| Gittisham Gazette | July 2025 | ||||
| A parish newsletter brought to you by Gittisham Parish Council and St Michael’s Church | |||||
| What’s On at the Village Hall Pierre’s Café Sunday 13th July Syrian Kitchen Sunday 3rd August Gittisham Fete Saturday 30th August Weekly Fitness class Tuesday mornings Folk Dancing Weds evenings Community Kitchen Thurs eve Yoga Friday afternoons Church 200 Club June Draw Results 1st prize R Hayman 2nd prize J Broadhurst 3rd prize P Marker Church Services Sunday July 13th Holy Communion at 11am Sunday July 27th Morning Worship at 11am Tel 07763 111367   As usual Pierre’s Café will take place on the second Sunday of the month. This time 13th July. Please bear in mind that booking is mostly essential as lunch sold out frequently. Mains are gluten free. Some dessert also. Vegan danish and long fermented croissant. This is a pleasure to feed such friendly customers each months. Booking Pierre 07545 214940 ****************************** A message from Amne: Hi everyone, we have Mary’s Syrian Kitchen Pop Up in Gittisham Hall on the 3rd of August from 12:30 antl 2:30 we will serve lunch and drink and dessert £20 for a person Call to book or send a message please 07383 104987  | Around the world   Gittisham Flower festival at the church took us on a floral journey around the world. Our talented flower arrangers showed us the cool blues and whites of the Arctic, an explosion from Mount Vesuvius, exotic blooms from Ghana and colours and fragrances of India. If the sight of croissants or the thought of cream teas made us hungry there was plenty of refreshment on offer at the village hall. And all accompanied by the sounds of birds in the tropical forests of Brazil. Helen Hayman says “A HUGE THANKYOU’ to our talented & creative flower arrangers & all who gave of their time & talents to sing at the AMAZING Concert, bake YUMMY cakes & cream teas, prepare & serve DELICIOUS Lunches. And to everyone behind the scenes who helped to make it all run smoothly. A GREAT TEAM effort. But most of all Thank You to all who came & enjoyed a helped to raise just under £2k to help us maintain & care for our beautiful Village Church. THANK YOU ALL so much!   And from Julia Barrett: “An amazing team effort and wonderful weekend! Fabulous flower arrangements, a glorious concert and lovely lunches and array of yummy cakes and cream teas. A big thank you from St Michaels PCC to everyone who gave so generously of their time and talents and to support and enjoy the beauty of our much-loved parish church. St Michael’s Church Julia Barratt The Reverend Scott Angell after his ordination as a Priest in June at St Paul’s. We look forward to him celebrating his first Eucharist at St Michael’s in August. The sad news is that the Reverend Sue Roberts who has been the Rector in the Honiton Team for nineteen years will be leaving us in the Autumn to take up a new post in Tiverton. There will be an opportunity to say goodbye to Sue and wish her well in her new ministry in due course.  On a more cheerful note! We are very much enjoying the fruits of the labour earlier in the year of the Churchyard Brimbles in the Old Churchyard. What a wonderful transformation! Do come and look! Finally much fun was had by all at the Pet Service especially the Tortoise, who proved to be surprisingly fast when let out of his box! Much to the consternation of the intrigued dogs, the delight of the children and the amusement of the Grown Ups! Next Natter & Nibbles at Gittisham Farm! Saturday 9th August 10-12noon , all welcome! Raffle & memories too! Donations! No need to book! To friends of the Hall, This has been a busy month for Gittisham Hall with lots of private bookings and some wonderful community events! The Father’s day BBQ was particularly well supported with some saying it was the best ever! thank you to Sara for organising a fabulous spread and to Nick and Co for the band! We also enjoyed some great live music from Set in Stone! Thanks to Jess and Toni for organising and Dentry Carpentry for sponsoring this fantastic event! Your support has enabled us to purchase a fantastic new hand dryer for the ladies loo! Tell us what you think of it! In other news you may have noticed our booking system has changed and we are now using a software program called Hallmaster which has been successfully used by other halls. Any booking queries please email gittishamvillagehallbookings@gmail.com   Congratulations to Connor Davey on passing his phase 1 and graduating in the RAF. His graduation was at RAF Halton on the 18th of June. The passing out parade was accompanied by the RAF Regiment Band and had a Spitfire flyover. His family and friends are very proud and wish him good luck with the next stage in his journey. | ||||
Gittisham Village Fete – We Need You!
Saturday 30th August 2025 | From 2.00pm
With just under two months to go, preparations are in full swing for this year’s Gittisham Village Fete – a wonderful celebration of our community. But to make it all happen, we need your help. Last year was a fantastic day, but we were stretched thin on volunteers. A small group ended up covering far more than expected. This year, we’re asking for more helping hands, even just for an hour or two, so everyone can enjoy the day. Whether you’re new to the village or have helped before, please consider joining the team – it’s a great way to meet people and be part of something special.
Volunteers Needed We’re looking for people to help with the following roles:
- Traffic management and car parking
- Admissions desk (welcoming visitors)
- Duck Race team (setting up and launching ducks)
- Serving cream teas in the Village Hall
- Cakes! (selling and baking)
- Ice cream sales
- Bar team
- Tombola stall
- Dog show assistance
- Setup and end-of-day pack away
No experience needed – just enthusiasm and a friendly face! To volunteer, email:
Or contact us via the Village WhatsApp group.
What’s On During the Fete
- 2.00pm – Fete opens with music from the Honiton Town Band
- 3.00pm – Dog Show in Will’s Field (class info to be announced on social media)
- Cream teas in the Village Hall
- Morris dancers, the Gittisham Memories display in the Church, and classic vehicles on the Village Green
- Pizza Van
- Stalls lining the main avenue and Will’s Field
- Around 4.30pm – The ever-popular Duck Race
Duck Race Tickets tickets are just £1 each and will be on sale throughout August.
Prizes:
1st – £100 2nd – £50 3rd – £25 4th – £10
A huge thank you to our generous supporters: The Parish Council, The Pig, Vale Vets, and CarterDawes, whose backing helps us maintain the prizes and keep the fete going strong.
Let’s work together to make this year’s fete a day to remember – we can’t do it without your support.
More information and updates:
Website: gittisham.org.uk/fete
Email:
GITTISHAM FLOWER & PRODUCE SHOW at the Village Hall on Saturday 2nd August 2025 at 2.30pm
Potato bucket weigh in at 3:15pm
Admission: Adults 50p; Children 5-16 years 10p
Entrance fee Sections A,B,C 20p: Children’s entries free
Special potato class £1 – payable when your seed potato is collected
Sections A,B,C no prize money. Section D prizes 1 st = £1, 2 nd = 50p, 3 rd = 25p
McCann Junior Cup for most points by a competitor age 12-16 in Sections A,B,C
Awards for Best in Show in Sections A and B
The show is open to all residents of Gittisham parish, which includes Gittisham Vale and Hayne Farm estate. We also welcome entries from those who no longer live in the parish, those who actively support the parish, and those with close links to the parish.
Children must be aged 3-11, Juniors must be age 12-16 on Saturday 26th July 2025. Children are welcome to enter Sections A,B,C upon paying the entry fee.
SECTION “C” HOMECRAFT
30 Chocolate Swiss Roll – as attached recipe
31 Vegetable Tart (not exceeding 20cm)–own recipe
32 Sausage Plait – using homemade rough puff pastry
33 Madeira cake
34 A jar of strawberry jam
35 Jar of pickled vegetable(s)– any variety
36 Set of 4 Dorset Buttons
37 Homemade birthday card for a child
38 Photo of a bird in your garden – max size 25cm x 20cm
39 MEN ONLY – 6 Brownies – as recipe
Full details of flower, vegetable and children’s classes available online or from Sue Fallows
Gittisham Parish Council JULY 2025 Report
Four councillors met for the July meeting along with one member of the public.
EDDC Local Plan. David Valentine reported he had spoken to planning consultant Charlie Hopkins regarding representation at the Local Plan inquiry later this year (or early next year). His diary is busy in October, but otherwise he is happy to help. He is not representing any other parish council or party in respect of the current EDDC Local Plan. Councillors resolved to approve expenditure for Charlie Hopkins’s initial assessment. David Valentine will prepare a summary of parish council representations previously made, and give Charlie Hopkins the opportunity to assess the likelihood of GPC being successful in making further representations at the examination in public. Having the initial assessment, David Valentine argued, would provide a better basis on which to consider further expenditure over and above getting Charlie Hopkins’s professional assessment.
Councillors heard that Axminster Town Council is suggesting there were irregularities at EDDC’s Local Plan meetings, but David Valentine cautioned that if the inspector finds the plan unsound, it could open a new can of worms.
Finance. Councillors agreed the finances.
Crimes. April 2025: Cypress Close: 1 x violence & sexual offences. Nether Close: 2 x violence & sexual offences. Meadow Acre: 1 x criminal damage & arson, 1 x violence & sexual offences
Planning applications.
a) 25/0659/LBC – Rapshayes Farm Gittisham EX14 3AB – To take down existing wall to barns 1 and 2 and rebuild as masonry cavity wall with stone face
b) 25/0660/VAR – Rapshayes Farm Gittisham EX14 3AB – Variation of Condition number 2 (approved plans) on planning permission 20/0781/FUL (Conversion of barn to holiday let accommodation) proposal to take down existing wall to Barns 1 & 2 and rebuild as masonry cavity wall with stone face
Councillors said it was not clear what changes had been made, and Carol Hall agreed to investigate and report back.
Lengthsman. Carol Hall said that FabTrim Landscaping had carried out some lengthsman-type work, including strimming the river so that it is ready for the duck race. He will be strimming the ditches by the village green, and they will be cleared once ground conditions permit. Alex Rowe said he had purchased some cones and road signs for future lengthsman work. It was agreed that a list of items to attend to should be drawn up in the coming months.
Coincidentally it emerged that some council highways contractors had visited to cut drainage splays which direct water from the road into ditches along Parsonage Lane and up to Bellevue and other areas around the village, also they have cleared the drainage holes into the river along.
Play area. Councillors discussed reviving the boules court, after a request from a resident and also having seen the new one in Tipton St John, and it was agreed to investigate how much it would cost to bring it back into use.
Alex Rowe said a resident had been in touch to ask if adult outdoor fitness equipment might be a possibility, and the clerk agreed to investigate although warned that it could come with a significant cost.
Next meeting. Thursday 4th September at 7.30pm in the village hall.