June 2017 Vol. 48 No.6 50p FOCUS MAGAZINE INFORMATION Chairman Michael Ayre, Ratcliffe Farm, Raddon. Secretary Geoff Bulley, 17 Broadlands, Thorverton. Advertisements Secretary Maggie Dunlop, Kibby Yew, School Lane, Thorverton. Tel.(01392) 861185 Treasurer Bob Swaffield, Schiehallion, School Lane, Thorverton. Tel. (01392) 860309 Editor Neville Lane, Stable House, 2 The Glebe, Thorverton. Tel. (01392) 861062 Email: [email protected] Back issues (courtesy of Rob Purvis): thorvertonfocus.wordpress.com Assistant editors Eileen Mason and Fiona Harrison Printers Barrie Phillips and Peter Mason At the present time Focus is produced each month except one (August) and is assembled by volunteers on the last working day of the month. The Editor welcomes interesting news items, reports etc. for publication. Items for inclusion in Focus should be accompanied by the name of the originator, which may be withheld from print if requested. The aims of Focus are: To produce a non-political monthly magazine serving the people of the parish of Thorverton, providing them with information on activities in the parish; For the magazine to be one that villagers are proud of; To provide a window for those outside Thorverton to see what the village has to offer; To promote local businesses through advertising; and To run at a small annual profit, but with surplus funds put to support village organisations for the benefit of Thorverton residents. Items for publication, adverts, changes to adverts, Diary entries, changes to Thorverton Information lists should be sent to the Editor, preferably as plain text in an email, or as a Word doc file or a pdf file email attachment (to [email protected]) by the 20th of the month prior to publication please. All items received are acknowledged, so if you don’t receive an acknowledgment within a few days, please assume not received. Computer file formats: We prefer plain text files: .ODT files, .DOC files, .RTF files and .WPS files because our team have software that can read such files. BMP and JPEG files are preferred for advertisements and pictures. Advertisements and Notices Poster Type Advertisements: maximum size is half an A4 page. Text for advertisements should be prepared as near as possible to how it is intended to appear. Pictures must be supplied as required on the advertisement. Focus reserves the right to refuse any advertisement or notice at its sole discretion for any reason whatsoever. COMMERCIAL ADVERTISEMENTS The following advertising charges apply: Maximum dimensions COST per ENTRY FULL YEAR (11 entries) Half page 18.2 cm x 12.2 cm £7.00 tbc Quarter page 8.5 cm x 12.2 cm £4.00 tbc One-eighth page 8.5 cm x 5.8 cm £2.00 tbc LOCAL ORGANISATION and CHARITIES ADVERTISEMENTS COST per ENTRY Half page £3.00 Cheques made payable to “Focus” Quarter or one-eighth page free of charge Front Cover: Thorverton by John Spivey The opinions and views expressed by contributors within the magazine are not necessarily those of Focus producers or of the Focus Committee. Focus on Thorverton 1 Vol 48 No 6 June 2017 Editorial This feels like quite a venture for me having Focus out as expected!). I have taken the opportunity to use printed by external printers for the first time. I do that for some photos taken at the Cadbury Fun Run; hope that it turns out well. I have had a bit of trouble again, if you have suitable pictures for future editions trying to get some of the adverts up to the printing – in particular of past or coming events - please don’t standard that I would like because in some cases hesitate to send them in. where I had made small amendments in manuscript I have had to scan those in and the quality may have Recently I have been trawling through some editions suffered a little. If you are an advertiser and are a of Focus from the mid-1970s. This brought home to little disappointed with the quality of your printed me just how much communications have changed advert, please send in a replacement that I can use in over the past 40 years. It felt as though a the next edition. conversation extended over three or four editions, backwards and forwards between the writers, Overall though, I am confident that the printed whereas now things tend to be rather more instant. quality will be very good once we resolve any These back issues of Focus are available to a good teething problems. A side effect of the new Focus home (I have currently taken temporary possession of printing arrangements is that from now on we will be a selection of them from Mary Stevens), so let me able to put a full copy on the website maintained by know if you want them. Rob Purvis at thorvertonfocus.wordpress.com. To date, this has only had the bulk of each edition I apologise that this has been a very Focus-centred without the adverts, but from now on we will also be editorial this month (you might say, too well publishing the adverts there. I hope that this will be focused?). As always, it is the content that makes the useful both for people seeking local services and, of magazine and it is the activity within the village that course, for those advertising them. helps make the content (along with the writers who communicate that activity). I hope that you will find I am grateful, as so often, to John Spivey for a new- enough information to inspire you to take part in style cover. John has several variations on this theme some village events at what is so often a lovely time which I intend to use over the coming months, but of the year. We have so much to be thankful for please feed back to me on this and if you have here, but as with so many things, we need to use it or anything that would be suitable as a front cover I else we shouldn’t be surprised if we lose it. hope that you will send it in. You will see that we also have a colour back cover (or at least, I hope that Neville Lane you will see that because I am trusting that it prints Focus Editor In this Focus Editorial ..................................................................... 1 Garden Club ............................................................. 23 Letters ........................................................................ 2 Newton St Cyres Tennis Club ................................. 23 Thorverton Parish Council ......................................... 5 Poetry 2 .................................................................... 23 Notice Board .............................................................. 6 Sunnymead Gas-Up ................................................. 24 Church Services and News ...................................... 14 Nature Notes ............................................................ 25 Parish Letter ............................................................. 15 The Garden in June .................................................. 26 Baptist Church ......................................................... 16 TARTS News .......................................................... 26 The Amateur Dramatics Society .............................. 17 Thorverton Cycle Rides ........................................... 28 Poetry 1 .................................................................... 17 Adverts ..................................................................... 29 Thorverton Millennium Green Trust ....................... 18 Thorverton Parish Information ................................ 52 Thorverton Scenes ................................................... 18 Thorverton Organisations ........................................ 53 Rainfall Record ........................................................ 19 Doctors’ Surgeries ................................................... 54 Thorverton Co-operative Trust Ltd ......................... 19 Waste Collection Dates for 2017 ............................. 56 Legal Eagle .............................................................. 20 Mobile Library ......................................................... 56 Cricket Club ............................................................. 21 Union Flag Flying days in June ............................... 56 Recipe ...................................................................... 21 Road works .............................................................. 56 Bag 2 School ............................................................ 21 Bus Services ............................................................ 56 History Society ........................................................ 22 Diary 2017 ............................................................... 57 Cadbury Fun Run 2017 ............................................ 58 Focus on Thorverton 2 Vol 48 No 6 June 2017 Letters Veda can do it all; Climbing a mountain, to building a pool. From Veda Dymond She’s so very smart, Through Focus I wish to thank everyone who Has a very big heart, contributed to the presents I received on my And she’s fantastic at working in school. retirement from Thorverton Primary School on Wednesday 29th March. What a wonderful afternoon She’s good at hiding resources, I had! It started with a school assembly at 2.45pm That would have to be pulled in by horses. with the children in Class 1 each saying such nice She has her own cupboard, things about me. Class 2 sang “Grandma” to me Like Old Mother Hubbard. substituting “Veda” for “Grandma” and finally Class And said, “Do I need to go on more courses?” 3 reading the limericks they had written about me By Erin and William which were very funny and welcome after the emotion