Ashwater

Parish Hall News

A very important date for the new hall project is fast approaching.
On March 31st two representatives of the Big Lottery Fund will be visiting Ashwater to interview members of the hall committee as part of the process of deciding whether or not to grant the project money. The day will consist of visiting the old hall, the new hall site, lunch (in the old hall, at their insistence!) followed by interviews and detailed discussion of our application.
One major discussion point will be the business plan and the viability of the new hall. The hall committee feel this part of the application is a strength because of the surveys carried out to ascertain usage. The original survey pointed to an increase in groups wanting to use a new facility. Recently these groups reaffirmed their interest and more groups, particularly groups from outside the parish, were added to the list. We submitted their letters of support and expressions of interest as part of our stage two application. The committee have no doubts as to the future viability of a new hall because of increased usage and substantially lower running costs.
The May 7th meeting will be the AGM. See if you can set aside this evening and attend the meeting and become involved in this project.
Thanks to Ali Rowe for her tremendous fund raising work with the goods sale. The total reached is in excess of £500 and is still climbing!

Ashwater Parish Hall Events

Saturday 17th May 2008.
Make an entry in your diary for an evening of Music, Mirth and Memories. Do not miss this fantastic variety show. A relaxed ‘Fun Evening’ with ace raconteur Chris Batters and his one-man show £5.00 a head. (Under 16yrs accompanied by an adult - Free)
There will be a bar arranged for the evening.

Bell Ringing

Ashwater Bell Ringers are looking to replace ringers who have left the area, and invite anyone locally to come and try ringing (male or female) age 12+. You are welcome to come along any Monday evening and have a go! No obligation, if you have always wondered how it works, give it a go!!. The tower captain Eric Moon and his fellow ringers will give you a warm welcome and all the help and guidance you will need. The big bonus is that it keeps you fit! Eric Moon, Tower Captain. 01409 211445.

Reading Club

Do you enjoy reading and would you be interested in being a founder member of the Ashwater Reading Group?
Having recently moved into the village, I am keen to start a reading group. Nothing too formal, possibly meeting once a month in members’ homes where we could discuss books we have read and enjoy a social evening, with possibly a glass of wine (or two).
Holsworthy Library will supply books, so hopefully, costs would be minimal.
If you are interested please contact:
Sue George 4, Barton Court

Dominoes League

The winter is nearly over and the dominoes sessions in the Village Inn have run their course. The winner of the League was Peter Capron with Rodney Brock as runner-up. The doubles competition has also been concluded with the winners being Brian Williams and Jon Dix with Peter Jennings and Peter Capron as runners-up.

Ashwater on the Airwaves

This year BBC Radio Devon is celebrating 25 years of broadcasting across the county. As part of a series of programmes to mark the event presenter Jo Bishop invited listeners to suggest details of their favourite local walk.
Inevitably this meant Dartmoor, the coasts and parts of the various AONB’s would figure highly, but upon being contacted she admitted to being intrigued by a walk through the mud of Ashwater.
Consequently on the 13th February guided by Ivan Buxton and accompanied by her dog Bella she was shown the delights of a circular walk around the Parish and the recording will feature in a series of Saturday morning programmes commencing on 22nd March 2008.
Details will also be on the web site www.bbc.co.uk/devon/places/walks in due course.

Horsewatch Tack Marking

There will be a tack marking session on Saturday 12th April 2008 from 10:00 - 13:00 at: Essie's Equine, Torridge Way, Dobles Lane Ind. Estate, Holsworthy. Tel: 01409 253900
Gina Dale from Horsewatch and PCSO Beverley Harvey will be marking tack as a crime prevention measure and to make tack identifiable to you, should it be stolen. Your postcode will be stamped on the underside of the saddle. Synthetic saddles can be engraved on the stirrup bar. Although there is no official charge for this service, a small donation to Horsewatch would be very much appreciated. There will also be opportunity to find out more about Horsewatch and membership if you wish. PCSO 30103 Beverley Harvey.

Parish Council

Maria Bailey the Community Planning Manager for TDC spoke at the meeting and encouraged the parish council to produce a parish plan which would benefit the community as TDC would be able to ascertain the needs of the parish.
The new village notice board has now been erected.
A joint letter is going to be sent to TDC from the Parish Council and the Parish Hall Committee supporting the need for funding for the new parish hall.
The parish recycling pavilion is scheduled to be removed and the parish council are writing to TDC requesting that the facility at the Village Inn car park is allowed to stay as it is widely used.

The Parish Council Annual General Meeting will be on Wednesday 14 May 2008. The Annual Parish Meeting will be held on Wednesday 11 June 2008. John van de Laarschot (Chief Executive TDC) has been invited to attend (to be confirmed) and the members of the parish are invited to put any concerns they have to him at the meeting.

Caravans at Bendibus - TDC have visited the site and it has been tidied up.

From Our District Councilor

The government appointed Boundary Committee (BC) met with The Torridge District Council (TDC) Leadership team today, 18 March ‘08. We were told, amongst other things that it would be wise for TDC to make recommendations of their own to the BC and that such a submission is required by 11 April 2008; that change will occur, and the BC’s remit is to recommend to Hazel Blears MP (Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government) by December 2008 the ‘best unitary solution’ for Devon County; that TDC, and other district councils could not recommend the status quo; that any such submission must include evidence in support and that the BC has to be persuaded that each individual council’s submission has to hold a ‘vision’ which is going to work; that existing boundaries are not relevant for this exercise - and, that although Plymouth and Torbay will remain as unitary themselves their boundaries are not sacrosanct.
Our rural area is going to be significantly affected by the outcome of the above. As you will have seen in the local newspapers TDC has consistently advocated ‘ .. far greater joint working with other local authorities. The Council is striving for this because our (TDC) over-riding objective is to provide the best possible services to the people of Torridge at the lowest possible cost. Our (TDC) preferred way forward is the one which maximizes efficiencies for council tax payers whilst giving people high quality services that reflect local needs.’
My own perspective - for which the BC is also now aware - is that our rural communities must avoid going back to the days of not being heard, and, therefore, forgotten, and I will take every opportunity to remind them, as well as others of the same.
Many in our community know that our County Councillor, Des Shadrick, has been unwell and I have asked individuals not to call Des for the moment so as to give him some recovery time. I know we all wish Des a speedy recovery.
My next Ashwater surgery (at The Village Hall) is on 03 April 2008 (6.30pm to 8.00pm). If you wish to see me on any matter(s) of concern or otherwise please call me to pre-book a 10-15 minute time slot.
My every best wish. District Councillor, Barry Parsons

Church News

The Ashwater Church is joining forces with the Tetcott church and will be holding a 'Barn Dance' at Tetcott Village Hall: 12th April. More details from Chris and Tony on 211340.
Also in April, there will be a St Georges Tea at Ashgreen on 23rd April more details from Wendy and Tony 211229.

Horticultural Society

The next meeting of the Society will be on 9th April at 7.30pm in the Parish Hall when George Kestle will make a return visit to talk about lawns.

Fun Day and Revel 5th July 2008

The Ashwater Fun Day will take place this year on Saturday 5th July and will once again be an opportunity for all the organisations in the village and surrounding area to join together in a big, fund raising event.
The funds will be split between the new Parish Hall Fund and the Church, with an opportunity for other organisations to make a bit of money too.
Please get your thinking hats on and if you already have an idea about what you would like to do on the day, please contact Ali Rowe 211222.
If your organization wishes to run something or you would like to run a stall; we would like ideas for new fund-raising schemes and 'crowd pullers' and new ways to have fun - and volunteers to help us with the old favourites.
If you would like to be part of the team let us know! Email: ali@devon-art.com

Big Sale - Still Going Strong!

Ali Rowe has written: 'Thanks to all who helped in any way with the Big Sale, we made more than £500! There is still stuff left, that is sorted and priced, so when it gets a bit drier and warmer, I will be taking it all to a Car Boot Sale to try to boost the total. Its not too late if you have some more stuff to donate'.

News From Devon County Council

Hoax caller warning
Devon County Council is warning members of the public not to give personal details to anyone who telephones them claiming to be a member of Devon County Council's staff updating records.
The Council has had several reports from people concerned about a caller who asks for personal information such as name, address, date of birth and employment status.
If any members of the public receive a call of this nature they are advised not to give any personal information.
If anyone is concerned about a call they have received and would like to check if the call was genuine they can call Devon County Council's customer service centre on 0845 155 1011 for help and advice.

Beware of email scam

The scam, emailed to Inboxes seemingly at random, tries to hook the reader by informing them that they have won £500,000 in a lottery promotion. It insists that to claim the money, recipients must respond within 15 days with personal information, including: Full name; Country; Contact address; Telephone Number; Marital Status; Occupation; Company; Age.

Devon County Council's Fair Trading Manager, Peter Greene, said: "This appears to be a scam. If anyone receives an email like this we advise them to delete it. Do not respond and do not give personal information to any source that you are uncertain of.
Information such as this can be used by fraudsters for identity theft purposes, and rather than winning thousands of pounds as hoped, people could actually lose money from unauthorised access to personal bank accounts.
It's easy to get caught up and caught out by quick rich schemes like this, but really the only people getting rich are the fraudsters."

Advert

Orchard Hen Farm now available for Free Range Eggs as fresh as a daisy £1 a doz
also available slow grown free range pork £2.25lb sold as halves or whole only
open 6am until 11am (guaranteed) after 11 am please call at the house.
Contact no. 01409 211087

Ashwater Parish Calendar

My thanks to those who provide articles for the newsletters. Copies will as always be available at the Post Office and in the Village Inn. Any information for inclusion in or offers to help please contact Peter Capron, my e-mail address is newsletter@ashwaterparish.org.uk.

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Last modified: Monday March 24, 2008