A monthly community newsletter published by St Michael s Church and Gittisham Parish Council
What s On? at the village hall
Saturday 3rd August Flower & Produce Show
Sunday 11th August Pierre s Caf 07545 214940
Saturday 31st August Gittisham Fete
Community Kitchen A free hot meal for all every Thursday at 6.30pm
Our very own Paralympian Rower
Ed s heats are on Friday 30th August and the final is on Sunday 1st September
You can do it Ed!
Make every stroke count!
CHAAA
St Michael s 200 Club
June
1st Joanna Marker 75
2nd Ava Marker Morgan 50
3rd Mrs P Broadhurst 25
July
1st Alan Broom 75
2nd Ruby Marker Morgan 50
3rd Stephen Howe 25
If you would like to join contact Janet Twist, the 200 Club administrator email Tel 01404 45484. At 3 a ticket per month, this is a simple and affordable way of helping to keep our beautiful village Church open. Currently it costs 100 per day to maintain and keep St Michael s open.
Coffee and Cake for Cancer
Thank you to all those who supported the afternoon of coffee and cake at the village hall on 27th July. We raised 342 for Breast Cancer Now
Parish Snippets
Some years ago when I was walking the postmans path from Kercombe up to Gittisham common, I noticed a drain pipe coming out of the side of the hill. A few days later I mentioned this to Mrs (Rosemary) Marker, ‘ho‘ she said that was to drain the fox hole, for a split second I thought why would anybody want to drain a fox’s hole. Then I remembered that there had been an ammunition dump in the sand pits along Beech Walk during the war. I suppose there are worse places to be on guard ! (Paul Wakley)
Gittisham Parish Council
No meeting in August
Next meeting Thursday 5th September at 7.30pm in the parish room.
The Beehive, Honiton presents
INSIDE OUT 2 (U)
Thu 22 Aug – 11am. Adults 8, U16’s 7, Family x4 26
Teenager Riley’s mind headquarters is undergoing a sudden
demolition to make room for something entirely unexpected: new
Emotions. Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust.
Village Fete Alex Rowe
Just under a month to go until of Village Fete, a celebration of our fantastic community. Spread the word to your friends and family. Following on from last year we have Honiton Town band playing a medley of pieces once the fete is opened by Honiton s town crier from 2pm.
At 3pm the competitive dog show will be taking place in Will s field keep an eye out for the classes which will be shared out on social media before the fete.
Grab a cream tea in the Village Hall then hitch a pony and trap ride passing the Morris dancers on your way to the church where you can view the flower display and classic vehicles on the village green. Stoll back visiting the stalls along the main village avenue & Will s field in time for the start of the Duck race around 4:30pm.
As always, we are in need of keen volunteers to spend an hour of their afternoon either helping with car parking, cream teas, cake stall (cake baking), ice creams, the bar, tombola, dog show, setup and pack away.
We are very thankful to the Parish Council, The Pig, Vale Vets and Heltor Fuels for their support! This has meant we can maintain prizes for the Dog Show and Duck Race. I ll be knocking on doors over August selling Duck race tickets they are 1. First prize is 100, 2nd 50, 3rd 25, 4th 10
Stallholders and volunteers contact me pitches are by donation so if you know of a local craftsperson that would like have a pitch share the details. Keep an eye on the Village WhatsApp and the website gittisham.org.uk/fete for updates
The Tom Putt Apple Paul Wakley
The apple Tom Putt apple is supposed to have been named for an 18th-century landowner, Thomas Putt of Combe (Gittisham), who died in 1787 and was nicknamed “Black Tom”.
There is a Tom Putt apple tree in the community orchard at the village playground and another in the churchyard.
Some of the Putts were keen gardeners, one, Anna Maria Putt, who I believe lived in Pomroy. Had her paintings, drawings and quotations that she had done, made up into four volumes which she had bound in Honiton in 1789. The books were shown on an Antiques Road Show in 1991 from Darlington. They were then valued at between 3000-4000.
Grain to Cream Russell Hayman
After Helen and I had our trip of a life time in the USA during June which had the added benefit of missing the run up to the general election it is back to good old Blighty. Yes, they have space (directions on the sat nav 200 miles turn left) was not uncommon and a massive hole they call the Grand Canyon which really is big but it did get quite hot 46 C. it s good to be back and see some green. Edmund was keeping the show on the road and confirmed what I already knew. I may be useful but I am far from essential. Silageing has been on the go and we are preparing for harvest so we need some good weather now it does not take long to spoil.
We have wheat and oats this year no oilseed rape which is a good crop to have in the rotation for its soil improvement but it has become very risky to grow and given the horrible autumn we had for sowing last year I am so glad I did not take the risk. We are always looking to how to improve what we do and having a rotation which helps the soil is a major part of that so will have to find a way around it. The wheat and oats are all for animal feed the oats will be all fed to our own stock and about half the wheat is sold rest goes into our animals. It is really difficult to grow wheat for milling in the southwest not impossible but the damp weather compared to the east of the country make it a bit of a lottery plus the bread mills are mostly in the east so any premium is reduced by haulage costs and there is always the risk it may be rejected once it gets there. Animals are so good at making food we can t eat into something highly nutritious plus tasty! ( Angus is so much better than Bison which taste like they look by the way) And what comes out the back in such lovely volumes does wonders for the soil in truth without them the farm would not be sustainable.
We have also been topping the grazed grass, this is to cut off the seed heads which appear during the summer which are not as nutritious and encourage fresh growth to come forward which is both tastier and better feed. The barn owls have done well this year there were six up in the shed this year apparently. I was not here to see them so assuming four chicks usually just see two. I never go to check just what I happen to see as I know my ugly mush will scare them off!!
Pierre s Cafe
For Pierre’s next pop-up caf on 11th August in Gittisham Village Hall he will be serving a Ploughman s lunch with a French twist. The main element is a p t en croute – a French meat pie with pork and chicken, served with a range of tempting salads, raw veg, fruit, cheese and chutney. There will be a selection of home-made cakes and pastries, coffees, teas and soft drinks including Gittisham-grown elderflower cordial served from 10am-4pm. Vegans and coeliacs catered for. If the weather is fine you’ll be able to sit and enjoy your food outside. Please book for lunch if you can, as it helps us with numbers. Call or text Pierre on 07545 214940. Cash and cards accepted.
Environmental Summer Bucket List (Part 2)
Hi there, my name is May and I m a 16-year-old from Gittisham who s passionate about environmental issues, especially the climate crisis. I have just finished my GCSEs and am enjoying a long summer, and thought I d put together a bucket list of some small things you can do to help the planet which make a real difference. (This is part 2, you ll find points 1-4 in the July Gazette.)
5. Attend a local climate march or talk on the issue. I think a really important part of addressing the climate crisis is educating yourself and those around you, especially as in the UK we are currently less affected by the issue than in other parts of the world. I have also met so many like-minded people by attending these sorts of events, which can feel very liberating when it s an issue that few people in power seem to focus on.
6. Planning on going abroad? Research how you can travel more sustainably. Flying is one of the worst things for the planet, with the average plane emitting 340 times more than the average car. I really recommend the Eurostar from my own experience, though there are other ways you can travel abroad too such as by boat.
Have a great summer everyone!
St Michael s Gittisham Julia Barratt
Summertime and the living is easy. George Gershwin s words could be aptly applied to August, when many of us take holidays or perhaps visit our
local beaches just a few miles away, or simply make the most of a break in our normal routines to wind down and take life a bit more easily. However, while
summer is a season, it is also a state of mind. We all have periods in life, which are summer-like but can lead us to forget or take for granted the Giver of all good things. So what better way to remember than in music and song; to come together with friends and neighbours to sing our favourite hymns and relax afterwards with a glass of Pimm s! Especially the day after the Fete in our beautiful flower filled Church.
A reminder also that the Church is usually open every day 10am- 5pm over the summer but we do need a few more volunteers to help keep it open. Please contact Julia () if you able to assist.
Church Services Sunday August 11 th at 11am followed by refreshments
Sunday Sept 1 st at 4pm Hymns and Pimms
A Git in Wales Alex Rowe
Last week I made one of my rare trips out of the county of Devon to help steward the metalwork section at the Royal Welsh Show, much like the Devon County Show the Welsh is on the National Blacksmiths Competition Circuit that tours many of the larger shows, the smiths bring static items that are setup and displayed by us these are then judged and the overall winner and reserve winning 10 & 4 points respectively towards the National competition at the end of the year these are added and the winner becoming the Static National Champion Blacksmith.
I got involved through my time studying in Hereford 5 years ago and it is nice to catch up with the metalwork team each year. We also were fed well with free stewards breakfast and supper over the 6 days!
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