Bridestowe & Sourton Extra Community News and Events April 2020 Edition 215 Photo taken by Charles Ewen We have thought very carefully about the appropriateness of producing a paper copy of the newsletter and getting it to you. The Vicar writes pages 2-3 We contacted Public Heath England and local medical clinicians for advice and there is no clear cut answer. BaSE has been printed and collated by us; deliverers are taking every step to avoid contact with recipients.This Appeal leaflet pages 19-20 edition of BaSE includes useful information for those facing difficulties during the crisis and so we consider it important that as many people as possible get access to that. Not everyone has access to online information and Movie Watch pages 15-16 we hope BaSE can play its part locally. Just a reminder that Bridestowe and Sourton’s Community Facebook page is a good source for the latest updates and contact. If you have any anxieties about receiving a paper copy during the crisis, you could have a copy emailed to you or you could read it online via both parishes’ websites. To halt delivery of a paper copy, please contact us on 01837 861157. It’s not all doom and gloom in BaSE and it’s good to hear from the usual suspects, Adrian, David Harrison and Howard Barkell for a start. Please note that some adverts have been removed to make space but all will be reinstated in due course. Martin and Alison Young Contents when 150 British soldiers were surrounded by Riverside Stores page 4 4,000 Zulu warriors at Rorke’s Drift, a young soldier says ‘Why us Sergeant?’ to which the Bridestowe PC pages 7-8, 18 sergeant replies ‘Because we’re here lad and Okehampton Library pages 11-12 nobody else, now go on and join your mates Lewdown Past page 12 on the wall.’ Bridestowe Churches’ news page 18 My generation is probably the first generation Appeal leaflet pages 19-20 never to have faced a real existential threat of war, famine or plague-like disease. We all have News from the Castle page 19 to face death at sometime but when life is Useful services pages 21-22 comfortable even that can be put aside. Our Home and Heimet page 24 spiritual lives become neglected and our Sourton Round Up page 26 understanding of faith, and Christianity in Howard Barkell pages 27-28 particular for some reason, becomes weak and Grow a secret garden page 28 flabby. We assume that a loving God could only want the ‘best’ for us, with best being The Trafalgar Way page 30 rather lazily defined as whatever is safe, The last laugh page 40 profitable or fulfilling. Pray to Jesus and he will provide all the toilet rolls we need. Our forebears who faced the four horsemen as a given part of their life had a different The Vicar writes... perspective. The prayer in time of plague or There are plenty of opinions around about the sickness from the 1662 Prayer Book is Coronavirus so for what it’s worth I’ll add my anything but reassuring. We are urged to two pennyworth. I don’t know what to believe recognise such things not necessarily as a about how it started, there are many theories; warning or punishment but as an opportunity infected food in a market place, the CIA, the for spiritual growth. Spirituality can be KGB, the New World Order, 5G, Mother Nature described as an expression of a person’s inner thinning out human over-population – take life, self awareness and moral strength of your pick. My favourite is that it’s a feminist character. We can see the effects of conspiracy to keep men at home and get all selfishness, pride and greed all too easily. those jobs around the house done. Think When we pray to Jesus to provide more bog about it, there’s no football, pubs have shut rolls the answer is more likely to be an and as if to rub salt into the wound it’s named increased awareness of our selfishness and after a beer! A friend of mine who’s been greed and our need for the strength of forced to stay home discovered his wife had been made redundant from Woolworths. Several people have asked me if Coronavirus is one of the horsemen of the apocalypse. Just to remind you the four horseman of the apocalypse appear in the Bible as symbolic descriptions of different events which will take place during the end times, namely: War, Famine, Pestilence and Death, before the return of Christ and the Last Judgement. What all that means has been argued about by theologians for centuries but what we can say for certain is that war, famine, disease and death are the four ever present threats to humanity. How it came about isn’t as important as how we face it. Something that has always stuck in my mind is a scene from the 1964 film Zulu, BaSE Page 2 character to resist panic buying rather than a and said that because I lived in the village I didn’t miraculous appearance of Andrex. want anybody to die. The smallpox ghost said Our moral fibre also shapes not only our that wasn’t possible as there are debts that individual character but the society in which we needed to be paid, but he would only take three live. Morality is what broadens our perspective lives. That night three people died. On the second beyond ourselves and our desires. It is about night four people died. I went back into deep ‘We’ not ‘I’ and the realisation that we are all in meditation and spoke to the smallpox ghost, ’You it together. As Benjamin Franklin said ‘Only a said you would only take three people, not seven.’ virtuous people are capable of freedom’ Lose The smallpox ghost said he did only take three morality and eventually you lose liberty. If we people.... the other four died of fear.” can’t control ourselves just to take the bog roll I will leave the final word (honest) with St. John we need then it will be enforced by rationing. If ‘There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts we ignore advice not to travel because it out fear.’ endangers others, then it will be enforced by On another note I would like to thank policing. A.F.Kumar for his response to my piece on There are some inspiring examples around the generational wisdom. He is quite right in parishes of people showing concern for others. saying that it is a willingness to explore that There are lots of people volunteering to keep creates innovation, however valuing tradition an eye on the vulnerable, offering to do and innovation aren’t mutually exclusive shopping for the elderly, talking to the lonely concepts. One should build upon the other and isolated on the phone, and much more. otherwise we are doomed to be forever This crisis is bringing out the best side of reinventing the wheel. As Jesus said about his human nature, as well as the worst. We just own religious tradition,”I have not come to have to choose which side to take. abolish the Law (of Moses) but to fulfil it.” One final thought on why attending to our We have to walk the line between order and spiritual life is important is that it reduces fear disorder. This is symbolised in this famous and anxiety, which as we know affects our picture of a man looking into the workings of bodily health. Here’s a story someone shared the universe but keeping grounded in the in our meditation group the other week: order of what is known. “There was smallpox in the village, so I went into Adrian Brook deep meditation and spoke to the smallpox ghost BaSE Page 3 IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT It is with sad news that we have taken the decision to close PUBLIC access to the shop and post office. WE ARE STILL OPEN FOR DELIVERIES BY EMAIL AND ANSWERPHONE [email protected] We are still able to take telephone orders for deliveries and newspaper deliveries remain unaffected. Anyone who collects papers will now have them delivered. Having spoken closely with the Post Office and spent sometime considering our options, we have decided that in order for us to continue to support the community with our delivery services and to minimise the risk of infection to our customers who use the shop, the best course of action would be to close and remove the single point of failure in the requirements for social distance. Having the contact we do with the general public, places a huge risk to us and we now believe this is the right time to remove that risk. Post will still be collected from the postbox outside the shop. Utility Key/Card top-ups - the post office will let me know of contingencies for people who use their type of top-up. They can still use the list of post office below. Pensioners can speak with the DWP and get their pensions paid directly into their bank accounts or use one of the post office listed below. The following post offices are open: Lewdown - Normal Hours Lifton - Limited Opening Times Mary Tavy - strictly by appointment Okehampton - half day only Both Michaela and I will continue to provide all the essentials, but these will be via home delivery. We also ask that you email us your orders to [email protected].