A monthly community newsletter published by St Michael’s Church and Gittisham Parish Council 

What’s On?  Pierre’s Café   Sunday 12th Nov   Community Kitchen  Every Thurs, village hall  6.30pm. All welcome to   enjoy a free meal and  good company  Act of Remembrance  at the Lych gate Sunday  Nov 12th 10.50 followed  by Eucharist in Church  Ember Pizza  Pizza van by the church 1st Wednesday of the month  07751 532843  Coffee Together  18th Nov 10.30-12   at the Parish Room inc  double 200 club Nov &  Dec draw  ‘Getting   ready for Advent’  Sun Nov 26 th  11am at the   church   Quiz   Saturday evening   2nd December   Quizmaster Hamish  Christmas Swap Shop  2nd December

Come and join us in our   beautiful church as we begin   the lead up to Christmas. We   are presenting a lovely festive   concert suitable for all ages   with professional singers. Join   us in our carol singing and  enjoy a drink and a mince pie.   There will also be a prize draw   with a splendid lunch for two to   be won at The Pig’s Folly. Book   early to avoid disappointment!   The proceeds will be shared   between Force Cancer Charity   and St Michael’s Church,   Gittisham.

Christmas Swap Shop Saturday 2^nd December 3-6pm at the Hall 

“For a more sustainable Christmas” 

Swap toys, decorations and lights. 

One gift donation entitles the giver to one free gift.  Donations from 10am at the hall. Good quality only. 

Mulled wine, mince pies and cream teas from 3pm 

Quiz Night 

At the village hall Saturday 2^nd December  

Quizmaster Hamish 

Combe Farm Shop 

Its nearly time to start thinking about Christmas. Here at  the Farm shop we are looking forward to a busy festive  season. 

We have lots of lovely things planned including our late  night Christmas shopping event, where you can meet  some of our suppliers, enjoy some free samples, listen to  a local choir and even meet Santa. There will be hot  drinks, mulled wine and turkey baps available in the  Café. We will also have some great deals on, so it could  be a chance to get some Christmas present shopping  done. This is going to be on December 2^nd. 

We will be hosting our popular wreath making workshops  again with a local florist and using locally sourced  greenery. We will be running them on November  29^th and December 13^th in the evening. Mulled wine and  nibbles are included. If this interests you, please let us  know to book your spot as numbers are limited. We also  have capacity to run private wreath workshops for small  groups. 

We also have our diary open for Christmas orders. We  have Local Turkeys from near Exeter (Rosamond Farm),  Turkey breast rolls, in house cured Gammon ( using local  free range pork from Prestige Pork), Pigs in Blankets,  Carvery Rib, Rolled Sirloin, Ducks, Chicken and so much  more. We also offer our Christmas Meat Hampers. All  information can be found on our Facebook page or pop  by the shop to speak to one of the team. 

Look forward to seeing you soon, 

Joanna and the Farm Shop Team. 

01404 519093 

Community Theatre 4All  presents  

An evening of 2 short plays Gentle comedy from a bygone era. The Laboratory by David Campton The Bear by Anton Chekov 

Talaton Parish Hall Thurs 16^th, Fri 17^th and Sat 18^th November 

 Tickets £6 from www.ticketsource.co.uk 07867 791093

Auction of Promises Saturday 10th February 7 pm at the Hall 

Do you have a service or skill you could  donate as a lot? This would be placed in  a catalogue for Auction in February in  the village hall, bar and nibbles  available on the night  

It’s raining cats and dogs 

Our wonderful Devon village lies at the bottom of a pretty steep valley and when it rains heavily, we know it. Large rivers with big catchments, like the Exe, cause problems after prolonged and extensive rainfall – for example, a flood can take several days to reach Exeter after the rain has started. The River Gitt, however, has a tiny catchment area to the centre of the village, just a few square kilometres. This small area, coupled with the steep nature of the catchment  – means we are less susceptible to low-intensity prolonged rainfall, but are far more sensitive to short-duration, high-intensity rainfall.

 

This means when we have heavy rain it reaches the village in minutes! All the floods that have affected the village over the years have followed this pattern  – where there is so much rain it cannot soak in and often exceeds the capacity of drains and sometimes the river too. The event that recently caused a lot of surface water flooding, followed this pattern. The graph, from a rain gauge in Honiton, shows just how heavy the rainfall was. The event in the early hours of the  2nd of November did not last for long but had a peak rainfall intensity of over 60mm an hour – which is a lot!  Even though the event only lasted a few hours – enough rainfall landed to overwhelm the soil’s ability to infiltrate water and the drainage system’s ability to convey water adequately. 

Forecasting really intense rainfall is difficult as the weather systems that create them can be small and intense and predicting where and when they will travel and how heavy the rain will be is hard. For somewhere like Gittisham, with a catchment that reacts very quickly to rainfall, it is also then hard to give a flood forecast. So, working out if the village or nearby roads will flood has to be made based on a combination of weather forecasts, with their inherent uncertainty and observing how heavy the rain is. An online rain & river level gauge in the village could help us better understand the relationship between rainfall and flooding. I’d be happy to chat with anyone who wants to know more about flooding, forecasting flooding and how to manage risk. Hamish () 

St Michael’s Church and Honiton Mission Community 

Advent and Christmas Services 

Advent Sunday Christmas Concert Dec 3 rd 4pm 

2 nd Sunday Eucharist Dec 10 th 11am 

St Michael’s Carol Service Sun Dec 17 th 4.45pm mince pies and festive drinks 

‘Carols on the Green Fri Dec 22 nd 5pm sausages and mulled wine’ 

Sunday Dec 24 th Midnight Eucharist 11.30pm 

Monday Dec 25 th Christmas Day Eucharist 11am 

Around the Parishes – for events and news see copies in Church or visit https://honitoncofe.org/newsletter. Rev’d Tracey Voysey – licensing service as Team Vicar changed to Mon Dec 4 th 7pm at St Paul’s. 

Blue Foodbank Box Church Porch – donations gratefully received

PARISH COUNCIL – OCT 2023 REPORT 

Six councillors met for the November meeting. One member of the public was also present. 

Flooding. Councillors discussed the flooding in the parish which had occurred in the early hours of Thursday  morning, 2nd November. The member of the public, who works for a flood risk organisation, advised the parish  council that when serious flooding occurs, getting involved in mitigating its effects during the event can be  dangerous and it is often best to wait until the worst has passed. For example inspection covers often lift in floods  and can’t be seen under water or in the dark. Flood risk is best dealt with proactively, he said, and the parish  council is not in a position to advise individuals. All agreed that with climate change bringing about more extreme  weather events, people would have to adapt their behaviour and take further precautions to try to minimise flood  damage. 

Parish emergency plan. Given the recent weather, councillors were reminded that there are various locations marked on the emergency plan where sandbags are stored. (A copy of the emergency plan can be found on the  Gittisham website www.gittisham.org.uk click on the ‘parish council’ tab.) Additional sand for the sandbags will be  ordered. In the event of a dangerous flood, those affected should call the emergency services. Carol Hall (Chair)  thanked Alex Rowe for clearing the drain under the railway bridge by the Forge. 

Highways. In his report sent to the council in his absence, Phil Twiss said Devon’s Highways teams have taken an  absolute battering this year where climate change, and flooding events in particular, have decimated planned  maintenance. But despite that, Highways are pressing on with as much of the programme as possible when not  dealing with ’risk to life’ events or clearing up after flooding, fallen trees and damaged buildings. He asked for  understanding that they must prioritise workload for those ‘risk to life’ events, while not diminishing the necessity of  alerting them to issues on the parish’s roads. Peter Orchard reported that the internal channel of the balancing  pond has filled with rubble, so it needs to be cleared out. Alex Rowe said the broken grit bin on the road heading west out of the village had been reported. 

Residential development. In his report sent to the council in his absence, Alasdair Bruce said he was somewhat encouraged by the statements that have come out of EDDC’s latest Strategic Planning Committee meeting. If  implemented in full, they could offer an element of protection from the scourge of never ending developer-led  mass housing applications, he said. The Government will be issuing a new National Planning Policy Framework in  the near future. This should help empower EDDC’s planning committee to make a stand against inappropriate  development, he said. A case in point was last week’s refusal of the application for 63 houses to the south of Ottery  St Mary. Despite officer recommendation, the committee decided to refuse. Alasdair Bruce said it remains to be seen if the council lawyers come back with reasons why these grounds will fail, something he described as an  unfortunately familiar scenario. 

Finance. Members agreed the finances. 

Crimes. Due to an error on the Police UK website, it was not possible to report the crime statistics for August and  September 2023. 

Casual vacancy. Carol Hall encouraged all councillors to speak to people who might be interested in joining the  parish council to represent the Vale ward. People can also contact the clerk for further information by emailing  The deadline for applications is 3rd December. 

Next meeting. Thursday 7 th December at 7.30pm in the parish room. 

Parish Council links Who’s who https://gittisham.org.uk/parish-council/ 

Emergency Plan https://gittisham.org.uk/parish-council/emergency-plan/ Parish Council Clerk Email: Tel: 01404 851442

A monthly community newsletter published by St Michael’s Church and Gittisham Parish Council

What’s On?  at the village hall  Pierre’s Cafe  Sunday 12th Nov   07545 214940  Christmas Concert  Sunday 3rd December  4pm £10 (u16 free)   Carol Singing   drinks & mince pies   at the church   Community Kitchen  Every Thurs, village hall  6.30pm. All welcome to  enjoy a free meal and  good company  Folk Dancing   Wednesday evenings village hall  Fit for Life class   Tuesday mornings   village hall  Yoga   Monthly Thursday   village hall  Christmas Swap Shop and Family Quiz  2nd December  Ember Pizza  Pizza van by the church 1st Wednesday of the month  07751 532843  Coffee Mornings  3rd Saturday of the month  at the Parish Rooms   (village green)

Pumpkins – Ed Hayman  This year at Gittisham Farm, between finishing my studies and Graduating with  a degree in Agriculture at Harper Adams University, I have been busy growing  a field of pumpkins as a ‘pick your own’ experience. So far, we have been open  for three weekends, and I’m very happy with how it’s gone. Everyone seems  to be enjoying the experience of visiting the farm, seeing our cows and calves  and of course lots of pumpkins. With plenty of questions and intrigue,  it’s been great to show people more about the produce they buy beyond the  sight of a supermarket shelf.  The pumpkin patch offers lots of different varieties from tiny decorative  gourds right up to huge Atlantic Giants that are a handful to say the least!  There is also plenty of seasonal hot food and drink to beat this cold October  weather.  It’s been great to see a few people from the village visit us already, and anyone  who would like to come along is more than welcome. As Halloween  approaches, the patch will be back open again 10-4pm everyday through  October half term, from Saturday 21st up to the following Sunday on the 29th. Harvest Supper  The annual Harvest Supper was a well supported event, with about 70 people  attending. The menu of chicken casserole or nut roast. Baked potatoes and peas  followed by apple crumble and ice cream went down well. Second helpings were  taken up enthusuastically! (Community Kitchen could be serving pudding for  weeks to come, due to the generosity of the cooks.) This was a truly communal  effort, with about 20 people involved in preparing, cooking, serving, washing up,  setting up and tidying up. Many thanks to all. Sue Fallows, Gittisham Village Hall  Committee

A monthly community newsletter published by St Michael’s Church and Gittisham Parish Council

What’s On?  at the village hall  Pierre’s Cafe  Sunday 8th Oct   07545 214940  Harvest Supper  Saturday 7th October 7pm £5 07880 178297   Community Kitchen  Every Thurs, village hall  6.30pm. All welcome to  enjoy a free meal and  good company  **NEW** Yoga  Thursday mornings 11-12 £10  Michelle Corrigan   07833 558253  Gentle, safe, classic yoga  with attention to back care.  Film Discussion Night 10th October 7pm  Christmas Swap Shop and Family Quiz  2nd December  Ember Pizza  Pizza van by the church 1st Wednesday of the month  07751 532843  FOOD BANK  Donations are always  welcome to the box in the  church porch

Gittisham Fete SUCCESS  Thank you for helping   to raise over £2,500   for the church.  1000 visitors from the   parish and further   afield enjoyed the   Honiton band, stalls,   classic cars, a dog   show and the duck   race.  Thank you to Alex   Rowe and all those  who helped organize and manage the   day.

Thank you, from Alex  Thank you to everyone who supported me and the fete but a few I would like to mention ~  •The committee  •The Tea ladies  •Kate for painting the lovely signs  •The parking chaps especially Bernie for his traffic  management  •Mikey with his horse and trap  •Helen and the flower arrangers for the beautiful church  display  •Robert for coming back from London especially to help  me setup

Parish Council Vacancy  To represent the Vale ward. Please contact the Clerk for  further information    The deadline for applications is 22nd October  https://gittisham.org.uk/2023/09/01/parish-councillor vacancy-gittisham-vale-ward/  And then come the  nightjars   Honiton Beehive Cinema  Friday 13th October  A heartwarming film of friendship and  survival set against a backdrop of the  2001 Foot and Mouth outbreak  The story of an unlikely friendship  between a Devon farmer and the vet  who is assigned to cull his precious  herd.

Pumpkins 

Open weekends from the 30^th September to the 29^th October and  everyday through October half term

FETE SUCCESS by Alex Rowe 

Unlike this week’s storms, at the beginning of September we had lovely sunny weather temperature at almost 30°c,  I couldn’t have asked for better weather for the restarting of the fete. 

Since February a small working committee of Sue, Julia, Maggie, Will, Pierre and myself had been planning for the  2nd of September. The few days prior were very hectic however we are extremely pleased with how the day panned  out and very grateful to all of the residents of the Parish who came along to help with the setting up, stewarding on  the day or even just came to enjoy the afternoon. 

The Village was buzzing and I would approximate on 1000 visitors in total including children it was great to  encompass people from the parish living in the Vale, Hayne farm and the village they all seemed very much enjoy all  the fete had to offer Honiton band, the stalls, classic cars & the dog show organised by Will, compared by Hamish  and kindly judged by Maryanne. 

Lastly an exciting duck race concluded the event (kindly sponsored by Airband) 

Robert is working on a little video of the Fete and the link will be shared shortly. 

We will be having a post fete meeting to discuss any issues that arose, I apologize to those who didn’t get to  experience the fete if you were helping on the day, you were invaluable to the event, thank you. If you are interested in helping with next year’s fete email and I will let you know the date  of the next meeting. 

We will celebrate our success at a good NYE party! 

~ Alex 

GRAIN TO CREAM by Russell Hayman 

It was spring the last time I wrote and autumn now! So I missed summer, quite a different one to last year. Nowhere  near as much sun but much more grass which the girls will and have loved. Harvest was a typical one maybe a bit  more catchy than normal but we muddle by. Yields where a bit below average as a result of the lack of sunshine.  Last year it was too much. never see a satisfied farmer. Also part of the problem was virus carrying aphids which  infect the crop in the autumn and show no sign of infection until April May following. Unfortunately the most  effective way to control this is to spray insecticide which we did once, but the mild winter could well of resulted in  infection happening later; the aphids don’t like frost. The problem is it can result in complete crop failure if we get  it wrong and we try to use as little chemical as possible. Hedges do harbour the aphids (don’t worry not advocating  taking the hedges out) but most the trial work is carried out in the east of the country where they have less hedges  and cooler winters so advice given is not always appropriate for this neck of the woods. 

We still have our heron out front fishing the little stream, sparrows also seem to thrive here with the hedge bending  under the weight of them all and the barn owls had chicks again, three this time! On the subject of wildlife we have  also had Bicton students here and vet students as well. 

The cows have been treated to a new fan by the robots to help keep flies away which appears to work though I  have seen the occasional one flying into the air flow to get a good work out! We are also in the process of digging  a new slurry store which will enable us to spread the good stuff over a larger area and be more flexible there-by  make better use of it. Unfortunately the contractor doing the digging has let us down by leaving site before  finished so we are well behind schedule. 

We also have a new exciting crop introduced by Edmund fresh from uni. Of pumpkins. They are like triffids and  grow at a blink of an eye. Weed control is a hoe and Edmund has made a gardener of me! He has put loads of time  into it and was also in the process of doing his finals for his degree! I think it is a good year for pumpkins so his efforts have resulted in what looks like a bumper crop. (though I must admit I know nothing about them really)  Looking forward to welcoming everyone here at Gittisham farm to come and pick a pumpkin or two in October.

PARISH COUNCIL – SEPT 2023 REPORT 

Five councillors met for the September meeting. Cllr Alasdair Bruce (EDDC) was also present. 

Sewage. Alasdair Bruce explained that EDDC’s coastal officer had produced a report which highlighted the large  number of occasions where South West Water’s sewage monitors were found to be in ‘maintenance mode’, and  therefore not doing the job they are designed to do. EDDC has approached the supplier for a response. River Gitt. 

Floods. Councillors heard that a flood prevention consultant had advised EDDC that the best course of action  would be to remove any vegetation and debris from the river, and allow for the silt to be washed away naturally  during heavy rainfall. Work is due to be carried out in the next few months. 

Road closure. 21st September, road through Alfington to Ottery closed 0930–1530 for pole tests. Finance. Members agreed the finances. 

Crimes. May & June 2023: no reported crimes. 

Casual vacancy. Carol Hall encouraged all councillors to speak to people who might be interested in joining the  parish council to represent the Vale ward. People can also contact the clerk for further information by emailing  The deadline for applications is 22nd October. 

Planning applications. 

a) 23/1631/MFUL Coastguard Road Heathpark Industrial Estate – development of 17 commercial units b) 23/1632/MOUT Coastguard Road Heathpark Industrial Estate – outline application for class B2, B8 and E(g)(iii)  development within two sites (Phase 2A and 2B) comprising total floor space of 4,000 sq m (all matters reserved) c) 23/1207/LBC & 23/1206/FUL The Lodge EX14 3AD – demolition of internal wall, removal of roof to existing  extension construction of new extension with parapet and roof lanterns. 

Councillors resolved to have no objections to the applications. However, in relation to a) and b), they expressed  concerns over the point of access onto Devonshire Road, given the nature of the road itself, lack of visibility on the  bend, and the proximity of the bus stop. Councillors also discussed whether this represents an over-intensification  of the site. 

Bus timetable. Peter Orchard reported that Stagecoach is now operating additional last journeys on the 44 / 44A  bus, Monday to Saturday evenings at 20.30 from Exeter to Honiton and at 22.45 from Honiton to Exeter. The bus  will not serve Gittisham village. 

Scams. Janet Twist said that Mole Valley’s IT systems had been hacked, and anyone who has an account with them  should check their own bank account. 

Outdoor table tennis table. Councillors heard that the funding from S106 had been approved. The proposal is  now with EDDC’s legal team to sign off. 

Next meeting. Tuesday 3rd October at 7pm in the parish room. 

Parish Council links Who’s who https://gittisham.org.uk/parish-council/ Emergency Plan https://gittisham.org.uk/parish-council/emergency-plan/ 

Parish Council Clerk Email: Tel: 01404 851442

St Michael’s Church Julia Barratt 

Many thanks to everyone and especially to our flower arranging team led by Helen Hayman who helped to prepare  and decorate the Church for the Fete Flower Festival. We had a constant stream of visitors throughout the  afternoon, so much so we had to organise a one way system! 

Thank you also to everyone who contributed to the collection which raised £577 as a gift for Carol McCann in  recognition of her dedicated service of nearly 30 years as Churchwarden. We had hoped to present the cheque to  her in person at the Fete & Flower Festival Service but sadly she wasn’t able to be with us. However, Robert Rowe kindly videoed the service and now she is back at home, she is very much looking forward to watching it.  Carol was very surprised and pleased to receive both the cheque and the lovely ‘card signed by so many and  sends her thanks and love to everyone. Providing Carol is well enough, we hope to say ‘Thank You’ to her in person at our Harvest Festival Service on October 8 th . 

The PCC also wishes to thank everyone who helped to make the Fete such an enjoyable occasion with special  thanks to Village Hall Committee for generously donating the profits towards the upkeep of the Church. 

After a break in August, our Coffee Together meetings on the 3rd Saturday of the month have resumed and we  had a full house. And everyone is much impressed with our new coffee machine kindly donated by Claire and  Gary. 

Julia Barrett. LLM. St Michael’s.

August ‘23 Edition 256

A monthly community newsletter published by St Michael’s Church and Gittisham Parish Council

What’s On?   Pierre’s Cafe Sunday 8th Oct at the Village Hall 07545 214940 Village Fete Saturday 2nd Sept 2-5pm Community Kitchen Every Thurs, village hall 6.30pm. All welcome to enjoy a free meal and good company   Harvest Supper Saturday 7th October at the village hall   Gittisham Folk Dancing (like a barn dance or ceilidh) Join a friendly group of people of all ages with live music and a caller to guide you through each dance. £5.50 per evening 8pm-10.15pm gittishamfolkdanceclub.org         FOOD BANK Donations are always welcome to the box in the church porch	Our wonderful fete is back on Saturday 2 nd September, with all the usual entertainment and much, much more. Something for everyone, even dogs and ducks! Entry is £2 There are still tables available for crafts and tradespeople Can you help with parking or serving teas on the day? There’s arota so please get in touch if you can.
Gittisham Flower and Produce Show Thanks to all who organised this event and who helped on the day.   The highlight of the day was of course the potato weigh-in, with Sarah Abbot the happy winner. What’s the secret Sarah? Other prize winners: Marker Cup: Len Abbott Homecraft: Anne Holley Reg Chown Cup for best exhibit in show: Shared between Len Abbott and Anne Holley McCann Cup: Kadence Hulbert Tony Spiller Shield: Sarah Abbott Wakley Cup for best flower in show: Anne Holley Men’s Cup: Will Wolsey Best Cake: Bill Griffiths Junior Cup: Maverick Cheffey Infant Cup: Cleo Howe	St Michael’s Church and Honiton Mission Community St Michael & All Angel’s Church Patronal Festival Village Fete SONGS OF PRAISE Thank You Service Sunday 3rd September at 4pm   200 Club Would you like to join the 200 club and help to fund the upkeep so necessary for this old church. It takes a lot to keep it heated (especially with the increasing cost of 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, £20, £15, £10 and £5. Twice a year there is a 6 monthly prize of £48 (March and September). Contact Janet Twist 01404 45484   Exam Results Good luck to all those getting school and college exam results this month. Best wishes for whatever the future brings for you all.
No Swimming   No Swimming The Bettislake pothole highlights the challenges facing Devon County Council, with the largest Highways network in England at something over 12,000km to maintain. Much of the roads have begun life as little more than cart tracks with no real foundation, then covered and recovered in tarmac type surfacing over the years and subject to the vagaries of massive increases in traffic flow and weather.     Reporting of potholes is encouraged through the website Report a Pothole. https://www.devon.gov.uk/roadsandtransport/report-a-problem/ Evening buses The Stagecoach 44A bus service will be running in the later evening from September Leaving Exeter and stopping in Heathpark (not running through the village): Exeter 20:30 to Heathpark 21:23 From Honiton, stopping in Heathpark and then on to Exeter (not through the village): Heathpark 22:49 to Exeter 23:35 Check the Stagecoach website for accurate information.	Gittisham Village Hall The hall is available to hire privately with special rates for parish residents. £10.90 per hour £31.30 for a morning or afternoon £43.15 for the evening Details are on www.gittisham.org.uk or contact 07854 492347 to make a booking.   School Uniform The Ottery Larder has a huge selection of uniform for our local schools. All are welcome to take from their supplies. It’s all about recycling and saving money. Please see their website or facebook page for details of opening times.   Parish Council – no meeting this month

    GITTISHAM GAZETTE  
    A monthly Community Newsletter
      Published by St. Michael’s Church and Gittisham Parish Council

June 2023                                       Edition 255

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REWILDING IN THE PARISH

About 18 months ago the Parish Council approached East Devon District Council with a view to rewilding some of the parish open spaces.
The result of this is that the area on the corner of Hayne Lane and Old Elm Road was proposed as an area of wildflower, and work started recently, beginning with scarifying the planting area. 
Seeds will be sown, and for a few weeks the area will look bare. Once past this initial period there will be a sea of colour year after year. 

                                       
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GOREN FARM EX14 3EN
Looking for somewhere to go where you can get close to nature and relax for the day? Then look no further than Goren Farm, a rural idyll nestled in the foothills of the Blackdown Hills. They give you a map and point you in the right direction to start your stunning nature trail walk amongst 70 acres of wild flowesrs teeming with butterflies and birds. They also have a Woodland Adventure trail.  Just follow the mown paths. Dogs welcome (on a lead!).
Back on the farm, there’s a trampoline, hammock and monkey bars to keep children entertained whilst you sample the cider in our working cider museum.
There’s a walled vegetable garden for you to wander around and a café selling delicious homemade Devon cream teas and cakes and a selection of teas or enjoy a pint of cider! and ice creams
Open from 11am Wednesday to Sunday. £7 entrance for meadows for adults and £3 for children,
Goren Farm Ex14 9EN
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 PIERRE’S POP-UP SUNDAY CAFÉ SUNDAY 11^TH JUNE

 At Pierre’s monthly pop-up café on Sunday 11th June in Gittisham Village Hall, he will be serving roast glazed pork, accompanied by a vegetable gratin.  Vegans and vegetarians will also be catered for, with homemade burgers wrapped in cabbage leaves.  There’ll be a selection of tempting cakes and desserts, as well as freshly made croissants and pains au chocolat.  Come and try our homemade elderflower cordial for a refreshing drink, and let’s hope the weather stays sunny so people can sit outside.  To book lunch, please call Pierre on 07545 214940 or email  Doors open at 10am.
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OPEN GARDEN
Richard and Nellie Marker opened their Garden at Beech Walk over the weekend 19/20/21 May in aid of various charities including Hospisecare and the NGS.  There was a lovely cream tea with cake and the sunshine made it a perfect day.  I understand they raised over £4,000.00.  Congratulations to all concerned.
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GITTISHAM VILLAGE HALL NEWS

Events are run by the Village Hall Committee throughout the year and aim to make a bit of a profit to keep the hall running and of course to provide fun and socialising for us all. The Hall is also available to hire privately and details of this are on the gittisham.org.uk or contact Carol Hall  on 07854 492347 to make a booking.  Sunday 18^th June, Father’s Day Bar-b-q

OUR TRADITIONAL COUNTRY GITTISHAM VILLAGE FETE   SATURDAY 2^ND SEPTEMBER
Please keep a look out for the next meeting – to be announced via the village WhatsApp – and come along to give ideas and help out.  The more, the merrier, it would be nice to get back to one of our traditional fetes, please put the date in your diary.  Regards  Hamish

“This year’s fete is being held on Saturday 2nd September 2pm till 5pm and will hopefully be a good afternoon out for people who come along as well as raising money for our St Michael’s Church.  Since February a small working group has been putting together a plan for the afternoon and as it stands the main attractions are  Honiton town band kicking off the event at 2 o’clock from then on there will be stalls around the village, classic vehicles around the church green with a flower festival happening within the church, at 3pm we will be holding a “very” competitive dog show so get training! Then at 4pm-ish the infamous duck race will take place!  Hopefully that give you a rough idea of what to expect and I’m trying to add in a few more exiting bits so keep an eye out for that – www.gittisham.org.uk/fete  If anyone who is able to volunteer with the   •Setup     •Sign painting and leaflets    •Duck Race     •Admisions and Carparking,   •Manning a stall (Tombola, ice cream, plant stall & cake stall),   •Cake baking,   •Refreshments,   •Packing away etc.    Please get in touch    Thank you for your support hopefully it will all fall together. Alex Rowe

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DEVON AIR AMBULANCE NEEDS YOUR HELP
“The Devon Air Ambulance needs a community of volunteers to keep our 19 charity shops open and our emergency helicopters flying. Could you spare an hour or two to help your local shop? We have a host of tasks which need to be completed to make our shops a success. You do not have to have any previous retail experience as we offer friendly support, training and encouragement. So why not give volunteering a go and arrange a trial session at one of our shops. We also have other volunteering opportunities, from event support, delivering community talks, box collections through to one off projects and supporting our Head Office operation. If you would like to support a much loved local charity,  help to save lives and meet new people, we would love to hear from you! To find out where your nearest shop is and how you can help, please contact our Volunteer Engagement Officer, Charlotte Fleetwood on 01392 466 666 or email ”

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THE TOM PUTT APPLE

Last month we heard about the Tom Putt apple trees that have been planted in the churchyard. Here’s a bit more info about this very special apple variety:   By Carol Hall.

       “Tom Putt” is a traditional variety of dual purpose apple, often used as a cider apple, originating in Devon. The apple Tom Putt was supposed to have been named for an 18th-century landowner, Thomas Putt of Combe   (Combe House, Gittisham), who died in 1787 and was nicknamed “Black Tom”. Putt, a barrister, is reputed to have perfected the variety and is also said to have won prizes for his fruit trees at agricultural fairs in Honiton.

GITTISHAM’S NEXT MONTHLY COFFEE GET-TOGETHER SATURDAY 17^TH JUNE 
It would be lovely if I could have some volunteers to help with our get togethers each month, (3^rd Saturday) if you could offer help please contact me Carol 851113 thanks.  June 17th, Margaret and Michael Hawkins have kindly invited us to their home 21 Cypress Close, Gittisham Vale, EX14 2YW  for our coffee get together from 10.30 – 12.00. Parking slightly limited.  July’s will be back in the parish room on Saturday 16^th 10.30 – 12.00
______________________________________________________________________________ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH AND THE HONITON MISSION COMMUNITY (M.C.)
Thank you to all who undertake sides-peoples duties, I am not sure how long it is going to take for me to get fully up and running again or when I will be driving again. Forthcoming services for  June, 4^th none 11^th Eucharist, 18^th none, 25^th lay led morning worship. Julia organised a lay led post Coronation service on the 7^th May at which 14 adults and 3 children attended, the hymns were very appropriate for the happy occasion.  

18^th June, Father’s Day bar-b-q 12.30 at the village hall £6.50 adult, £4.00 secondary age child and free for primary age child. Vegetarian available, bring own drinks.  Booking or information
St. Paul’s Honiton
Weekly services still continue to be at 11.00am The website (honitoncofe.org) is updated regularly and has news about  services, 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 also being live streamed. If you would like to join this service do please contact the Parish Office and the link will be forwarded, or ring, 01404 44035  messages will be replied to when someone is available, Mollie the Church administrator is there on Tuesdays and Fridays from 9.00 to 12.30.  Coffee and biscuits are served in the church on Tuesdays and Saturdays 10.00 – 12.00 and after Sunday services, donations are welcomed.  Details of the other M.C. church services can be found in the Around the Parishes under each church and the service details including Readings and Collects for the month and will certainly be helpful if you join the live streamed Sunday service.
St. Nicholas, Combe Raleigh
Has a new church project which was launched over the Coronation weekend. They intend to install a stained-glass window in the church as a memorial to her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.   Pledge forms are available for anyone who would like to contribute and as a huge incentive, all individual pledges are being matched by an anonymous donor. If you’d like further details please phone 47156 or 43166
Awliscombe & Weston Fete is booked for Saturday 17th June at 1.00pm. at the Otter Inn with stalls, games, teas etc.

200 CLUB RESULTS  JUNE
1^st   Olive Collis                     2^nd  Sarah Agg-Manning                3^rd   Karen Loveland
4^th   Richard Marker              5^th   Sara Trumper

I am no longer running the 200 club, Julia Barratt has decided that Janet Twist and Angie Hutchings are to take it over.  If you would like to join the 200 club which 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, please ring Angie Hutchings on 07774 146209 or Janet Twist 01404 45484 they can send or email the application form. 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, cash or preferably Standing Order, there is a form for your bank.  They can email both the application and Standing order forms if required or print them off for you, please let them know
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DID YOU V0TE IN THE LOCAL ELECTIONS?    the Conservatives won by only 7 votes, the smallest margin for a very long time.  I hope you remembered your id, the first time this has been required and the two tellers were new to the village.

PARISH COUNCIL – JUNE 2023 REPORT

Six councillors met for the June meeting. Two members of the public were also present.

Broadband.

Faye Cross, Community Liaison Officer for broadband provider Airband, explained that

the company is joining forces with Connecting Devon and Somerset to bring superfast

broadband to previously excluded communities. The company plans to install new

infrastructure, which would likely include poles. The aim is to complete this work in

Gittisham by the end of 2024. Members welcomed the proposals, but felt the timescale

might be too ambitious based on previous experience, combined with the challenges

presented by the village setting, AONB, listed buildings and land owner negotiations.

Finance. Members agreed the finances, as well as the annual accounts and

governance statement for 2022/23.

Crimes. March 2023: no reported crimes.

Church Mead bridge.

Maggie Walker explained that following a visit by EDDC staff and contractors, work will

begin to install a pedestrian footbridge with disabled access, and the existing bridge will

be dismantled while repairs take place. Residents and visitors will have to park

elsewhere during this period, which is expected to last approximately one month.

Planning applications.

a) 23/1056/FUL Unit B Weston Park Devonshire Road Heathpark Industrial Estate –

installation of vents and flues on north, west and east elevations, removal of window on

north elevation

b) 23/1009/FUL Landscores Cottage EX14 3AU Single storey extension to dwelling

and general purpose agricultural barn

c) c) 23/0110/LBC Charlies Cottage 1 Beaumont Cottages EX14 3AG – Replace all

windows to match existing with slim line double glazing; gas central heating; Install

underfloor heating system to the entire ground floor; Block up doorway on north

elevation; New window on north elevation to kitchen.; New internal doorway between

dining room and created bedroom/office.; New window on east elevation to create

bedroom/office; new conservation roof window to the new bedroom/office on east

elevation; Open up the fireplace for an investigation, reinstate fireplace. Radiators at first

floor.

Councillors resolved to have no objections to the three applications, and particularly

welcomed the proposals in c) to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Combe Farm Shop licensing application.

Councillors expressed serious reservations about the application to sell alcohol seven

days a week, including evenings. They considered it an inappropriate location for

reasons including access, lack of lighting, impact on adjoining residential properties,

crime and disorder, and an increase in traffic and pedestrian movements (especially in

the vicinity of Hayne Lane).

Scams.

Janet Twist reported that there are cold callers going round park homes in East Devon,

to ask if people are interested in purchasing insulation. There has also been a rise in the

online impersonation of brands. The advice is to type the address of a website you wish

to use, rather than choose from a search engine.

Old Elm Road.

Councillors welcomed the news that wildflower seeds have been sown at the bottom of

Old Elm Road, with further plans to start tree planting along the strip of land that backs

onto Ferndale Close later this year. EDDC has leafleted neighbouring properties to

inform them.

Next meeting. Thursday 6 th July at 7.30pm in the parish room.  
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Rev’d Sue Roberts

Bishop Jackie has kindly encouraged Rev’d Sue to take a somewhat overdue sabbatical this year. she was all set to take it in 2020, but Covid-19 put a stop to that. “I was reluctant to take it so soon after being off last year,
but have been assured that it is absolutely in order.”  To help in the Mission Community while she is away, from 1 Sept—30 Nov, Rev’d Tracey Voisey from the Assistant Curate in the Benefice of Axminster, will be joining the Honiton Mission Community.  Tracey will be the Acting Team Vicar while The Revd Prebendary Sue Roberts is away. 

THE GITTISHAM GAZETTE DISTRIBUTION
I am hopefully finished with hospital stays but would appreciate offers of help to deliver round the village and to the few homes in Cypress Close, Ferndale and Laburnum plus the Gittisham Vale bus shelter as am currently not allowed to drive, as my vertebrae keeps breaking, fingers crossed I shall be able to use my car soon.  I would like to thank everyone who has taken me to appointments or to the shops, and with my walking not too good either, I hope to be able to finish using the wheelie walker soon.

If you wish to receive the Gazette by email or by post do contact me 851113, 30ish  copies are usually put in the Vale bus shelter The Gazette can also be found on the Gittisham Website https://gittisham.org  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 but as I can’t go upstairs yet I have to rely on someone bringing the printing down.                                                          

                                                    EDITOR / DISTRIBUTOR:
Carol McCann  01404 851113/07946409142     . 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 July edition is 27^th June the Gazette will hopefully be ready by the 8^th July.