A monthly Community Newsletter published by St. Michael’s Church and Gittisham Parish Council
September 2021 Edition 235
A very special day for George
It was a very happy occasion and a very special service for George’s Christening recently in St
Michael’s. Elizabeth and Tim, Jo and the children have now returned to Singapore where they are
enduring lock down for two weeks in a hotel. They were taken from the airport and put into
accommodation with two bedrooms with three beds for the six of them, no other space apart from
one bathroom, they were not allowed to open windows or leave the two rooms at all. The food
was inedible so the children hardly ate for two days. The first night the light didn’t switch off in the
bedroom and in calling to complain they were told to ‘get under the blankets’. They have, after a
few nights of this and after complaining they could not be expected to stay there for a fortnight,
been moved to a slightly bigger serviced apartment where at least they can cook their own food,
open a window and have a sitting room as well as two bedrooms. It makes me feel very lucky to
be able to move about freely !
Pierre’s Sunday café
Come along to Pierre Graeber’s next ‘pop-up’ Sunday café in Gittisham Village Hall on
Sunday 12th September, starting at 9.30am until 5.00pm. Delicious homemade croissants, pains
au chocolat and pains aux raisins for breakfast, traditional Breton pancakes with a choice of fillings
for lunch, and tarte tatin (French upside-down apple tart) in the afternoon. Tea or coffee available,
if you want alcohol, please bring your own. Vegans and vegetarians catered for. Cards accepted. Booking preferred: 07545 214940.
Found
Have you lost (or left) a navy blue waterproof jacket by Berghaus? It is in the village hall
and has been for a couple of weeks or more. If it is yours, please give Judith Turner a call on
01404 851061. Thanks.
Sidmouth Junction Ploughing Match
This event will take place on 12th September 2021, starting 10:00 am at Gittisham Farm, Gittisham, Honiton, EX14 3AX with kind permission from the Hayman family. We welcome entries. Spectators admission free. All day food available. Raffle. Horse Ploughing Demonstration. https://www.facebook.com/SJDPA/ Details from Phillip Gibbins or telephone 07779 685858
Happy New School Year
Wishing all our children and young people a very happy new scholastic year, those going from pre
to big school, transferring from primary to secondary and those going up to university or starting
first jobs or having a gap year before continuing their studies. We hope you all have a good term,
meet and make new friends and work as hard as you can, especially those with big exams this
year,
Parish Council
There is no Parish Council report this month, September and October will amalgamate.
From Grain to Cream – Russell Hayman
As always on the farm we have new arrivals popping out, but July was a little different and I am
glad to say it didn’t happen on the farm! That was the arrival of Lillie; Chris and Naomi’s first child
(Chris is our herdsman). This has meant we have been a little under staffed as he had more
important things to do.
Hopefully by the time this goes to print we will have finished the cereal harvest. It has been very
frustrating up to now and we have done very little and what we have, is wet so needs a lot of
drying. The straw though not the worst I have baled it is far from the best. Yields look to be about
average if we can get it. Then it is time to crack on and get next year’s crops in, not a big time
window it all depends on getting some good weather.
The cows are happily doing their thing but it is coming to the time of year when flies are biting
them which makes them a bit miserable. We put up fly traps have fans going too, and use a treat
spray with peppermint oil in it to try to deter them but we also have to treat them with repellent to
give them relief. All this helps and at least they smell nice!
It was nice to get to Honiton Show even if it was a miserable, wet day and quite quiet. I had
arranged to meet some people there so it did have the benefit for me not having to fight through
the crowds. With farming taking a lot of bashing of late the mood was a bit down beat, not
surprising really, the industry has gone from key workers to not required in just over a year! Quite
strange really for a country that can’t produce enough food for itself. But then the supermarkets
feed the nation! (All they really do is put it on a shelf and they are having trouble doing that now.)
On a brighter note, our resident barn owls have had a chick and were giving us a good telling off
while we covered down the silage we made beside the box. We don’t see them that often and is
always a thrill when we do, and it is good to see they are still breeding. I am quite often writing a
bit about birds in this article and I can assure you I am not a secret twitcher. I really don’t have the
patience to wait to see if tweetie pie turns up!
Charity Work
Devon Air Ambulance needs a community of volunteers to keep its 19 charity shops open
and our helicopters flying. The great thing about volunteering in our retail shops is that we have a
role to suit everyone, whether you are young or older, an outgoing type or someone who likes to
work behind the scenes. As with all volunteering roles, you can choose where, when and for how
long you volunteer.
To find out more about your nearest shop and how you can help, please contact our Volunteer Manager Cara Jones on 01392 304343 /
Shop locations: Barnstaple, Bideford, Budleigh Salterton, Dartmouth, Exeter (Cowick St, Heavitree &
Topsham), Exmouth, Honiton, Kingsbridge, Newton Abbot, Okehampton, Plymouth, Sidmouth,
South Molton, Tavistock, Totnes, and Torquay.
Cara Jones
Volunteer Manager
Devon Air Ambulance Trust www.daat.org
Force Cancer Charity, working locally to support anyone affected by cancer, are looking for
volunteers at Ottery Hospital, morning or afternoon shifts available weekdays except Wednesdays.
Helping to meet and greet patients arriving for chemotherapy, offering hot drinks and biscuits and
generally assisting the nurses when requested. Force has a centre on the Wonford site and offers
a number of enhancing therapies, patient support, therapeutic classes in art, make-up and
exercise. They also have a shop in Heavitree.
If you would like to help please contact volunteer co-ordinator Heather Taylor, volunteer co-ordinator for Force. Telephone 01392 406154 or email .
Sidmouth Air Show
Amanda Acland invited me (Carol McCann) to view the air show. We found a lovely spot above Sidbury and had a brilliant view. Amanda brought a picnic supper which we ate in the car. It was good to see the show, keeping safe from the enormous crowd in the town. The Red Arrows gave an excellent display also the Spitfire, Lynx helicopter (although that was too far away to best see the tricky manoeuvres it was doing).
St Michael’s Church, Honiton Mission Community and 200 Club
St. Michael’s Gittisham
Our monthly 11.00am Eucharist (Communion) service continues to be held usually on the 2nd
Sunday of the month. However in October, our one in Gittisham will be on Sunday 17th October numbers are less restricted but bookings would be very helpful as the service sheets still have to be printed and it will save too many pages being wasted. Ring Carol on 01404 851113.
Obviously until told otherwise, social distancing and masks should preferably to be worn but if you want to sing you must wear masks.
We continue to have two lay-led and one telephone service each month sometimes the order is re-organised. September services are slightly revised: on the 3rd Sunday we will now have a telephone service. Our Patronal Festival falls on 29th September and we plan to have a lay-led service in church to celebrate St. Michael on 26th September. Usually when there is a 5 Sunday month there will not be a service in the village as pre-Covid we would have gone to St. Paul’s. Our services are all at 11.00am To receive details for ongoing lay-led worship please telephone Carol on 01404 851113 or email or Julia on . Or for those without internet ring her on 07763 111367 or 01404 850680.
If any of our elder parishioners who do not have access to the internet would like to join our
telephone service which is free of charge – all you have to do is put your phone on speaker and
dial 08006510080. When asked for the code you key in 329 9789 and press the # key. When asked just say your name and press the# key and you will be joining the service. We would be pleased to have new participants. The service lasts approximately half an hour and we usually have a chat afterwards with our cuppas.
Our Harvest Festival will again be held outside in the new part of the churchyard (as it was last
year). We hope you will bring your own lunch (we are not allowed to provide refreshments yet,
hence no harvest supper this year) but we would welcome parishioners who do not intend to
attend the actual service to come and join us for a communal ‘lunch’ from about 11.45. We are
hoping to be able to provide cover. There will be a basket in the porch for collections of non-perishable food for the Honiton Food Bank, if there are any vegetables or fruit we can offer them to the fresh food bank in Queen Street or the foodshare unit.
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We are now intending to have the church open three days a week, Wednesday, Friday and either
Saturday or Sunday depending on if there is an in-church service. If you do want to visit the church at another time please contact Carol on 01404 851113 to arrange.
Honiton Mission Community
As Rev’d Sue will be on leave during October there will only be retired clergy looking after the
Mission Community with Julia helping out with lay-led. The website (honitoncofe.org) is updated regularly and has news about the latest guidelines on the Covid regulations. The monthly newsletter Around the Parishes is included plus details of Rev’d Sue’s weekly Zoom Sunday Morning Worship at 10.00am. As our MC churches are now having their own services, Rev’d Sue has decided that from the beginning of September the Zoom Sunday Morning Worship at 10.00am, will be discontinued, however the St. Paul’s 11.00am Eucharist will now be live streamed. If you would like to join this service do please contact Rev’d Sue or the Parish Office , / and the link will be forwarded. Or ring the Parish office to book your place in person, 01404 44035. Messages will be replied to when someone is available. Mollie the Church administrator is there on Tuesdays. The ‘virtual’ Eucharist at 6.30pm will continue; you can also get that link from Rev’d Sue. It is unlikely there will be a 6.30 Zoom service in October, but please check with Mollie.
St Paul’s are offering outdoor take-away coffee and biscuits on a Tuesday, free of charge but donations are welcomed for Vaccine Aid.Their Harvest Festival is on the 12th September at 11.00 and will be non-Eucharistic and held on the forecourt. With Rev’d Sue’s leave. the All Souls service this year will be held on the first Sunday in November, details on the website.
The village of Buckerell is having a week long festival which will include their fete on Saturday 4th from 2 – 4 with stalls, raffle and teas then 5th September service with Bishop Jackie (fully booked) at 11am.
Awliscombe are also holding their fete on Saturday 4th September starting at 1.00 at the Otter
Inn, with stalls, games, duck race etc. They will not be offering teas.
September 2021 200 Club Results
1st Ruby Marker-Morgan 2nd Joyce Lovell 3rd Fiona Clampin
4th Julia Barrett 5th Julie Broadhurst 6 month Paul Miller
There is now only one 200 club number left you can contact me – details below and I will send an
application form.. Payment can be made by cheque – payable to Gittisham PCC, BACS or by
standing order – I can email or post this form too. (Carol McCann 01404851113, 07946409142,
. Draws are made monthly with prizes of £40., £20., £15., £10.,
and £5., with 2 six monthly (September and March) of £48. If you join by October 1st the cost
would be £6.00 and thereafter £12 from April next year.
Gazette printing is still not possible with the ongoing restrictions, as the Parish Office in Honiton remains closed. If you would like a copy by email, please let me (Carol McCann) have your email details or if you have no internet it can be posted to you until things get back to order. Some help with 2nd class postage would be appreciated. The address is Carol McCann, 3 School Cottages, Gittisham, Honiton, EX14 3AH. Telephone 01404 851113. I will leave a few copies in the Vale bus shelter and Hayne Farm Estate Sales Office again until such time as the whole print run can be delivered by Peter and Ann again. Do let me have your email as I am hopefully trying to save on printing costs and looking after our lovely planet. Thank you.
Editor/Distributor:
Carol McCann 01404 851113/07946 409142 .
If you have events or news items including pictures, for inclusion in the gazette from the village, the Vale or Hayne Farm Estate, do please email it to Carol as early as possible. Copy date for the October edition is 27th September please. I hope to send out on Friday 8th October. If you can print a copy off for a neighbour who doesn’t have the internet, I would be most grateful. Thank you.