle what seems to be an increasing litter problem locally, by turning daily exercise into a brilliant social service. They have set up ‘Eager Beavers’ Facebook and Twitter accounts so people can follow their progress and join in as they can. We look forward to updates for the next edition, by which time we hope the initiative has grown further. When lockdown is relaxed there may even be scope for a more organised and social approach to keeping Tipton tidy. Read more on page 6.

There have been important developments regarding the future of our school, principally the refusal of planning permission by EDDC for the proposal to relocate to a new site and build 150 new houses in Ottery. You can read more from the school on page 15 and from local councillors Claire Wright and Geoff Pratt on pages 22 to 24.

As you know, the village organisations which depend on all our support for their work (the PFA, Residents’ Association, Community Hall and Tipton Times) co-ordinated their appeal for donations in the October/ November edition of Tipton Times and requested that donations were returned to the village shop rather than via the usual house-to-house collection. It’s very good to hear that the returns have been encouraging - a testament to the generosity of the community and its appreciation of the work of the organisations.

As far as Tipton Times is concerned, we were delighted that donations at the end of 2020 totalled £1402.28, compared with £1307.29 in 2019. Thank you all very much for enabling us to continue producing Tipton Times! The Editors

Contents Bee Man 28 Nature Notes 5 Church Draw 11 Playing Fields 7

Church News 34 Poems 8

Claire Wright 22 Readers 18

Clinton Devon 12 Recipe Corner 9

Coleridge Medical Centre 13 RSPB 32

Community Hall 14 School 15

Editorial 3 Thought for the Times 11

Garden News 20 Tipps 17

Geoff Pratt 24 Weather 25 - 4 - Thanks and ‘Bye for Now

An ominous phone call from Anne Sadler - “Can we come round to discuss something?” Perhaps something not in proper financial order? (Andrew being Treasurer now). Or some clumsy paragraph in the last TT has ruffled some feathers? The doorbell rang. I opened the door, and ...

Out popped the TT Usual Suspects - Anne, Paula Faulkner and David Birch. They came bearing gifts! Now that’s not ominous at all, indeed the three farewell presents they brought were each so very much appreciated and precisely on the button.

The first was a bound full-colour print of my last TT Magazine, No 300. This has pride of place on display in the hall.

The second was a Bowhayes Trees voucher - just after we’d been watching Country File and decided to follow their lead in generous tree planting this year. How lovely - we can plant some beauties with this gift!

The third was an embroidery created by talented Paula, and which has meaning on so many levels - a delightful and artistic piece of work, a labour of true comradeship, all those years of memories and all those personalities - those who wrote and those who were written about. (I’m welling up now.)

I thank my lucky stars we came to Tipton and I have had these lovely years with the ‘Times’. My Primary School reports were all “does not pay attention” “could do much better” “dreams” - positive comments occurring only in English composition. Tipton Times fitted me like Cinderella’s glass slipper.

Barbara Pugh - 5 - Nature Notes

Here we are, in the middle of another lockdown although it is, unfortunately, the only way to combat this virus that is upon us. Hopefully we can all soon be vaccinated and life can return to a new normal. Even though all of this is going on, it is most comforting and extremely therapeutic to listen to robins singing to each other whilst out walking in dawn’s early light. While we exist in a state of fear and uncertainty, nature gets on with business as usual.

Thrushes normally start to sing in January and sing right through to July. They then start again in September and, on fine days, can be heard through into November. Their song is always repeated twice, so as not to be confused with the mistle thrush or blackbird. While reading up about thrushes, I discovered a couple of superstitions about thrushes, namely that they lose their legs after ten years and grow new ones (!) and that they are supposed to be deaf! We should very soon be seeing some of the thrushes’ other relatives, fieldfares and redwings, combing the fields for food.

Before most other birds have even built their nests, tawny owls are laying their eggs this month. There are between two and five eggs, which are pure white in colour. Tawnys usually make their nests inside a hollow tree where predators can't see them, so the eggs don't need to be a camouflaged colour.

If you could take a glimpse into the secret underground life of a badger's sett this month, you would witness the females (known as sows) giving birth to their babies which are only about 12cms long and blind. They are grey in colour, with a slightly darker grey area on each side of their faces, where their black eye stripes will appear later. The underground setts are normally dug in deciduous woodland, but may be in any sheltered spot. These subterranean colonies may also be shared with foxes and rabbits. They contain special lavatory areas and the nesting chambers are lined with grass and leaves.

This month, toads will be making their annual journey back to their breeding ponds. Every year at about the same time they head for the ponds where they developed from egg to adult toad. Sometimes you can see them walking across country or, if you take a torch with you at night to the edge of a pond, you might actually see them spawning.

Hazels are currently displaying their long, golden tassels, known as catkins. The word catkin is taken from an old Dutch word “katteken’, meaning “kitten”, on account of the resemblance to a kitten's tail! These flowers normally rely on the wind to pollinate them although they can also be insect pollinated. Ivy, on the other hand, has long since flowered. In December the berries started to appear. They are green at first and gradually turn black when ripe. By February these will be the last natural fruits in the hedgerow for birds to eat.

Another sign of spring approaching is the blooming of the snowdrops. These flowers were formerly called 'snowpiercers', because they would push their spear-shaped green stems up through the snow covered ground. Snowdrops traditionally used to flower at the time of 'Candlemas', February 2nd. Due to global warming, and the changing climate conditions, they now bloom much earlier.

If you happen to be near a lake or reservoir during February, you might be lucky enough to witness the courtship display of Great Crested Grebes. This involves a lot of head shaking, diving and fluffing out their beautiful head feathers. The whole ritual ends with both birds rising up on the water by paddling like crazy. At the same time they shake their heads, and present each other with a piece of pond weed.

Bumble bees will be on the wing during February. Any or all of the bees you may see during this month will be females. The males will have died off in the previous season, and the females, who have hibernated through the winter, will be searching for the first signs of nectar in order to refuel themselves and find a suitable site to nest and lay their eggs.

That’s it ….. ’til next time…. Geoff Pinn [email protected] 01404812878 - 6 -

Eager Beavers: making our environment better for everyone

It’s very easy to see something around us, complain about it, but in the end do nothing. So huge thanks are due to Lisette and Clinton Johnson, who have turned daily exercise into a brilliant community service, collecting piles of litter from our local lanes and hedgerows.

They have been supported by Jo Earlam, who has also been busy collecting the rubbish that others have thoughtlessly thrown away, thereby polluting our environment. Let Jo talk you through some of her recent ‘finds’:

“These are photos of 5.5kg of litter I collected in just over two miles of paths/roads including Green Lane, Rock Lane, Back Lane, all off road tracks between Venn Ottery and Fluxton, and on the road between Fluxton and the farm shop.”

Emily of Knights Farm Shop is supporting the project - she is donating two litter pickers and volunteers can hand-sanitise after litter collection (and enjoy a coffee break post-lockdown!)

“Two kilos of rubbish I collected from the playing field, mostly down by the river, and the car park.”

Here are Jo’s thoughts on possible next steps:

“While we’re all under lockdown it's obviously not possible to have an organised pick, similarly, we don't want to encourage people to go out more than allowed or in an un-socially distanced way, but I think a co-ordinated group effort could achieve a lot. Recording and logging the detail I think would help too and, as it's still the start of the year, we could build up a picture of the problem and how the levels change over the year.”

If you’re shocked by these photos and want more information, follow Eager Beavers on Facebook and Twitter and think about getting involved yourself:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eager.beavers.94

Twitter: @EagerBeaversTSJ - 7 - Tipton St John Playing Field PLAYING FIELD

In ‘normal’ circumstances we might have expected the Playing Field to be NEWS quiet at this time of year. However, despite the temporary suspension of football and tennis under lockdown, we are seeing significant numbers of visitors at present. The new play area is undoubtedly an attraction for those with young families and there are plenty of visitors using the field to walk their dogs and take exercise. Perhaps the wet weather has also driven people away from muddy footpaths.

In some ways this is to be expected, given Government encouragement to take regular exercise during the pandemic. The playing field offers the ideal venue for this purpose as an accessible open space and the trustees are committed to keeping it open for that purpose. However, the combined effect of these factors has led to significant pressures and some negative consequences:  The car park is often full, occasionally leading to overspill on to the surrounding roads.  Increased visitor numbers present potential risks to social distancing.  There has been a marked increase in litter and dog-fouling.

Comments have been received suggesting the temporary closure of the car park and restrictions on dogs, which are understandable but impractical at this time. Nevertheless action is required and, for everyone’s safety and well-being, I would urge all visitors to observe the following:

 Please avoid travelling by car to the playing field if you can. This will particularly help our less able residents who rely on cars for access and are disappointed when no parking spaces are available. Walking to the playing field can be a valuable part of an exercise regime!

 Please practise social distancing everywhere on the field. Take care, especially on footpaths, at gates and in the play area, where people are likely to gather. In particular, note the Government guidance on playgrounds: “Playgrounds are primarily open for use by children who do not have access to private outdoor space, like their own garden. Although you can take your children to a playground for exercise, you must not socialise with other people while there”.

If you use the play area, be sure to read the safety guidelines posted at both entrances.

 Please pick up after your dog and take your litter home! Remember our playing field rule that walkers with more than two dogs each should keep them on leads so that there is less chance of an unsighted incident. It is appreciated that full bins are an inconvenience, but please take home any excess rather than leaving it beside a bin which is unsightly and is a safety risk when it is removed. The full Government guidance on travel during the pandemic can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-lockdown-stay-at-home#travel

At the heart of all the Government guidance for public behaviour during the pandemic is the expectation that individuals will recognise their personal responsibility to keep to the rules. If everyone does this, the playing field will continue to be a facility which we can all enjoy safely. On a more positive note, I’d like Just Planted! to express my thanks to all who We are delighted have made donations towards to see a new tree on the upkeep of the playing field. the field, in memory of The total amount raised so far is Pat Cox and donated £1,390. This will rise to £1,552 by Ann and Terry with monthly standing orders Knight. It’s a Sorbus included. While this is less than aria Lutescens which is previous years, because we a variety of the haven’t had a house-to-house common Whitebeam, collection, we very much courtesy of Bowhayes appreciate people’s generosity at Trees this difficult time.

David Birch (Chairman) 01404 815402 - 8 -

Venice

I remember Venice; February froze under summer skies.

Old buildings, honey mellow, peered, like Narcissus, into the Grand Canal.

Carnevale crowds thronged in St Mark’s Square; saunterers whose gorgeous costumes and jewelled masks concealed all flesh seemed more mannequin than man.

Delightful masquerade perhaps - yet - impossible to tell saint from psychopath.

Gill Dunstan

- 9 - RECIPE CORNER - MINCEMEAT CAKE

Do you have any mincemeat left over from Christmas? Here’s a great way to use it up! This is an easy to make, light and spicy, fruit cake which also keeps well.

Ingredients 150g softened butter or margarine 75g sultanas 150g soft brown sugar 225g Self Raising flour 2 eggs 25g flaked almonds 410g jar of mincemeat

Method  Heat the oven to 160ºC. Grease, and line the base of a deep-sided, loose-based 8″ cake tin.  Place all the ingredients, except the almonds, into a mixing bowl and beat well for a minute or until well blended.  Tip the mixture into the cake tin and level gently. Sprinkle the almonds over the top.  Bake for around 1¾ hours, until the cake is golden brown and firm to the touch. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean.  Allow to cool in the tin for a while before removing and putting on a cooling rack.  Store in an airtight tin.

Enjoy ! Jenny Pinn

Sundial Care Home Blazes a Trail on Rapid Testing for UK Care Home Visits

Sundial Care Home was chosen as one of the first twenty care and nursing homes in the UK to pioneer rapid testing COVID-19. By being chosen as one of the first homes by the Department of Health and Social Care to take part in the programme, Sundial’s success in implementing safe visits has supported the mass roll out of the rapid tests across the UK.

Unlike the standard Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing that can take several days to produce a result, these Lateral Flow Tests (LFT) tests can produce a result within 20-30 minutes and has enabled relatives to see their loved ones finally after months of connecting through virtual means.

Sundial’s home manager Liz Thompson has shared the warmth and joy that the visits have brought the family of Sundial - “The people we care for and their loved ones have been so pleased to visit again through the trial. Patrick and Joy Rice Seeing mothers and daughters, fathers and sons brought together again enjoying a visit has brought families comfort and solace.”

A healthy dose of creativity from Thelma Hulbert Gallery!

Thelma Hulbert Gallery will launch Creative Cabin Shorts, an inspiring digital programme of art and nature activities, films and workshops. It is hoped that these will offer some enjoyment and light relief for people at this time; with special thought for the 15,000 extraordinary employees across the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust and Northern Devon NHS Healthcare Trust, as well as other NHS staff and key workers across the region.

The Creative Cabin Shorts will connect to nature and the landscapes around us, creatively exploring everything from wild swimming to healing herbs, tidal patterns to tree planting. The films will be created in collaboration with a range of South West artists, rangers and practitioners.

Following the success of the NATURE SHORTS and MAKERS SHORTS series, this new series will be released to NHS staff, THG’s website and social media every Wednesday, starting 27 January.

Another dose of culture will be offered every Thursday afternoon, starting on 21 January, when Art Historian John Francis will take over as THG’s Guest Editor on social media with his top pick of online art history talks, lectures and virtual exhibitions. This is the prelude to John’s lecture series ‘Art Matters’ which will take place in the gallery from April.

Creative Cabin Shorts - every Wednesday from 27 January Creative Cabin Shorts

Top Culture Picks by John Francis - every Thursday from 21 January at the Thelma Hulbert Gallery website thelmahulbert.com and social media

- 10 -

Marie Fincham

Sadly we report the death on 4th December of Marie Fincham, wife of David and mother of Tony, Julie and Simon.

The Finchams moved to live at Chestnuts, Tipton St John, in the early 1970's and have lived at Combe Vale for the last forty years. When the children were young Marie was much involved in village life. She was a founder member of The Young Wives, now Tipton Ladies Group, and an active member of the PTFA and the Pantomime Society.

Later she went to teach office skills at St Loye’s, the training college for disabled and disadvantaged people in Exeter and was not seen around the village so often. She is remembered by all her friends for her lovely infectious laugh and her kind and generous nature, never having a bad word to say of anyone. Our sympathy goes to Dave and the family in their sad loss. Ann Knight

I got to know Marie and Dave when I worked at St Loye’s Foundation during the 1990s. I will always remember how friendly and welcoming Marie was; she always had a warm smile whilst that laugh was unmistakable and could often be heard across the canteen or coffee lounge. She always had a listening ear for both staff and students and through her skills and patience many students were able to find employment on leaving the College. Marie’s dedication is reflected in the tributes left by students on the much loved website https://mariefincham.muchloved.com/Gallery/Thoughts

My thoughts are with Dave and family. Paula Faulkner

We were sorry to hear of the recent passing of Margaret Hembury.

Our sympathies and thoughts go to the family at this difficult time.

Could one of our local churchyards be the best in Devon?

During the pandemic, Devon’s residents have appreciated the green spaces around their churches as never before and now Devon CPRE is inviting churches of all denominations to enter this year’s competition to find the ‘Best Churchyard’ in the whole of the county. The judges are not seeking the most pristine or manicured churchyards- they are looking for those which are well-managed to provide a peaceful haven for people and wildlife. Each entry is visited by the judges and assessed on a range of criteria, including the measures put in place to increase biodiversity.

As well as the kudos of winning, there’s a top prize of £200 and a beautiful oak plaque, made in Devon from sustainable wood, to display to locals and visitors.

The natural beauty of snowdrops in The deadline for entries is March 31st. Full details and an entry form Harpford Churchyard can be found at www.devoncpre.org.uk - 11 -

Thought for the Times yet received but hope to receive one day in the future. That event I wonder whether you recognise the name Margaret was the resurrection of Jesus. Keenan. You probably have never met her in person, but her claim to fame is that on Tuesday 8th The four gospels in the Bible tell us December she became the first person in this country that, on a particular day shortly to receive a Covid-19 vaccination. And as the after Passover, in round about needle went in, there was hope for us all. 33AD, a man who had died was resurrected. It was not a person There was some hope before that. Back in the spring having a near death experience and then being and summer last year we had hope. We hoped that brought round: it was not resuscitation. This man had the virus would run its course and disappear; we actually died. But now he had been resurrected, hoped that maybe herd immunity would save us; we made as good as new. He was and is alive and can hoped that the clever scientists would be able to never die again. create a vaccine. But it was not a sure hope. ‘What if…?’ was never far below the surface. What if the In the parts of the Bible written after this event there virus does not go away? What if, instead of herd is a new hope. Instead of a vague, uncertain hope immunity, we all get sick and millions die? What if that, maybe, we would find some sort of afterlife the scientists cannot create a vaccine? when we died, now there was a sure, confident, expectant hope that, because Jesus had been raised Yes, we had hope, but it did not take much to tip our to new life, we could be raised as well. optimism into pessimism. In the meantime, of course, the world continues as it On 8th December that changed. One of our own num- always has. It is easy to look at the world, with or ber was vaccinated. Instead of being something that without a pandemic, and see all the injustice, greed, we hoped might happen one day, it was an event violence, prejudice, exploitation, sickness, death and that had happened. It had not happened to you— all the general hardship, toil and struggles of so many yet—but it had happened. And that changed our lives. And you might well decide that the resurrection hope. Hope may be one word, but there are different of Jesus has changed nothing. kinds of hope. But you can, instead, focus on Jesus and his new life On the day that Margaret Keenan was vaccinated you and see that his resurrection changes everything. and I knew that it was now only a matter of time Because that event has now happened to one before we would be vaccinated too. We had not yet person, it can happen to you and me. It is only a received it ourselves, so we still had to hope, but now matter of time. we could have a sure, confident, expectant hope. Sadly, some people will not receive the vaccine. The In the meantime, though, there is still a lot of vaccine is being offered freely, but we can freely hardship. Since that first vaccination thousands of choose whether to receive it or not. Sadly, some have people have died of Covid-19; many more have been persuaded that it is all a hoax or conspiracy, or caught it and been very ill; many, many more have that the vaccine itself is harmful. So don’t be a had to isolate. Children’s education has suffered; sceptic; choose hope. businesses have gone bust; jobs have been lost; Yours, in hope, Mark events have been cancelled. So much has been lost and given up. And behind many doors there is Revd Mark Ward 0139 568390 loneliness and depression. [email protected] www.facebook.com/revmarkward So you could look at the world and our lives and decide that Margaret Keenan’s vaccination has not made any difference. The world is just as bad as it Friends of St John and St Gregory Club ever was. Or, you could look at that first vaccination January 2021 Draw Result and choose to live in hope. Yes, everything is still 1st Maureen Critchfield ( 43) £30 pretty grim, but there is hope. 2nd Karen Leach (40) £15 This is the kind of hope that Christians have. It is a 3rd Barbara Burgess (1) £12 hope that focuses on an event in the past, when one person on one day received something we have not - 12 -

A positive start to the New Year as the Lower Otter Restoration Project is granted approval.

A local, but landscape-scale, project to address the impact of climate change by returning the Otter estuary and flood plain to a more natural condition was given unanimous support by East Devon District Council’s planning committee at the beginning of the year.

The embankments built more than 200 years ago near Budleigh Salterton, to reclaim land from the estuary, are now failing as we face rising sea levels and more extreme weather events. This timely initiative will ensure a sustainable future, deliver key government objectives set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan and Environment Bill and include the creation of new areas of intertidal habitats, to provide a home for numerous rare and endangered native and migratory species.

Landowner Clinton Devon Estates started investigating options for the floodplain in 2003 and commissioned a number of studies. In 2014 along with the Estate’s Pebblebed Heaths Conservation Trust, responsible for managing the area, a partnership was forged with the Environment Agency, forming the Lower Otter Restoration Project to explore ways of managing and funding the project, working alongside a wide-ranging group representing local people.

As well as recreating the former habitats, the project will also involve the realignment of South Farm Road, a new road bridge and footbridges and footpath improvements ensuring public access to the much-loved area will be assured into the future. Budleigh Salterton Cricket Club’s Ottermouth ground, an important community and regional asset, will be moved The mouth of the River Otter at Budleigh Salterton from its current location in the flood plain to land off East Budleigh Road, permission for which has already been granted under a separate planning application. Ideas on how this ambitious project might proceed were shared with the public over a number of years before a planning application was submitted by the Environment Agency at the end of 2020. The application was supported by a wide range of conservation and other bodies including RSPB, Natural England, the Jurassic Coast Trust and Devon Wildlife Trust all of whom are keen to collaborate as the project moves forward.

Mark Rice, Environment Manager for the Environment Agency, said: “Climate change is affecting the way we manage our coasts and estuaries, and we must adapt to that change. The Lower Otter Restoration Project is an example of how we can do that. We aim to deliver long term benefits for people and wildlife by working in partnership and through more sustainable management of the Otter Estuary.”

Dr Sam Bridgewater, Head of Wildlife and Conservation at Clinton Devon Estates, said: “It is our belief that the Lower Otter Restoration Project will provide a more sustainable and certain future for the threatened Otter valley. It will also deliver very significant benefits to people and wildlife in the long term. The granting of planning approval is a major step forward in helping us deliver this vision. We have worked very closely with a wide range of stakeholders representing local people who have helped us reach this milestone and we are grateful for their input over many years.”

Planning approval means work on the project can start this spring and be completed in 2023. The Lower Otter Restoration Project is part of a wider project PACCo – Promoting Adaptation to Changing Coasts – which will receive €17.8m from the Interreg VA France (Channel) England programme.

For more information, please visit the website www.lowerotterrestorationproject.co.uk

Kate Ponting, Countryside Learning Officer 01395 443881 [email protected] Visit us at www.clintondevon.com - 13 - Coleridge Medical Centre Update

Firstly a very Happy New Year from all of us at the surgery and we sincerely hope that your Christmases were not too disrupted by the evolving Covid situation. We sadly bade our farewells to Practice Nurse Helen Wakelin and Doctor Craig Thompson over the festive season. We have welcomed Dr Sarah Lort and will be welcoming Dr Harriet Roberts in February. Dr Thompson’s and Dr Stuart’s patients are being distributed amongst the partners going forwards and I do hope you have received your notification.

The surgery continues to strive to offer its usual range of

services both at the Coleridge and Whimple sites. The demand has been high and sometimes we have struggled to find appointments in an acceptable time frame but, with increased staff capacity, we hope that will improve. The bigger ‘flu’ vaccination campaign involving younger patients this year has largely been achieved with a great deal of commitment from our staff during the week and at weekends.

The Covid 19 vaccination programme is picking up pace and we are offering our older mobile patients slots at Exmouth Tennis Centre. All the staff have been involved during the week and on Saturdays. It is an enormous "Thank You NHS - Coronavirus (COVID-19) undertaking and particularly as the Pfizer vaccine comes Sheffield, UK" by Tim Dennell is licensed under with its cold chain complications. We had the unfortunate CC BY-NC 2.0 government turnaround involving second vaccine appointments which resulted in a lot of disappointment and administrative burden. A wider cohort however will now get the first vaccine which confers good protection if not 100%.

Please note that our staff will be contacting patients who have been identified as priority to be offered the vaccine first. Please do not call us to book.

Dr de Sousa returned to work in December and is building up his hours. We have been delighted to welcome him back, as have his patients.

Thank you all for your continued support and patience during these uncertain times and we hope we are seeing a light at the end of this rather long and gloomy tunnel. Emi Witt It’s great news that so many people are now receiving the COVID-19 vaccination.

Sadly, there are some scams about so beware of suspicious calls and text messages asking for payment or bank details.

‘My dad just got a NHS text telling him to complete a form for his first vaccine. An official looking NHS form with all his details on. He completed the form until at the end it then asked to confirm his Bank details. He phoned the doctors surgery who confirmed this is a

scam but a very well organised scam.’ forwarded by Barbara Pugh Ottery Library News

The Library is again open for 'choose and collect’ by appointment only and the best way to get in touch is to email [email protected]

You can telephone 01404 813838 but, as staff time in the building is limited, you may be transferred in order to leave a message and the staff will get back to you.

The service is COVID secure and contactless and you are encouraged to book at a time when you’re leaving your home for other essential reasons such as collecting your shopping or taking exercise to avoid unnecessary trips out.

For further details please visit bit.ly/Jan21-Lockdown-Update

Happy reading and stay safe! Martin Stockley (Secretary, Friends of Ottery Library - FOOL) - 14 - Community Hall

Once again this is a short report as there is not much to communicate until the restrictions on the use of village halls are eased.

A reminder from last time that there is a new way in which you can help our fundraising activities if you shop online with Amazon. All you have to do is sign up on www.smile.amazon.co.uk, selecting Tipton St John Community Hall Trust as your chosen charity and Amazon will automatically donate a small percentage of each qualifying purchase (at no cost to you) every time you shop with them (the Amazon Smile website offers exactly the same goods and prices as the main website).

The donations may only be small individually but if all the readers of Tipton Times participated, it could make a big difference to our finances.

At the start of another year, it is necessary to repeat my plea for some new trustees to join us as we still have several vacancies and currently the full responsibility for managing and maintaining the premises rests on the shoulders of just six people which is not right or sustainable for much longer, especially when it’s such an essential part of the local community. In addition, we need a new secretary which is not an onerous job and mainly involves taking the minutes of the trustees meetings every two months. new secretary and new trustees needed - can you help us?

If you would like to find out more about how you can get involved, I would be delighted to hear from you.

Thank you. John Belton (tel. 01404-813431) or email: [email protected]

Carol singing

About 25 of us ranging from very young to quite-a-bit older met up on December 21st and on this occasion it meant having to adhere to the virus restrictions as we could only sing in socially distanced groups of six. However, the upside was that we had enough adults and children to form four separate groups which meant we could cover a larger area of the village and knock on more doors. As a result, we raised an amazing £363 in under two hours and this was boosted by a few late donations which enabled us to send a record amount of £385 to the world relief agency Tearfund, which has been tackling the causes and effects of poverty in different parts of the world for over 50 years. A big thank-you to all our generous donors.

We couldn’t have done it without the cheerful support of all our singers (and door-knockers) so many thanks and well done to all who took part and it was great to have some grown-ups and young families join us for the first time in addition to our regulars.

We definitely missed having our usual mulled wine and mince-pies at the end of the evening but hopefully we will be able to make up for it next time! social distancing restrictions didn’t stop the John & Pauline Belton generosity of Tipton residents - 15 -

Feniton Church of England Tipton St. John Church of England (VA) Primary School (VA) Primary School Station Road Tipton St. John Feniton EX14 3EA Sidmouth EX10 0AG

Tel: 01404 850303 Tel: 01404 812943 Email: [email protected] Email [email protected]

Message from Tipton St John School to the Community

As you are aware the Governors have been working over a significant number of years to find a solution to the flood risk to the lower site of Tipton School. Last week the outline planning permission for the proposed relocation of Tipton St. John Church of England (VA) Primary school to the Thorne Farm Site, Ottery St. Mary and the building of one hundred and fifty homes to fund the construction of the school, was heard by East Devon District Council planning committee. The agenda item lasted nearly two and half hours, and after this lengthy debate the councillors voted to refuse the planning application.

Unfortunately, this means that there is no immediate resolution to the risk posed by the flooding on the lower site.

The governors have responsibility for the health and safety of pupils and staff and a duty of care for visitors to the site and although the Board has been managing the flood risk pending the relocation of the school, we continue to be mindful of advice from the Environment Agency about the danger posed by the flood risk. We were told in their letter of November 2019 that all efforts should be made to relocate the school to a safer location in accordance with Government planning policy and that redevelopment of the school on the existing site would not be considered a viable option.

For the school leaders and governors the matter is not over. Working with Devon County Council and the Diocese, Governors will review the refusal notice, gather further expert advice and then consider the next steps.

For the staff and pupils at the school this disappointment will not detract from our provision, and we will continue to practice flood evacuations, mitigate as best as possible against the risk of flood damage and continue to invest in the maintenance of the old wooden buildings. All available resources, including the allocated Capital sums of some £6000 per annum, are used to maintain and remedy the deterioration of buildings which have been on the upper and lower sites for many years and those on the lower site have also been subject to water damage to structures and foundations at various times. The process has been long and protracted and there have been previous setbacks but we will continue to work to find a route forward to secure a suitable site and the essential funding to relocate the school away from flood risk and to ensure the future viability of the school.

If you do have any questions or to discuss the situation please contact the Governors via the school office or Mr Butler.

Yours sincerely

Colin Butler John Sherwood Executive Headteacher Lead Governor for the flooding and possible relocation of Tipton School - 16 - Dear Readers

We’ve gone a little bit back in time again since September, haven’t we? In my last article, we were exploring our ‘new normal’ of school post lockdown, and now here we are again! Before dwelling on that too much though, let’s celebrate some of the highlights of the Autumn Term…

We have been very fortunate in Tipton St John that we didn’t experience the level of disruption faced by many other schools during the reopening. We had a few children isolating at various points, but nothing huge to worry about – the staff and children stayed healthy, and all the class ‘bubbles’ stayed open.

Two highlights for me were the Christmas service, where each class was able to contribute to a shared video to watch together, and of course, the Nativity Play from KS1.

This was particularly special, as we were unsure about whether it would be even possible this time to have any audience. But we managed to do two productions to a nicely socially-distanced crowd of parents … meeting the very real seasonal need to see sparkly-eyed children in tinsel and tea-towels!

So what was different? For me, it’s been the strange lack of community opportunities we normally enjoy. For a Head of School, not to be able to introduce our new 4 year olds to the rest of the school and see them learning from the older children has been strange. There are children in our school who have not met one another yet, which is very out of character for Tipton, where we value our ‘family feel’ so highly. Being able to gather together for Collective Worship has been another element that I have really missed.

But … the children have been FANTASTIC. They have been reaching out to their community in different ways, from sending ‘smile packages’, collecting and distributing food to St Petrock’s, to making and writing Christmas cards for people in the village who may have been feeling lonely in December.

The support we have received back from the community outside our school has been lovely too. PTFA have been as awesome as ever, responding to different challenges around what is possible. We are so grateful to Reverend Mark Ward for his video input and live-stream around Harvest, Remembrance and Christmas. John Belton, representing the Village Hall has been so accommodating with our ever-changing demands and requests. Others have helped with the site – and to be honest, those of you who have walked by and stopped to say a quick hello (2 metres away of course) have really lifted our spirits.

Most recently, I do need to say thank you to Mark Pinknell, who so generously donated a set of chrome-books to the School from his company in Exeter. Also to the Village Hall committee, who have given the school a further five machines on long-term loan. This means that in this Lockdown, we are able to support our children working at home so much more effectively. I know how grateful families have been, and I am full of gratitude myself to the people who enabled me to meet some of that need.

On a different note, you are also likely to have heard of the set-back we faced, having had our planning proposal for relocation rejected by the council in Ottery St Mary this month. You know my views on this – nobody wants us to have to leave. Yet, you also understand the difficulties of our position, whereby we must continue this process. I won’t labour the point, but we are still looking for the next steps and ways forward to provide the building and site that our wonderful children deserve. In the meantime, here we are, splashing our way through, with the children’s laughter ringing in our ears – a sound that nothing can ever really stop!

I pray that 2021 will lead us all further in our learning and growing together, so that we can, as our school vision states, ‘Have life, and have it to the full’.

Miss Ingrouille, Head of School, Tipton St John - 17 - TIPPs Update

It is very hard to believe that this time last year TIPPs was well into rehearsals for the won- derful spring Show Detention!” It seems such a long time ago. Look how near to each other everyone was, and they were singing!

Under normal circumstances we would be preparing for a pantomime in a few weeks’ time, but Covid has put paid to that. You may remember we also had to cancel plans for a play last autumn. However, TIPPs is not a society to give up easily. We managed two performances of outdoor monologues in September and all being well, we will be holding play readings soon on Zoom, which any member will be able to watch along with anyone else who asks for a link. Details will be on TIPPs website. (Though if I am honest, I have only just thought of including non-members and not yet asked our webmaster – sorry Shan.)

The TIPPs Committee continues to meet regularly and keeps on reviewing theatrical possibilities. One thing is certain, WE WILL BE BACK as soon as it is safe to do so and we hope that our lovely supportive audiences will be back too. In the meantime, we send our very best wishes to all Tipton Times readers.

Perhaps this quote from Eleanor Roosevelt is an appropriate way to end:

"If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavour."

Linda Williams email: [email protected]

Local hospice’s “Men’s Walk” needs walkers for tenth anniversary event with a difference

Hospiscare’s flagship Men’s Walk event is back – with a twist – this March, to celebrate its tenth anniversary – and this year the charity needs the support of the community more than ever. The popular event, which normally sees over a thousand men walking eight miles through Exeter in support of the local hospice charity, has revamped its format this year to adapt to the times.

To ensure that Men’s Walk can take place this year safely and in line with government guidance, Hospiscare has introduced Men’s Walk–Your Way. Taking place on Saturday 20 March, participants will walk a route of their choice in their local area, which means that everyone can take part safely from any corner of Devon – or the world!

Every walker will receive a Men’s Walk t-shirt, a special 10th-year anniversary beer courtesy of Exeter Brewery and a pasty from Chunk of Devon – not to mention Ireland vs England in the Six Nations rugby tournament to enjoy on the box afterwards!

Wherever the route and location, participants will be walking together in spirit to support people and families living with a terminal illness across Exeter, Mid and East Devon.

To sign up to Men’s Walk–Your Way and raise sponsorship to support your local hospice charity, visit https://www.hospiscare.co.uk/menswalk. - 18 - Tipton Readers - November: War of the Worlds - HG Wells

When we get the list of books from the library to select ones we would like to read, I am often drawn to the famous titles that I think I should have read, and never have. Often this means a “classic” and sometimes I think my fellow book club members groan a bit at another old book in outdated language. So it was with The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (with at least my wife groaning!) - a real pioneer of science fiction, really launching the genre, so I was fascinated to see how it went.

The War of the Worlds is actually quite a short book and an easy read compared to many classics. It is related in first person by a narrator whose name we never learn and set in the home counties and London around the turn of the 20th century. Ordinary life is suddenly interrupted by the arrival of several ‘cylinders’ - space ships from Mars carrying Martian invaders. At first people are curious but unafraid, until the Martians assemble their three-legged war machines and start destroying all before them with powerful heat rays and toxic fumes. Panic ensues and the book describes the fear and chaos as the whole population of London flees on foot or whatever transport they can find. The narrator gets his wife away to safety but then gets caught up in the mayhem, ending up hiding in a ruined house with a terrified curate who believes God is wreaking revenge on mankind, as more Martians emerge from a cylinder right outside. Later he meets an artilleryman who has great plans to survive and thrive under the Martian regime and eventually rise to defeat it, but can’t quite summon the energy to carry his plan through. In the end science comes to the rescue … mankind is unable to defeat the Martians, but instead they succumb to bacteria, something they have never experienced on Mars and have not conceived or prepared for.

Like many books we read, what was a good tale became so much more when we got together to discuss it, helped by a little reading around the subject. Wells was doing much more than writing a simple story. Firstly, of course, we marvelled at his far-sighted imagination at the idea of space travel, heat ray guns and chemical warfare, writing in the 1890s. Some of the science is a bit far-fetched, but then science fiction has thrived on that ever since, and we saw so many ideas and themes which have been reused many times in Dr Who, Star Trek and so many others. Interestingly there are also strong political messages in the book. Wells was a socialist, and it is suggested that the Martians’ crushing of the self-confident and dominating heart of the British Empire is a stark criticism of the British subjugation of other nations around the world. It also highlights the inadequacy of both religion represented by the curate, and Darwinian evolution represented by the artilleryman, to survive… challenging the arrogance of humanity’s confidence that they can deal with whatever might happen. Relevant messages, even today, on the environment and our coming battle with antibiotic resistance- the downfall of the Martians!

Maybe that sounds a bit heavy, but it all came out in our discussion and highlights the benefits of a lively book club discussion over just reading a book yourself. Nearly all of us said we had increased our scores out of ten after the discussion. Interestingly, it was one of the most consistent scores we have had, with everyone giving it either 7 or 8, an average of just over 7.5. Fortunately everyone enjoyed it and I was just about forgiven for choosing another dated classic! Ken Mylne

Tipton Readers - December: The Buried Giant - Kazuo Ishiguro

The Buried Giant is a fantasy novel by the Nobel Prize-winning British writer Kazuo Ishiguro, published in March 2015. Our Book Group average score was just over six, but the innocent number covers differences of opinion and wide swings of value, scor- ing between three and eight. Chosen on the back of The Remains of the Day and, a previous Book Group study, Never Let Me Go, the prospect of the writer’s first novel after a pause of ten years was a juicy one. However, true to form, this was yet again totally different.

There was so much about this book on the internet that I boggled, and decided to try and decide for myself and follow our Tipton Readers’ thoughts. As it turned out, the lively debate and different interpretations during our Zoom meeting were just as varied and firmly-held as any Good Reads or Times review.

- 19 -

So - what was it about? In the comfortable tone of a fireside storyteller, Ishiguro tells us of an older chap and his wife, Britons in post-colonial times (Roman, that is), who decide to leave their village to find their estranged son. They cross hostile landscapes peopled with immigrant settler-Saxons, mythical characters (eg, Arthurian Sir Gawain) and beasts (eg, a dragon whose misty breath causes national memory-loss.)

All this sounds a bit nuts for adult fiction, but is engrossing and curious, prompting me to pause to research the origin of this idea or name, or that myth. I found out, for example, that the Greek myth of the boatman of death carrying people to the underworld over the River Styx is echoed by a similar Hindu story about the river Vaitarani, the Japanese Buddhist Sansu-no-Kawa, from ancient Mesopotamia the Sumerian Hubur River, not to mention the Norse River Gjoll. The concept is represented strongly in the book and Ishiguro knew all this detail, no doubt!

It seemed to me that Kazuo Ishiguro had assembled his book like a Chef de Cuisine picking ingredients for a special dish - but a fusion one. So here is some myth, a shake of fantasy, a hearty quantity of psychology, a tasty stock of good and evil, some spoonfuls of hate and love, a good dash of truth and honour and quite a few slices of memory and amnesia. No wonder we were all so alive with our interpretations at the meeting and, as Ann commented, the books we find so much to talk about may end up with an undistinguished score but not because they are average reading but because they provoke such a wide range of reaction.

Barbara Pugh

VENN OTTERY & SOUTHERTON RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION

Happy New Year to you all! Well, as happy as we can be under the tighter restrictions. Now that Covid immunisation is well under way maybe the summer will bring greater freedom ...

The VOSRA AGM went ahead as planned on 10th December and the draft minutes will be published on the VOSRA website (Draft only, as the minutes cannot be adopted until approved at the next AGM.)

Membership and Subscriptions As a result of discussion during the AGM it has been agreed that VOSRA will continue with a known membership and that annual subscriptions will be collected, starting in April 2021. The subscription rate has been agreed at £10 per household or £5 for an individual. Instead of relying on members paying by cash or cheque at meetings we will deliver subscription envelopes with the April issue of the Tipton Times (if a printed edition is issued), along with details of the VOSRA bank account. Subscriptions can be paid direct to the bank, but cash or cheque will still be acceptable and can be given to any committee member.

If the April TT has to be online only (due to Covid) then we’ll have to ask you to contact a committee member for the bank details or to pay by cash or cheque.

Future Events We hope that by the summer we will be able to go ahead with a ‘Music on the Green’ event. If this is possible at all it’s likely to be organised at short notice, so rather than providing food we propose that people bring their own picnic. There will still be substantial costs (hire of the band, port-a-loos, etc.) so this will be a ticketed event and there will also be a raffle to raise funds. If a surplus is raised a donation can then be made to a local charity. We’ll keep everyone updated and hope for the best! Keep an eye on the website for updates: https://vosra.wordpress.com/

Proposed Slurry Lagoon at Collyhead Farm, application 20/2045/AGR Status as at 20/1/21 EDDC has confirmed that as the further information requested from the applicant has not been forthcoming there is, in effect, no application to consider. This development therefore cannot proceed any further. If/when a full application is submitted/completed we will update members.

Committee The existing committee members are prepared to continue for another year. If anyone else would like to join the committee please contact one of the following - Shân Merritt, Martin Jenkins, Denise Wightman, Chris Cole, Andy Finch.

Keep safe, stay well! Shân Merritt Chairman, VOSRA - 20 - Garden News from Dolberries

Has anyone else taken to jigsaws during lockdown? I’ve always been a fan but it is a perfect excuse to donate hours to fiddling about with one. Barton Orchard has many jigsaw fanatics so we have been able to share and increase our choice.

What has this got to do with a gardening article? Well in order to write this article I’ve just dragged myself away from one called National Trust Gardens - it has been wonderful to piece together full blown roses, bursting troughs, arbours

and walkways, a box parterre with something blue planted in it and a particularly tricky patch of wisteria. All these beautiful summery blooms to look forward to and already we have the signs that the seasons will change. I’ve heard that some people have a daffodil out in their garden and certainly I have seen plenty of snowdrops which are always a welcome sight.

There is some work to do in order to reap these rewards. The wisteria should have been pruned in January taking the branches back to three buds which will produce the flower. Before arriving at Dolberries I was a bit in awe of Wisteria and the required pruning but a couple of ‘You Tube’ clips and I was on my way and it seems to have bloomed beautifully each year. (I’m not taking the full credit - it may well have bloomed anyway!) Talking of blooming some of my roses have consistently flowered throughout the winter. I even considered using a couple of blooms for buttonholes for my daughter’s wedding in December but they were a bit floppy. However it is now time to prune the roses back to an outward facing bud if this wasn’t done at the end of last year. I like doing it at this time of year because you can easily see the place for snipping as the new buds may just be shooting and you can get more of an idea of the framework of the rose. This is the same for Clematis which is really showing good shoots now.

This is the time of year to make a list of your ‘must haves’ in the garden. I was given a Garden Planner for Christmas and being an inveterate diary writer and list maker this suits me down to the ground. It is full of pages to plan for this and subsequent years. While flicking through a garden

magazine I spotted something very special to put on the wish list which is a Hellebore ‘Anna’s Red’ – a plant named after plants woman Anna Pavord but as my daughter is Anna I thought it would be nice to have. Unfortunately it has an eye watering price tag and, as it looks like I haven’t managed to keep my Christmas rose (Helleborus Niger) this year, I would feel nervous buying an expensive plant. Maybe I could put it on my birthday list though (hope my husband is reading this!) Another item for that list is a new book called Modern Cottage Garden- less costly than Anna Pavord and in the review it suggests there is lots of encouraging and practical advice and an -A Z of essential plants for long seasons of interest and diverse form and structure. I think this would provide a lot to put in my new Garden Planner and then all I need to do is save up!!

Happy Gardening Alison Stevens - 21 - OTTERY ST MARY TOWN AND COUNCIL NEWS

At the time of writing this article we had just started lockdown 3. Non-essential shops and businesses have had to close again but many local businesses are offering a great click and collect or delivery service. The shops and businesses in Ottery have been delivering food and medical essentials, providing takeaways etc throughout and have been hugely successful. Please support the local firms where you can.

The Ottery Food Larder is open and doing well. You can follow them on Facebook for opening times and booking an appointment to collect items.

The Ottery Community Volunteers group are providing an amazing job in providing support. If you do need any assistance from this dedicated group, please call 01404 600013 or send an email to [email protected]

Council Offices Continuing with the latest government advice Christine McIntyre, CEO, continues to work from home, with the offices remaining closed to the public. However, contact details are 01404 812252 or email to either [email protected] or [email protected]

All meetings are still being held by video conferencing and all the dates and details of how the public can participate in these, can be found within each Agenda, together with Minutes of the meetings, all located on the Council website at www.otterystmary-tc.gov.uk

Council Meetings The first Full Council Meeting of the year took place on Monday 11th January 2021 at 7pm.

Cllr Wright was unable to attend the meeting but has submitted a report which has been attached to the minutes of the meeting which will be available online.

Relocation of Tipton St John Primary School to Ottery St Mary and erection of 150 dwellings By now most people will be aware that the planning application has been turned down by EDDC. The Council will be considering the situation further at its February Town Council Meeting and will explore various options.

Grants The same process as last year will be adopted (a number of councillors will meet with the applicants in the New Year to determine which applicants should be awarded grants).

The Precept for 2021-22 The Council`s budget was very low in comparison to other smaller councils who were spending considerably more when comparing their budgets. The Council had adopted a stringent and prudent approach to its financial management and was therefore able to approve a precept figure of £156,000 for 2021-22 with no increase on last year`s figure.

Future Full Council meeting dates for your diaries are: Monday 1st February via Zoom Monday 1st March via Zoom Tuesday 6th April via Zoom

All information can be found on our website at www.otterystmary-tc.gov.uk where you can also view agendas and approved minutes for all Council and Committee meetings, together with news and updates.

The Neighbourhood Highways Officer (Mike Brown) The Highway Surgeries remain cancelled but you can still make specific reports at any time to Devon County Council at https://www.devon.gov.uk/roadsandtransport/report-a-problem/map/map_src/poth/

And finally ... Spring is just around the corner and let’s hopes that it brings an improvement in our current situation. In the meantime please all stay healthy. Take care.

Jane Bushby, Administrator 01404 812252 www.otterystmary-tc.gov.uk [email protected] [email protected] Road Closures

The Fluxton Road is due to be closed 1-19 February. Please keep an eye on the latest news tab of the Tipton Times website for up to date news on road closures Latest News | Tipton Times

Readers may also wish to view the One Network website for details of all roadworks in England and Wales https://one.network/custom/devon/ - 22 - Claire Wright, Independent Devon County Councillor, Otter Valley Ward

EDDC planning committee refuses 150 houses and relocation of Tipton school

East Devon District Council’s planning committee refused the application for a relocation of Tipton St John Primary School, accompanied by 150 houses, on the edge of Ottery St Mary.

The application was refused by eleven votes, with two votes in favour and two abstentions.

As you will be aware the application, submitted by Devon County Council, was triggered to try to protect school places in the Ottery area, as Tipton St John Primary School has been deemed a ‘risk to life’ by the Environment Agency for flooding reasons.

There were 132 objections, including from Ottery St Mary Town Council and EDDC Ward members Geoff Pratt and Vicky Johns, both of whom spoke this afternoon.

Several objectors, who live near the proposed development also raised concerns.

Speaking in favour were two governors, a representative from Devon County Council and Tipton St John Primary School Headteacher, Colin Butler, whose testimony relating to the danger for his young pupils crossing the road to the upper site to safety when in flood, made me feel really sad.

I have worked with Colin on various projects for years, including trying to resolve this issue. He is an excellent and caring headteacher.

I spoke firstly to outline the background that the government rejected a bid under the priority schools programme in 2015 to rebuild the school away from the flood zone. This is explained further in my email which follows to Baroness Berridge, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the School System at the Department for Education.

It left Devon County Council with a £5m shortfall and casting around in vain for other options the application that was refused today was the option it pursued.

Unfortunately, because of the £5m shortfall, Devon County Council’s proposal for a new school also included 150 houses to help finance it. The application was contrary to the existing Local Plan, the Ottery St Mary and West Hill Neighbourhood Plan and is outside Ottery St Mary’s built up area boundary.

Officers said it was a finely balanced application and recommended approval on the basis the benefits outweighed the downsides. The planning committee disagreed but still took almost two and and a half hours to refuse it. Chair, Eileen Wragg, said it was a ‘tough’ application. It isn’t clear yet whether Devon County Council will appeal.

While I believe the decision was the right one in the circumstances, I fully felt and identified with the understandable anger of the governors who spoke – and also the sadness in Colin Butler’s voice as he addressed the committee.

I have spoken at EDDC planning committees maybe hundreds of times and won some and lost some. But I have never felt so sad about the position I took on 6 January.

Devon County Council’s Cabinet in talks with local MPs over adult social care funding cuts

Devon County Council’s cabinet has initiated talks with local MPs, following my recommendation agreed at the November Adult Health and Social Care Scrutiny Committee.

Adult social care has been in a hugely precarious financial position, following what is now a decade of government funding cuts. As a result far fewer people are in receipt of personal care and unpaid carers are more stretched than ever before. The pandemic, of course, has made a very hard situation even tougher.

The papers at the November scrutiny meeting quoted from a national survey of councils.

The key messages from the survey were:

Without significant financial intervention from the government, the lives of people who use social care and their family members will be seriously impacted in terms of their lives and wellbeing

Only four per cent of respondents are fully confident that their budget will be sufficient to meet their statutory duties this year, down from 35 per cent in 2019/20

- 23 - The actual costs to local authorities and adult social care providers during the pandemic will far outstrip the Emergency Funding made available by the government to date

The risk of already fragile care markets failing has significantly heightened as a result of the impacts of Covid-19

The papers also stated that Adult Care and Health was showing an overspend of 2.276m before management action and strategic savings.

I proposed that the Health and Adult Care Scrutiny Committee recommend that the council write to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care requesting an adequate social care settlement. This was seconded by Cllr Martin Shaw.

This recommendation was considered by Cabinet in December and it was resolved that the portfolio holder for Health and Social Care raise the issue with local MPs during a series of meetings - and write to the Secretary of State for Health if this was necessary.

This is an incredibly important issue and one that I will continue to monitor and raise.

Claire Wright 01404 815771 Email: [email protected] Dear Baroness Berridge

I am writing to you asking that you consider the above much loved school, for your current rebuilding programme.

I would have written to you earlier but was advised against it because a planning application for a new school build was in progress (along with 150 houses to plug a £5m funding shortfall) in the neighbouring town of Ottery St Mary.

This very unpopular application, that drew significant opposition, was decisively rejected by East Devon District Council, earlier this month.

The Environment Agency has been deeply concerned about the welfare of children attending the school since 2015 where it stated in a report that there is a ‘risk to life’ of the children attending the school because of the flood risk. It maintains this position.

The school is in floodzone 3.

I have attended at least two clean up community efforts since alongside teachers, parents, children and the Fire and Rescue Service.

Around 10 years ago, children had to spend six months having lessons in the local village hall and church due to a serious flooding event, which rendered the buildings out of action.

For a decade, strenuous efforts have been made by the diocese, Devon County Council and the governors to find a solution.

In 2015, just after receipt of the Environment Agency’s report stating that Tipton St John Primary School held a risk to the life of its children, the diocese, supported by Devon County Council, applied to the government’s Priority Schools Building programme for funding for a rebuild in the village, outside the floodzone.

There were meetings with ministers and many encouraging communications were exchanged.

A suitable piece of land in the village was identified and there were positive discussions with a local landowner.

Unfortunately, after many months of encouraging discussions, our bid was rejected by ministers. This was extraordinarily disappointing and left the diocese and Devon County Council desperately casting around for alternatives. Eventually, this led to the very unpopular planning application that has now been rejected.

There is no other plan. This cherished local school is now at risk of closure due to the flood risk.

New schools should be funded by central government, not by the planning system. Especially, when the government body responsible for prevention of flooding, has described the lives of children as being at risk.

It is only a matter of time before the school is flooded again.

The local community feels incredibly let down by government ministers over the Priority Schools Building Programme. As a voluntary aided school it is vital that it receives financial support from central government.

I really hope that this time the government will now do the right thing and provide Tipton St John Primary School with the necessary funding for a rebuild outside the floodzone.

I look forward to hearing from you.

My very best wishes Claire Wright Devon County Councillor - Otter Valley Ward Community Wellbeing Board - Local Government Association - 24 - Geoff Pratt Independent East Devon District Councillor, Ottery St Mary Ward Relocation of Tipton St John Primary School The Planning Application by Devon County Council (DCC) to relocate Tipton St John Primary School to Ottery St Mary, coupled with the building of 150 houses, was heard by the EDDC Planning Committee on the 6th January 2021. The proposed development was located in the countryside outside any built-up Area Boundary with no planning policy support for residential development in this location. The resulting harm created by the urban sprawl of 150 [email protected] houses built in open countryside on a prominent site that could be viewed Tel: 01404 814106 from many areas in and surrounding Ottery, together with the dangerous highway conditions that would arise in Cadhay Lane, were also considered by the Committee to be relevant issues which outweighed any benefits contained in the application.

The Planning Authority held that the application was in breach of Strategy 7, Strategy 24 (Development at Ottery St Mary development in the Countryside), Strategy 46 (Landscape Conservation and Enhancement) and Policy D1 of the Local Plan and Policies NP1(Development in the Countryside) and NP25 (land Identified for Educational Uses in Ottery St Mary). I made the proposal to refuse the application which was seconded by Cllr Philip Skinner. The planning committee refused the application by 11 votes to 2 with 2 abstentions.

This decision opens the opportunity to reconsider either rebuilding on the existing school site or on an alternative site in or near the village. The flooding problem on the existing lower school site (caused by the Metcombe Brook) appears to have been grossly overstated. Since the Brook was repaired by the Environment Agency in 2017 there has been no flooding and the main issue remains the condition of the buildings which are in a poor state of repair, although there would still be two sites.

I pointed out to the committee the recent support given by DCC to Sidmouth and Sidbury Primary Schools both of which have been supported by Government funding.:-

Sidbury Primary School made a planning application in 2017, for a building extension to the school to include a class room, a cloakroom with toilets, an external play area with raised decking, a new ramp and a new hall store. The School is zoned as flood zone 3, where there is a high probability of flooding (similar to Tipton St John School). In this case the flooding risks largely emanate from the nearby River Sid. An Environment Agency (EA) assessment judged Sidbury Primary School to be ‘one of the most at risk of flooding in Devon’, but said it was not viable to relocate. Despite a high risk of flooding the plans were backed by the EA and the County Education Authority, and its expansion was supported by Devon County Education Authority. The Government funded the building works. EDDC planning approval was granted.

Sidmouth Primary School - a press release dated 4 th Dec 2020 described news that a multi-million pound new building for Sidmouth Primary School had been approved to replace its 3 sites. The school’s Manstone Avenue site, will be expanded and redeveloped over the next 18 months to provide a modern, purpose-built facility, enabling all of the school’s youngest pupils to be taught in one place. The new school will be ready to open to its pupils for the start of the new school year in September 2022 to provide the children and families of the town with the first class facilities they deserve. Without the planned development, the three sites would require significant repairs and maintenance work. Government Funding of £4.2M has been approved to meet the building costs. The school has been supported by Devon County Council.

In a Government press release dated 29th June 2020, schools across England are set for a ten-year rebuilding programme. Schools will benefit from substantial additional investment. Schools and colleges will also receive funding this year to refurbish buildings in order to continue raising standards across the country.

Investment will be targeted at school buildings in the worst condition with:  Over £1bn to fund the first 50 projects of a new, ten-year school rebuilding programme, and construction on the first sites will begin from September 2021.  £560m for repairs and £200m for upgrades to schools and Further Education colleges will be provided.

The DCC Planning Statement stated that DCC’s limited land ownership in the immediate area of Tipton St John and other sites within the village were reviewed, but no information is provided to demonstrate what was reviewed and why the land was unsuitable. It has been stated in public that a site was identified in the Tipton St John area, but agreement could not be reached.

In my view DCC have a duty to establish what government funds may be available to finance a replacement school for Tipton St John, preferably in Tipton, before it makes any further planning application.

DCC should then revisit the site identified in Tipton St John and consult with the owner of the land to see whether an agreement can be reached to purchase the land.

The village school plays a crucial role in the life of the village and would be sadly missed if it vacates the village. - 25 -

Tipton Times Weather Report

As I write this article in mid-January the weather is quite mild here, but snow is falling in Northern England. There are also signals that a Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) event is underway and this may affect the weather in the UK later this month. This set my mind going with two questions that I thought I’d answer here, in case it turns much colder by the time this article is published!

1. What is Sudden Stratospheric Warming? During the winter half of the year in the Northern Hemisphere (late Sep to late Mar) the polar region receives very little or no sunlight, and so gets colder and colder until the spring sunshine returns, and the further north the less sunshine and the colder it gets. This forms a cold vortex (low) both at and above the surface at the North Pole, see figure 1 below. This usual winter pattern helps to reinforce and strengthen the jet stream in the Atlantic- more on this later. It also helps to trap the cold air at all levels to Fig. 1: Usual position of the‘ normal’ stratospheric polar vortex above the North high latitudes (above 70 degrees N) for much of the winter.

In some winters, however, (and this is one of them!) waves high up in the atmosphere conspire to disrupt this pattern and the upper level westerly flow can slow down, and even reverse (becoming easterly). The cold air at high latitudes is then not trapped there and can flow further south, and this affects the flow at all levels. High up in the atmosphere this mixing up of the air with air from lower latitudes allows temperatures to rise. This is the Sudden Stratospheric Warming and is most notable at around 10hPa (90,000 feet) when temperatures can rise from minus 80 degrees Celsius to near freezing. This can mean temperatures are higher at the poles than further south, so reversing the direction of the flow as shown in the diagram below.

2. What effect does an SSW have on UK winter weather? Firstly, I’ll answer this by looking at what is ‘usual’ UK winter weather, see figure 1. Under this regime the south westerly flow high up in the atmosphere acts to reinforce and speed up the jet stream. In the winter this means a predominantly west- south-westerly flow from the mild North Atlantic crosses our shores and cold winter weather is less likely or restricted to overnight frosts. If a SSW occurs (see figure 2) the split vortex or easterly flow tends to weaken the jet Fig. 2: A split vortex in a SSW event with easterly flow near the North stream or drive it further south. At our latitudes this means high pressure is more likely to form over us or to the north east over Scandinavia. If this occurs cold east to north-easterly winds from Russia can bring cold weather from the Continent, and when milder air from the Atlantic tries to push in, snow can form on this boundary. This is why some newspaper articles this week have talked about a ‘Beast from the East’ such as occurred in early March 2018, because this followed another SSW event.

The caveat to this is that not all SSWs lead to cold weather in the UK - it just increases the chance. As it’s my job I’ll be looking at the weather forecasts very closely for the end of January and beginning of February and, if you like snow and/or cold weather, this could be the time for it. Chris Tubbs - 26 - Tipton School PTFA Bag to School

Are you planning to have a clear out of unwanted clothes? We are having another Bag2School event at the end of April and would welcome all your good condition, re-wearable clothes. We had a fantastic response from the community last time and raised £225!

We will be taking in donations on Tuesday 27th April between 6.30pm and 7.30pm at the Community Hall. All clothing needs to be clean and in sturdy bags so they can be carried to the lorry the next morning without breaking!

Please see below for a comprehensive list of what they’ll accept. Last year was a very hard time to fundraise and so far this year doesn’t look much better - Bag2School pay by the kilogram so the more donations the better!

As it is such a tricky time to fundraise at the moment we wanted to let you know about another event we are running which some of you may wish to support - “Fituary” will run throughout the 28 days of February where pupils, their families and school staff are recording all the minutes they spend exercising to hit our 28,000 minute school goal! Exercise is so important to our physical and mental wellbeing and this is a very hard and confusing time for our children (and for we grown-ups too!) who are missing friends, teachers and loved ones so we hope this will bring a bit of fun and a feeling of community. If anyone would like to sponsor us they can donate via our Just Giving page: justgiving.com/campaign/fituary2021

Bag2School accept the following ‘good quality’ items for Re-use:  Men’s, ladies’ and children’s clothing  Socks  Paired shoes (tied together or elastic  Belts band around)  Soft toys  Handbags  Household linen  Hats  Household curtains  Bags  Household towels  Scarves and ties  Household bedding (bed sheets, pillow  Jewellery cases and duvet covers)  Lingerie

They DO NOT accept:  Carpets, rugs and mats (including bath, shower and toilet mats)  Duvets and blankets  Pillows and cushions  Soiled, painted, ripped or wet clothing  School uniforms with or without logo  Corporate clothing and workwear  Textile offcuts, yarns or threaded material

Thank you

Natalie, Gemma and the PTFA Committee - 27 -

The Ottery Larder has had a busy few weeks since opening at the start of December. Under the lockdown rules we are allowed to stay open as an emergency food provider, and we have developed quite strict rules to ensure the safety of our volunteers and customers.

We are based at the Institute and open every day from 11am until 2pm and also at weekends at different hours. These times depend a lot on what deliveries we get. We currently collect once a week from Waitrose and Tesco, but this will soon increase to three times a week from Waitrose as well as new slots from Sainsbury’s.

There has been confusion as to why we get this food. There are various reasons. Sometimes a store will change the label design, or reassess the ingredients of a product, and that means that all of the old design has to come off the shelf. Sometimes a pallet of tins may fall off a fork-lift truck. The supermarket might just decide a particular brand does not sell. In the past it was easier for a store to bin these items, but over the last few years a charity called Fareshare has worked hard to set up a national distribution chain so that operations like ours can pass this food onto residents. It means we are very ‘seasonal’ - some days we may have 10 crates of fruit and veg, some days 50 loaves of bread and other days we might just have tins of soup. Otter Produce have been generous with bananas and Waitrose have donated items like fennel, celeriac, papaya and 1,000 shallots so there is often the chance to try something new without worrying about wasting your money!

There is no qualification to receive our food, we are not a ‘food bank’ and we are not here to ‘feed the poor’. All of our food is good quality, fresh and perfectly edible. It has been deemed surplus to requirements by a store and they are more than happy to pass it to us. This means that anyone can come and help themselves - there is no form to complete, no need to tell us who you are or why you are there. We just want to give the food away to someone who will eat it! We do work alongside the Food Bank and help them with their deliveries, but they are a separate organisation and doing an essential job by working with doctors, churches and social services to ensure that those in most need get food delivered. Their customers are very welcome to come along to the Larder and top up. Our busiest day saw nearly 80 customers coming through the Institute, and we even had customers on Christmas Day, before we went off to help Otter Garden Centre deliver Christmas Dinners.

And don’t forget we work with Uplift, an organisation looking after young families, so you can come down to the Institute and pick up nappies, toys, books and clothing and all your essentials absolutely free of charge to go with the free food!

We have to thank all of our volunteers who have worked long, hard and cold hours over Christmas and the New Year to make sure that the food has been distributed. Wasted trips to Waitrose and lifting trays of cans has been balanced by sorting through baby clothes, sampling some of our food and meeting a lot of people from Ottery!

One of the issues with being so successful is that we have had to introduce a booking system during the lockdown to make sure we can limit the number of people coming through. You can access this on the web at https://bookeo.com/otterylarder or contact us through the Facebook page by searching for ‘Ottery Larder’. You can also phone us on 01404 600013 and one of our volunteers will call you back and make a booking for you. We can deliver food parcels if you are stuck at home, but recommend you come down and see what we have.

Dean and Vicky, Directors Tel: 01404 600013

On Christmas Day morning, kind old Father Christmas (in the shape of Ottery Community Volunteers) delivered me Christmas Lunch, generously organised by Otter Nurseries.

Father Christmas must have been especially busy in this area as he delivered me the new ‘trolley’ ( minus the greenery trimmings) on which my special lunch is displayed!

Thank you to everyone who helped to make my Christmas Day ‘special’ ! Wendy Pounce - 28 - The Bee Man: Some interesting facts and myths about queen bees

Bees are truly a fascinating insect. They are the only insect in the world that produces something that humans can readily consume without further processing. Their organizational structure is also something to be wondered at, not only because of how hardworking honeybees are, but because of how they are able to effectively communicate and co-operate with each other. A colony of honeybees can readily be considered to act as one entity – a kind of ‘super organism’.

The Queen Bee is the centre of that colony. She is responsible for the birth of all future bees. There are many unknown facts and myths about queen bees - their diet, how they ‘take to the throne’, how long they live and their mating practice. So, I thought it might be instructive to give you some interesting facts and myths about the queen bee.

A Queen Bee is ‘made’ not born Some believed that a queen in a beehive is born. This is not strictly correct. Queen bees are nurtured and made by the nurse bees inside a cell called queen cups. Depending on the quality of the larvae, the worker bees will determine which of them have the makings of becoming a queen. These larvae are then given a special diet that is only for future queens – ‘Royal Jelly’. In case of the sudden death of the queen, the workers have the ability to produce an emergency queen by switching the diet of an existing and current larvae. This will save the colony, but the emergency queen might not be as reproductive as the previous one due to the diet it previously had as an ‘ordinary’ larva.

New queen bees need to eliminate any other potential queens The future queen emerges through the queen cup by chewing through the wax cap that was used to close her cell on the ninth day after the egg was laid. Depending on the time frame, the other queen cups that hold potential queens might still be intact. It is said that the newly emerged queen will then use her sting to kill her sisters before their birth so that she will be the only remaining queen bee in the hive. In the event that more than one queen bee is hatched at the same time, they will do battle to the death to determine which queen will reign supreme.

New queen bees sometimes battle old queen bees Usually, the old queen would have already flown away from the hive together with other bees to look for new pastures. This old queen will lay eggs and live for a few more weeks before dying. There may be instances when the old queen remains in the hive when a new queen emerges. When this happens a battle to death will take place and the subsequent victor will be the queen.

A very special diet In the past, it was believed that the feeding of royal jelly is what makes the queen bee a queen bee. In a way, this is true, but the whole truth about the royal jelly diet of the future queen bee is that future queens are solely fed with royal jelly. The exclusion of pollen and honey in their diet is what truly separates the future queen bee form the rest. Unfertilized larvae fed with pollen and honey develop into worker bees. They are given royal jelly for the first few days but then are switched into the “bee-bread” that is composed of pollen and honey. This shrinks the reproductive system of these worker bees making them sexually undeveloped.

The mating ritual The moment a new queen emerges and if the weather is good, the mating ritual will begin. The queen flies to a site called a ‘drone congregating area’ where drone bees swarm around the queen bee during flight and mate with her. The queen bee can mate with 12-15 drones. If the weather permits her, she might return to the same spot again until she is fully mated. The queen bee has the ability to hold up to six million sperms inside her body which she will then use to fertilize her eggs for the next two to seven years of her queenhood.

How many eggs does a queen lay? A queen bee lays an average of 1,500 to 2,000 eggs per day. She has the ability to select the gender of her offspring by fertilizing or not fertilizing the eggs. Fertilized eggs are female bees which will become workers or a future queen, while unfertilized eggs are male bees, which are drones.

- 29 - Queen bees can sting repeatedly It is generally known that honeybees will lose their stingers once they use it. The queen can use her stinger repeatedly because it does not possess a barb as do her soldier bees. This is especially useful during the first few moments that she emerges from her cell, where she may use her sting to destroy and kill other potential queens.

The lifespan of a queen bee A life span of a queen bee depends on her species. A queen bumble bee will live for only a year while a honeybee queen can live up to seven years.

How many bees can a queen have in one hive? In a given time, a queen bee can have as many as 60,000 maybe even more bees in her hive. There are reports of beehives containing 80,000 bees. This will include all drones and worker bees she has under her.

Spotting a queen bee A queen bee can be hard to spot. She is the largest bee in the hive, her abdomen being significantly longer than the other bees’ adomens. Because she is hard to spot in a hive of 60,000 to 80,000 bees, most beekeepers will mark their queen with a daub of water-based paint on her thorax. This makes it easier for her to be found in future and the paint does not hurt the queen in any way.

Old queen swarming There will be a time when the hive becomes too crowded. This may prompt the whole colony to decide to swarm, in order to set up a new colony elsewhere. This process will involve the queen, still laying eggs while worker bees prepare the queen cups. The workers will also starve the queen so that she will become lighter and will be able to fly. The moment she is ready, she will then swarm taking along about half of the bee population in the hive with her to a temporary location before they can establish their new home.

The scent for a new queen Once the queen starts to lay eggs, usually 2 or 3 days right after the mating ritual, she will give off a scent that signals that she is healthy and capable of doing her job as queen. This pheromone helps the worker bees decide when a new queen needs to be made. This pheromone or scent marker will diminish as the queen ages. The worker bees that have contact with the queen transport these pheromones around the hive. If the pheromone level decreases, the worker bees will then start to prepare for a new queen.

Replacement of a queen There will be instances when worker bees need to replace a queen in a hurry. Sometimes queens die due to sickness or there are cases when the queen may be injured or ceases to produce quality eggs. Workers will then need to replace their queen so that their hive can continue to thrive. The worker bees will prepare the queen cups to replace the current queen. Once a new queen hatches, the worker bees will kill the current queen by huddling close to her and vibrating their bodies to raise the body temperature of the queen (effectively‘ cooking’ her) until she dies. There are, however, cases where the old queen is left to live with the hive, but is effectively ignored until she dies a natural death eventually.

The queen does not control the hive Contrary to what many believe, it is not the queen that controls the hive. Yes, she lives a life of ‘royalty’ with an entourage of attendant bees, but she is still subject to the ‘rules’ of the colony. The moment she exhibits behaviour that the bees decide make her no longer fit to reproduce productively, she will be replaced. She relies heavily on worker bees for her to live her daily life. She does not even have the ability to digest her own food. Worker bees have to digest it for her.

Long live the Queen!

Stephen Williams - Hayne Park - 30 - A Stroll Down the Main Street

With yet another lock down, having turned out all the cupboards, tidied all the drawers, sorted the sheds, weeded and dug the gardens the first time round, and with the ground too wet to work, we are obediently keeping local and walking round the village and surrounds for our exercise. For the few of you who are not entirely familiar with the history and origin of what you are passing, here are some things that might be of interest.

Walking down the Main Street from the crossroads have you seen the 'window in the wall' by the track renamed in the 1920's. In April 1917, Samuel Bennett, going up to Dolberries? It is on your left before you the only son of the family living there, was a flight Sub get to Hayne Hill. It has been dated to the sixteenth Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Air Service and, at the century, possibly the remains of an abbey but really age of twenty-five, he lost his life in an air engagement. a mystery.

On the other side of the road at the beginning of Hayne Hill there is an intriguing house with a wheel shaped On the opposite side of the road along the bank window. The window is not very old but the house, leading to 'Mallocks House' are four thatched cottages, dated 1531, was once that of the village blacksmith now known as Bank, Myrtle, Lavender and Fern, which whose smithy was on the corner where the 'Old may once have formed parts of a late medieval or early Smithy' bungalow now stands. The Potter family, who Tudor Hall. The front wall is thirty-inch thick cob and later ran the Country Market at West Hill (now two of the cottages have cruck beams dating from as McColls) were blacksmiths here for many years, at early as the fourteen hundreds. least as far back as 1856 and this corner was thus known as 'Potters' corner. During WW2 a shelter capable of holding up to sixty people was made by volunteer villagers under the garden of this property.

On the same side of the road walking towards the river is the entrance to Tipton Lodge, divided into three dwellings in the late '70s but formerly a 'gentleman's residence' complete with its own gardener’s cottage, Evidence of WW2 village efforts - an air raid stables and dairy. The building, 17th and 18th century shelter lintel on the bank near the green and Victorian, was formerly called Tipton Hall until - 31 -

A little further along Hayne Hill on the right is one of Of course, opposite the shop is the Golden Lion but the oldest farmhouses in the area, Tipton Barton. It this was not always the case. The first 'Golden Lion' has been much altered but the old porch remains and whose origins are unknown was on the other side of is thought to date from 1550. the road on the site of Stanley Cottages and it burnt

down in 1896.

Returning to the Main Street the first cottage after the The present 'Lion' was built on part of a Builder Lodge grounds, on the right now called Willow Merchant's yard conveniently situated for the railway. Cottage, formerly Dolphin Cottage, was the village Again the building had been much altered from the shop, closed in the late 1950's and another shop old arrangement which had a 'jug and bottle' for off traded from 2, Railway Cottages until the early 1970's. licence sales, a snug, which led to the ladies (gents Tipton Stores has been much improved from the 1909 outside) and a saloon bar. In 1968 after the flood, building which replaced the former Post Office washed which washed away the bridge, HRH The Duke of away by flood. The cost of this replacement building Edinburgh enjoyed a pint there when he flew into the was £275! Unfortunately the Post Office was axed in village in his helicopter to view the damage. 2008.

Then we come to the Playing Field, the Bridge, the Community Hall, the School and the Church all with their own stories. We haven't come far but plenty to

notice-perhaps more next time? Ann Knight

Whilst enjoying your walks in the Otter valley, why not take some photos of the beautiful scenery and wildlife?

If you have to stay even more local, perhaps something is of interest in your garden.

We are developing our website gallery page and would welcome the best of your lockdown snapshots.

Please email [email protected] - 32 - RSPB - Aylesbeare Common

Well here we are, 2021. In the human world, we may find ourselves plunged afresh into lockdown measures but one of the things that is most affecting about spending time outdoors is that you cannot fail to notice how the Earth still turns, pushing seasonal change on us regardless. It’s constantly changing and yet if you zoom out, there is pattern and inevitability too. Being joined by a curious robin, which keeps its social distance out of nothing more significant than natural manners, there’s an obliviousness that is something of a tonic.

With much of the heathland commons in East Devon being open access, unlike many RSPB sites, most of the sites we manage were never closed to the public during the first lockdown. This is the case again and you are welcome to visit and explore the area where you are lucky enough to live, for your permitted daily exercise. We ask that you are mindful of others, keeping that 2m distance and having respect for the countryside. With the days still short and some of us at home more than we’d like, perhaps now is the time to do a bit of reading up on heathland? What it is exactly, how it came to be, how it is managed today. Do not take your cue from the opening chapter of Thomas Hardy’s ‘The Return of the Native.’ Heathland may seem as old and wild as the hills on which it sits but, in fact, it takes a remarkable amount of management work to maintain what is a human created

landscape.

Heathland - the mix of plants you see and the wildlife which lives among them - is like a dog on a lead that’s just seen a squirrel. It’s bursting to romp away. We want to keep it in that early state in what is the natural progression of vegetation from bare earth up until such end points as dense woodland, forest, who knows? What are the truly natural end points are actually not agreed upon - it’s hard to know in this country since we’ve managed our land intensively in one way or another for hundreds of years. Why do we do it? Because the ecosystem it supports is unique, special, and rare.

It’s been a very cold start to January, with days where frost in the dark corners of fields is still there in the evening. Indeed, we had the year’s first Sunday volunteer work party on such a day but it was the blue sky variant of bone-chillingly cold and so, once warmed up through hard work (temperature regulation in mammals – brilliant, helped by thermal textile technology), it couldn’t have been a better day to be out. One of those days where the hoar frost keeps on growing thicker white on the edges of needles, leaves and thin branches until, Eventually, it reaches a tipping point in temperature and melts. By 11:30am we noted it was all coming to a swift end because the frost, which had been dropping shards of white all morning, was by this time falling from the trees like rain.

If the winter keeps on going, so does our winter work programme. We are running to a seasonal schedule with work that is only feasible during certain months, if at all this year. For us in conservation and land management, we are largely governed by the breeding season. So now that we’re outside of this, we are hard at work in clearing scrub and small trees. In some cases, we are tackling general areas of what we refer to as encroachment. This is where the heath meets its edges - woodland trees. The seeds of pioneer tree species, birch and Scots pine, are absolutely excellent at germinating and growing on quickly and, each winter, much of our management work involves removing these species. We are doing a lot of pulling up of small pines and birches, with volunteers working to cut out or down the larger ones. But if this may seem a bit brutal, take a look around. There will always be birch. We cannot get rid of it all and there will always be patches of scrub and young woodland in amongst the more typical heath. - 33 - It’s all about trying to make space for the heathland mainstay plants to thrive - the heathers, the gorse. But we also want to make sure that these two plants (here in East Devon there are three species of heather and two or three gorse) are represented in all their life stages. We want seedlings, one year olds, bushes and tall denser plants across a heathland site. So we choose areas of gorse to coppice too, on a rotational basis of about 15 years, cutting it down when it reaches its final life stage, when it is very tall and leggy and doesn’t allow anything else to grow under it. The Dartford warblers have no use for it when it gets to this stage. It also responds very well to coppicing.

On Aylesbeare at the moment, there are no more cattle but the Exmoor and Dartmoor ponies here will stay throughout the winter. This week we have got machinery on site. A digger will be creating ‘scrapes’ of bare earth, in various patches, returning again to continue in a month’s time. You may have seen these areas on heathland. They are striking and deliberate-looking when new but often people approach us, unsure what the intention is. It’s an effective mechanical way of taking the vegetation back to zero, starting from scratch. In a lot of cases, scraping the surface soil takes away the shallow bracken rhizomes as well, and it’s a most effective way of tackling dense bracken. Bracken is another excellent colonizer but quite thuggish and, unchecked, can create great swathes of monoculture. If biodiversity is what we’re trying to increase (which it is) then this is no good. The bare earth will become recolonized in the coming years and the seeds of grasses like bristle bent, and heather and gorse will germinate. Until it becomes fully covered again by vegetation, it is a dry environment for invertebrates like ants and reptiles, particularly with its capacity in the summer to absorb the sun’s heat, useful for cold blooded creatures. The ants it supports are particularly of interest to us on Aylesbeare because they are a symbiotic part of the life cycle of the Silver Studded Blue butterfly, one of our key species.

If you find yourself stepping out into some of the wetter parts of the reserves now, you may well find you flush out snipe. These are the birds with the extraordinary ‘drumming’ call of the male at dusk in the breeding season. Look that up on youtube or, better still, return in the early summer to hear for yourself. They skulk in the mires and water edges, gathering there in the winter (although they are resident birds and this is not a case of them gathering in flocks as such) and often if you flush out one you can be assured you’ll flush out a few more. A methodical survey of the area of Thorntree at Blackhill Quarry came back with a count of 64 snipe in one session by one volunteer! They can be recognised by the habitat for starters, by their quick ascent and erratic, zig zag flight away, and they will often emit a quick scratchy call.

So, work continues on the heath! You may see our staff or volunteers out on the reserve. Following government guidelines, the RSPB has decided this essential conservation work can continue during this latest lockdown, albeit with a tightening of the restrictions we already had in place, particularly in limiting the work we carry out so that we’re just doing jobs where 2m social distancing is easy to maintain. We have reduced our group numbers, and volunteers work together in small ‘bubbles’ to limit contact. And the car park at Joney’s Cross is still open.

Ellie Woolway - 34 - Lent Course

We are planning to run a Lent Course on-line, maybe including a video, a Bible reading and a discussion on Zoom.

It will be held on Wednesday evenings at 7 o’clock. We can get seven sessions into Lent by starting on the evening of Ash Wednesday and finishing the day before Maundy Thursday. The first session will be within an online Ash Wednesday evening service.

On the morning of Ash Wednesday there will be an 11 o’clock service at Newton Poppleford Church. This year Ash Wednesday is 17th February.

If you are interested in taking part, email Mark, so he can include you on the email invite to each session (you won't be forced to say anything in the discussion if you don't want to, and you don't have to log on if you decide it's not for you).

Mark’s email is [email protected] We will be basing the Lent course on material produced by The Bible Society.

The Bible Series: Experience a better story This is a 7-part journey through the Bible for anyone to experience a better story and to see how the Bible is relevant today.

If you've got internet access, here is the link to a short video introduction to the course material. https://vimeo.com/466470646

CHURCH CALENDAR

At the time of writing we are in the ‘post Christmas lockdown’ and we have had to discontinue services in Church on a Sunday morning for the foreseeable future. When they do resume information will be posted on the Church Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/tiptonstjohnchurch/ and on the new Tipton Times Village Website.

However, a service will still be held every Sunday at 11.00am in Newton Poppleford Church. Please wear a face mask and socially distance in the church.

In the meantime, the Sunday Service of Worship on Zoom, which has been taking place at 10.00am every Sunday for the last few months, continues for all the parishes under the care of our vicar, Mark Ward. This includes Harpford, Newton Poppleford and Colaton Raleigh. People from other parishes have also been participating. If you would like to join with us and would like the link please contact either Mark Ward [email protected] or the PCC Secretary Alison Stevens [email protected] who will be pleased to provide it.

Although there are no services in Tipton or Venn Ottery Churches, Tipton Church is still open every Saturday morning for private prayer between 10.00am and 12.30pm. Please wear a face mask and socially distance in the church.

In addition, other Churches in the locality are also open for private prayer:

Ottery St Mary: Wednesday, Friday and Sunday 10.00am - noon Wiggaton: Mondays and Fridays 10.00am - noon, and Wednesdays 5.00pm - 7.00pm Colaton Raleigh: Tuesdays 10.00am - 1.00pm, Fridays 2.00pm -5.00pm