A monthly Community Newsletter published by St. Michael’s Church and Gittisham Parish Council
May 2022 Edition 243
Greetings from the Village Hall Committee! We hope that everyone is enjoying the warming
weather and looking forward to the imminent long Jubilee weekend (some exciting events taking
place in the village to celebrate this!). We just wanted to send everyone a reminder of the booking
procedure. If you would like to use the hall, please speak to the Bookings Secretary – Judith
Turner (01404 851061 or ). She knows when the hall is in use and
therefore whether it is available or not for your event. It’s lovely to see the hall increasingly being
used, so please do not hesitate to contact her or any of the other members to discuss its use.
Other members are: Hamish Hall (Chair), Nick Chapman (Vice-Chair), Angie Hutchings
(Treasurer), Rosie Fox (Secretary), Sue Fallows, Pierre Graeber, Terry Kitchen and Stella
Adamson. Details of how to hire the hall and its facilities can also be found on the Gittisham
Village website (gittisham.org.uk). A key plea… If you are not a committee member and have a key
to the hall, please could you give it to one of the members above as soon as possible. Thank you
in advance.
Finally, we’re always looking for new committee members or ideas for events that will bring
people together from across the parish. If you are interested in joining or have an idea for
an event, please speak to any of the members listed above. We would love to have you on board.
Very best wishes, The Village Hall Committee.
Saturday 14th May A Eurovision Evening
In the village hall from 7.00pm, BYO drinks and enough food to last until the results +£2.00 entrance. 7.00 quiz and games followed by 8.00 main event where you can vote for your favourite (not the UK entry). For further information call Carol Hall 07854 492347 or Judith Turner 07974 829187.
Platinum Jubilee events
The Parish Council and Village Hall Committee invite all parishioners to the following two Queen’s
Platinum Jubilee events at the Village Hall. It would be lovely to decorate the village with bunting.
The church will also be decorated and if you would like to bring any flowers (in vases or jars etc) to
help make the church look good for the Jubilee and to honour the Queen, please let Angie
Hutchings know 01404 45101.
Saturday 4th June, disco from 6pm. Bring your own food to cook on the barbecue. Bar
available with first drink free.
Sunday 5th June, cream tea at 3pm with fun and games. More details for both from Carol Hall, or Judith Turner (mobile numbers above) or on gittisham.org.uk or posters.
Let’s make it a weekend to remember, everyone is very welcome to come to the village hall and celebrate this once in a lifetime occasion.
Pierre’s pop-up cafe
Pierre’s monthly pop-up café is happening on Sunday 8th May. Belgian beef stew (£8) is the star of the menu for Pierre’s monthly café in Gittisham Village Hall. Pierre will be cooking various dishes inspired by flavours of the Flemish region. For vegans and vegetarians, there’ll be a salsify stew, followed by sugar tart or raspberry cake. In the morning home-made croissants and pains au chocolat will be on sale. Perfect with a coffee, or choose from a selection of cakes. BYOB. Cash or cards accepted. The last three months we have sold out on lunches, so please book in advance if you can. Open from 10am. Contact Pierre on 07545 214940.
New home for piano
A new home is needed for a Justin Browne upright piano in good condition. If anyone is interested or knows of anyone else who may be, please contact Angie 01404 45101.
People in the news
Clara Hall has gained a place on The King’s School Ten Tors team. She’ll be the navigator in a
team of 6 attempting the 35 mile route, starting on Saturday 7th May and walking for 2 days on
Dartmoor with an overnight camp. They carry all their kit, including tents, food and clothes for all
weather conditions. They collect and purify their own water too. The training has been going on for
about 6 months, including lots of walks as well as lessons on navigation and survival. Good luck
Clara! Just keep going and don’t think about the blisters…
Christian Aid Week, 15th-22nd May
Saturday 14th May, bucket collection in the town centre
From 9.30 to 2.30pm, we’d like to see a number of volunteers collecting, for an hour at a time,
between Lace Walk and St Paul’s Church. All the kit you need will be available from the porch of
St Paul’s. We have already begun to form a rota, so if you’d like to hold a bucket and collect for an
hour, please look out for a place to sign up at your church, or give me a call on 01404 47905.
Thank you.
Sunday15th and Sunday 22nd May, collections at our churches
Members of our various congregations will have opportunities to contribute to Christian Aid Week,
using our special envelopes for donations. Also, there will be special booklets provided by
Christian Aid, with material for us to read and act upon through the week.
Sunday 15th May, Christian Aid Week cream tea and service
This year we are able to return to St Paul’s Church, where a cream tea will be served in the
narthex at 4.00pm, before the special Ssrvice begins at 4.30pm. Yes, we will have our Order of
Service to follow; but we really look forward to a relaxed gathering of friends from our local
churches, glad to be together and share Christian Aid’s concern to support rural communities.
Monday 16th to Saturday 21st May, house to house collection
Well, we still call it that, but nowadays we’re simply posting Christian Aid Week envelopes through local letterboxes, inviting donors to post their envelope back to us at a nearby address. Carol McCann will be
dropping envelopes through doors in the village and would appreciate their return either to her
house or to the church.
Parish Council report
The May and June parish council reports will be amalgamated, as both meetings are being held a week later than usual (12th May and 9th June).
Snippets from Shermans Farm – Jack Bartlett
May Day is here, and hasn’t April been a dry month? I always talk about the weather so might as well carry on the tradition. As I write this there is some steady rain falling from the sky which will be most welcome. Crops are in need of a good drink, this will be vital and to some more than others. In Gittisham we maintain moisture relatively well, whereas farming friends around Exeter on dryer red soils have been so, so desperate for this rain. We got the maize in fairly quickly and it went in well, although temperatures felt chilly in the mornings. The soils were 12 degrees plus so we decided to push on. With almost 150 acres to drill we wanted to get it drilled in a tight window. This means when it comes to harvest hopefully it will ripen in quick succession, allowing us to keep harvesting down to a couple of days. We were also being a bit pessimistic thinking all the nice weather we’d been having would come to an end and result in a month of rain! Hedging our bets and taking risks… farmers seem to be professionals at it these days!
You may have seen in the news a lot about supply and input cost issues in agriculture. The last six months has seen huge inflation in pretty much everything we buy. Not helped by the war in Ukraine. This alongside a 5% decrease in UK milk production (due to last year’s poorer forage and a lot of farmers saying enough is enough and ceasing production) the milk price has taken a massive hike, month by month processors are increasing the milk price to cover farmers costs, and just to get their hands on the white stuff!
This is just the milk sector, all sectors are the same as supply, in falling short of demand and costs of food, fuel and fertiliser are making massive effect. We haven’t seen it too much on the supermarket shelves yet but the food prices will increase or the shelves will start to become empty. This shortage of production has all of a sudden seen a ten or so pence increase per litre to the farmer but a four pinter on the shelf still the same price. Makes us question who was pocketing that ten pence per litre before!
Shame it wasn’t shared out a bit more years ago!
We have a new member of the family here at Shermans. Phoebe Jane Bartlett swiftly arrived on 21st January, she’s been a very relaxed baby too. Now in her own room and sleeping through the night she’s made it’s much easier for us than it could have been! She’s already getting a few shifts in on the farm, and doesn’t really get much of a choice to be honest! When it’s Lauren’s turn to feed calves she sits in her car seat in the gator and soon falls asleep! Probably be walking by the time I write again…
St Michael’s Church, Honiton Mission Community and 200 Club
St. Michael’s Gittisham
Our Eastertide services were well attended. On Palm Sunday we started with the Liturgy of the
Palms and a prayer outside the lych-gate and processed into church singing Ride on, ride on in
Majesty. Luckily we got to the door at the end of a verse so Ken could pick us up with the organ. We
then had several members taking part in the Liturgy of the Passion. On Good Friday we again
started at the lych-gate with a reading and processed up to church in ‘stations’ our reflective lay-led service continued with hymns, readings and prayers before adjourning to the parish room for
hot cross buns and coffee. I attended the Holy Saturday at St. Paul’s and had our new Pascal
Candle blessed. Easter Day, as there was no available vicar, Rev’d Sue kindly gave permission for Julia to offer Communion by extension. The Elements were consecrated at Cotleigh’s 9.30. Julia’s services were all well received and poignant. The children enjoyed participating too, thank you Julia. After the Easter service the children had a lovely time hunting for Easter eggs round the churchyard which kept them rushing around and letting off steam! I still don’t know if they found them all! Our congregation numbers were very satisfactory: Palm Sunday 14 adults, 8 children; Good Friday 13 adults, 1 child; and Easter Day 32 adults, 12 children.
Our services for May: 8th Parish Eucharist with hymns; 15th no service; 22nd Lay-led Morning
Worship with hymns; 29th Mission Community Eucharist at St. Paul’s Honiton 11am. On Sunday
5th June, there will be a lay-led Platinum Jubilee songs of praise and thanksgiving service at 11am. It is hoped the church will be full of flowers and everyone is invited to bring a ‘jar’ or arrangement of flowers to decorate. Additional information from Angie Hutchings 01404 45101. The service on 12th June will be our Parish Eucharist with hymns.
To receive details for ongoing worship, Eucharistic and lay-led please contact me, Carol on 01404 851113 or email or Julia by email on or for those without internet ring her on 07763 111367 or 01404 850680. The telephone services have now been suspended. If you are housebound and would like to receive home communion please contact Julia (details above) and she can arrange a mutually convenient time to come to you.
The Annual Parochial Church Meeting for St. Michael’s was held in church on April 28th. Those
who attended heard the annual reports from the treasurer – Ian, who after many years is stepping
down due to health reasons and Janet Twist from the Hayne Farm Estate has been appointed
Treasurer. We look forward to working with her. Angie Hutchings has decided to stand down as
Churchwarden but is happy to continue on the PCC, plus looking after and organising our flower
arranging needs. I still remain as warden (30th year). Owing to circumstances, Rev’d Sue was
unable to chair the meeting so Julia took over in the chair with Maggie Walker taking minutes. We
have one new member and are pleased to welcome Will Wolsey to the PCC, the remaining
members, Amanda Acland, Christine Broom (electoral roll officer), James Fuller (building, fabric
and churchyard officer) and Sarah Agg-Manning (safeguarding officer) We are still without a
PCC secretary and Maggie has agreed to continue taking minutes until such time that someone
comes forward. She is also our Deanery Synod rep.
Gittisham’s monthly coffee get-together: these will recommence on the third Saturday of every month, starting on 21st May from 10.30am until midday. All welcome.
Honiton Mission Community
Honiton St Paul’s weekly services continue at 11.00am. The website (honitoncofe.org) is updated regularly and has news about services and the latest guidelines on the Covid regulations. There is also a link to the Gittisham website. The monthly Mission Community newsletter Around the Parishes is available by email or post from the Parish Office; see below for details. As our MC churches are now having their own services, Sunday Morning Eucharistic Worship at 11.00am in St. Paul’s is being live streamed. If you would like to join this service do please contact Rev’d Sue or the Parish Office by emailing or and the link will be forwarded. Alternatively, ring the Parish office to book your place in person, on 01404 44035. Messages will be replied to when someone is available. Mollie the Church administrator is there on Tuesdays. The ‘virtual’ Eucharist has been suspended. Coffee and biscuits are served in St Paul’s church on Tuesdays and Saturdays and after Sunday services, donations are welcomed. The other mission community churches are holding their own special Jubilee services. Details can be found in the Around the Parishes under each church. Honiton Garden Club Annual Plant Sale – 9am till midday Saturday 28th May 2022 St Paul’s Church Forecourt raising funds to help maintain the church garden around the War Memorial. Plants, and some homemade planters, all provided by members. Do come along and support us.
200 Club
There are still several people to renew their subscriptions for the season 2022/23 April-March. Having had requests and able to offer numbers there are now a few available, so please let me know. If you would like to join the 200 Club, please ring Carol, I can send or email an application form. This is one way of funding the upkeep so necessary with this old church which takes a lot to keep it heated (especially with the spiralling costs for energy) and watertight, keeping the churchyard in good order and kind to nature, The cost is £12 per number per year. The draw takes place at the beginning of each month with 5 prizes: £40.00, £20.00, £15.00, £10.00 and £5.00. Twice a year there is a 6 monthly prize of £48 (March and September).
Payment can be made by cheque or cash or Standing Order, there is a form for your bank. I can
email both the application and Standing order forms if required, please let me know by telephone 01404 851113 or or write to 3 School House Cottages, Gittisham, Honiton, EX14 3AH.
May 2022 200 Club Results
1st Peter Stansell 2nd John Boswell 3rd Peter King
4th Issy McLachlan Clark 5th Ian Warne
Green Homes Grant
There is a new government scheme to improve the energy efficiency of homes of low-income
households (with a household income under £30,000 or in receipt of certain benefits). The scheme
aims to improve low energy rated homes and will deliver progress towards sustainable warmth:
reducing household energy bills as well as supporting the phase out of fossil fuel heating and the
UK’s commitment to net zero by 2050. Eligible measures will differ based on what could benefit
each home and may include improvements such as insulation, double glazing and installing solar
panels.
For further information please contact the local coordinator or refer to the
Green Homes Grant website https://www.swenergyhub.org.uk/housing-retrofit/green-homes-lad2
Gittisham Gazette distribution
This is to advise if any Hayne Farm and Gittisham Vale estates residents wish to receive the
Gazette by email or if they have no internet access, they can receive it by post, (many are emailed and several households have 2 copies). I put 25 copies in the Vale bus shelter and as the Hayne Farm sales
office is by appointment only, I put 5 copies in there. I apologise to those who do not get the Gazette and do my best to print as many as I can on my own printer, and understand there is a Hayne Farm WhatsApp group which links with the Gazette. If you have a neighbour who doesn’t have access to the internet and you could print off a copy, then many more could receive this publication. It would also be good to receive news from both the Vale and Hayne to let us know what’s going on etc.
Editor/Distributor:
Carol McCann 01404 851113 / 0794 6409142 .
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 June edition is 3rd. As the parish council won’t meet until 9th, the Gazette should be ready by 10th / 11th June.