Mid May 2026 — Produced for the Parish Council and St Michael’s Church
Grain To Cream
It’s been a while since I last wrote so time to update about the going’s on here at Gittisham Farm.
Well after a long wet first few months of the year we now could do with a little bit of rain. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the ground can dry in the spring, we have had quite a bit of wind which speeds things up. Now we are out of winter and new growth is marching on, always a great to see.
We are now preparing for winter it’s long term thinking this farming lark!
The first cut of silage has already been taken and looks promising and the grass is growing away nicely for the next cut. We have planted all the maize so we wait with anticipation to see it germinate and poke through the soil. We have also sown some grass which we will hope to see soon. We usually plant the grass in the autumn after a crop of wheat, as we have less weed competition but this was sown where the pumpkins were and it was too late by the time they are picked and the field needed a break from pumpkins and grass is a good restorative crop as it can stay in the soil so it has a break from cultivation improving the soil structure! I have just ploughed the field we will use for pumpkins this year so don’t fear you will still be able to get your pumpkin fix here! (As long as they grow; mustn’t count my chickens before they hatch so to speak)
As always calves are being born, we have just started using some new calf pens which are proving to be successful.
After not seeing or hearing them for a while I have heard the barn owls again, I was a little worried if bird flu may have got them but thankfully not and as per usual the ducks are waddling around pairing up. The females don’t half lead the drakes on.
The cows are now grazing for a short while as they need and want access to the milking machine all day. It is a bit of a learning curve as we must gauge how much food they require on top. If it was easy the supermarkets would do it! We are doing it to cut costs a bit less silage to make, once out the girls soon want to come back in and are queuing for the robots, and they don’t queue like Brits well I suppose there is Danish, Swiss and Dutch heritage in their breeding so very European but I do think they are more Italian in their style!
For the eagle eyed among you, you may have seen some white sticks in our field of wheat on the left towards Fenny Bridges. This is some trial plots for different fungicides. We have trials here quite often in the wheat, maize and grass for different things like weed control and disease so things are always progressing.
Gittisham PCC
The Parochial Church Council (PCC), is the group responsible for the running of our beautiful Gittisham church, St Michael’s. We are comprised of 10 people who live in or near the village and meet on average six times a year. We form part of the Honiton Mission Community (HMC) which oversees a number of other churches within our neighbouring parishes. The Honiton Mission Team is based at St Paul’s church Honiton and we are all part of the Diocese of Exeter.
As the mid-point in 2026 nears, we approach a sad date for the PCC and for Gittisham as a whole. Sunday 12th July will be Julia Barrett’s last service as Lay Minister at St Michael’s. Julia who started her post in Gittisham in 2018 has led the church faithfully and spiritedly for almost 8 years, whilst also providing dedicated pastoral care for the wider community. Her tenure here will be an indelible part of the church’s history and we wish her all the very best in her retirement. Please join us at 3pm on 12th July for Julia’s farewell service.
In other news, the vacant Team Rector position at HMC has been successfully filled and we are delighted with the appointment of Reverend Tracey Voysey. The PCC has worked with Tracey for some time and looks forward to continuing to do so in her new capacity.
Lastly thank you to all those that have supported the church through donations, maintenance and cleaning, helping with fund-raising events and attending services. The church is good physical, administrative and spiritual order as a consequence.
Flower Festival
Various Performers in Gittisham Church on the Saturday 6th June!
Starts 5 pm , no entry fee!
Delicious refreshments in the village hall all weekend from 10-5 pm!
Not to be missed, information from Helen on 07806480246!
What’s On?
-Village Hall
Open Bookings
- Tuesdays – Tai Chi & Quigong 09:50 am- 11:10am
- 3rd Tuesday of the month- Yoga 18:15
- Wednesday – Folk Dance Club 7pm
- Thursday- Community Kitchen 18:30
- 2nd Sunday of the Month Pierre’s Cafe 10am
Hire the hall: www.gittisham.org.uk/village-hall/hire-the-hall/
Committee Events
- 30th May coffee and cake 2.30 – 4.30
- 6th & 7th June Flower Festival
- 21st June Father’s Day BBQ
- 27th June Coffee and Cake. 2.30 – 4.30pm
- 11th July Band Night. Exeter Street Band 7pm
- 1st August Flower and Produce Show
- 29th August Coffee and Cake 2.30 – 4.30
- 5th September Gittisham Fete
- 17th October Jumble Sale
- 31st October Halloween Party/ Coffee and Cake
- 28th November Christmas Craft Fair, expressions of interest in tables being taken
- 28th November Christmas Bingo 7pm for 7.30pm
- 23rd January Burns Night Celebration
–Church
- Sunday May 24th 11am Pentecost (Whit) Sunday
- Flower Festival 6 th & 7 th June With refreshments in hall & entertainers!
- Natter and Nibbles, June 13th
- Sunday June 14th 11am Holy Communion
- Sunday June 28th 6pm Choral Evensong with HMT Choir
- Sunday 12th July Julia’s farewell service
- 200 Club Winners June
- 1st Prize £75 Clara Hall
- 2nd Prize £50 Amanda Ackland
- 3rd Prize £25 Julia Barrett
Events are also listed here: https://gittisham.org.uk/whatson/
Holy Dusters Needed
Can you spare a little time at your convenience?
Cleaning products are in the church by the vestry door.
Thank you.
200 Club
Join the Gittisham 200 Club!
The 200 club is a licensed small lottery raising funds to pay for the upkeep of our beautiful church and paying prizes in a monthly draw.
There are a number of tickets still available for purchase.
Tickets cost £3 per month and you can buy up to 3 for any named person. Some members buy tickets for children and grandchildren as well as for themselves.
The draw takes place once a month, usually at Natter & Nibbles, and there are cash prizes of £75, £50 and £25 each time.
Contact Sara at for an application form and further details.
Gittisham Village Hall Monthly Update
Well that was another busy and successful month at the hall, and have you seen how wonderful the gardens are looking now?
It was wonderful to see so many of you join us for our recent Coffee & Cake afternoon. The sunshine was certainly on our side, with the garden parasols making a most welcome first appearance of the year. It was lovely to spend such a relaxed afternoon together.
April also saw our much-anticipated kitchen inspection from the Food Safety Agency. Much of the work undertaken in the kitchen over the last 9 months has been with this inspection in mind, given we now need to register with the FSA. We are delighted, and just a little relieved, to report that we passed with flying colours, achieving a fantastic 5-star rating! We proudly display our shiny new certificate and sticker, knowing how much hard work and community support has gone into achieving and maintaining such high standards.
Thanks also to Jim who has given the hall foyer a much needed lick of paint. What a brilliant job he has done and what a difference that has made!
We enjoyed a great turnout for our recent Quiz Night. A huge thank you goes to Hamish Hall for being such an excellent Quiz Master, keeping everyone entertained with a wonderfully varied selection of questions — some certainly more challenging than others! The evening finished with a hilarious final challenge that tested knees rather than knowledge! Thank you to Sue for keeping us well fed, again!
Many of you will know that we held our AGM last week. The Chairman’s Report is available to read on our website, and we were pleased to share that the hall remains in profit despite the significant upgrades and improvements made this year. Everything we achieve is thanks to the incredible support of our community, and we are always keen to hear your thoughts and ideas for future events. Please do send us your feedback using the QR code provided or by emailing the committee directly.
We are hoping to continue with our program of improvements with replacement of the now dilapidated back garden bench. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions as to who might be able to approach for help with this, we are all ears. We are also hoping to arrange some signwriting in our newly painted foyer and to continue with garden upgrades.
We have plenty of exciting events coming up over the next few months. Plans are already underway for a Jumble Sale in October, while nearer at hand we are looking forward to our Father’s Day BBQ in June.
Make sure to save the date for Saturday 11th July, when the fantastic Exeter Street Band will be bringing their energy and music to the hall for what promises to be a brilliant Band Night.
Finally, we look forward to welcoming everyone once again to our next Coffee & Cake gathering at the end of the month, May 30th! We are always grateful to the incredible bakers we have in Gittisham for their gorgeous bakes!
Thank you, as always, for your continued support of Gittisham Village Hall, we look forward to welcoming you to our parish hall soon
New Village Information Boards
Conceptualised by Councilor Pester, funded by the Parish Council and Made by Taylor signs. These mark the start of a project to inform visitors about the village another is being sited close to the Village Hall.
Dear Geraldine
Introducing Geraldine, your new go-to agony aunt column—where no problem is too small, too strange, or too serious to share.
Life has a way of tying us in knots, whether it’s love, friendships, family drama, workplace dilemmas, or those quiet worries you can’t quite put into words. That’s where Geraldine Gitt comes in. With warmth, wit, and a refreshingly honest perspective, Geraldine is here to listen without judgment and offer thoughtful, compassionate advice.
Got a burning question? Stuck in a situation you can’t untangle? Or simply need an outside perspective? Send in your problems and let Geraldine help you make sense of it all. Chances are, if it’s on your mind, someone else is wondering the same thing too.
Write in, open up, and let’s figure it out—together.
On Sunday 12th July here at Gittisham St. Michael’s Church there will be a special service to thank Julia Barrett for her support & work within the Parish Community especially here at Gittisham which will be at 3 pm followed by refreshments in the village hall!
Any donations can still be given to Helen Hayman & also a rough idea of numbers attending the tea so please contact Helen -Preferably by end June! Thank you Gittisham PCC
Spring in the Village
Morning River Mist by Claire
Red Kite at Westgate by Paul
Whose home is this? Gas fire with real logs?
Email in
Last months garden tool home was Maggie’s congratulations to Paul for his correct guess!
My name’s Claire and I sing with the Sidmouth Gospel Choir (we’re the enthusiastic, slightly-too-loud-in-a-good-way kind 😊)
Picture Sister Act — but instead of a group of vibrant young singers, imagine a collection of men and women who are mostly over the hill and have less time left on their hands than Noah watching the rain clouds gather!
We’re hosting a charity event at St Peter’s Church in Sidford, and we’re putting together a fun Silent Auction to raise as much as we can for a great cause. Plus there will be alcoholic refreshments, some scrummy home-made cakes and a raffle!
All proceeds are going to an orphanage in Uganda, where we hope to raise enough to replace essential water pipe to return the orphanage to self-sufficiency. We are going to quite literally, turn wine into water!!
Tickets are selling but concessions are also available, if someone wants to come along but can’t afford the £10 entrance fee, just get in touch.
Look forward to seeing you all there!
Huge Congratulations to Connor Davey
On graduating from No.1 Radio School, RAF Cosford! From trainee to Cyberspace Communication Specialist, onwards and upwards to your next phase and future in the Royal Air Force. We are so proud! Per Ardua ad Astra.
Parish Council Updates
PARISH COUNCIL – May 2026 REPORT
Six councillors met for the May meeting and annual parish meeting, along with Richard Jefferies (DCC) and one member of the public.
Chair & Vice Chair.
Alex Rowe was elected as chair and Peter Orchard as vice chair for 2026/27.
Finance. Members agreed the finances.
Crimes. Feb 2026 Parsonage Lane: 1 x other theft
Longlands Way: 1 x violence & sexual offences
Laburnum Way: 1 x drugs
March 2026 Parsonage Lane: 3 x violence & sexual offences
[Please note police crime report areas lack specificity primarily due to legal privacy requirements such as the Data Protection Act, which prevents identifying individual victims, suspects, or exact residential addresses. As a result, exact incident locations are placed in general hotspots, or rounded to broader geographic units.]
Planning applications.
a) 26/0570/FUL – 1 Hamlet Cottages Weston EX14 3PB – Change of use of existing outbuilding to hair salon with alterations to fenestration and construction of a new roof
b) 26/0457/LBC – 2 Mitchell Cottages Gittisham EX14 3AF – Re-slate roof (re-using where possible) & extend existing ventilation through rear roof space; repairs to chimney stack; replacement of cement render to front elevation with lime equivalents; refurbishment of the stone and timber windows WG1, WG2, WG3, WF1, WF2, WF3 & WF4; replace external suspended ceiling; internal replacement of cement plaster with lime, and installation of ventilated panelling to defective timber framed and party wall
Councillors had no objections to the above applications.
Road closures.
04-22 May 2000-0600hrs Construction / Improvement/Upgrading – A30 westbound and eastbound, Daisymount to Turks Head junctions.
CIL.
The clerk reported that GPC had received approximately £27k in CIL receipts [Community Infrastructure Levy] from East Devon District Council. According to EDDC, a local council must use CIL receipts passed to it in accordance with the CIL Regulations 2010 to support the development of the local council’s area, or any part of that area, by funding:
a) The provision, improvement, replacement, operation or maintenance of infrastructure;
b) or anything else that is concerned with addressing the demands that development places on an area
Councillors agreed to reflect on ways of spending these funds and to come to the next meeting with suggestions for how to take this forward. A public consultation is advisable.
Vale bus shelter.
Peter Orchard said that the solar panel and the floodlight had been removed or stolen from the Vale bus shelter. Councillors agreed to replace them in the autumn.
Green Gittisham.
Gary Pester said that he had contacted a range of wildlife organisations who would be interested in visiting the parish to see what could be done to improve biodiversity. Councillors agreed that an event could be arranged for early next year, with stalls and workshops.
Next meeting. Thursday 4th June at 7.30pm in the parish room.
Gittisham Sky Watch: What to look for this Month
As we head towards the longest day of the year, the night sky never gets truly dark. This period of “perpetual twilight” gives us a wonderful, deep blue sky to explore. If you are enjoying a warm evening in the garden, here is what to look out for over the parish:
- The Return of the “Summer Triangle”: As the evenings warm up, look toward the eastern horizon just after sunset. You will begin to see three incredibly bright stars rising: Vega, Deneb, and Altair. Together, they form a massive shape known as the Summer Triangle. It is a sure sign that summer has officially arrived in Devon!
- A Kiss Between the Moon and Mars: On the evening of June 3rd, look low toward the western horizon just after sunset. You will see a beautiful, waxing crescent moon passing extremely close to a bright, reddish “star”—that is the planet Mars! It’s a wonderful sight that requires absolutely no binoculars.
- The “Strawberry Moon”: The next full moon peaks on May 31st. Traditionally known by early Native American tribes as the Strawberry Moon, it marked the time of year when the wild strawberries began to ripen.
- Spot the Space Station: Because the sun never dips far below the horizon in June, it is the best time of year to spot the International Space Station (ISS). It looks like a very bright, fast-moving star gliding silently and steadily across the sky (usually taking about 3 to 4 minutes to cross).
Thank you to everyone who contributed pieces to this Gazette. If you would like to submit something for next month’s issue, please email .
