St Martin-By-Looe News Published and funded by St Martin-By-Looe Parish Council Sept/Oct 2009 Parish Council Update B3253 Speed Limit Despite the best efforts of both the Parish Council and the local community, Cornwall Council will not reconsider lowering the speed limit from 50mph to 40mph as requested. A representative from the Highways Department did attend a meeting with members of the Parish Council and agreed to carry out some improvements to try to encourage drivers to slow down; however, once again, we were told that funding is currently not available. It would appear that the substantial savings claimed by the new Unitary Authority are simply being made by spending no money! Nearly everything the Parish Council has asked for has been met with the same reply ‘NO FUNDS AVAILABLE’. Planning Applications The following have come before the Parish Council for consideration: Pethick Farm, No Mans Land, replacement of existing agricultural building. Island View, St Martins, construction of a porch. Bay View Farm, variation of condition 1 (occupation of caravan/siting of tents on site between 31st October and 1st March). Cliff Valley Farm, St Martins, certificate of lawful- ness for the continuation of occupancy of dwelling without compliance with agricultural occupancy condition number 2. Longcoe Farm, St Martins, construction of farm access track. Tregoad Park, St Martins, construction of pool hall with conservatory to existing swimming pool. Ellie’s Haven As you all are probably aware, the Ellie’s Haven project will not now be constructed at No Mans Land, The Parish Council wish the team every success with finding a new site where they will be welcomed by the local community. Meeting Dates You are always welcome to attend the Parish Council Meetings. The next meetings are September 3rd and October 8th 2009. Public participation is welcome before the meeting starts. (Please note, during September ONLY if you need to contact the Parish Council please contact your Councillor direct). 1 Tredinnick Farm Shop & Tea Rooms Widegates, Near Looe, Cornwall Local Fruit and Vegetables Fresh meat Farm scrumpy, beers and wines Home made preserves and local honey Fresh bread, cakes, pasties and pies Organic Cornish Ice Creams Now under new management, Tea Rooms Now Open. Open 7 days per week 9am - 6pm Monday - Saturday 10am - 5pm Sunday Tel: 01503 240992 Signposted on the A387 between Hessenford and Looe 2 Proposal for a very worthwhile cause! The Lin Berwick Trust, a small charity based in Suffolk, builds exclusive holiday cottages for severely disabled people to holiday with their families. These spacious three bedroomed cottages are for a maximum family of six people of which normally only one would be disabled. The buildings are specially designed to fit in with the local style of architecture and are usually located behind hedges or a belt of trees. For people with severe physical disabilities the opportunities for holidays are very limited because disability accommodation caters for the vast majority of the disabled but rarely if ever for the profoundly disabled who are sidelined by the absence of sufficient facilities to make a stay away from home practical. The Trust has filled this gap with its first two cottages – in Norfolk and in Scotland and has been recognised by Visit Britain and Tourism for All for its exceptionally high standards both of facilities and quality of accommo- dation and in both cases are considered an asset to the community. The Trust has been offered a lovely site at Higher Treveria and hopes to build one single story cottage in stone, wood and slate behind a high hedge and away from the village itself and well hidden from the road. If they are successful in this project it will fill an enormous gap in the market in the South West as well as providing employment locally. Visitors to The Trust cottages tend to either stay on the premises or go out in their car and tend to prefer privacy - like us all! To learn more about the Lin Berwick Trust do visit their website www.thelinberwicktrust.org.uk. or contact the Trust via the “contact us” details. C J BUILDERS GENERAL BUILDING Brick & Block work, plastering, patios and paving. The list is endless FREE ESTIMATES CALL ON 01503 240821 3 History Snippet The plight of the honeybee has made headlines of late. We are being urged to monitor and nurture them; plant bee-friendly flowers: take on a hive; acknowledge their essential function in pollinating our crops. Before sugar arrived in our larders in the C17th all our sweetness came from honey which flavoured both food and drink. Its beneficial properties must have sustained communities in lean times (when obesity was only observed in the rich!). Honey-production used to be part and parcel of land management, probably practised and understood by most country folk. The surname Beeman is quite rare so we can assume that the job of beekeeping ran alongside other duties on the manor. In our parish special areas were set aside for bees. In the Tithe Map of 1841 these are still remembered as field names, Bee Park, Queen Park and Bramble Park which can still be found in Bucklawren and Trelowia. The brambles had to be encouraged to grow as long as possible by early July to get the best material for making the skeps or bee-baskets. I can find no reference to how this was done, but brambles do seem to reach for the light, and the Bramble Parks are on north-facing slopes. The bramble was skinned and processed to make a binding for straw and the lengths were coiled and sewn into baskets. In winter the baskets were kept in the Queen Park near the settlement for protection and the resident queens could be fed with rosemary, water and honey. A south-facing structure in wood or stone kept the baskets dry. In spring the operation moved to the Bee Park from where the baskets were taken to the fields and orchards as necessary to pollinate the seasonal crops in their turn. The crucks on donkeys were adapted to house the skeps which were left by the beans, flax, apples, broom and gorse for as long as necessary. Yellow Pages gives the nearest Bee Suppliers as Terry’s on Liskeard 363135. Why not get involved? Our parish could be a hive of activity once again! Jenny Wallis 4 No Mans Land Annual Show This year's show was very successful, entries were up on recent years. All the judges agreed that the standard was very high and that judging was difficult because of this. The afternoon was not that well attended and it was disappointing to see so few people from the village. The Mayor and Mayoress of Looe, Councillor and Mrs Joy opened the show, the Mayor said how important these events are in maintaining village life, and how impressed he is with the hall at No Mans Land. Sophie and Sasha Kennard presented the mayor and his wife with gifts. Huge thanks go to all the exhibitors, judges, stewards and the Hall committee for helping make this year's show so successful. Trophy winners were; Peter Powley Andrew Chudleigh Barbara Reynolds Tracy Chudleigh Ronald Matthews Jane Smith Beverly Madley Keith Madley Sasha kennard William Stacey Sophie Kennard Morwenna Chudleigh Iris Marriott Sharon Kennard 5 Set in the rolling Cornish countryside just 2 miles east of Looe, the Bucklawren Granary Restaurant offers a superb setting to hold any occasion, from dining out, special occasions, private functions, business meetings & weddings. All our meals are freshly prepared to order using the finest local produce! Our renowned Sunday Carvery is open from 11.30- 4pm with 1-course for only £6.95, 2-courses £9.95, 3-courses £11.95, with children’s options starting from £3.95. We are open for evening meals from 6pm onward Monday – Saturday & 7pm onward on Sundays. Why not our try our new Steakhouse menu, where you can enjoy a wide variety of the finest produce in our season changing menus, prepared to order by our established chefs, with a selection of home-made desserts readily available. Tel; 01503 240778 or Email; [email protected] www.granaryrestaurant.co.uk 6 Lots of lovely sunshine! Oh what a wonderful summer! I know we must encourage our visitors to return year after year but after this summer what hope do we have? Still we 'locals' are allowed to escape to the sun, and am I glad my wife and I did so in early June. We returned to our favourite retreat in the unspoiled hills of the Algarve in Portugal, to a beautiful, peaceful bed and breakfast run by a retired English couple, Teresa and Andy Ralph; for us going to Quinta Familia near Loule is like visiting close family, we are always made to feel so welcome and nothing is too much trouble, and the breakfasts are superb. New this year is the ‘Summer Kitchen’, this has been thoughtfully built at the rear of the property giving some welcome shade from the hot sun, we used the kitchen on the days we just wanted to laze by the private pool; having only two letting bedrooms the pool was nearly always exclusively ours. The property is remote, and you do need a car to explore, but the comforta- ble bedrooms all with private bathrooms and spectacular terraces are worth the drive. Both rooms ‘The Sunset Room’ and ‘The Sunrise Room’ are furnished to a high standard with ‘The Sunset Room’ having a TV and DVD. The Algarve is only a two hour flight away, with regular flights from Exeter to Faro; there is always plenty to do and see, and the beaches are to die for.