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From the Mayor Great Torrington May Fair & Carnival 2013 Torrington

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From the Mayor Great Torrington May Fair & Carnival 2013 Torrington From the Mayor Since my last diary entry, you now have a new Mayor Elect, Cllr H Martin whose investiture took place on 14 th May 2013, so this will be my last letter to you. I have many special memories of my time over the last 12 months as Mayor of this special town and a community that has a soul and a big heart. From performances at the Plough to the Jubilee celebrations and the party in the Pannier Market, the Chamber of Trade and the skating rink in the square together with all those invitations to share them with you. Thank you, it has been an amazing year. Our young people have inspired me and I am confident that the future of our town is in good hands. The recent Inside Out television programme prompted a survey of the town with regard to shops, jobs and the future work needed for regeneration of the creamery site as a place for leisure. The Junior School children of years 5 and 6 spent six weeks on this and were invited to present their findings to the Town Council Planning Committee. Well done to all of them for such a professional presentation. The Dream Kidz put on a wonderful performance at the Plough worthy of the X Factor. Streetz dance crew are to be congratulated on their continued success as they rise to fame far and wide. The last couple of months have been spent on May Fair and Carnival preparations which is all made possible by the May Fair Committee working throughout the year. More members are always welcome so if you are interested in getting involved in time for next May Fair then please contact the Town Council who can put you in touch with the committee secretary. Wednesday 1st May saw the first official opening of the Fair, practice night for May Fair day and crowning of the Carnival Queen which all went well. Thursday dawned with wall-to-wall sunshine and visiting Mayors from nearby towns joined us. As the May Queen and her entourage in beautifully-made costumes entered the square, the fabric from their costumes shimmered in the sunlight. I was so proud, as were the parents, friends and extended families who came to watch the May Queen crowning followed by the wonderful May Pole dancing put on by years 5 and 6 from the Junior School. In the evening the Torridge Cup final was played in the vicarage field, Torrington won 4-1 against Hatherleigh. A great game - congratulations to Torridgeside and a match which was very well supported. Friday saw me presenting prizes for the ‘Round the Tree Race’. 200 took part in this growing sporting event and were cheered by crowds as they came back into the square. Saturday I entertained the Carnival Judges with tea at the 1646 Café prior to them making their decisions and the presentation of cups on the Commons at the Old Bowling Green. Sunday morning we counted up all the pennies and coins collected during the carnival which came to a grand total of £1,385.15. This will go towards supporting next year’s celebrations. So now my year of duties are all but finished. I am still here to support you all to the best of my ability in finding permanent homes for all organisations. I won’t be far away. Ever yours Cllr Margaret Brown Mayor of Torrington Contact me on: 01805 624375 Great Torrington May Fair & Carnival 2013 Great Torrington May Fair & Carnival Committee would like to express their sincere thanks to everyone who donated a prize for this year’s Grand May Fair Draw. The involvement of local businesses is very much appreciated. The Committee would also like to thank everyone for their kind generosity during the Carnival. This year £1,385.15 was raised. Melissa Baker, Secretary Torrington Community Foodbank Our Community Foodbank is now well established on Saturdays 10-12 noon from Castle Hill based in Sydney House Car Park. Just follow the signs to the first floor where our volunteers will be there to help you on a confidential basis. With the new changes to the benefits system many people are finding it hard to cope and our number of referrals from various agencies are likely to increase. Thank you to all the very kind people who are donating tins and dried foods to help us make up parcels for emergency use. Both the Co-op and the Tourist Information offices have kindly agreed to be drop-off point for us if you are able to spare any items. We continue to open on Tuesdays also from 10-12 noon at the Baptist Church, New Street. Finally we would like to say a special thank you to the kind person who has given us a generous donation to help us in our work, but wishes to remain anonymous. Great Torrington & District Community Development Trust As many may know Great Torrington & District Community Development Trust (CDT) is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee, wholly owned and managed by local people. A few months ago, The Orb project joined together with CDT to look at how we can work with local people to join together and create a bright and exciting future for all m embers of our very special community; pre-birth to 100+. CDT’s aims have always been to create employment, improve the local economy, enhance the environment (both natural and built), generally support the community, and help individuals develop skills and interests. The Trust has developed successful initiatives in Torrington over the years and recognised it was time to consider a new project and bring some new ideas forward. There is now a new Chair of CDT, Viv Jones who is very excited about the possibilities of working together across Torrington with many of the groups and individuals who are already developing and running successful projects. This is an opportunity to bring together the aspirations of Torrington and work together to achieve something very positive for the future. If anybody is interested in finding out more about CDT, or interested in being part of the Vision for Torrington, please come along to Torrington Together on Wednesday 12th June 2013 to find out more and also to share how you can contribute to a bright future for Torrington. League of Friends – Torrington Community Hospital Our local Cottage Hospital is such a valuable asset to our town and The League of Friends ensure any monies pas sed on to us as legacies or donations are spent wisely. We have recently purchased an Oximeter (£450) two reclining chairs and ten foot stools. Equipment for hospital use always seems expensive and these items cost £2318! One of the chairs was purchased with money received from a local community group and we are most grateful for their help. Several pieces of small equipment have been donated to our Physiotherapy department to help our out-patients as well as people recovering in the hospital. In December 2012 members of our group carried out our traditional decorating the communal areas of the hospital and we updated some very old Christmas trees and lights. On Christmas day we visited patients and presented them with a gift from the League which was very much appreciated and a lovely surprise for all concerned. Our latest purchase was in April this year when two Apple ipads for use in the hospital and the community were provided for patients with stroke and brain injuries. These have special packages on them produced in America which help with rehabilitation. We hope other League of Friends will follow our lead on this exciting new project. None of this work would be possible without your continued help, support and generosity. We are keeping a watchful eye on any future developments regarding our Cottage Hospital, meanwhile we hope this update will interest readers of The Crier. Ann Ayre, Chair, League of Friends, Torrington Community Hospital Laura Bennett Academy of Swimming in the 2013 Torrington Carnival Our theme was ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, the turnout was great! 28 Oompa Loompas! One Violet, one Verruca and one Willy Wonka! The float included a golden ticket, wonka bars and a chocolate river all constructed by Kevin, Jamie,Lynn Bennet and Adam Bright, and a big thank you to Darren Spear and Steve Jones for their help. The children all designed and made their own sweets which were seen on the outer of the float. I would like to thank Langtree School staff and children who made big lolly pops and toadstools to go onto the float, Torridge Transport for lending us their lorry and all the parents that supported and walked all the way round collecting and looking after the children. Well done and thank you to all the children who took part, you all looked smashing! I have never seen so much orange and green! The float also came 1st in category four, whoop! See you all there next year Laura Bennett Laura Bennett Academy of Swimming www.swimwithlaura.co.uk 07791 964 544 May Fair Parking May Day - what a fantastic day we had, well done Cavaliers and the Town Council. It’s a real pity that the Traffic Wardens are not so friendly as our visitors to Great Torrington – particularly when I saw them put parking tickets on cars parked in Castle Street. I felt so sad for the guy in the black car that copped a parking fine - can we not have free parking in Great Torrington for May Fair? The Cavaliers work so hard to make the day so special for so many.
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