Devonshire ezine Spring 19

SPRING 2019 

DIGITAL MAGAZINE 

Countryside, Wildlife, History and Events

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2 CONTENTS COUNTRYSIDE VISIT 

FOOD & DRINK THINGS TO DO

Guest Editor 

HIGH SHERIFF AN ABSOLUTE HONOUR 

We moved to Devon 31 years ago so we 

are still in-comers. But I have come 

to adore this county and particularly 

my little patch, North Devon. So being 

High Sheriff of Devon has been, for 

me, a great honour and a wonderful 

opportunity to give something back 

to this special part of the world. 

I have enjoyed every minute of my time 

in office and have loved meeting and 

encouraging all the amazing people 

who give so much of themselves for 

the good of others. 

Carol service at Mid Devon Council 

One of my first major engagements was 

the Passing out Parade at Britannia 

Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. One 

of the jewels in Devon’s crown. The 

cadets were so impressive, perfectly 

drilled but also full of enthusiasm for 

their new roles in Britain’s armed 

forces. 

I have enjoyed my contacts with all 

our cadets. Before my Declaration 

I was involved in choosing the High 

Sheriff’s police cadet for the year. 

They were all impressive youngsters 

and I’m quite sure each one of them 

would have done a brilliant job. It is 

lovely to see police cadets working 

in our community. Most people will 

have come across them, always smartly 

dressed and helpful, assisting the police 

at major public events. They also do 

quite a bit of behind the scenes work 

with the police. 

Another group of youngsters who have 

made a strong impression on me is 

the Devon Army Cadet Force. I was 

privileged to visit their Summer Camp 

which took place at Nescliff Army 

Base near Shrewsbury in Shropshire. 

More than 300 youngsters from Devon 

were doing things they had never 

done in their lives before - climbing 

walls, abseiling, trying their hands 

in the firing ranges, learning to sail 

and canoe and taking part in group 

adventures. Like all cadets, many are 

from disadvantaged backgrounds and 

these opportunities give them a chance 

to gain in self-esteem, learn to work 

with others and develop leadership 

skills. The volunteers who work 

with them are also amazing, giving 

their time and expertise to help the 

youngsters. 

We have so many 

wonderful people in 

Devon 

In fact, Devon is full of impressive 

volunteers. 95% of cases are tried by 

magistrates in this country and they 

are all volunteers. We desperately need 

more young magistrates and more 

companies which are willing to allow 

employees to take time off to volunteer. 

Our agricultural shows are manned 

by volunteer stewards. Devon County 

Show stewards won the Queens Award 

for Voluntary Service demonstrating 

the standard of dedication of all our 

volunteers. 

There are volunteers running food 

banks, helping in hostels, hospices and 

hospitals all across the county and fund 

raising for all manner of good causes. 

I have been privileged to visit the North 

Devon Hospice, Hospice Care in Exeter, 

Little Bridge House Childrens’ Hospice, 

the Freedom Centre in Barnstaple and 

the Calvert Trust, just a few of the 

many brilliant organizations run by 

dedicated professionals but relying 

on the help of volunteers. 

I have also enjoyed gaining an insight 

into the work of our emergency 

services and the police, the law courts 

and our prisons. All these services 

employ highly trained individuals 

who give 101 percent to what they do. 

How lucky we are to have so many 

wonderful people in Devon. 

Grania Phillips - The Sheriff of Devon 

letterbox@devonshiremagazine.co.uk 

01395 512166 

devonshiremagazine.co.uk 

@devonshiremagazine 


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PEOPLE HOME DESIGN LIFESTYLE HISTORY 

CONTENTS 3

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BONEHILL ROCKS 

Image by Arthur Cauty 

14 CONTENTS COUNTRYSIDE VISIT FOOD & DRINK THINGS TO DO 

PEOPLE HOME DESIGN 

LIFESTYLE HISTORY 

CONTENTS 15 

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CONTENTS 5

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CONTENTS 7

SPRING ISSUE: 

e-zine for all things Devon... 

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VISIT 

Keeping in touch 

Staycation Devon 

Dartmoor & South Brent 

A look at London 

Branscombe walk 

Lindisfarne 

FOOD 

& DRINK 

Devonshire Foodie 

Chris Eats The Food 

52 Devon Pubs 

Devonshire Digest 

Eco Warrior 

hubcast.co.uk 



COUNTRY 

& ANIMAL 

Bonehill Rocks 

Wild Devon 

Equine 

Petty Crime 

Seal Central 

Frog painting 

Spring Lambs 

CPRE Devon 



LIFESTYLE 

Spring Fashions 

Fashion pages 

Jewellery 

HOME 

DESIGN 

The SWH&G Show 

Out & About - Lustleigh 

Nelson’s Column 

Here’s the Thing 

HISTORY 

Devon Churchland 

Devonshire Curios 

Across the Cobblestones 

Beside our Seasides 

Lindisfarne 

The Seaton Line 

THINGS 

TO DO 

Activity Map 

What’s On 

Great Night Out 

Art Scene 

PEOPLE 

Old, But New 

Nightstop Devon 

Devonshire Eccentric 

Talk About Devon 

Me, Him and Dementia 

Life is Difficult 

Managing Your Money 

School News 


CONTENTS 9

fWilson by 

Richard Woodward 




CONTENTS 11

Nigel Jones reviews new releases from Devon based authors 

A Black Fox Running 

by Brian Carter (deceased) 

ISBN - 9781408896136 

This book has been re-released by 

Bloomsbury Publishing, with a new 

foreword by Melissa Harrison. 

Wulfgar, a nearly black furred fox 

is the main character of the story 

which is set on Dartmoor in the 

years running up to 1947. The dayto-day 

descriptions of the life of 

a fox and the surrounding nature 

are beautiful, evocative and should 

open your eyes to things previously 

unconsidered. 

Wulfgar’s nemesis is the local 

trapper Scoble, the challenge being 

to outwit him and his blood crazed 

lurcher, Jacko. If you’re a lover of 

Dartmoor, there are many local 

references which you pick up along 

the way, which help immerse you 

fully in this beautiful story - actually, 

my new favourite book! Highly 

recommended. 

Footnote - the book was written 

by Brian Carter, an interesting 

figure who was not only a writer 

but also a naturalist, artist and 

broadcaster who also fought and 

won many conservation battles. His 

art was exhibited widely, including 

the Royal Academy, London, and 

at galleries in Holland, Germany, 

Paris and Canada. He lived in sight 

of Dartmoor. 

Harvey’s Law 

by Roger Harvey 

Roger Harvey dedicated his life 

to the police force during his 

time working in the Devon and 

Cornwall Constabulary from 1955 

up until retirement in 1983. As 

you can imagine, there are many 

colourful experiences that Roger 

had during his twenty eight or so 

years in the force. 

From reading the book it’s evident 

just how dedicated Roger was in 

his role, but that doesn’t mean he 

was without a healthy sense of 

humour, or indeed that he didn’t 

know how to enjoy himself as 

this book has much to keep the 

reader absorbed whilst providing 

instances that cause you to laughout-loud. 

The years between 1955 and 1983 

were significant ones to say the 

least, with many changes to our 

culture that parts of this book 

highlight to the reader, whilst 

allowing reflection - many people 

undoubtedly see this as a golden 

period in our social history. 

A great read with much amusement 

value. Recommended 

ISBN 9781843869641 

9 GO TO CONTENTS 


FOOD & DRINK THINGS TO DO 

hubcast

COUNTRYSIDE 

PETS & WILDLIFE 

13 

What's in this section... 

Bonehill Rocks The Long-tailed Tit Equine The Old Vet 

Seal Central Plastic Free Exeter Spring Lambs Don't Destroy Devon! 


CONTENTS 13

BONEHILL ROCKS 

Image by Arthur Cauty 




CONTENTS 15

Wild Devon 



Andy’s had a great interest in wildlife 

and nature and in recent years has 

developed a passion for wildlife and 

landscape photography, specialising 

in photographing the wonderful 

wildlife and varied landscapes of 

the West Country. 

Photos ©AStuthridge 

THE LONG-TAILED TIT 

Andy Stuthridge 

andystuthridgenatureimages.co.uk 

I often come across 

small groups of this 

splendid little bird 

on my country walks 

You cannot but help be enthralled 

by their antics as they fly and flit 

energetically through a hedgerow 

or tree canopy. 

They are extremely acrobatic and 

will hang upside down on branches 

and other perches whilst searching 

for food. I often see them at the 

bird feeders in my garden where 

they generally arrive in groups but 

never stay too long as they always 

seem to be on the move onto the 

next garden or wood. 

Long-tailed Tit 

showing off its 

lovely plumage 

The Long-tailed Tit is a familiar 

bird of the countryside and is easily 

recognisable with its distinctive 

colouring of black white and pink 

plumage and a tail that is bigger 

than its body. It is a resident bird 

which means it stays here all year 

around and due to its diminutive 

size this means it can suffer badly 

in severe winters. 

On cold nights a group of them 

will often huddle tightly together 

in bushes and trees to keep warm. 

At such a small size it is vital that 

Long-tailed Tits are able to stay 

warm and they are adapted to keep 

out the cold by “fluffing” up their 

plumage which enables them to 

hold in a layer of warm air. 

Interestingly, Long-tailed tits 

are not real tits at all and are not 

related to our other titmice i.e. 

great or blue tits. They are actually 

related to south east Asian birds 

called babblers and they are the 

only member of this family to live 

in the UK. 

Also, whilst other tits nest in holes 

and crevices, the Long-tailed Tit 

builds a nest outside in bushes 

and brambles. 

The Long-tailed Tit is a tiny bird 

of hedgerows, woodland, parks, 

gardens, heathland and commons. 

They are active feeders, hunting 


CONTENTS 17

THE LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE ...continued 

They are sociable 

birds and are 

normally found 

in small groups 



out insects and spiders among the 

smaller branches and leaves, and in 

winter they are found in groups as 

they forage through the countryside 

The Long-tailed Tit builds a 

wonderfully distinctive domed nest 

out of moss in a hedge, bramble or 

gorse bush and I have even seen one 

built in the fork of a tree. The nest 

is extremely well camouflaged with 

cobwebs and lichen, and the nest is 

lined with as many as 1,500 feathers 

to make it soft for the eight to twelve 

eggs it lays. 

It can take several days for the nest 

to be completed and the adult bird 

will start with a shallow cup and then 

build the dome upwards and around 

itself whilst it sits inside the nest. 

It is built by both adults and when 

finished it is an avian architectural 

wonder and no other UK bird builds 

such a beautiful and complex nest. 

However, these nests, although 

normally very well concealed, are 

often predated by rats, squirrels and 

other birds and sadly I have witnessed 

several destroyed nests over the 

years. These birds only have one 

brood each year so its important to 

TITMOUSE FACTS 

• Long-tailed Titmouse 

normally lay between 

6 to 12 eggs. 

• The population in 

the UK is extremely 

vulnerable to the 

weather and very cold 

winters can result 

in a drastic drop in 

numbers. 

have breeding success and its been 

known for birds, who have had their 

own nest destroyed, to help others 

of the species in building their nests 

and feeding the 

Long-tailed Tit nest building 


CONTENTS 19

The Long-tailed Tit 

is a very acrobatic 

little bird 

young. It is also believed that some 

youngsters from the previous years 

brood assist with the nest building. 

They normally lay between six to 

twelve eggs in the next, and its 

wonderful to see parents feeding 

newly fledged youngsters away 

from the nest with the cacophony 

of sound this produces. 

Long-tailed Tits are faring well at 

present but this doesn’t mean life is 

easy for them. The population in the 

UK is extremely vulnerable to the 

weather and very cold winters can 

result in a drastic drop in numbers 

and its also been shown that wet 

weather in spring and autumn can 

have a detrimental effect on their 

survival rates. 

fortunately, the trend is an upward 

one at present, which is good news 

for us and for this lovely little bird. 

Hopefully you will have Long-tailed 

Tits visiting your garden or you will 

be lucky enough to see them when 

you are out and about, but remember, 

Long-tailed Tits rarely do anything 

on their own so if you see one then 

there will almost certainly be others 

close behind. 

Andy Stuthridge 

A Long-tailed Tit 

feeding 

Luckily Long-tailed Tits are able 

to bounce back relatively quickly 

following periods of bad weather, 

due to their laying a large number 

of eggs and potentially raising large 

broods. Due to milder winters of late, 

Follow me: 

@andy_stuthridge_nature_images 

@landlifephotography 



Natalie has lectured in Equine Science to degree level as well 

as researching for the GB’s Olympic equestrian team. Natalie 

provides consultations in horse management, training and 

problem solving using a force-free, science based approach. 

LAMINITIS 

Natalie Bucklar - BSc (Hons), MSc (Equine Science) 

Equine laminitis is a debilitating disease that is 

commonly found in horses of all ages, breeds and 

sizes and occurs at any time of the year. 

It has been reported that over 20% 

of all lameness is due to laminitis 

and 15% of all deaths are due to this 

complicated condition. A recent study 

by the Animal Health Trust puts its 

prevalence at one in ten horses each 

year, which is more common than 

previously recognised and it makes 

laminitis as common as colic. It is 

considered by vets to be a medical 

emergency and the quicker horses 

receive veterinary help, the better 

their chances are of a good recovery. 

Less than a quarter of horses display 

the classic leaning back symptom, it 

is much more likely that a horse will 

present with shortened strides or 

lameness at walk. Difficulty in turning 

is another common symptom, as is a 

bounding digital pulse. If a horse is 

in discomfort after routine trimming 

or shoeing, it is identified as being at 

high risk of developing laminitis. In 

addition to this, if horses are trimmed 

or shod at intervals of greater than 8 

weeks, they are also associated with 

or those that had travelled for other 

reasons. 

Research is moving on all the time, 

with veterinary tests being available 

to help identify at risk animals or 

those with a predisposing condition. 

Gut health is another area receiving 

a great deal of attention, with a 

faecal test now open direct to horse 

owners so they can find out if their 

horse has any gut inflammation or 

imbalances, which may also be part 

Alongside veterinary attention, horses 

also require hoofcare support from a 

farrier or qualified practitioner 

Alongside veterinary attention, horses 

also require hoofcare support from a 

farrier or qualified practitioner and 

appropriate day to day management 

to help them cope with the pain, 

recover well and optimise the success 

of their future health. If diagnosis and 

appropriate management is delayed, 

pain is prolonged and irreversible 

damage can occur to the feet. 

being at a higher risk. Whilst any 

breed can suffer from laminitis, it is 

recognised that native pony breeds 

suffer from a higher incidence, in 

particular Welsh, Connemara, New 

Forest and Shetland Ponies and their 

cross breeds. Another interesting 

point from The Animal Health Trust 

study was that horses that had moved 

yards within the previous year had 

higher rates of laminitis compared 

to horses that hadn’t travelled at all, 

of the laminitis story. In the first 

instance, all horse owners should 

understand appropriate nutrition, 

practice good weight management, 

look at their horse’s stride length daily 

and learn how to feel for a digital 

pulse. If laminitis is suspected then 

a good equine vet should always be 

called immediately. 

Natalie Bucklar 


CONTENTS 21

MORTEHOE GRANGE 

Image by Nigel Jones 




CONTENTS 23

Ken is long retired, having ceased work work at the at age the of age 65 of in 65 1992. in 

1992. He has He been has a been contributor a contributor for a number for a number of years of now, years sharing now 

and colourful sharing writings colourful about writings his experiences about his experiences as a vet working as a vet in 

the working industry the from industry the early from 1950s the early onwards. 1950s onwards. 

PETTY CRIME 

Ken Watson 

I had a client in Plymouth who was head of the 

City Planning Committee and for a living he 

owned a very busy newsagent and toyshop. 

One lunch time I happened to 

meet him and he was clutching 

his back in some pain. “You know”, 

he said, “I have spent the morning 

cooped up in a cubby hole behind the 

cash register and bending down to 

watch a girl we suspect is pocketing 

the takings”: Well I have never gone to 

those lengths, but I have suffered my 

share of petty crime, in common with, 

I suspect, most veterinary practices. 

In most businesses, money comes 

in from many sources and it is very 

difficult to ensure that all of it finds 

its way into the till. The Victorians 

had one answer, by pricing items at 

11 3/4 pence or similar the cashier 

had to open the till to give change 

and if money was not put in it would 

be noticed. Of course the culprit 

could come to work with a pocketful 

of farthings. No system is perfect. 

The Victorians also invented that 

wonderful system of over-head wires, 

which so fascinated me as a boy, 

whereby the salesman put the cash 

and bill into a pot of two halves, 

screwed it into an overhead railway 

and pulled a cord. It would then 

travel across the store to a cashier 

sat high in a tiny high office across 

the store. She would then return the 

receipt and change by the same route. 

There was still one of those systems 

in the local store when I was a lad. 

Today, when cash is used less and 

less these matters lose importance, 

but the digital world has opened up 

new avenues for criminals. Then 

there is the matter of money going 

My ex-partners were subjected to 

the biggest scam of all, involving some 

£200,000 

out from the till. There are always 

items of petty cash to be spent. One 

time my partner and I noticed we 

were spending an excess amount 

on postage stamps. We soon found 

that one member of staff was just 

writing “Stamps” on the till then 

pocketing the money. In most cases 

a quiet warning was sufficient, but 

one young lady took it too far and we 

had to call in the police. It transpired 

that to impress her boy-friend, with 

whom she was besotted, she told him 

she had a highly paid job and helped 

herself to our money to prove it. A 

young detective in charge was anxious 

to make a case. She even found the 

pub where he liked to drink and 

offered him sexual favours to drop 

the case. She left. 

Another scam was much more serious, 

or could have been. My Head Nurse, 

hitherto much trusted and valued, 

was discovered to have been helping 

herself to vaccines and drugs and 

running a cut price practice with 

her cat-loving friends on the side. 

It was discovered because she fell 

out with her partner and moved 

out. Her partner requested that she 

removed her illicit haul and receiving 

no response then dumped the whole 

lot out with the rubbish. The bin 

men then handed it all over to their 

superiors. It was then passed into the 

hands of a colleague who very kindly 

returned it all quietly to me. It could 

have finished her career, but I have 

never felt able to do that to anyone, 

and it was partly my fault in being so 

trusting. You may think it was all too 

easy going but the alternative was to 

make everyone sign for everything 


FOOD & DRINK 

THINGS TO DO

they did, resulting in the tangle of 

red tape we see in the NHS today. I 

was not that innocent, as I was fully 

aware that although every member of 

staff had a pet, I could not recall over 

the years, a single one ever asking 

me to vaccinate their pet. 

Region’s largest rescue charity 

appeals for loving homes as it 

runs out of stables 

Generally I found 

people to be very 

honest 

After I left my ex-partners were 

subjected to the biggest scam of 

all, involving some £200,000, but 

it was really their own fault as they 

were reluctant to become involved 

in the paper work. I recall a similar 

case in Plymouth of a well known 

solicitor who when he came to retire 

discovered that his clerk had made 

off with his entire capital account. 

This resulted in me giving his wife, 

hitherto an excellent client, free 

treatment for her pets for life. 

Thus can a person’s actions, like 

throwing a stone in a pond, cause 

waves that affect many people. But 

to return to the misfortune of my old 

practice, I was amazed to learn that 

the Inland Revenue decreed that as 

the misdirected money should have 

gone into the till, then the practice 

owed the VAT on that £200,000! It 

graciously allowed them some time 

to pay it off. 

These incidents I have mentioned 

took place over some 35 years, a 

very small proportion over time. 

Generally I found people to be very 

honest, and I always ran incentive 

schemes which ensured that if the 

practice was doing well they had a 

share of it. 

Ken Watson 

The Mare & Foal 

Sanctuary recently 

warned it was nearly 

full to capacity 

after dealing with a 

rise in rescue and 

abandonment cases. 

Ponies are being dumped on waste 

ground, busy industrial estates 

or left to breed indiscriminately 

leading to more and more ponies 

needing new homes. 

Wild moorland ponies, including 

abandoned foals, can take months 

or even years to rehabilitate and 

train and with more rescue ponies 

coming in almost every day, the 

Sanctuary has appealed for help. 

Senior Director of Equine, Syra 

Bowden, said: “We’re doing our best 

to take in as many as we can but we’re 

currently over-capacity at some of 

our yards. 

Bambola with Freya 

“We can’t take any more ponies in until 

we have free stables. We have 38 ponies 

rehabilitated, retrained and ready for 

rehoming right now which will free up 

space for more to come in. 

The charity currently has more 

than 214 horses and ponies at its 

five Devon farms and a total of 38 

waiting to go, with dozens more 

in training. 

The Sanctuary offers ponies under 

various rehoming schemes from 

companions to project horses and 

unbroken youngsters - and each 

one has been well handled, halter 

trained, is good with the vet and 

farrier. 

Syra added: “Some people think 

these ponies have no value. We totally 

disagree. They are clever and willing.” 

If you think you could offer a pony 

a home visit www.mareandfoal. 

org/rehoming-list or alternatively, 

you can call the charity’s Equine 

Team on 01626 355969. 


CONTENTS 25

devonwildlifetrust.org 

Stephen has spent the last 16 years writing about and 

working for local nature for the charity Devon Wildlife Trust 

SEAL CENTRAL 

Stephen Hussey 

Around half of the world’s Atlantic grey seals 

live in UK waters and the coastline of the 

South West of England is one of the best 

places of all to spot these fascinating mammals. 

Heavyweights 

An adult male Atlantic grey seal is 

a very large animal, weighing up to 

300kg. That’s around 100kg more than 

a fully grown red deer stag. Females 

are smaller, reaching around 190kg. 

Image 

by Alex 

Mustard 

Fish diet 

Grey seals can dive to depths of as 

much as 70 metres. This allows them 

to prey on a wide range of fish and 

crustaceans, from seabed dwelling 

flat fish through to crabs living in 

shallow water. Grey seals possess 

high levels of haemoglobin in their 

blood which boosts the oxygen supply 

around their bodies. The result is 

they are able to remain underwater 

for up to 15 minutes, although five 

minute dives are more usual. 

Atlantic grey 

seals can be seen 

in hotspots on 

the North Devon 

coast. This one was 

near Lundy Island. 

Telling one from 

another 

Atlantic grey seals are much bigger 

than the UK’s other seal species, the 

harbour seal. The latter also has a 

markedly rounder face than the grey’s 

more elongated, dog-like profile. 

The coats of grey seals can vary 

greatly in colour but females usually 

appear lighter than males. It’s also 

worth looking for scarring around 

the necks of seals. This is a good 

indication that the seal is a mature 

bull. The scars are a legacy of battles 

with other males. 

Where to see 

Atlantic grey seals? 

Seal hotspots on the North Devon 

coast include between Morte Point 

and Rockham Bay (near Mortehoe), 

Hartland Point, sand bars in the 

mouth of the Taw-Torridge Estuary 

(best viewing spot is Crow Point, Braunton 

Burrows) and around Lundy Island. 

On the South Devon coast try the 

Mewstone Rock, at the mouth of the 

River Dart (best viewed from Froward 

Point), at Peartree Point, west of Start 

Point, and around Hope Cove (near 

Kingsbridge). 

Want to know more? Use the new 

on-line ‘species finder’ at www. 

devonwildlifetrust.org/wildlifeexplorer 

Stephen Hussey 

Follow DWT: 

@Devonwildlife 

@Devonwildlife 

@devonwildlifetrust 


FOOD & DRINK 

THINGS TO DO

Frogs are active 

By March in Devon, frogspawn should be present in shaded, 

well-vegetated ponds across the county. Our mild climate 

means frogs are able to spawn from January onwards. 

This charming image was painted by Hanneke Coates in watercolour. 

Hanneke Coates 


CONTENTS 27

owfortheocean.co.uk 

Kate is a Scientific Consultant for the Met Office. Her love affair truly 

started when she studied oceanography and took up rowing as a hobby. 

ROWING THE ATLANTIC OCEAN FOR A 

PLASTIC FREE GENERATION 

Kate Salmon, Row for the Ocean & Plastic Free Exeter 

What does a scientist, physiotherapist, 

architect and social media expert all have 

in common? 

As we all soon discovered, it was 

the ambition to row unsupported 

3000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, 

competing against the wind, waves 

and heat as well as other (mainly 

male) crews in the Talisker Whisky 

Atlantic Challenge. 

Our all-female team, Row for the 

Ocean, made up of Laura, Kirsty, Ros 

and myself was formed officially in 

February 2018 with a view to crossing 

the Atlantic in December 2018 from 

the Canary Islands to the Caribbean, 

following the Trade Winds. 

Why would we 

choose to do such a 

challenge? 

We’d heard many stories of crews 

forced to hunker down in their 

coffin-sized cabins for days whilst 

being tossed around on stormy seas. 

Some crews had experienced vivid 

hallucinations after depriving their 

bodies of much needed sleep for 

months at a time. Others found the 

forty degree heat at midday the 

most punishing of challenges as they 

struggled to pull their one tonne 

boat through the water, one slow 

mile at a time. Yet, all these stories 

of struggle and strife only sought 

to galvanise our resolve to attempt 

the toughest rowing race in the 

world. ‘But why?’, friends, family 

and colleagues repeatedly asked us. 

As four women who love being in or 

on the water, we found the cause 

behind our challenge had already 

declared itself. As rowers at Exeter 

Rowing Club, Kirsty, Ros and myself 

had noticed that plastic pollution had 

become a prominent feature of any 

river training session. Similarly, Laura, 

who had already rowed around the 

UK back in 2016 had also seen the 

damaging effects which plastic had 

We also wanted to 

leave a positive legacy 

in Exeter 

on our coastlines. The type of plastic 

which is most damaging is referred 

to as ‘single-use’, such as containers, 

bags, bottles, instruments which we 

typically use for 12 minutes before 

disposing of. As a crew, we decided 

what better way to draw attention 

to the single-use plastic problem 

than immersing ourselves in the 

very environment 



which it was damaging? We elected 

to support the SW-based charity, 

Surfers Against Sewage due to their 

work on a local and national level, 

both on the ground through beach 

cleans as well as through legislative 

changes. We also wanted to leave a 

positive legacy in Exeter specifically, 

so we started the Plastic Free Exeter 

campaign which aims to make Exeter 

the UK’s largest plastic-free city by 

2020. Alongside other enthusiastic 

volunteers, we are now focussed on 

committing over 40 local businesses, 

schools and community groups in 

Exeter to reducing three or more 

items of single-use plastic. 

Coordinating full-time jobs alongside 

Plastic Free Exeter and preparing to 

row the Atlantic was almost a bigger 

challenge than the row itself. We 

raised around £120,000 through 

corporate sponsorship, events and a 

crowdfunding campaign before we set 

off on the 12 th December 2018. The 

first two weeks were a baptism of fire 

with steady winds whipping up 30ft 

waves. We learned to trust our boat 

as she rose all the way to the crest of 

these giant waves before surfing her 

way down the other side reaching top 

speeds of 10.5 knots (pretty fast given 

our 2.6 knot average!) As time wore on, 

the wind died down and we faced a 

new challenge; what felt like rowing 

through cement. Slogging through 

those days became a huge mental 

challenge for all of us but our aim to 

become the fastest all-female team 

we saw more 

plastic than 

wildlife at sea 

kept us on track to finish in a time of 

43 days, 2 hours and 20 minutes. Other 

highlights of our crossing included 

Laura and myself being pummelled in 

the face by flying fish in the middle 

of the night. I got splatted in the eye 

by a jellyfish (luckily no lasting damage), 

and a 2-hour visit from some whales 

all added excitement to the crossing. 

The reason behind doing our row 

was more apparent than ever when 

we saw more plastic than wildlife at 

sea. Every day, we saw everything 

from plastic bottles, to polystyrene, 

to buckets and unidentified pieces 

caught in seaweed. The impact 

of plastic pollution on such a vast 

environment was right in front of 

our eyes and something which we 

are all now personally invested in 

changing. 

You can help us through donating here: 

www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ 

rowfortheocean. All donations will 

be gratefully received by Surfers 

Against Sewage. 

You can read more about the team 

at www.rowfortheocean.co.uk 

Kate Salmon 

Follow us: 

@rowfortheocean 




CONTENTS 29

SPRING LAMBS 

Image by Nigel Jones 




CONTENTS 31

cpre.org.uk 

Penny Mills is the Devon Director for the Campaign 

to Protect Rural England which is a registered charity 

DON'T DESTROY DEVON! 

Penny Mills, CPRE Devon 

As our green fields are swallowed up at an 

alarming rate by sprawling new housing estates, 

CPRE Devon’s Director, Penny Mills, asks if we’re 

sacrificing the very qualities that make our county 

so special? 

At the beginning of February, 

around 120 members of the public 

braved torrential rain and a howling 

gale to attend a seminar in Tavistock, 

organised by CPRE Devon. The topic 

was Housing. 

Our independent, environmental 

charity has been campaigning for 

years to shine a spotlight on the 

impact of new housing developments 

across Devon. The number of people 

who regularly turn out for these 

events - whatever the weather - 

shows that this is an issue local 

people care about and are becoming 

increasingly concerned about. With 

good reason, we believe. 

The Government’s relentless drive 

for more and more new homes is 

causing irreparable harm to our 

countryside and our wildlife, not to 

mention Devon’s intrinsic value as a 

tourism destination. As Robin Hogg, 

who chaired the Tavistock seminar, 

declared: “Housing gobbles up more 

land, disappoints more people, and fails 

to provide what we all know is the prime 

requirement: to build genuinely affordable 

houses for local people.” 

For all these reasons, we can’t let 

the Government, the planners and 

the big house builders continue on 

this relentless path of destruction. 

We are in danger of ruining the very 

qualities that make Devon so special, 

and for what? We aren’t even building 

sustainable homes that local people 

can actually afford! 

Next month the Minister for Housing 

and Planning, Kit Malthouse MP, will 

be coming to Exeter to address local 

people’s frustrations about the scale, 

affordability and appropriateness of 

new homes developments across the 

county. His visit is a direct result of 

our campaigning on this issue and 

was brought about with the support of 

East Devon MP, Sir Hugo Swire, who 

We are in danger 

of ruining the very 

qualities that make 

Devon so special 

shares many of our concerns about 

the impact of housing on Devon’s 

countryside. 

For a small charity like ours, getting 

a minister down to Devon is quite a 

coup and we hope you will join us at 

Sandy Park in Exeter on March 21st 

to add your voice to ours. 

Penny Mills 


FOOD & DRINK 

THINGS TO DO

INSPIRED 

TO VISIT 

33 


New Travel Channel Out & About Glazebrook House 

A Look at London 

The Devonshire Walk 



CONTENTS 

33

New travel channel: 

Tourism is one 

of Devon's most 

important business 

sectors, we're here 

to help promote the 

county to a broader 

audience. 

Why Inspired To Visit you may ask? 

Well I'd say it's true that with so 

many tourist destinations available, 

it's important that Devon is actively 

'sold' as a destination to a broader 

audience. Certainly many people in 


the UK know and love Devon, but it's 

equally true that new generations 

and people from abroad probably 

don't have the awareness of this 

fabulous county that they should. 

It's certainly evident that many 

people coming to the UK from abroad 

have London, York, The Lakes, etc. 

in their sights, but Devon is low 

or non-existent in many tourists' 

holiday itinery. This is something 

that can be changed, but it takes 

time and long-term effort to achieve 

this change. 

There is no doubt that over the next 

few years the UK is set to receive 

a major influx of visitors, what we 

need to do is engineer 'Devon' within 

the digital world. Our new Inspired 

To Visit channel will be constantly 

working on expanding our access 

to this valuable trade for our county 

and industry. The Inspired To Visit 

website is due to launch later this 

year. 

Please see details of our current 

digital channels overleaf. 

Nigel Jones. 



Interested in all things Devonshire? 

Just follow @devonshiremagazine, @inspiredtovisit and @devonshirefoodie 

#heavyhorse 

#yellinghamfarm 

#luppit 

#watermouthbay 

#northbovey 

#burghisland 

#torquay 

#hartlandbay 

#finchfoundry 

See of walks, stays, dining, people, animals, books, and stunning photos of Devonshire countryside 




CONTENTS 35

OUT & About 

An old haywain complete with 

heavy horse at Weston, Sidmouth 



Don't miss these 

great local events 

hubcast.co.uk 




CONTENTS 37


Staycation 

GLAZEBROOK HOUSE 

SOUTH BRENT DEVON 

Glazebrook’s a riot of design flair, 

staying at the hotel is a sensory 

experience, both funky and relaxing! 

TREASURE TROVE 

In Devon there are many beautiful and 

eclectic country house hotels. Indeed, 

nothing so delightful as nipping off 

for several nights to treat yourself 

in some unexplored hotel you’ve 

yet to visit. 

A conversation with Chloe Ackland at 

Glazebrook House led to a Staycation 

review being arranged for Devonshire 

magazine recently. 

Glazebrook House is situated off the 

A38 Expressway, just several miles 

past Buckfastleigh driving towards 

Plymouth, and is extremely easy 

to reach, whilst situated with some 

really beautiful countryside behind 

it (see overleaf). 

The word ‘boutique’ is liberally 

bandied about these days, I’m not so 

sure it’s well-chosen most of the time, 

but with Glazebrook House, ‘boutique’ 

is the perfect word to describe the 

experience this fine hotel provides. 

If you don’t like bland and boring, then 

Glazebrook will suit you very well, as 

you can see from our photos, visually 

stimulation is there around every 

corner, the hotel is absolutely full of 

surprises and the level of opulence, 

particularly in the bedrooms is 

impressive. 

FOOD AND DRINK 

Any hotel stay can be destroyed by 

poor food and drink provision, some 

places I’ve visited have been almost 

criminal in their neglect. If you’re 

visiting Glazebrook, I cannot fail to 

see how you’d be less than delighted 

with their food and drink offering, it’s 

worth visiting for this aspect alone, 

they obviously really do care about 

your dining experience - top marks 

to all the team at Glazebrook, keep 

up the good work! Nigel Jones 

Be careful, too much vino and a trip across the landing 

could get you very confused. Old signs are great fun. 

For ideas for hotel visits in Devon, 

see @inspiredtovisit on Instagram 



Much fun and whimsy go to make for an entertaining, luxurious stay - the designer’s had a ball! 

The most important room in the hotel during the night - golly gosh, what a bedroom? 


CONTENTS 39

Great dining ambiance 

Staycation 

Below - opulent is the word I’d use to 

describe Glazebrook’s bathrooms 



Wines 

Josh Ackland (Chef) and Przemek Morawski 

(Sommelier) - Glazebrook’s ‘A’ team 

FOOD AND DRINK 

Glazebrook’s food offering is a delight, 

what was really encouraging was how 

the sommelier and head chef work 

together to pair wines to food dishes. 

They’re almost like a couple of old mates, 

good for everyone because whatever 

chemistry they’re using really works. 

The food sampled and wine pairings 

were excellent, and indeed food was 

top notch, with the wines being equally 

delicious. Well done guys, you’re both 

a credit to your professions!!! 

Best English breakfast I’ve had 

in years, blooming marvellous! 

Scallops, cauliflower and Parma ham 

Blue cheese and beetroot, pickled 

red onian, Glazebrook Royale tart 

Spiced pannacotta, hazelnut 

streusel, blood orange sorbet 

Lamb, spiced aubergine, boulangerers 

ratatouille 

Pan fried hake, brown crab 

aranchini nori roll, crab bisque 

Pre-dessert teaser 


CONTENTS 41

Dartmoor & South Brent 

GLAZEBROOK HOUSE 

SURROUNDING COUNTRYSIDE 

Here are some of the delights 

awaiting you in the surrounding 

countryside at South Brent which 

is on the southern foothills 

of Dartmoor 


THE MOORS 

There’s literally miles and miles of walking country 

on hand whilst staying at Glazebrook House hotel. 

Dartmoor is beautiful, it has a rugged purity that’s 

hard to resist, the granite tors, cascading moorland 

rivers, tortured trees shaped by the prevailing 

winds all contribute to lending these landscapes 

much character. 

RIVER AVON 

Tea stained - this lovely south Devonshire river 

runs off the moors, picking up colour as it drains 

the peat bogs on the moor. It’s strewn with granite 

boulders and just invites walkers to treck for miles. 

Make sure if you do undertake walks, that you use 

some form of navigation as there’s something of 

a wilderness out there, it’s particularly useful to 

carry a flask, drinks, sandwiches and some sweet 

treats to keen the energy levels up as you’ll find it 

hard to come across a village shop. 




CONTENTS 43

The fine Regency 

church of St. George 

in Hanover Square, 

London 



A look at 


LONDON 

The Serpentine, Hyde Park 

London's great, it's our capital and earlier back in history, 

it was the largest, most important city in the world. 

It can be a great tonic if you live in beautiful Devon, to occasionally take 

a trip to London for the week, or even a long weekend. There's so much 

historical stuff to wade through, not to mention Theatreland or the endless 

restaurants and bistros available following your shopping expeditions. Variety 

is the spice of life as they say, it's great to get out and enjoy the sights. 

Our new travel chapter and channel, Insipired To Visit will highlight destinations 

and stays across the UK and Europe. You can also follow us on Instagram 

@inspiredtovisit for travel ideas. 


CONTENTS 45

Caves 

Beer 

Pecorama 

6 

5 

Great 

Seaside 

1 

2 

South West 

Coastal Path 

South Down 

Common 

Branscombe Mouth 

3 

4 

Beer Head 

The Devonshire Walk 

Branscombe to Beer 

If you haven’t been on this coastal 

walk, especially on a clear sunny day, 

then you’re really missing a treat. 

Most East Devon residents have 

already visited Branscombe, 

particularly the beach and many 

have taken the walk from The Old 

Bakery & Forge, to the seafront 

which is lovely. We’ve also featured 

a circular walk around Branscombe 

in a previous issue. 

This walk along the coastal path 

takes you very steeply in an easterly 

direction, up to the top of a plateau 

that skirts the cliffs. The incline 

is fairly severe but is well worth 

the effort because the views across 

Lyme Bay are sublime. There is an 

alternative route (points 1 to 3, then 4) 

which takes you along the beach and 

through the remnants of a landslide 

- a particularly worthwhile route for 

its lush vegetation and interesting 

flora & fauna. Very much a hidden 

valley, you finally ascend out of the 

vegetation and around the chalk cliff 

face, up on to the main plateau. 

Once you've made it to the top, then 

the walk is much more sedate. At 

the other end, you're rewarded with 

views of chalky Beer bay which has 

a continental feel to it, colourful 

parasols and boats brightening up 

this busy little beach. 

Top tip - if you like fresh crab, the 

Anchor Inn serves a fine locally caught 

crab sandwich. The sea view garden 

is great also. - Editor. 



Walk Notes 

1. Parking - the walk can be started 

from Branscombe or Beer, there 

are large car parks at both places. 

2. Footwear - assuming dry 

conditions, trainers or boots 

advised. 

3. Dogs - lead necessary as livestock 

may be present although there are 

plenty of places to let the dog/s off 

the lead. 

4. Distance - a fairly strenuous walk, 

4 miles in total (return). 

NEARBY REFRESHMENTS 

The Sea Shanty 

Branscombe Mouth 

The Masons Arms 

Branscombe 

The Old Bakery 

Branscombe 

The Anchor Inn 

Fore Street, Beer 

Dolphin Hotel 


The Captain's Cottage 



CONTENTS 47



On Top of the World! 

At the top of the very steep hill, looking west. 

This is point 2 on map. You can see the car 

park way below - be warned, the walk uphill 

is a hard slog, but worth the effort. It's a good 

idea to take a drink with you, especially on 

a sunny day. 


CONTENTS 49

One of those sunny days with endless blue, 

set off here against the chalk cliffs 



DRINK& 

FOOD 

51 


Devonshire Foodie Life on the Vine Chris Eats The Food 

Devonshire Digest 

52 Classic Pubs 



CONTENTS 

51

Exeter Road 

Kennford 

Devon 

EX6 7TR 

devonshirefoodie 

FOODIE 

FOOD REVIEW 

The Seven Stars 

A brilliant local pub 

with superb quality 

nosh and great 

ambiance 

Pubs can be great - as you walk into 

the Seven Stars it's positively buzzing, 

there's a happy atmosphere, helped 

greatly by ultra friendly staff. 

The owners have taken care to create 

a comfortable and characterful 

ambiance within the furnishings 

and it works very well, with quirky 

little touches such as the ladybird 

books adorning shelves. What was 

great when we arrived to dine was 

the temperature, it was really cosy. 

How often do you drop in to a pub 

to find it cold? I'd say 50% of my pub 

visits leave me feeling cold - literally. 

It was a delight to meet the Landlord 

Adam, and Head Chef Charlie, both 

a couple of great guys, you can feel 

the love in this establishment! 

Firstly, I'm always keen to try the 

house wine, not because I'm an old 

alcy, no, because the house wine 

always gives a good indication of 

intent. By 'intent', I mean how the 

management staff view the world 

e.g., will they try and palm off some 

cheap wine and make max profit, or 

will they be benevolent and spend a 

little extra and ensure their guests 

are happy. I'm happy to report the 

house wine tasted was excellent. 

When it comes to the food offering, 

I can happily say that Charlie's on 

the ball, for pub food this was at a 

very high level, I particularly liked 

their menu selection, something 

for everyone, but a nice balance 

meaning meat, fish, veggy was all 

well catered for. 

The food was great, many thanks guys 

(and gals) for an enjoyable evening 

out, more power to your elbows! 

Adam (Landlord) and Charlie 

(Head Chef) 

I'm a fan of Ladybird Books, the Star's interior was cosy 

and fund 



Spring time ‘Local to Lyme’ menu 

celebrating the area’s wonderful produce 

£20 for 2 courses inc. a glass of wine 

Available Lunch & Dinner Mon to Thurs (see website for further details) 

Wild mushroom pate, toasted brioche, 

cranberry and apple chutney 

For more information or to book please contact us on 

01297 442010 / hotelalexandra.co.uk 

Local pheasant breast, artichoke puree, 

sprouts, bacon 

Church House Inn 

Churchstow 

A 13th Century village pub steeped in history and bursting 

with original charm and character. 

Inglenook fireplace, log burners & beams a plenty, with 

legends of smuggling monks and secret tunnels. 

Relax, step back in history and enjoy really good honest 

award winning food, sourced from the abundance of local 

produce from the land and sea that surrounds us. 

Corgette & sweet potato noodles, blue 

cheese sauce with walnuts & rocket 

Check out our website for latest offers & events 

01548 852237 

www.churchhouse-churchstow.com 

hello@churchhouse-churchstow.com #churchhouseinnchurchstow 


CONTENTS 53

Ken is long retired, having ceased work at the age of 65 in 

1992. He has been a contributor for a number of years now 

and sharing colourful writings about his experiences as a vet 

working in the industry from the early 1950s onwards. 

LIFE ON THE VINE 

Susan Gebbie 

It’s been snowing, and I am hoping for some 

picturesque shots of snowy vines, but by the time I 

arrive at Pebblebed for a stroll around the vineyard, 

any trace of snowflakes has vanished. 

It’s a pleasure talking with someone 

who clearly loves his vines and 

wines. 

Pruning is now well underway, with 

around half the vines neatly trimmed, 

their two strongest arms wired-in 

to hold this spring’s growth. I ask 

why some vines only have one arm? 

"We tailor the pruning to each individual 

vine, depending on how vigorous they are. 

We prefer medium vigour while the vine 

puts down deeper roots and then hopefully 

next season get a second arm. We are 

looking for more quality than quantity." 

Behind the winery there are several 

rows of each of the 8 varieties of 

grapevine grown here. There are 

around 22,000 vines set over 20 

acres here and at their Ebford site. 

Most of the vines look healthy but 

there are a few rows where there are 

gaps. Alex explains that this is the 

Siegerrebe grape, an early ripening 

aromatic variety, the first to burst 

its buds and the first to harvest, 

producing pink berries and used to 

make a white wine quite similar to 

Gewurtztraminer, “It was badly hit 

in 2017 as it has the earliest bud break. 

The young vines were close to the ground 

and therefore more susceptible to the 

frost.” Cuttings will be taken in 

spring from healthy vines, which 

will be propagated and nurtured in 

raised beds, before being planted 

out next winter. 

The amount of growth on the vine 

each year is matched by root growth, 

which goes out as a web into the soil. 

When I ask about weeds, Alex adds, 

“Once they [the vines] are 4 to 6 years old 

it doesn’t matter because the roots can 

reach depths of 20 feet plus if they need to.” 

One of Pebblebed’s main crops is 

Seyval Blanc. Being disease resistant, 

it’s more economical to grow and 

produces very good wine, such as 

their sparkling, which has won awards. 

In terms of feed and fertiliser, Alex 

Alex Mills, 

vineyard manager 

at Pebblebed 

A pruned vine showing 

two arms wired-in 

explains, “Foliar feeds are sprayed onto 

the leaves at very low levels and can be 

put directly onto the plants that need it; 

there is no blanket treating.” Devon soils 

can be short of some trace elements 

so a little fertiliser is used. “We also 

put a lot of seaweed syrups on, which 

the vines love.” 

Last time we spoke, Alex was 

approaching the first wine tasting 

from last year’s crop, so I enquire 

how it’s coming along? He replies, 

“I am really happy with how the wine 

is developing… the wine has finished 

fermenting and is clarifying so every 

few months we move it from tank to tank 

and remove sediment. Another process 

is filtration. I will do the blending trials 

shortly on the bench.” When the optimal 

blend is found, it is transferred to 

the tanks for this year’s wines. This 

is a trial by taste as there are no set 

recipes. 



HOTEL 

& RESTAURANT 

HOPE COVE SOUTH DEVON 

I’m happy to hear that a bumper crop, like 

that of last year, presents no problems. “We’ll 

make a lot more wine and it may enable us to leave 

the wine longer and build up some good reserves in 

case of a bad year. Everything will be picked, pressed 

and made into wine; we have capacity for that.” 

Meanwhile, over at Hedger Valley of Harpford, 

pruning has been completed and the vineyard 

is neat and tidy, awaiting spring. Richard 

Hedger has 5 grape varieties growing here 

and has completed the pruning himself with 

a little help from a friend. As a novice, this 

takes him 4 to 5 minutes per vine, but he calls 

it a ‘labour of love’. Although not certified as 

‘organic’, Richard has so far only applied some 

magnesium sulphate to the vines to make up 

for that deficiency. He awaits with anticipation 

his first bottled wine later this year. 

THE 

COTTAGE 

HOTEL 

& RESTAURANT 


THE 

COTTAGE HOTEL 

& RESTAURANT 


 

 

 

 

THE 

COTTAGE HOTEL 

 

 

& RESTAURANT 

 

 

HOPE COVE 

SOUTH DEVON 

 

 

In the next issue the vines will be springing 

into life and we will be visiting both vineyards 

to see first hand what’s going on. 

Susan Gebbie 

WINTER BREAK DEALS 

Visit our website 

www.oystershack.co.uk Milburn Orchard Farm, Stakes Hill, Bigbury, TQ7 4BE 01548 810 876 


CONTENTS 55

PHO THE LOVE OF NOODLES 

Do you know what the national dish of Vietnam is? Answer: 

Pho - which is pronounced ‘fuh’ - it is also the name of one of 

Exeter’s newest restaurants. 

Opened in August last year in the 

Queen Street Dining Quarter, it has 

fast become one of the cities most 

popular places to eat according to 

Google Reviews which puts it in 

the top three. 

But what is Pho exactly? For the 

uninitiated, it is a noodle soup, made 

from chicken or meat broth which 

is cooked for hours before serving 

served with fresh herbs and veg. It 

is a staple for many Vietnamese and 

was the inspiration for the creation 

of this popular chain. 

The first restaurant was opened 

by Stephen and Juliette Wall in 

2005 in London, inspired by the 

street-side Pho stalls in Vietnam, 

Bibs are 

required 

for some 

of their 

dishes. 

Am I doing 

it right? 

they left their successful careers 

in marketing and set about opening 

their first restaurant. Exeter is 

their 27th restaurant and has been 

embraced by the city and it’s diners. 

According to Google Reviews, Pho 

is one of the top three restaurants 

in central Exeter. 

So what are they 

doing right? 

Pho offers good value; A main and a 

drink can be under £13, with nearly 

all the Pho dishes being under £10, 

there is enough space to add a starter 

or a dessert too if you have space. A 

bowl of Pho is deceptively filling with 



There is something very noir about the 

outside of this restaurant with it’s neon 

signs glowing into the night. 

Eating noodles in any form is not a simple, 

dignified or clean experience. Especially if you 

add all the optional herbs 

It’s not all noodles, their starters are 

varied and unique. Many with this spicy 

sweet chilli sauce on the side for dipping. 

the noodles with the added 

fresh herbs - they are not small 

bowls either! 

A quarter of their menu is vegan 

and there is a huge choice for 

vegetarians too; but there 

is more to the menu than 

just noodle soup. Currently 

(January 2019) they've given 

some of their favourite dishes 

a healthy twist with their 

Healthy Specials. Including 

Enoki Hand Rolls, Courgetti 

Pho Ga (chicken broth and 

courgette noodles) and Spicy 

Salad Spring Rolls to name a 

couple of things which we’ve 

tried and liked. 

If you've never been to Pho, 

the staff are quick to tell you 

how it works and as much as 

you need to know. And some 

dishes come with a bib, don't 

worry you won't look silly... 

Chris Gower 

Cha giò is a 

fresh easy 

introduction 

to the 

Vietnamese 

flavours 

My name is Chris Gower, editor of 

the Dining Devon food blog (www. 

diningdevon.com) and Instagrammer 

@chriseatsthefood. I have been lucky 

enough to find myself writing a column 

in this prestigious publication in which 

I will bring you some of the best foodie 

things happening in Devon currently, 

musings, ramblings and anything else 

Nigel will let me get away with. 


CONTENTS 57

Emma graduated from university with a First Class Hons in Nutrition 

from Oxford Brookes in June 2015. Since then she has been working in 

the corporate nutrition industry and last year settled in Devon, where 

she enjoys cooking, running and trying her hand at amateur photography. 

DEVONSHIRE DIGEST 

Emma Young 

How do you reboot the desire to eat more 

healthily… and stick to it? 

Spring is approaching, evenings 

are lighter, the sun is rearing its 

familiar face and there’s an air of 

anticipation for another heatwave 

summer, but one thing may be 

leaving some of us feeling somewhat 

dispirited… 

Mixed seeds, homemade 

granola and berry 

smoothie bowl topped 

with edible flowers (treat 

food!) 

The most common New Year’s 

resolution, alongside participating 

in exercise, is to eat more healthily. 

According to U.S. News and World 

report, 80% of people have abandoned 

these good intentions by February. 

We are continually reminded that 

eating healthily helps prevent poor 

health, boosts self-esteem and 

improves quality of life, yet the 

obesity crisis is on the rise. So why 

do we return to old habits by fuelling 

ourselves on sugar-coated guilt and 

lashings of self-doubt with extra 

cream? 

Which diet is the 

right diet? 

There’s no doubt that everyone and 

his mother has an opinion on what 

‘healthy eating’ means. Low-carb, 

paleo, ketogenic, detox, vegan, fasting, 

gluten-free, juicing, high-protein, 

cleanse… what one diet advocates 

another trashes, causing the best of 

us a bit of a headache when trying to 

decipher the most effective approach 

to dietary harmony. 

Many of these fad diets’ safety and 

efficacy have not been monitored 

in the long-term, have high rates of 

non-compliance and our lifestyles 

and bodies have evolved significantly 

since we emerged as loincloth-clad 

cavemen. Terms such as ‘detox’ and 

‘cleanse’ carry no scientific merit - 

they mean nothing, and such diets 

are not able to take a scrubbing brush 

to our insides as suggested. The only 

thing able to detox the body is the 

liver, if that’s not doing its job, then 

we’re in trouble. No quantity of eyewateringly 

expensive Chinese algae 

magic capsules will enhance or hurry 

this process along. 

Incorporating all food groups in the 

recommended quantities is central to 

success as elimination may place us 

at risk for nutrient deficiencies, mood 

disturbances and non-compliance 

(with exception to those who have genuine 

medical reasons for eliminating foods). 

We even place ourselves at risk for 

undesirable weight gain because we 

either binge more regularly due to 

hunger or boredom or replace one 

food group with another e.g. replacing 

starchy carbohydrates for protein 

reduces our intake of dietary fibre 

(complex starchy carbohydrates have 

significant associations with weight loss 

and management) and increases our 

intake of saturated fat (protein sources 

are often derived from animal 

Avocado toast 

with chili-spiced 

guacamole, 

poached egg served 

on granary bread 



Rockfish 

Grilled salmon fillet with cannellini 

bean & rocket salad served with brown 

rice. Drizzled with an olive oil, white 

wine vinegar and ginger salad dressing 

products, which are higher in saturated fat than starchy 

carbohydrates). 

The Eatwell Guide is a great visual representation of 

how much of what food group we should be including 

each mealtime. Good nutrition does not have to carry 

Jolly 

Jacks 

Kick Back & Relax 

waterfront bar bistro 

Kick Back & Relax 

Great 

Jolly 

Jacks 

waterfront bar bistro bistro 

Great 

Great 

Jolly 

Jacks 

Leap into Spring 

Food, Company 

& Location ! 

Food, Company 

& Location ! 

Food, Company 

& Location ! 

Great food, tel: great 01752 company, 500 friendly 008 ambiance, www.jollyjacks.co.uk fresh Devon and Cornish 

produce, Mayflower creative Marina and passionate • Richmond chefs, Walk great • Plymouth wines, local • PL1 ales, 4LS coffee, 

fabulous clientele, family, children and dogs welcome (dogs in bar or on 

terrace), tel: free 01752 Marina parking... 500 008 Jolly Jacks, www.jollyjacks.co.uk 

where great things happen. 

Mayflower Marina • 

ALL 

Richmond 

DAY EVERY 

Walk 

DAY 

• Plymouth • PL1 4LS 

tel: 01752 500 008 www.jollyjacks.co.uk 

Mayflower Marina • Richmond Walk • Plymouth • PL1 4LS 

A place for eating, drinking & meeting 

• WITH A VIEW OF LYME BAY • 

Chocolate balls - medjool 

dates, cacao powder and 

orange essence chocolate 

balls rolled in desiccated 

coconut (treat food!) 

a premium price tag and is accessible to everybody. 

There is no quick fix, no wonder supplement and 

no way to cheat ourselves to health. Variety is key. 

Emma Young 

Continued in the next issue 

Pyne's Sidmouth Devon | 01395 513047 

www.bedfordhotelsidmouth.co.uk 


CONTENTS 59

By Richard & Jayne Eley 

Great seafood comes 

to Exeter Quay 

Rockfish, headed by Mitch Tonks, open on March 

18 th in the heart of Exeter’s thriving Quayside 

location with the casual dining seafood group’s 

6 th restaurant. 

A great pub for every week of the year! 

THE SWAN, 

BAMPTON 

Bampton is a pleasant town, and 

one of the gateways to Exmoor 

Its oldest pub is the impressive three-storey 

Swan Inn, which has recently undergone a 

programme of sensitive improvement. 

The emphasis is now upon food, and the Swan 

can reasonably be regarded as a gastro-pub. 

But, pleasingly, the current owners have made 

strenuous efforts to successfully combine 

a contemporary feel with respect for their 

fine listed building. 

So this remains a very satisfactory drinking 

establishment as well as a venue with a 

growing reputation for dining. 

The group will be employing 35 people locally in 

their first purpose built 2600 sq ft restaurant which 

seats over 90 inside and a further 60 outside and 

is located adjacent to the water at the Quay, so 

diners can enjoy great seafood and watch all the 

buzz and activity on the water. 

The restaurant opens to the public on March 18th 

and is open 7 days a week from midday to 9.30pm. 

Mitch (pictured below) said, “Being a seafood restaurant 

group we had to be in the county town of Devon and 

the location at the Quay right on the River Exe is just 

superb, great views, minutes from the city centre, but a 

hub of water based activity 

that feels like you’re at the 

seaside. We want Exonians 

and visitors to this great city 

be able to enjoy the best most 

sustainable seafood whether 

it be grilled MSC hake or 

local Torbay devilled sprats, 

whilst being just a stone’s 

throw away from where it 

was caught." 



We regularly review Devon eateries, 

see: @devonshirefoodie 

#alexandrahotel_lymeregis 

@citygateexeter 

#jolly_jacks 

#gidleighparkhotel 

#burghisland 

#glazebrook 

#churchhouseinnrattery 

#thecottagehotel 

Restaurants, to showcase your food, just tag your images with #devonshirefoodie 

FOODIE 



CONTENTS 61

May to Saturday 1st June. Tickets for 

the show can be purchased online 

at www.bathandwest.com at the 

Super Saver rate of £20 per adult 

ticket (increasing to £22 per adult 

on 19th April. The Gate Price will be 

£25). Children 15 years and under go 

free to this year’s show. 

Attention cheese lovers! 

The location of the British 

Cheese Awards has moved 

The British Cheese Awards 2019 

takes place on Wednesday 29 th May 

2019 at the Royal Bath & West Show, 

Shepton Mallet, Somerset. For lovers 

of cheese and fine food it makes for 

a ‘must visit’ show. 

The awards are not only celebrating 

their 26 th birthday but also a new 

location. The awards will be held in 

Exmoor Hall, that is located opposite 

the Main Ring. Not only will it host 

the awards, but it will also have a 

dedicated area where cheesemakers 

will be selling their delicious cheeses 

to cheese enthusiasts. So from 

traditional farmhouse Cheddar to 

more adventurous cheese, such as 

highly fragrant washed rind cheeses, 

there will be a great selection of 

products to buy. 

The British Cheese Awards is the 

pre-eminent cheese event in the 

UK, as well as a great celebration of 

British cheese and the industry. Over 

1,000 cheeses are expected to be 

entered with visitors being able to 

get a unique opportunity to see all 

these cheeses in one location. 

The British Cheese Awards forms part 

of the Royal Bath & West Show, that 

takes place from Wednesday 29th 

Judging for the British Cheese Awards 

takes place from 9am on 29th May and 

members of the public will be able to 

observe this unique judging process 

from a dedicated area in the judging 

room. Judges will score the cheeses 

on presentation, texture, aroma, 

flavour and balance. Dependent on 

the scores that each cheese receives, 

gold, silver and bronze medals will 

be awarded. Once the judging has 

finished, visitors will be able to have 

a close-up view of all the cheeses 

that have been judged. 

As well as visiting the British Cheese 

Awards, visitors will be able to enjoy 

all the other activities that the Royal 

Bath & West Show has to offer. Keep 

the little ones entertained with 

hands-on demonstrations including 

mozzarella making, butter making, 

milk tasting and apple juice making. 

Why not let them make new friends 

by getting up close with the pigs and 

sheep or meet everyone’s favourite 

little green tractor, Tractor Ted? 

For more information about the 

awards, please visit: 

www.britishcheeseawards.com 



THINGS TO DO 

IN DEVON 

63 


Events Places to Visit Live Music Devonshire Art 

Art Matters The Courtauld Gallery Deep Impressions 


CONTENTS 63

No need to download an app! Our dedicated 

mobile site has everything in one place. 

No fuss. Quick. Simple. 

Easy to use on the go 

Try it now: hubcast.co.uk/devon 



events@hubcast.co.uk 

hubcast.co.uk 



FAMILY EVENTS 

30 Mar to 31 Mar 

MOTHERS' DAY 

TREATS AT SEATON 

WETLANDS 

Explore Seaton Wetlands this Mother's Day 

and treat your mum, granny and yourself 

to a delicious cream tea at the Discovery 

Hut in the heart of Seaton Wetlands. 

Enjoy scones handmade by Paul's Bakery 

(Seaton). Cream teas served with a hot 

drink for £3 per person. Cash only. Served 

by our fantastic volunteers from 10am 

to 4pm on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 

March, East Devon Countryside Team, 

Seaton wetlands, Seaton, 10.00am to 

4.00pm, £3 per cream tea. 


THE TIGER WHO 

CAME TO TEA 

Celebrating over 10 years on stage! 

The doorbell rings just as Sophie and 

her mummy are sitting down to tea. 

Who could it possibly be? Join the teaguzzling 

tiger in this delightful family 

show; packed with oodles of magic, 

sing-a-long songs and clumsy chaos! A 

stunning stage adaptation of the classic 

tale of teatime mayhem... expect to be 

surprised. Suitable for children aged 

3+. Running time: 55 minutes. 2 shows 

daily, Palace Theatre Paignton, Palace 

Avenue, Paignton, 11.00am to 12.00am, 

All tickets £13. 

31 Mar 

MOTHER'S DAY 

Treat your mum this Mother's Day and 

leave all the clearing up to us! Tables 

booking fast, book yours too. Mum will 

sent home with a delicious cupcake to 

enjoy with a cup of tea later, Church 

House Inn, Churchstow, Churchstow, 

12.00am to 3.45pm, £. 

Until 05 Apr 

GOLDEN CARROT 

HUNT 

Take part in The Donkey Sanctuary’s 

Golden Anniversary celebrations with 

this entertaining family activity that 

combines fun, exercise and brainpower. 

Follow the clues around the sanctuary 

to find the golden carrots and discover 

interesting facts relating to special events 

or achievements that have defined their 

first 50 years, before uncovering the 

hidden treasure to claim your golden 

reward. Just £3 per treasure hunt, The 

Donkey Sanctuary Sidmouth, Slade House 

Farm, Sidmouth, 9.00am to 4.00pm, £3 

per trail. 


CONTENTS 65

Discover Exeter from above & below 

Find out at Exeter’s 

Underground Passages 

2 Paris Street, Exeter EX1 1GA 

t 01392 665887 

www.exeter.gov.uk/passages 

SPECIAL 

OFFER 

10% OFF 

ADMISSION 

What lies 

beneath? 

Please present this voucher for 

10% off admission price for up to 

5 people at Exeter’s Underground 

Passages. Valid for one use only 

until 31/3/2019. 

Entry restrictions apply. 

Please call to confirm availability. 

Join a FREE 

Exeter 

Red Coat 

Guided Tour 

Daily tours except 25 & 26 

December from West front 

of Cathedral 

EXETER’S 

Red Coat 

Guided Tours 

t 01392 265203 

www.exeter.gov.uk/guidedtours 

FAMILY EVENTS 

06 Apr to 21 Apr 

EASTER FAMILY FUN 

WORKSHOPS 

8 April and 15 April: Eggy Sheep 9 April and 16 April: 

Rabbit Headband 10 April and 17 April: Foxy Hands 

11 April and 18 April: Mole in a Hole 12 April: Easter 

Cones. There will also be an engaging, and enjoyable 

HARFORD, IVYBRIDGE, PL21 0JF 

Suns, Weds and Bank Hols 11am to 5pm 

31 March to 16 June 

24 acres of tranquil woodland garden with fine 

shrubs, trees and wild flowers by a Dartmoor 

Stream. Home-made soup and cakes. 

Children Free. Dogs welcome on a lead. 

01752 691749 www.lukesland.co.uk 

01803 840387 

www.totnesrarebreeds.co.uk 



FAMILY EVENTS 

Easter trail around the garden as the children become 

Easter Detectives following the clues on the trail. Children's 

Workshops: Monday-Friday (excluding Fri 19 April) Fri: 

11am-12.45pm & 2pm-3.45pm. Easter Garden Trail: 10am- 

5pm, RHS Garden Rosemoor, Great Torrington, 10.00am 

to 5.00pm, Member Free, plus one guest Non-member 

Normal garden admission. 

sail - kite - kayak - surf - sup 

inflatable sups 

in stOCk nOw 

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unit 14, weycroft avenue, axminster ex13 5hu. 01297 533633 

18 Apr 

THE AMAZING ADVENTURES 

OF PINOCCHIO 

Based on Carlo Collodi’s fantastical children’s book, this 

magical story leaps off the page and onto the stage in a 

vibrant re-telling of Pinocchio’s extraordinary adventures. 

Packed with comedy, audience interaction, and a completely 

original score guaranteed to have you singing along from 

start to finish, this high energy musical promises to be the 

perfect treat for the whole family. You’ll have a whale of a 

time, no strings attached! Shows at 1:30pm and 5:00pm, 

Palace Theatre Paignton, Palace Avenue, Paignton, 1.30pm 

to 3.00pm, £12-£15. 


EASTER SUNDAY & MONDAY 

Bring your little ones to help us find the Bunnies hiding 

around our site. Plus join the costumed guides as they 

show you how life was as a Victorian. Become Victorian 

school children, help make a piece of rope, smash rocks 

to find copper, make your own Easter themed bread roll 

and chocolate lolly. Take the 40 minute train ride into 

the George and Charlotte copper mine, spend 20 minutes 

taking in the views of the River Tamar before entering the 

mine for a guided tour, Morwellham Quay, Morwellham 

Quay, Tavistock, 10.00am to 5.00pm, Please see the event 

tickets on our website. 

Exceeding All Your Expectations 

Specialists in Executive Travel 

All UK airport & dock transfers, corporate business 

travel & chauffeured services for that special 

occasion... Weddings, Anniversaries & Birthdays. 

Our vehicles include: 

Mercedes E250 & Luxury 8 seater Ford Tourneo 

mini cab. 

For a restful 

journey we provide; 

complimentary WiFi, 

refrigerated 

water, blankets and 

head pillows. 

Local runs undertaken 

by prior appointment 

Please contact us with your requirements 

Call Barry Gardner on 07925 933100 


CONTENTS 67

CLASSICAL MUSIC 

09 Mar 

FESTIVAL OF 

RUSSIAN MUSIC 

Opening concert of our March series of 

Russian Music in Devon with performance 

of Russian balalaika, violin and piano at 

the Teignmouth Classical Music Festival. 

Performers Virtuoso Balalaika player, 

Moscow Gnesin Academy Award winning 

violinist, Petrozavodsk Conservatiorie, Russia 

Pianist, Dargomizsky College of Music, Tula. 

Programme to include works by Rachmaninov, 

Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and more. Hot drinks 

with traditional Russian treats, Violin & 

Piano Duo 'Elegance', St Michael's and 

Archangel Church, Teignmouth, 7.30pm to 

9.30pm, 12.00. 

09 Mar 

MUSIC LONDON 

MOZART PLAYERS 

We are delighted to welcome the highly 

celebrated London Mozart Players to 

Plymouth. The UK’s longest established 

chamber orchestra and known for its 

unmistakable British roots, the London 

Mozart Players has developed an outstanding 

reputation for adventurous, ambitious 

events@hubcast.co.uk 

hubcast.co.uk 



programming, from Baroque works through 

to contemporary music. An informal preconcert 

talk will take place at 1900 led by 

Dr Taub, to which everyone is invited, and a 

reception to meet the musicians will follow 

the performance, The Arts Institute, Minster 

Church of St Andrew, Plymouth, 7.00pm to 

9.00pm, £12/£10/£5 students/18’s and 

under free via YAP. 

22 Mar 

HILDEGARD OF BINGEN 

CONCERT-THEATRE 

The heavenly songs of the 12th century 

abbess continue to capture the public 

imagination even now. Her music will be 

performed by candlelight by the mediaeval 

ensemble, The Telling, who take us back 

to the Middle Ages with their intimate 

concert-theatre presentation, and sing 

with "a perfection that is heart-stopping". 

Hildegard tells her own extraordinary story, 

dramatised by Clare Norburn. All this in 

atmospheric Lympstone Parish Church. 

Tickets boxoffice@lympstone-entertainments. 

net, Lympstone Entertainments, Lympstone 

Parish Church, Lympstone, 7.00pm to 9.00pm, 

£12.50. 

23 Mar 

EXETER CHILDREN'S 

ORCHESTRA SPRING 

CONCERT 

ECO is a charity supporting young musicians 

in the South West by giving them the 

experience of playing in an orchestra. See 

the results of their hard work, and encourage 

your own children to join the orchestra, 

Exeter Children's Orchestra, St Thomas 

Methodist Church, Exeter, 6.30pm to 8.30pm, 

£7 adult, £3 concessions. 

06 Apr 

SIDMOUTH CHORAL 

SOCIETY SPRING 

CONCERT 

Sidmouth Choral Society and guest soloists 

accompanied by small orchestra present a 

Spring concert featuring Haydn Creation, 

Sidmouth Choral Society, Sidmouth Parish 

Church, Sidmouth, 7.30pm to 9.45pm, TBA. 

27 Apr 

SYRINX- BLAST 

FROM THE PAST 

From 14th-18th century, wind music could be 

heard everywhere from grand state occasions 

to humble village dances. Syrinx recreate this 

tradition playing shawms, dulcians, bagpipes, 

deutsche schalmei, oboes and bassoon. Their 

concert covers the rise of professional wind 

bands, with music from early anonymous 

masters, via Dufay and Morley to Handel 

and Telemann. Members play with leading 

period orchestras including the Academy of 

Ancient Music and the OAE. A Totnes Early 

Music Society concert, St Mary's Church, 

Totnes, 7.30pm to 9.30pm, Advance tickets 

£13, on the door £14. Under 18s £5. 



FESTIVALS 


WOOL AND YARN 

FEST 

Our aim is to celebrate the multitude of 

ways that it can be used in our daily lives 

from creativity to practical use. There will 

be a variety of live woolly animals on 

site for you to admire. We'll be running 

hands-on workshops, demonstrations 

and talks. RHS Garden Rosemoor, Great 

Torrington, 10.00am to 4.00pm, Normal 

Garden Entry RHS members plus family 

guest. 

19 Apr 

CHOCOLATE AND 

COFFEE FESTIVAL 

If you love chocolate and coffee this is the 

perfect day out with over 25 producers, 

hot chocolate & coffee bar, Easter Egg 

Hunt, chocolate fondue and much more! 

There will also be various workshops 

running throughout the day, Butchers 

Hall, Tavistock, 10.30am to 4.00pm, 

Tickets must be booked online www. 

missivyevents.co.uk Adult £5.00 Chi. 


GIN, BUBBLES AND 

MUSIC FESTIVAL 

Love drinking gin, prosecco & listening to 

music? Then don't miss this Gin, Bubbles 

& Music Festival! Gin & Prosecco bar, 

Gin masterclasses, Array of live music, 

Gin distillers, Gift stalls, Lots of yummy 

food vendors, Access to Earls Garden. 

Due to the nature of this event no dogs 

are allowed, Miss Ivy Events, Mount 

Edgcumbe, Torpoint, 1.00pm to 6.00pm, 

avoid disappointment: book tickets online. 

Support your local community 

22 nd - 23 rd June 

10am - 5.30pm 

25 TH AXE VALE 

SHOW 

JOIN US FOR OUR 

ANNIVERSARY 

A Great Weekend For All 

The Showground, Trafalgar Way, Axminster, EX13 5RJ 

Discounted online tickets available now or purchase tickets at the gate. 

www.axevaleshow.com 

Charity Number: 

1130829 

The Axe Vale Show is a charitable fundraising event for the charity ‘Axe Vale Festival Limited’ 


CONTENTS 69

FAIRS & Fetes 

16 Mar 

PLYMOUTH RECORD 

AND CD FAIR 

A host of your favourite regular vinyl 

and CD dealers from the South West: as 

always our knowledgeable dealers will 

have masses of good quality vinyl records, 

CD’s and much more. Impartial valuations 

available. Admission is £1. For vendors 

requiring further details regarding a stall, 

please contact John on 07548 278 276 or 

hdicksrecords@yahoo.co.uk, Exeter Record & 

CD Fair, Lower Guildhall, Plymouth, 10.00am 

to 3.00pm, tba. 

13 Apr 

PSYCHIC AND 

WELLBEING FAIR 

Come and join us for an afternoon of relaxing 

therapies, readings with one of our tarot 

and psychic readers, and treat yourself to 

the beautiful gifts, crafts and art work from 

our lovely traders, at this scenic location on 

the seafront. What's not to enjoy! Parking 

fee refunded if you buy drinks/food from 

the venue, Discovery, Belgrave Beefeater, 

Torquay, 1.00pm to 6.00pm, free. 

04 May to 06 May 

SPRING DESIGN FOR 

LIVING FAIR 

Treat yourself over the Bank Holiday weekend 

with a visit to RHS Garden Rosemoor's 

Design for Living Fair, supported by Helpful 

Holidays, where you can browse among 

stalls of beautiful and unusual hand-crafted 

items for the home and garden or pick up 

a tasty treat. This three-day fair showcases 

a wealth of West Country creative talent, 

RHS Garden Rosemoor, Great Torrington, 

10.00am to 5.00pm, Please see website for 

online booking details. 

06 May 

SPRING GARDEN FETE 

More than 40 exhibitors will be setting up 

stall in the hotel’s Crystal Room and outside 

in the gardens, bringing you an exciting range 

of artisan & gift products - everything from 

handmade jewellery and soaps to home and 

gardenware, woodwork and the most unique 

gifts. Try your hand at one of the workshops 

being run during the day by Orchard Studios. 

There will be entertainment from Jazz singer 

Samantha Montini, child's entertainment and 

a charity fun dog show for your dog too!, 

Miss Ivy Events, Moorland Garden Hotel, 

Yelverton, 10.30am to 4.00pm, £2.50 with 

under fives entering for free.. 

06 Apr 

HOSPISCARE MAGPIES 

CRAFT FAIR 

Last year the Hospiscare Magpies ran a very 

successful Craft Fair and are hoping to do 

even better this year. The Fair includes a 

number of different crafts - this year we 

have a blacksmith and a wool-spinner as 

well as furniture-makers, potters and other 

interesting skills. We will be serving sweet 

and savoury cream teas as well as cakes. 

Entry and parking are free.. There will be a 

raffle. Please come and support this local 

charity, Hospiscare Magpies, West Hill Village 

Hall, West Hill, 2.00pm to 5.00pm, Free entry. 

19 May 

THE 2019 DEVON BEAD 

FAIR 

Hosted by Monty's Beads, Guildhall Shopping 

Centre, Exeter, 10.00am to 4.00pm. 

25 May to 26 May 

RIVER COTTAGE FOOD 

FAIR 

There will be plenty of delicious food 

available to buy throughout the day as well 

as bars serving a selection of local beers, 

ciders, wines, seasonal cocktails & soft 

drinks. At our live cookery demonstrations 

pick up tips from the country's top chefs 

and food writers as well as our team of 

River Cottage experts. There are a range of 

cookery & tasting masterclasses on sale for 

you to choose from along with a market area 

packed with produce from local suppliers for 

you to taste and take home, River Cottage 

HQ, Trinity Hill Road, Axminster, 10.00am 

to 6.00pm, £15 per person, children under 

16 come for free. 



HUBCAST will be hosting 

its 40,000 th event this Spring! 

Take a look at What's On 

in your area: hubcast.co.uk 

Join 5,300+ organisations, it’s FREE! 

hubcast.co.uk/register-organisation 

hubcast 


CONTENTS 71

PLACES TO VISIT 

Just so much to see & do in Devon! 

Over 180 attractions listed here: 

14 

ATTRACTIONS 

1. Becky Falls Woodland Park 

2. Beer Quarry Caves 

3. Bicton Arena 

4. Buckfast Abbey 

5. Burgh Island 

6. Bygones Torquay 

7. Canonteign Falls 

8. Cockington Court 

9. Devon Railway Centre 

10. Exeter’s Underground Passages 

11. Hannah’s at Seale Hayne 

12. House of Marbles 

13. Kents Cavern Torquay 

14. Lundy Island 

15. Lydford Gorge 

16. Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway 

17. Otterton Mill 

18. Pecorama 

19. Seaton Jurassic 

20. Seaton Tramway 

21. South Devon Railway 

22. Stover Country Park 

Adventure stuff 

23. Ashcombe Adventure Centre 

24. Atlantis Adventure Park 

25. Babbabcombe Model Village 

26. Clip ’n Climb Plymouth 

27. Crealy Adventure Park 

28. Diggerland Devon 

29. Dingles Fairground 

30. Go Ape Haldon 

31. Go Segway 

32. Haldon Forest Park 

33. Keypitts Quads 

34. Pirates Bay Adventure Golf 

35. Raceworld 

36. River Dart Country Park 

37. Rock and Rapid Adventure Centre 

38. Southdown Adventure Centre 

39. Splashdown Quaywest 

40. The Bear Trail 

41. The Big Sheep 

42. The Milky Way Adventure Park 

43. The Quay Climbing Centre 

44. Torquay’s Dinosaur World 

45. Woodlands Family Theme Park 

wildlife/animals 

46. A Touch of Wild 

47. Axe Valley Wildlife Park 

48. Buckfast Butterflies & Otter Sanctuary 

49. Combe Martin Wildlife & Dinosaur Park 

50. Dartmoor Hawking Falconry Experience 

51. Dartmoor Zoological Park 

52. Dawlish Warren Wildlife Reserve 

53. Devon Bird of Prey Centre 

54. Exmoor Zoo 

55. Ilfracombe Aquarium 

56. Living Coasts Torquay 

57. Miniature Pony Centre 

58. National Marine Aquarium (Plymouth) 

59. Paignton Zoo 

60. Pennywell Farm 

61. Shaldon Wildlife Trust 

62. The Donkey Sanctuary 

63. The Mare & Foal Sanctuary 

64. Totnes Rare Breeds Farm 

65. Wildwood Escot 

66. World of Country Life 

67. Yarak Birds of Prey 

MUSEUMS 

Hartland 

Bradworthy 

42 

132 

Holsworthy 

68. Allhallows Museum 

69. Ashburton Museum 

L 

70. Axe Valley Heritage Museum 

71. Axminster Heritage Centre 

72. Ball Clay Heritage Society 

73. Bampton Heritage Centre 

74. Bill Douglas Centre 

75. Bishopsteignton Museum of Rural Life 

76. Bovey Tracey Heritage Centre 

77. Braunton and District Museum 

78. Britannia Museum 

79. Brixham Heritage Museum 

80. Buckland Abbey 

81. Burton Art Gallery and Museum 

82. Coldharbour Mill Working Wool 

83. Combe Martin Museum 

84. Crediton Area History And Museum 

85. Dartmoor Prison Museum 

86. Dartmouth Museum 

152 

continued overleaf 

95 



96 

Ilfracombe 

Woolacombe 

100 

77 

Braunton 

102 

55 

Combe Martin 

136 143 

83 

183 

49 

33 

54 

104 

Bratton Fleming 

99 

16 

Lynton 

167 

41 

24 

106 

139 

BARNSTAPLE 

38 

101 

145 

37 

115 

South Molton 

Molland 

73 

Bampton 

81 

94 

Great 

Torrington 

137 

High Bickington 

Chulmleigh 

Lapford 

Winkeligh 

156 

121 

Tiverton 

181 

9 

133 

28 82 

Cullompton 

90 

Dunkeswell 

126 

Yarcombe 

ifton 

29 

89 

15 

Tavistock 

148 

117 

109 

Hatherleigh 

Lydford 

141 

26 

172 

88 

159 

113 

108 

58 140 

107 

PLYMOUTH 

Wembury 

Okehampton 

179 

103 

178 

Princetown 

153 

85 

51 

164 

93 

North Tawton 

DARTMOOR 

NATIONAL PARK 

135 

Ivybridge 

Hope Cove 

Chagford 

Moretonhampstead 

Widecombe 

in the Moor 

Buckfastleigh 

Kingsbridge 

Bantham 97 

5 

171 

57 

138 

50 

161 

36 

Salcombe 

1 

Ashburton 

4 

128 

119 80 

158 

111 

21 

48 

114 

60 

69 

162 

Crediton 

Bovey Tracey 

125 

182 

45 

Totnes 

7 

76 

Beesands 

84 

12 166 

63 75 

144 

11 

22 

53 105 72 

173 

169 

64 

124 

Dartmouth 

110 175 

EXETER 

8 

44 

165 

123 

Dawlish 

61 

134 

25 

6 

13 

Torquay 

Paignton 

Brixham 

40 

Broadclyst 

116 74 10 

27 35 

43 

112 

32 

151 

10 

31 

142 

46 30 

91 

180 

23 

52 66 

39 

155 

34 

59 

150 

78 

120 168 177 

86 

174 

131 

170 

79 

149 

147 

118 

56 

87 

154 

157 

127 

Teignmouth 

67 

65 

176 

Exmouth 

146 

Honiton 

Sidmouth 

Sidmouth 

129 15 

3 

92 

112 

2 

163 

18 

WHAT’S ON 

in Devon? 

Just go to 

www.HUBCAST.co.uk 

Seaton 

70 19 

to see events on Devon’s only 

purely dedicated What’s On 

website - 5,500 organisations 

adding their events all year 

round. 

62 

68 

130 

160 

71 

98 


CONTENTS 73

PLACES TO VISIT continued 

87. Dawlish Museum 

88. Devonport Naval Heritage Centre 

89. Dingles Fairground Heritage Centre 

90. Dunkeswell Airfield Heritage Centre 

91. Exmouth Museum 

92. Fairlynch Museum 

93. Finch Foundry 

94. Great Torrington Heritage Museum 

95. Holsworthy Museum 

96. Ilfracombe Museum 

97. Kingsbridge Cookworthy Museum 

98. Lyme Regis Museum 

99. Lyn and Exmoor Museum 

100. Mortehoe Museum 

101. Museum of Barnstaple & N. Devon 

102. Museum of British Surfing 

103. Museum of Dartmoor Life 

104. National Trust Carriage Museum 

105. Newton Abbot Town & GWR Museum 

106. North Devon Maritime Museum 

107. Park Pharmacy Trust 

108. Plymouth City Museum & Art Gallery 

109. Robey Trust Perseverance Iron Works 

110. Royal Albert Memorial Museum 

111. Salcombe Maritime Museum 

112. Sidmouth Museum 

113. Smeatons Tower Lighthouse 

114. South Devon Railway 

115. South Molton and District Museum 

116. South West Police Heritage Museum 

117. Tavistock Museum 

118. Teign Heritage Centre 

119. The Valiant Soldier 

120. Thomas Newcomen Engine 

121. Tiverton Museum of Mid Devon Life 

122. Topsham Museum 

123. Torquay Museum 

124. Totnes Fashion and Textiles Museum 

125. Totnes Elizabethan House 

126. Upottery Airfield Heritage Centre 

127. Whimple Heritage Centre 

128. William Pengelly Museum 

gardens 

129. Bicton Park and Gardens 

130. Burrow Farm Gardens 

131. Fast Rabbit Farm Gardens 

132. Gnome Reserve 

133. Holbrook Garden 

134. Homeyards Botanical Gardens 

135. Lukesland Gardens 

136. Marwood Hill Gardens 

137. RHS Garden Rosemoor 

138. Stone Lane Gardens 

139. Tapeley Park and Gardens 

140. The Elizabethan Gardens 

141. The Garden House 

historic houses 

142. A la Ronde (NT) 

143. Arlington Court (NT) 

144. Bradley Manor (NT) 

145. Castle Hill Estate 

146. Cadhay 

147. Coleton Fishacre (NT) 

148. Cotehele (NT) 

149. Fursdon House 

150. Greenway (NT) 

151. Haldon Belvedere 

152. Hartland Abbey House 

153. Hemerdon House 

154. Killerton House (NT) 

155. Kirkham House (EH) 

156. Knightshayes (NT) 

157. Marker’s Cottage 

158. Overbeck’s (NT) 

159. Saltram House (NT) 

160. Shute Barton (NT) 

161. The Church House (NT) 

162. The Merchant’s House 

163. The Old Bakery (NT) 

164. Thorn House and Garden 

165. Torre Abbey 

166. Ugbrooke House 

167. Watersmeet House (NT) 

castles & forts 

168. Bayard’s Cove Fort (EH) 

169. Berry Pomeroy Castle (EH) 

170. Bickleigh Castle NOP 

171. Castle Drogo (NT) 

172. Crownhill Fort 

173. Compton Castle (NT) 

174. Dartmouth Castle (EH) 

175. Exeter Castle NOP 

176. Hemyock Castle 

177. Kingswear Castle NOP 

178. Lydford Castle (EH) 

179. Okehampton Castle (EH) 

180. Powderham Castle 

181. Tiverton Castle NOP 

182. Totnes Castle (EH) 

183. Watermouth Castle 



HELLO 

SEEKER 

at Haldon Forest Park, near Exeter 

Book at goape.co.uk 

Participation and supervision ratios apply - please see our website. 


CONTENTS 75

Great Night Out 

Enjoy FOOD and LIVE MUSIC at your local venue 

LIVE MUSIC THIS MONTH 

STEVE KNIGHTLEY: ROADWORKS 

07 Mar- Best known from Show of 

Hands, Knightley invites you on a 

musical journey, The Beehive, Dowell 

Street, Honiton, 7.30pm, £18. 

BICTON FOLK SESSION 

07 Mar- Enjoy an evening of lively, foottapping 

music when local musicians, The 

Bicton Inn, Exmouth, 8.30pm to 11.55pm. 

TIME TRAVELLERS 

08 Mar- The Black Horse, 30 Fore Street, 

Sidmouth, 9.30pm to 12.00am. 

THE CHEESEBOARD 

08 Mar- Enjoy an evening of lively, foottapping 

music, The Bicton Inn, Exmouth, 

9.00pm to 11.55pm. 

OPEN MIC 

08 Mar- An evening of music from 

anyone who would like to come along 

and perform, The Bicton Inn, Exmouth, 

8.30pm to 11.55pm. 

JON BODEN AND THE REMNANT 

STRINGS 

09 Mar- 'Recalling Gabriel-era Genesis 

with a dash of Bush and Bowie' - The 

Observe, James H Soars Media Services, 

Plough Arts Centre, Great Torrington, 

7.30pm to 10.45pm, £22.00. 

Glenn Tilbrook 

Image by Rob O'Connor 

SILVER BULLET LIVE AT THE 7 STARS 

09 Mar- Classic Rock, Pop, Blues and Soul, 

all played with passion and authority, Silver 

Bullet Band, 7 Stars, Tiverton, 9.00pm to 

11.30pm. 

Salad of Beef Rib, The Grosvenor 

WHITE SPIRIT 



PETER JAGGER 

09 Mar- Originals and covers from 60s folk 

to 80s music, The Bicton Inn, Exmouth, 

5.00pm to 7.00pm. 

JUST MISBEHAVIN' 

10 Mar- Swing jazz to finish your 

weekend in style, Just Misbehavin', The 

Point Bar & Grill, Exmouth, 6.00pm to 

8.30pm, free. 

MARTIN WELLER 

10 Mar- Selection of rock and pop 

classics plus originals, The Bicton Inn, 

Exmouth, 5.00pm to 7.00pm. 

OPEN MIC 

14 Mar- An evening of music from 

anyone who would like to come along 

and perform, The Bicton Inn, Exmouth, 

8.30pm to 11.55pm. 

SILVER BULLET LIVE AT THE BEACH 

15 Mar- Classic Rock, Pop, Blues 

and Soul all played with passion and 

authority, Silver Bullet Band, The Beach 

Bar, Exmouth, 9.00pm to 11.30pm. 

SILVER BULLET LIVE 

16 Mar- Classic Rock, Pop, Blues and 

Soul - all played with passion and 

authority, Silver Bullet Band, Sidmouth 

Conservative Club, Sidmouth, 9.00pm to 

11.30pm. 

THE PHIL BEER BAND 

16 Mar- Performing a unique blend of 

folk and roll trawled from Phil's treasure 

trove, The Beehive, Dowell Street, 

Honiton, 8.00pm, £21. 

THE MAGIC BADGERS 



SARA CORSER & DAVE WARD 

16 Mar- Two of the Bicton's favourites 

bring you an evening of popular songs, 

The Bicton Inn, Exmouth, 5.00pm to 

7.00pm. 

BLACK CAT JAZZ 

17 Mar- Traditional Jazz inspired by 

the New Orleans revival 1930 to 1950, 

Plymouth Jazz Club, The Royal British 

Legion Club, Plymouth, 7.30pm to 

10.30pm, £10 (members £8, students £5). 

MUSIC NIGHT - NEIL BARCLAY 

17 Mar- Swing, Rat Pack & all the 

classics. A great sound form one man 

and guitar, The Point, 14 Pilot Wharf, 

Exmouth, 6.00pm to 8.30pm, Free Entry. 

RED PENDULUM JAZZ 

20 Mar- New monthly jazz night with 

house trio & special guest, Pete Canter, 



Saturday 16th March 

PHIL BEER BAND 

The Beehive, Honiton 

Sunday 10th March 

JUST MISBEHAVIN' 

The Point Bar & Grill, Exmouth 

Saturday 23 March 

ALAN BARNES 

The Tucker's Arms, Axminster 

Exeter Phoenix, Exeter, 8.30pm to 

10.30pm, £9. 


22 Mar- Classic Rock, Blues, Soul and 

Pop all played with passion and authority, 

Silver Bullet Band, Royal Clarence, 

Seaton, 9.30pm to 12.00am. 

THAT'LL DO 




23 Mar- Classic Rock, Blues, Pop 

and Soul all played with passion and 

authority, Silver Bullet Band, Heavitree 

Social Club, Exeter, 9.00pm to 11.30pm. 

ALAN BARNES & JULIAN MARC 

STRINGLE 

23 Mar- Alan Barnes & Julian Marc 

Stringle with the Craig Milverton Trio, 

The Tucker's Jazz Club, The Tucker's 

Arms, Axminster, 8.00pm to 10.00pm, 

web. 

STONEFOX 



GUY SOMERFIELD 

23 Mar- An afternoon featuring an 

eclectic mixture of music, The Bicton Inn, 

Exmouth, 5.00pm to 7.00pm. 

ALAN BARNES WITH THE CRAIG 

MILVERTON TRIO 

24 Mar- Britain's top jazz saxophonist 

(and wit!) backed by a great trio, 

Plymouth Jazz Club, The Royal British 

Legion Club, Plymouth, 7.30pm to 

10.30pm, £10 (Members £8, students £5). 

MUSIC NIGHT - PETE CANTER TRIO 

24 Mar- A talented band playing a 

delightful blend of swing, bebop and 

Latin jazz, The Point, 14 Pilot Wharf, 

Exmouth, 6.00pm to 8.30pm, Free Entry. 

JAZZ DUO; PETE OXLEY & NICOLAS 

MEIER 

24 Mar- Oxley & Meier perform works 

Image by David Wilson Clarke 

from their fascinating album ‚ÄòThe 

Colours of Time‚ Jeanie Moore MVO, 

The Duke of Cornwall Hotel, Plymouth, 

3.00pm to 4.00pm, £15.00. 

NIGEL CHALLIS 

24 Mar- Nigel is a highly popular 

musician/singer and a master of 

country/folk, The Bicton Inn, Exmouth, 

5.00pm to 7.00pm. 

Lewtrenchard Manor 

Grace Petrie 

PETE OXLEY & NICHOLAS MAIER 

27 Mar- A duet of Guitar virtuosi coming 

close to perfection, Fougou Jazz, Fougou 

Jazz, Galmpton, 8.30pm to 10.30pm, 10. 

SPRING CEILIDH 

30 Mar- Spring Ceilidh with Spinach for 

Norman, South Brent Folk, South Brent 

Village Hall, South Brent, 7.30pm to 

11.00pm, £8. 

MUSIC NIGHT - CHRIS & THE 

CHARLSTONERS 

31 Mar- An inspiring mix of piano, 

saxophone, guitar and sweet vocals, The 

Point, 14 Pilot Wharf, Exmouth, 6.00pm 

to 8.30pm, Free Entry. 

GLENN TILBROOK 

02 Apr - Glenn is currently touring the 

UK promoting awareness The Trussell 

Trust, and collecting donations for the 

charity that supports a network of 

foodbanks around the UK, Tavistock 

Wharf, Canal Road, Tavistock, 7.30pm, 

All tickets £19.50. 


CONTENTS 77

SWAc 

The South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts 

FOR 2019 WE'RE 

DELIGHTED TO BE 

THE SPONSORS 

OF DEVONSHIRE ART 

The South West Academy work with 

academicians and associates to host a range of 

events over the year, including workshops, charity 

auctions, lectures, culminating in a major Open 

Exhibition at Exeter Castle each November. 

Robert Mountjoy - Chair of Trustees 

From its earliest years, the Academy's Open exhibitions attracted a huge response from artists from the 

South West, across the UK and also from many EU countries. We are proud to have numbered among our 

academicians such distinguished artists as Sir Peter Blake RA, Sir Terry Frost RA, Mary Fedden RA, Ken 

Howard RA, Colin Hayes RA and David Leach OBE. The Academy was also nurtured in its early years by a number 

of invaluable donations including the Drecki Legacy, which is commemorated now in the Annual Drecki Lecture 

Series. Thanks to the generosity of many sponsors, the Academy has evolved into a thriving community of elected 

Academicians with regional and international recognition in both 2D and 3D work. At the same time, the Academy 

actively supports the work of emerging artists from across the south west region by electing them as Associate 

members. The profiles and selected works of the Academicians and Associates can be found on the Academy’s 

website along with details of the exhibition programme; short films of past exhibitions, and current news from, 

and about, members www.southwestacademy.org.uk. 

Another major commitment for the Academy is to support the development of art and design for children and young 

people. With a history of dedicated exhibitions for young artists, the Academy currently provides workshops for 

primary and secondary pupils and also works in partnership with Young Art Devon to support their young artists’ 

exhibition and to actively encourage and reward art teachers in local schools and colleges by sponsoring prizes for 

their students. At the same time as making provision for young artists, members of The Academy run workshops 

and talks for different adult groups including a Memory Café workshop to support the work of charities such as 

the Dementia Alliance. To become a Friend of the Academy or to find out more then either visit the website or 

email swac.contact@gmail.com 

ART 



In association with hubcast.co.uk 

ART 

Sponsored by SWAc 


CONTENTS 79

marinehouseatbeer.co.uk 

Mike Lambert lives in Branscombe, Devon. In 1998 he established 

with his wife Rosemary leading Devon galleries Marine House 

and Steam Gallery. Previously his career was computer sales 

and marketing. He then founded a Kensington PR company. 

ART MATTERS 

Mike Lambert - Marine House at Beer | Steam Gallery 

Art Matters will be a regular feature in 

Devonshire e-zine. My aim is to explore why 

people buy art and crafts and what do they get 

out of the experience? 

I 

’ll also share with you what’s 

trending now and what might be on 

the up based on owning Marine House 

and Steam Gallery both in Beer for 

twenty-one years, but also observing 

the market at major fairs in London 

and The Affordable Art Fairs in Hong 

Kong, Singapore and New York. I’ll 

share with you the opinions of art 

purchasers, art organisers and gallery 

owners to explore why art means a 

lot to many people and why so many 

people invest in creative work. 

It’s for the very same reasons that art 

has enduring appeal today and I’m not 

talking about the £100million market 

speculation haunts of the super rich 

I hope you will enjoy my ramblings. 

In the next edition I will report on 

the buying mood after the major 

March Affordable Art Fair in Battersea 

Having founded and worked at the 

Beer galleries with my wife Rosemary 

we’ve had first hand experience of 

hits, evergreen work and what seems 

to be fading at present. We’ve also 

had insight into why people buy arts 

and crafts. 

From the earliest periods of human 

habitation there has been a desire 

to record and interpret the world as 

people saw it. Just look at aboriginal 

wall art dating back 60,000 years or 

Neolithic wall paintings in Southern 

France 14,000 years old. For the most 

part (other than pots!) these works 

didn’t serve any practical purpose. 

But what they clearly demonstrated 

was man’s desire for spirituality and 

satisfaction and fulfilment beyond 

the everyday challenges of existence. 

Battersea Affordable 

Art Fair, London 

but work that touches the soul of we 

ordinary mortals. Words expressed 

by people acquiring a new painting, 

glass, ceramic or sculpture frequently 

include words or expressions of 

love, thrill. excitement, happiness, 

achievement and fulfilment. I have yet 

to have the experience of someone 

buying art and walking out with a 

glum face! 

in London and the solo shows in 

Marine House and Steam Gallery by the 

renowned artist Anita Klein and the 

fabulous animal sculptor David Cooke. 

What have you bought lately!? 

Mike Lambert 

Follow us: 

@marinehouseatbeer 

@marinehousebeer 




CONTENTS 81

Jonathon X Coudrille - 'Harvest Moon' - RAMM, Exeter 

ART 

Exhibitions 

07 Mar 

BABY-FRIENDLY CURATOR TALK 

- WOMEN ARTISTS 

New for 2019 – introducing our baby-friendly talks by 

RAMM’s curators. These talks are only for parents and 

carers with children under 18 months, so there’s no need 

to worry about disturbing other visitors during the talk. Join 

Curator Michele Green on a tour around our Women Artists 

exhibition. Shining a spotlight on female artists in RAMM’s 

fine art collection, this exhibition features works from the 

1770s until 2011. This event is for people with their babies 

and toddlers, Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Queen Street, 

Exeter, 10.00am to 11.00am, Drop in, pay what you think. 


MULTIMEDIA ART SHOW 

A diverse exhibition of seascape, landscape and figurative 

paintings, prints, ceramics, digital art and video by Devon 

based artists and recent graduates of the Plymouth College 

of Art. This eclectic mix of artists makes for an unusual and 

varied exhibition. Painters Catherine Kennedy BA Hons, Paddy 



Tuohy, Paul Littlejohns, printmakers Rory 

Kennedy BA Hons, Emma Pritchard BA Hons, 

Danni Thurely BA Hons, Becky Elia BA Hons 

and Marcus Nodwell BA Hons, animator Ross 

Kennedy & ceramics Gail Trezise, Multimedia 

Art Show, TAAG, Teignmouth, 10.00am to 

5.00pm, Free Entry. 

09 Mar to 22 Apr 

ACKLAND AND 

EDWARDS BETWEEN 

THE LINES PART 2 

A continuation of the 2013 exhibition 'Read 

Between the Lines', this new exhibition 

reveals more from the Ackland and Edwards 

archive and also reveals previously unseen 

paintings of Bucks Mills and the cabin. 

In 2012 , the Burton at Bideford was 

entrusted by the Ackland and Edwards Trust 

with a treasure trove of correspondence, 

sketchbooks, diaries and photographs, 

relating to the lives and inspirations of the 

two painters, Burton Art Gallery & Museum, 

Kingsley Road, Bideford, 2.00pm to 4.00pm, 

FREE. 

Alice Antliff ceramics - Glade Exhbiition at Harbour House, Kingsbridge 

Until 10 Mar 

GET FRESH 2019 

Get Fresh showcases a range of fresh 

and innovative work from 13 emerging 

makers across the South West of England. 

This biennial exhibition celebrates the 

commitment and diversity of these selected 

makers whilst providing support and 

encouragement and, most importantly, an 

early audience for their work, Devon Guild 

of Craftsmen, Riverside Mill, Bovey Tracey, 

10.00am to 5.30pm, FREE. 

Until 10 Mar 

'SYNERGY' BY MARC 

TODD - ART EXHIBITION 

MEET THE ARTIST IN PERSON VIP Preview 

Night Friday 22nd February 7-9pm. Join us 

and the artist to the launch of this stunning 

exhibition titled 'Synergy' For your personal 

invite please call the gallery on 01752 24 

1234 LIVE STUDIO Saturday 23rd February 

from 12 noon - 4.30pm. Marc will be in 

the gallery performing a 'Live Studio' where 

he will be working on a new painting. A 

great opportunity to discuss his style and 

technique, Host Galleries, 12 Whimple Street, 

Plymouth, 9.00am to 5.30pm, Free Admission. 

Until 10 Mar 

BLUE MIND 

MA\CO is the artistic collaboration of two 

brothers, Max and Cody Jepson, who work 

collaboratively and intuitively, aiming to 

capture the depth and freedom of an everchanging 

ocean. Their lives have ebbed and 

flowed across the oceans between Australia 

and England, the pull of the tide keeping 

home close to the sea. Their affinity with 

the ocean was initially satisfied through 

surfing and open water swimming, but 

their connection to creation and spirituality 

has led them to art, Harbour House, The 

Promenade, Kingsbridge, 10.00am to 5.00pm, 

free. 

Until 10 Mar 

SIDMOUTH 

A SELF-PORTRAIT 

A new generation of artists is fusing 

technology and originality to interpret the 

complex relationships that exist in their 

environment, in both the natural and the 

man-made. Though each artist is most 

assuredly an individual, their work finds 

common ground in its desire to represent 

the developing geography of the South West. 

Artists Kyle Baker / Ben Powell / Cameron 

Graham / Charlotte Barsby. FREE ENTRY. 

10am-4pm daily, Kennaway House, Coburg 

Road, Sidmouth, 10.00am to 4.00pm, FREE 

ENTRY. 

Until 14 Mar 

SPRING SHOW 

Our artists are out of hibernation and 

have all produced some wonderful new 

paintings after their winter sojourn. Marine 

artist Terence Lee has added aviation to his 

repertoire and pastellist Keith Stott has been 

back to Glazebrook and up to Cumbria with 

outstanding results. St Ives based Mark 

Poprawski has once again been inspired by 

his dramatic Atlantic skies and Rob Dudley 

has been capturing our Devon coastline. 

All well worth seeing in the flesh, we look 

forward to seeing you, Davidson Fine Art, 

22 High Street, Totnes, 10.00am to 5.00pm. 

Continued... 


CONTENTS 83


MAKING WAVES 

The students visited Exeter Cathedral to take 

photographs from the roof and to gather 

information inside, later developing ideas in 

printmaking. Other themes include movement 

and futurism, colour and abstraction, and 

the ever popular portraiture. This annual 

exhibition is always worth seeing!, Harbour 

House, The Promenade, Kingsbridge, 

10.00am to 5.00pm, free. 

Until 16 Mar 

JEM SOUTHAM, BIRDS, 

ROCKS, RIVERS, 

ISLANDS 

Birds, butterflies, streams, pastures, moors, 

beaches and seas around us fill many 

bookshop shelves and the pages of critical 

reviews. Such preoccupations have also 

flourished within the visual arts, in particular 

fine art and photography programmes in 

universities such as Plymouth. Jem Southam, 

who was Professor of Photography at the 

University of Plymouth until 2018, and 

one of the UK’s leading photographers, 

has contributed enormously to this field 

with a series of extended photographic 

work, The Arts Institute, Roland Levinsky 

Building, Plymouth, 10.00am to 5.00pm, 

Free admission. 

David Cooke, 'Chameleon' - Solo Show at Steam Gallery at Beer 

In the Mix 

Gallery artists 

www.hybrid-devon.co.uk 

Until 23 Mar 

NATURAL AFFINITY 

Working diversely across a variety of 

mediums, the two inform their practice 

with a sustained effort to challenge their 

own working habits, adopting a transitory 

approach to form and style. In this 

exhibition, Natural Affinity, works lean 

towards abstraction, though elements of 

figuration remain across both collections, 

for a complete body of work that upholds 

the pairs passion for nature that they have 

previously been recognised for. “I draw my 

inspiration from the area in which I live and 

the, Artizan Gallery Cafe Venue, 7 Lucius 

Street, Torquay, 11.00am to 6.00pm, free. 


'FINE ART OF METAL’ 

CHRIS DERUBEIS 

EXHIBITION 

'Fine Art of Metal' an exhibition by Chris 



DeRubeis Public show dates 23 March to 

7 April 2019VIP Preview Night Friday 22nd 

March 7-9pm. Join us for the launch of 

this stunning exhibition. For your personal 

invite please call the gallery on 01752 

241234 One of America's best selling 

artists. Currently ranking very high in the 

art world, his artwork is collected around 

the globe, Host Galleries, 12 Whimple Street, 

Plymouth, 9.00am to 5.30pm, Free Admission. 


CELEBRATING THREE 

GENERATIONS BY 

ANITA KLEIN 

Painter and printmaker Anita Klein, is set 

to delight art lovers across the South West 

with a collection of new works in her solo 

show ‘Celebrating Three Generations’ at 

Marine House at Beer. Anita often charts 

her family life, taking great care with the 

balance and structure of her paintings and 

prints. As a fellow and past president of 

the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers 

(PPRE), Anita’s work is held within a range 

of high-profiled collections in Europe, USA 

and Australia, Marine House at Beer, Fore 

Street, Beer, 10.00am to 5.00pm. 


SOLO SHOW BY 

WILDLIFE ARTIST DAVID 

COOKE 

West Yorkshire based artist David Cooke 

is one of Britain's most well-known 

professional wildlife sculptors. Appealing 

to animal enthusiasts and art lovers alike, 

David works across mediums including clay, 

bronze, bronze resin, and mixed media. Often 

sculpting reptiles and birds, his exceptional 

talent has resulted in numerous high-profiled 

commissions, including artworks for Chelsea 

Flower Show, London Zoo, and the Olympic 

Park for London 2012, Steam Gallery, Fore 

Street, Beer, 10.00am to 5.00pm. 

30 Mar to 02 Jun 

EXTREME IMAGINATION 

INSIDE THE MIND’S EYE When you 

daydream, remember, or think of someone 

you know, do you see a picture in your 

mind? Is it extremely clear and vivid, foggy 

or non-existent? If you had no image at 

all in your mind’s eye, would this affect 

your work if you were an artist? Extreme 

Imagination inside the mind’s eye explores 

these questions through the work of 22 

artists with aphantasia (no inner visual 

imagery) and hyperphantasia (its opposite). 

These new terms came out of research 

carried out by the University of Exeter, Royal 

Albert Memorial Museum - RAMM, Queen 

Street, Exeter, 10.00am to 5.00pm. 

Until 31 Mar 

PETER NEWELL ACRYLIC 

MARINE SCENES 

A beautiful selection of varied marine scenes. 

Artist attending on Saturday 16 March 

10.30am - 4.00pm, RHS Garden Rosemoor, 

Address, Great Torrington, 10.00am to 

4.30pm, Member Free, plus family guest 

Non-member Normal garden admission app. 

09 Apr to 07 Jul 

WHAT DO YOU 

COLLECT? 

DETECTORISTS 

This metal-detecting group's hobby and 

love of history has brought them a mixed 

bag of treasure including the valuable, the 

surprising and the mundane. You can see 

some of their favourite finds here. MD 

Finds Group are based in East Devon. An 

open group, they allow others to share their 

knowledge and finds through a database 

(www.MDFinds.co.uk) and now in the 

contemporary collector’s case in the Finders 

Keepers Gallery, Royal Albert Memorial 

Museum - RAMM, Queen Street, Exeter, 

10.00am to 5.00pm. 

10 Apr to 05 May 

THE PRESENCE OF THE 

PAST 

Happily returning to the gallery walls, one of 

our favourite artists brings new monotypes 

and canvas paintings to delight us all!, Brook 

Gallery, , Budleigh Salterton, 10.30am to 

5.00pm, free. 

Zoe Hyde, 'Blessing of the Sea' - Spring Show at Artwave West, Morcombelake 

10 Apr to 23 Jun 

JOURNEYING TO LIGHT 

ELAINE GOODWIN MOSAICS Welcome 

spring with a celebration of mosaics and 

be entranced by the play of light on gold, 

coloured glass and marble. This retrospective 

exhibition celebrates forty years of mosaic 

art by this remarkable artist. “My work is 

about light. For all who look, at each and 

every moment, light is held, captured, and 

let go - continually and continuously. It is, 

for me a sublime engagement.” Elaine M 

Goodwin, Royal Albert Memorial Museum 

- RAMM, Queen Street, Exeter, 10.00am to 

5.00pm. 

Continued... 


CONTENTS 85


WESC WEEKEND ART 

SHOW 

Join us at this free event with original art 

from 60-70 emerging and established South 

West artists and help raise much needed 

funds for a local worthy cause. Sponsored 

by WBW Solicitors & Chartered Financial 

Planners, this art event is brought to you by 

Art Gallery SW, WESC Foundation, Topsham 

Road, Exeter, 10.00am to 4.00pm, FREE. 


PRECIOUS ? 

A very exciting and possibly challenging 

Art-Jewellery exhibition. If precious means 

‘of high cost or worth not to be treated 

carelessly’ then the Precious Collective is 

where these concepts are questioned - it 

is where the idiosyncratic, irregular ideas 

live; where to encounter the unexpected. 

Strange materials mixed with strange 

minds fuse into joyous imaginative work 

expressing individual ideas of what 

precious could mean, Precious Collective, 

Ocean Studios, Plymouth, 10.00am to 

4.00pm, free. 

Until 27 Apr 

SPRING EXHIBITION 

A dynamic new Exhibition for the Spring, 

Artwave West, A35, Morecombelake, 

10.00am to 4.00pm, free. 

Barbara Roll glassware, 'On the Brink' - Get Fresh 2019 at Devon Guild of Craftsmen 

Until 26 May 

SAM BOUGHTON’S 

DEVON 

The Café at RAMM - See Devon through 

the eyes of local artist Sam Boughton. She 

combines painting, collage, ink splatters, 

bold brushwork and delicate pastel marks 

to convey a sense of place and time. From 

windswept wild grasses on Dartmoor to 

rusty boats and whitewashed coastal 

houses, Sam evokes the textures and 

colours of Devon in this series of original 

works and prints. Works for sale through 

the Shop at RAMM, Royal Albert Memorial 

Museum - RAMM, Queen Street, Exeter, 

10.00am to 5.00pm. 

See more events on 

www.hubcast.co.uk 



ANITA KLEIN 

 

Solo show of new works at Marine House at Beer 

Sat 30 March to Fri 12 April 

Anita Klein is one of Britain’s best recognised and 

successful artists. She has depicted small moments 

in her family life for the last thirty-five years, with her 

timeless image as an “everywoman motif” central to 

each composition. Her work, both paintings and prints, 

has a strong visual impact with bold clean colour and 

fine brushwork. It gives collectors long term pleasure. 

Trained at Chelsea College of Art and The Slade School 

of Art, Anita is a fellow and past president of the Royal 

Society of Painter Printmakers. Painting in her studios 

in Umbria and Bermondsey, she regularly shows at the 

RA Summer Exhibition and sees Marine House as her 

representative in the West of England. 

Swinging, 67 x 132cm, £5500 

Vino sul Balcone (wine on the balcony), 76 x 76cm, £5000 

01297 625257 

Fore Street, Beer, EX12 3EF 

info@marinehouseatbeer.co.uk 

marinehouseatbeer.co.uk 

DAVID COOKE 

 

Solo show of animal and bird sculptures 

Sat 30 March to Fri 12 April 

The highly acclaimed Leeds based sculptor David 

Cooke has exhibited at Steam Gallery for many 

years. Working in ceramic, bronze and bronze resin, 

his animal and bird pieces both large and small 

project originality and presence. Photographs don’t 

do them justice. Come see and touch! 

Contact the gallery for a catalogue. Works can be 

viewed on our website from mid-March and can 

be purchased now. 

01297 625144 

Fore Street, Beer, EX12 3EF 

info@steamgallery.co.uk 

steamgallery.co.uk 

Crow, ceramic on wooden 

stand, 80cm high inc stand, 

£790 

Chameleon, ceramic original 

for bronze edition, 75cm high, 

£1600 


CONTENTS 87

Heinrich Campendonk (1889-1957) 

THE DREAM 

around 1913, oil on board 

Campendonk creates a dreamlike world 

where a winged animal hovers over 

a female figure, perhaps suggesting 

harmony between mankind and the 

animals. The mystical theme was typical 

of his work at this time when he joined 

Wassily Kandinsky's avant-garde group, 

'Der Blaue Reiter' (The Blue Rider), in 

Munich. Campendonk later destroyed 

much of his early work, so this painting is 

a rare survival. 

SOMERSET HOUSE 

STRAND 

LONDON 

WC2R 

020 39477 777 

The paintings shown are from the world 

famous Courtauld Gallery in London. The 

gallery is open to the public. For opening 

times, please visit their website: 

www.courtauld.ac.uk/gallery 

On loan from a private collection 



A tour of The Courtauld Gallery with Bill Nighy 

Leon Kossoff (born 1926) 

head of seedo 

1964, oil on canvas 

This powerful portrait depicts the writer 

N.M. Seedo who was Kossoff's friend and 

one of his first regular sitters. As is typical 

for the artist, Kossoff worked on the portrait 

over many months, tirelessly painting and 

repainting. He later explained, "I'm always 

working to make the structure more real, 

more intense." In the process the paint has 

built up to a thickly encrusted surface, but 

Kossoff's brushwork retains its spontaneity 

and fluidity; it is almost as if the paint is still 

moving 

On loan from a private collection 


CONTENTS 89

DEEP IMPRESSIONS! 

Nigel Jones 

A mother and daughter team, creating 

stunning underwater paintings in their 

Plymouth studio 

LOBSTER FINE ART PRINT 

Kim: 'Spotting the red antennae of our 

common lobster poking out of a crevice 

can make a dive for many a British diver, 

with the prospect of a luxurious dinner to 

come. However, the rich deep blue colours 

and texture of a lobster provides a far more 

exciting subject for me to paint. We have 

photographed many lobster encounters in 

our local waters around Plymouth, which 

we have later used as reference points in 

our paintings.' 

"Our highly detailed underwater work 

can take many weeks to paint. We use 

hundreds of our underwater photographs 

as reference points. A great deal of time 

is taken to build up the layers on a 

painting. Using acrylics we construct 

the background and then painstakingly 

add the marine life". 

I'm sure you'll agree that the lobster is 

an impressive technicolour rendering 

that jumps off the page! - Nigel 



DEVONSHIRE 

PEOPLE 

91 


We're Old, But New Nightstop Devon Devonshire Eccentric We need to talk... 

Me, Him & Dementia Life is difficult... Money Matters School News 



CONTENTS 

91


Devonshire is fully digital in 2019 through our four key channels, reaching 

a massive digital audience. Subscribe on our website for our e-newsletter 

which notifies you when the new magazine is available to read 

WE'RE OLD, BUT NEW! 

Devonshire Editor - Nigel Jones 

nigel@devonshiremagazine.co.uk 

In 2019 Devonshire magazine fully 

embraces digital, reaching out to a massive 

and ever-expanding digital audience 

You're probably wondering why such 

a popular magazine has moved to 

being fully digital, forever consigning 

our print version to the scrap heap? 

The new Digital 

magazine, purpose built 

for reading on digital 

devices 

The reality is that it wasn't just one 

single reason alone, more that there 

were many, each one advantageous, 

not least of which being that the 

digital audience is massive and 

continues to expand outwards, whilst 

the print audience has in reality been 

contracting for the past 10+ years. 

Sure, it's a sad thing to see print 

disappear, it's a luxury format, and in 

reality is centuries old, but digital has 

changed the landscape permanently 

and it isn't ever going back. 

But the positives - there are many, 

not least of which is that we no longer 

need to drag 42 tons of print all over 

Devon in cars. The recycling of 

this much paper has an impact, the 

energy required, chemicals, water 

that's not to mention all the fuel used 

in delivery. This has never sat well 

with me, living in such a beautiful 

county, but polluting - no, not great 

to consider. 

Another major positive is the fact that 

we can reach out across Devon, the 

South West, UK and indeed World. 

Print meant that we were physically 

restricted to the number of copies 

printed that were available at outlets 

- no longer! Over the past 10 years 

we regularly received many phone 

calls from avid readers, eager to get 

their copy, but being thwarted by the 

demand for this rich Devon themed 

magazine. Of course our natural 

response was to say that they should 

go to one of the 900 outlets to receive 

a copy, but the better answer was 

to not even have to take the car off 

the drive, just to lift up their tablet 

to read the magazine directly from 

their lounge over a coffee! Digital also 

means that we can add much more 

content and have a more 'open door' 

policy on bringing content into the 

magazine - previously we had to be 

extremely cautious because adding 

in a new column meant a new 8 or 16 

page section being added - expensive 

to say the least. 

Hope you enjoy the 'new' mag and 

please send us your feedback. 

Alfie J. 

Devonshire 

magazine has 

always been about 

quality of content - 

undoubtedly it's why 

we've gained such a 

loyal readership 

over the years 

Follow us: 


@DevonshireMagazine 

@Devonshiremag 



Sarah Lakey is the Senior Community & Events Fundraiser for the 

Devon & Dorset branch of Julian House, a registered charitable society 

NIGHTSTOP DEVON 

JULIAN HOUSE - Sarah Lakey 

sarah.lakey@julianhouse.org.uk 

Youth homelessness is on the increase with 

more young people sofa surfing in order to 

avoid having to sleep rough on the streets 

Julian House offers a service 

specifically to support 16-25 year 

olds, Nightstop Devon. This provides 

same day emergency overnight 

accommodation for young homeless 

people, between the ages of 16-25, in 

the homes of volunteer hosts who 

have been trained and vetted. Not 

only does this prevent young people 

from having to sleep on the streets 

or sofa surfing in friends homes, but 

acts as a service to find solutions to 

their housing situation and works 

with other agencies to find long term 

accommodation. 

Nightstop Devon shares the journey 

of one young person, Martin, aged 

20, who became homeless. He was 

asked to leave accommodation which 

supports young people with drug 

and alcohol issues because he tested 

positive for cannabis. Martin sofa 

surfed at his friends flat, putting his 

friend's tenancy at risk. 

After making a homeless application 

to the local council he was referred to 

Nightstop Devon. When completing 

his references, it was highlighted 

Martin had struggled with class 

'A' drugs and family breakdown 

which lead to him being referred 

to supported accommodation. The 

support team felt this was not the 

best option for Martin as he wanted 

to focus on getting work and his 

own private rented flat. With this 

in mind he used Nightstop Devon 

for six weeks with several hosts who 

found Martin to be well-mannered 

and had a proactive approach to 

finding secure accommodation. 

Martin stated he found Nightstop 

Devon a good experience as he could 

see how other people lived and it has 

inspired him to live independently. 

In addition, he started to build a 

positive relationship with his family 

and began meeting them in the 

day time between engaging with 

Nightstop Devon support staff. 

Martin was offered an interview for a 

trainer tenancy which could support 

him to gain the skills to maintain a 

long-term tenancy in the private 

rented sector. After being offered a 

place with another young person in 

a two-bedroom flat, Martin engaged 

well with support staff and completed 

the Young Person’s Outcome Star 

which helped him highlight any issues 

he needed to address. 

Martin has recently started working 

a part-time job as a labourer at a 

building site and has started to look 

at mentorships to gain a trade and 

hopefully full-time employment. His 

relationship with family has grown 

and the support gained from them 

has helped maintain a stable tenancy. 

Martin is aiming to move into a shared 

house and feels the skills gained 

from building relationships with new 

people, cooking fresh food and the 

tenancy training course he attended 

will ensure he stays in stable and 

secure accommodation. 

Martin sofa surfed at 

his friends' flat, putting 

his friend's tenancy 

at risk 

Nightstop Devon relies on private 

funding and donations from the 

public in order to run the service. 

It costs £35 to provide emergency 

accommodation for a young person 

per night. Donations can be made 

via our online Just Giving page; 

http://bit.ly/2NcpA3b 

To find out more about the service 

please contact Sarah Lakey; sarah. 

lakey@julianhouse.org.uk 

To refer a young person to the service 

please call: 01392 573606 


CONTENTS 93

seatonmatters.org 

From an academic background, Martin is an Independent member of 

Devon County Council representing Seaton and Colyton. Here he gives 

his personal view of the challenges the county faces in our troubled times. 

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT DEVON 

Martin Shaw 

cllrmartinshaw@gmail.com 

We think of the typical Devon house as 

a picturesque thatched cottage, but as 

building continues relentlessly around our 

towns and villages, it’s more likely to be a 

semi on a new estate. 

But do we need all the new houses 

which are springing up? 

If you ask this question - as the 

Devon branch of the Campaign to 

Protect Rural England does in a 

new report - you instantly come 

up against the one belief that unites 

our two main political parties: that 

a huge housebuilding programme 

should be a national priority. 

We are told that there is a major 

housing shortage; nationally, we need 

up to 300,000 new units per year 

to solve it. In Devon the population 

is growing and our housing stock 

certainly needs to keep pace. Yet 

what if the rate of development which 

is being forced by the Government 

is too fast? What if we are being 

obliged to build many more units 

than we really need? 

These are the radical questions 

which the CPRE Devon report poses 

for planners across the county, and 

they’re questions we should all 

engage with. You might of course 

think that the Campaign is taking 

a ‘Nimby’ attitude and setting aside 

the genuine needs of Devon’s young 

people and working families. But this 

Our councils really don’t have 

enough control over how much 

housing is built and where 

would be to badly misjudge them; 

one of their key arguments is that 

while more and more homes go up, 

developers simply aren’t providing 

the low-cost, genuinely affordable 

housing that local people really need. 

Their report, ‘Devon Housing Needs 

Evidence 2018’, is based on serious 

research. It carefully examines 

the numbers of new households 

which are being formed and people 

moving into the county. When all 

this is taken into account, it seems 

we’re already building more houses 

than we need - and the targets our 

planning bodies have been obliged 

to adopt will push us even further 

over the top. The truth is that, far 

from having an overall shortage, 

we have more empty houses than 

before and second homes that are 

empty much of the year, while we 

don’t have enough social housing. 

The real housing problem is one of 

distribution, not scale. 

Our councils really don’t have 

enough control over how much 

housing is built and where. Fail to 

propose enough sites to deliver the 

Government’s top-down targets, 

and the inspector will not approve 

your local plan. Fail to get your plan 

approved, or fall behind with your 

targets, and it will be open season for 

developers - planners won’t be able 

to insist on applying normal planning 

rules in line with local considerations 

which matter to residents. Don’t 

approve a big enough estate, and you 

won’t get funding for that new ring 

road. Approve a sensible development 

on a brown 



field site, and the developer can ‘land bank’ it, so you’ll 

soon be under pressure to approve a less appropriate 

scheme to fulfill your target. 

It’s even more difficult to actually deliver social housing. 

A council may require a developer to build a proportion 

of affordable homes, but once they’ve got started they’ll 

come back with a ‘viability assessment’ which shows 

that they can’t afford to build them after all without 

their scheme becoming insufficiently profitable. The risk 

has been taken away from the developers and passed 

to local families whose hopes of sound, affordable 

homes are dashed. No wonder that many have taken to 

forming community land trusts. These may not deliver 

the numbers of big schemes, but they can at least mean 

that the right homes are built where they are actually 

needed. CPRE Devon, naturally, commends this kind 

of small-scale development. 

The risk has been taken 

away from the developers 

and passed to local 

families whose hopes of 

sound, affordable homes 

are dashed 

Peter Findlay 

Tax Consultant & Business Adviser 

t. 01395 568568 

Tax returns 

from £150 

CHARTERED 

TAX ADVISER 

Accounts & tax returns 

from £250 

Covering all areas of accountancy - accounts 

preparation, tax returns, VAT, book-keeping, payroll, 

company and new business set-ups. 

Providing a friendly service for a variety of businesses 

large and small. Fixed fees, free initial consultation. 

Email: peter_findlay@btconnect.com 

Unit 2, Dotton Farmstead, Newton Poppleford, Sidmouth. 

MSc in Addiction Psychology and Counselling 

FDAP Accredited / MBACP 

It’s obvious that Government policies are driving the 

distortion of our housing market which this report 

identifies, but over the last decade too many local 

politicians and planners have absorbed their warped 

priorities. While we can work to change national 

thinking - and it’s not just the present administration 

which needs to listen - it’s very much down to local 

communities to begin to restore sense and balance to 

planning in our county. 

Let us hope that CPRE Devon has kickstarted a true 

Devonshire debate. 

Martin Shaw 

Follow me: 

@CllrMartinShaw 

@MartinShawEDA 

I specialise in addictions, eating disorders and 

emotional well-being. I have considerable 

experience working with trauma, relational 

MSc in Addiction Psychology 

difficulties, anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. 

& Counselling 

“Freddy FDAP showed Accredited deep understanding / MBACP and was 

MSc in MSc Addiction in Addiction Psychology Psychology 

committed to offering hope with gentleness and 

& Counselling & encouragement. Counselling MSc Specialising Each Addiction 

in session addictions, brought Psychology closer the 

FDAP Accredited FDAP ability to 

eating Accredited & see Counselling 

the / disorders MBACP real me / MBACP behind 

& 

all the personal 

turmoil and dangerous habits.” 

emotional FDAP Accredited wellbeing/ MBACP 

Specialising I see Specialising clients in Exeter, addictions, in Totnes addictions, and online. I also work 

therapeutically e: info@freddyweaver.co.uk 

eating eating disorders Nature. If you have any questions, 

please donʼt m: Specialising disorders 

hesitate 07737 

& 

to 092 

& in 

get 625 addictions, 

in touch with me. 

emotional emotional wellbeing eating wellbeing disorders & 

emotional wellbeing 

e: e: info@freddyweaver.co.uk 

m: 07737 m: 07737 092 e: 625 info@freddyweaver.co.uk 

092 625 

m: 07737 092 625 

CONTENTS PEOPLE HOME WEBSITE DESIGN LIFESTYLE HISTORY 

CONTENTS 95 

hubcast

Mary is a professional genealogist. She has cared for foster children 

with disabilities including spina bifida and cerebral palsy, and has spent 

many years campaigning for the rights of disabled children. 

ME, HIM AND DEMENTIA 

Mary Hyland 

You know that feeling, when something 

horrible happens to a friend, and you think 

"Thank goodness it wasn't me!" - and then 

suddenly, it is? 

Face concealed 

That is what happened to me 

a few years ago, and I keep 

asking myself why I did not see 

it coming. My colleague and very dear 

friend started to act in a slightly, but 

increasingly 'odd' way. I pondered 

on it for weeks, if not months, and 

wondered was it any of my business. 

Then one day, when I knew she was 

driving, so not at home, I rang her 

land-line and spoke to her husband, 

not knowing what on earth I would 

say. It is one of the hardest things I 

have ever done. He heaved a sigh of 

relief and said " So, it's not just me that 

thinks there is something wrong...." 

It turned out she had dementia, and 

very sadly, is now deceased. 

them. Without exception they said 

"Thank you for the lovely day, it was 

super to see you both, but what on earth 

is wrong with him?" 

Mmmm.... His driving had not been 

as good, he was not as chatty, he was 

distant, he was doing odd things when 

he came in to help me at work, he 

forgot my birthday, but, of course it 

was all OK. Wasn't it? I dithered for 

a few weeks, could it be the same as 

my friend? No, of course not. That 

wouldn't happen to us. 

when it was hard not to laugh, as 

the technician quietly explained to 

me that the printer was not plugged 

into the USB port on the computer 

at all !! I had just taken it for granted 

that my OH knew exactly what he 

was doing because he had done it so 

many times before! Technician was 

very understanding, but I still had to 

pay the charges! 

My other half had designed a data 

base for all my clients account details, 

to replace the old index card box that 

old-fashioned me had been using. It 

Fast forward to a big birthday on a 

lovely, sunny summers day, when 

people were inside the house and 

outside in the garden, having a 

lovely time. It was my other half's 

70th birthday, and his family and 

friends had travelled down from the 

Midlands to celebrate with my own 

family. Everyone enjoyed themselves 

and my little granddaughter was 

in her element passing around the 

sweeties, looking very, very cute. 

Next day at work, I opened my emails. 

I was gratified to see so many from 

said family and friends. Then I read 

You do realise something 

is terribly wrong, don't you? 

But I started to notice more things, 

things that I had dismissed before. 

Like calling the computer technician 

in at work, because the printer my 

other half had installed on one of the 

computers simply would not print. 

That was a rather tricky moment, 

was a great asset, well, it was, until 

he managed to lock himself, and 

everyone else, out of it, never to 

reclaim it. Back to the index box 

went I, with loads of missing data 

concerning my clients, bit awkward 

that one, trying to explain to clients 



I had no idea what their instructions 

were, their contact details, or how 

much they had paid !! 

I thought he was joking, when with 

guests in the car, he drove to the 

end of the road, and loudly declared 

"Which way now?" - but he wasn't, he 

really did not know whether he was 

going left or right. 

On one of the famous Devon 

diversions, round all the lanes in 

the car, he hit a telegraph pole and 

scraped his beloved car. I mentioned 

it the following day, and he didn't 

remember it at all.... things were 

taking a distinct turn for the worse, 

I thought. But I still dithered, not 

knowing what to do. 

Mary and partner 

strolling through the 

grounds 

Some weeks later, whilst in this 

country from Brazil, his brother 

came for Sunday lunch with his now 

wife. Next day at work, my phone 

rang, and it was the brother. " You do 

realise something is terribly wrong, 

don't you?" Here was someone having 

the same conversation with me that I 

had with my friends husband not that 

long ago. It had been as difficult for 

him to make the call as it had been 

for me - I felt for him. I was shaking 

as I put the phone down. What to do? 

We had been together only 6 years 

at this point, we were not married, 

and we thought we were each others 

soul mates. I was terrified, but I 

would have been more terrified if 

I had known what was ahead. But I 

had to face up to what was obvious 

to everyone else. 

I agreed a plan with his brother. I 

needed to get my other half to the 

doctors to see if we could discover 

what was wrong. His brother and 

I worked out that if I wrote to the 

Doctor, acknowledging the fact that 

I could not expect a reply because of 

patient confidentiality, and explained 

all our concerns to the Doctor, and 

could the Doctor ask my other half 

in for a routine appointment to do 

with his Crohn's disease that had 

been diagnosed earlier in the year. 

We hoped the Doctor could then 

assess my other half's mental state. 

The Doctor is a wise man, and he 

suggested to my other half that 

he sign a letter giving the Doctor 

permission to speak directly with 

myself should he need to. What a 

God send that was to be. 

Dec 2016 

Fast forward two or three months, 

to Christmas 2016, when he did not 

seem that well. 29th December and 

I walked into the sitting room and 

took one look at him. " You are not 

well!"! He said he was fine, insisted he 

was fine, but I phoned the surgery for 

an urgent appointment. When I got 

him there, 'there' fortunately, being 

just next door to us, the Doctor rang 

for an emergency ambulance and he 

was rushed into hospital not to return 

home until the following February. 

This was one of many instances 

when he failed to recognise there 

was something wrong with his own 

health, and this time he had left it 

too late and there were to be life 

changing consequences. 

Start Jan 2017 

Weeks of effort by the doctors had 

failed to cure the problem and my 

other half was dying. He had lost 

57 pounds in weight and was barely 

conscious. I had told them that he 

'had memory problems' and we were 

waiting for an appointment at the 

Memory Clinic at RD&E Wonford. I 

visited him in hospital every day, but it 

was an hour each way on an irregular 

bus, so the time I could spend at the 

hospital was varied, and I often did 

not get to see the doctor. I knew they 

had carried out numerous standard 

memory tests, which he had passed 

with flying colours because he could 

remember who the PM was and that 

Harry Barnes lived at 73, Orchard 

Close, Kingsbridge (just who Harry 

Barnes is I have failed to establish!) What 

I did not know was that they had also 

carried out a brain scan. I am not his 

next of kin and I was not told. 

15th Jan 2017 

My OH has his colon completely 

removed in a 6 hour operation to 

save his life. 

Jan/Feb 2017 

Now, this is not a funny operation, 

I am beginning to realise. And the 

consequences are anything but funny 

- they are devastating. But that is 

not really to do with the dementia. 

Enough to say that my other half now 

has what is called a stoma and a bag, 

which is a terribly inefficient way of 

dealing with such things! The hospital 

assure me, however, that he will not 

be allowed to come home until he 

can look after himself and that he 


CONTENTS 97 

hubcast

ME, HIM AND DEMENTIA ...continued 

will be going into a rehabilitation 

unit for several weeks, if not longer. 

I consider that will give me time to 

plan for our new future together. 

His children, of which there are two, 

have come down from the Midlands 

and along with myself, we set about 

convincing the hospital I am not his 

carer. It's not that I don't love him, 

but I have a career which provides 

my income, and more importantly, 

have already been a carer several 

times for various family members in 

the last 30 years. I tearfully, tell the 

hospital I am too old, too tired, have 

no longer got it in me...... the words 

"head" and "brick wall" come to mind. 

End result, briefly, is that he is 

discharged as there are no beds in 

rehab. I have to make the decision to 

close my shop as there are no other 

options. I have not slept properly for 

weeks, waking in the night in tears, 

and worried silly about his health 

and our situation. 

A few days after he gets home, we 

have uncontrolled chaos all around, 

even down to a stand up argument 

between the GP, bless him, and the 

hospital stoma nurse, about the 

untenable situation my other half 

and I are in. His confusion is intense, 

and the lack of knowledge we both 

have as to his stoma, which can be 

an intensely messy and unpleasant 

business, makes our days long and 

fraught. I was not to know, and was 

not warned that the very long illness, 

anaesthetic, and operation could 

advance his suspected dementia 

rapidly. 

A discharge letter arrives detailing 

my other half's hospital treatment, 

the operation etc. Up in one corner 

of the page, I notice what I think they 

called 'co morbidities' - I almost don't 

bother reading it, as I knew about 

most of it. I then took another look 

and there were the words "small 

vessel disease". In my currently tired 

and perplexed state of mind, I do not 

take this in. A couple of days later, I 

Google it. The first of many googles, 

and "small vessel disease" is dementia. 

That is how I discover, for myself, 

that he has dementia - the official 

diagnosis comes a couple of weeks 

later at the Memory Clinic in Exeter. 

And that is where the journey really 

begins....... 

A point of view! 

by JOHN FISHER 

(23ft) tall and nine metre (30ft) wide 

figure whilst watching a rehearsal of 

Shakespeare’s Othello at the theatre in 

2008, says that it was inspired by a 

split-second pose struck by an actor 

portraying Bianca (Cassio’s jealous, 

courtesan lover) during a rehearsal 

for the TRP’s award-winning coproduction 

of the play with long-time 

partners, Frantic Assembly. 

The TRP calls Messenger “a major 

piece of public art that will create 

a unique landmark for the city and 

strengthen its cultural offering” 

Stand back Plymouth, here she comes! 

THE UK’s LARGEST ‘lost wax’ 

bronze sculpture, ‘Messenger’, was 

conceived in Cornwall, created in a 

Welsh foundry and sees her first light 

of day as a complete figure, astride 

the very narrows of the approaches to 

the Theatre Royal, Plymouth. 

Cornish-born sculptor Joseph Hillier, 

who conceived the seven-metre 

By way of further explanation Joseph 

Hillier said: 

“This work offers a young powerful woman, 

a potent force about to transform the 

world by her actions. It’s a metaphor for 

what great theatre does.” 



freddyweaver.co.uk 

Freddy is an Integrative counsellor practising in Totnes, Exeter and 

online with specialist experience in addiction psychology and naturebased 

therapy. He combines a passion for psychotherapy, spirituality 

and ecology to bring his reflections on the art of transformation. 

LIFE IS DIFFICULT... 

Freddy Weaver MSc Addiction Psychlogy / Counselling FDAP Accredited / MBACP 

So declared the opening sentence from 

psychiatrist M. Scott Peck’s seminal 1978 

pop-psychology book “The Road Less 

Travelled” 

Within it he set out his 

understanding of how to 

live a fulfilled life. It starts, 

in his mind, by acknowledging that 

life is filled with contradictions and 

that part of the challenge of being 

human is to reconcile the multiple, 

complex and often conflicting factors 

that living entails. Through holding 

the tension of these opposing forces 

within ourselves we grow. The more 

we grow the more we are able to 

appreciate the enormity of, and fulfil 

the potential of, this gift of life. 

As a counsellor I see evidence of the 

many challenges we encounter every 

single day. Be they difficult decisions 

in the present, painful memories 

from the past, self-defeating habits 

undermining our hopes, or troubling 

existential questions that demand 

our attention. I also witness the joys, 

the infectious kindling of courage, 

moments of quiet contentment and 

share the sense of achievement in 

problems overcome. 

Happily, pain is not the only motivator 

for growth. Many philosophers and 

psychologists hold that the impulse to 

become ourselves is more powerful 

than the desire to avoid pain, although 

the latter often proves a helpful 

ally in confronting our fears of 

change. The impulse to ever evolve 

is well encapsulated by Abraham 

Maslow’s 1943 Hierarchy of Needs, 

in which he defines four levels of 

need – Physiological, Safety, Love | 

Belonging, Esteem - that form the 

building blocks that enable us to 

reach “self-actualisation” – becoming 

all we can become. Variations on this 

general idea have been central to 

many cultures – indeed Maslow drew 

much inspiration from the indigenous 

Blackfoot culture of North America, 

though that was not widely credited. 

Many philosophers 

and psychologists 

hold that the 

impulse to become 

ourselves is more 

powerful than the 

desire to 

avoid pain 

Historically the notion of humanity’s 

drive towards wholeness encountered 

a major stumbling block in the concept 

of “original sin”. As a western nation, 

one of whose ideological bedrocks 

is Christianity, innate goodness 

lost favour a long time ago. But in 

the age of scientific rationalism it 

received the final nail in the coffin 

when Darwin’s theory of evolution 

was unfairly reduced to the “Survival 

of the Fittest” concept. 

Originally psychology made the 

same mistake, studying only mental 

illness, categorising symptoms and 

looking at the problem rather than 

the whole human being. Perhaps 

this contributed to the shame 

associated with needing the help 

of a “shrink” – the assumption that 

you’ve got to be severely mentally 

ill to seek therapy. But Maslow was 

part of the “humanistic” movement 

which has endeavoured to study the 

solution rather than the problem. 

That which helps you to feel good 

and how to increase your capacity 

to do so. Thus Positive Psychology 

has emerged. This in turn has been 

supported by more recent revisions 

of Darwin’s theory suggesting that 

it is not the “fittest” but the most 

adaptable that truly thrives. What 

better to assist adaptability than 

human collaboration? 

So how do we do it? How do we 

change and grow into who we can 

be? This is a central question for all 

the spiritual traditions that have 

developed over the years, cultures 


CONTENTS 99

LIFE IS DIFFICULT... ...continued 

and continents to assist humanity in 

living well. All have developed their 

methodologies and I often think 

of counselling and psychotherapy 

as a modern day, secular form of 

non-dogmatic ministry, based on 

acceptance and empowerment of 

the individual. 

First we have to identify what is 

stopping us being fulfilled. This 

is easier to do in the safety of a 

confidential, non-judgemental, 

therapeutic relationship. Through 

talking about our difficulties, joys, 

hopes, confusion and innermost 

fears we get to loosen the stifling 

grip of self-doubt, peer beyond 

the obfuscating fog of confusion 

and move towards clarity on what 

accompanying emotions effectively, 

and then chose to respond in new 

more empowering ways towards the 

world at large. 

Therapy sadly doesn’t provide 

any magic bullets. The therapist 

tends to avoid the trap of offering 

explicit advice – how often do we 

ask for advice but either reject it, 

feel diminished by it or simply feel 

unable to follow it? So although 

therapists will offer their expertise 

in addressing particular problems, 

they are primarily looking to support 

people in changing their patterns 

of interpreting and responding to 

the world. It’s a case of “Give a man 

a fish and he’ll eat for a day…”. The 

therapist’s role is to provide the 

with instances in which all these 

damaging outcomes have occurred. 

Happily, they are usually a temporary, 

natural part of the process of selfexamination 

and signal only the 

growing pains of therapy. Skilled 

therapists will notice the pitfalls of a 

blaming mentality or an inappropriate 

dependency on themselves and use 

those insights to help clients explore 

those dis-empowering patterns and 

assume ultimate responsibility for 

their current experience, whilst 

acknowledging the impact of the past, 

social, political and environmental 

factors beyond the individual’s 

control. Though it may take some 

time, with this new-found responseability 

clients find the capacity to 

communicate more effectively, feel 

more empathy for others and support 

others more fully. 

Through talking about our difficulties, 

joys, hopes, confusion and innermost 

fears we get to loosen the stifling grip 

of self-doubt 

we want. Through discussion and 

reflection on patterns of thinking 

and behaving, feeling and relating 

we develop self-awareness. With 

more self-awareness we cultivate 

the capacity to exercise more choice, 

instead of snapping back into default 

reactions. The therapist can draw 

on their training and experience 

to support the development of this 

capacity to think psychologically, 

thereby enabling clients to gain 

more clarity and response-ability. 

For example, we might find ourselves 

standing back from situations that 

used to trigger us into anger or 

collapse, instead finding the ability to 

observe the thoughts and feelings that 

are triggered, internally attend to the 

conditions to help clients find their 

own discernment, courage and 

confidence to become themselves 

as fully as they wish. 

People have expressed many concerns 

about entering therapy to me over 

the years. These range from getting 

bogged down in the past, to fostering 

dependency on the counsellor, to 

being “selfish”. A recurring worry 

is that it will encourage a blaming 

attitude towards parents or early 

care-givers, as often much power is 

attributed to the early developmental 

experiences we have in childhood in 

forming our attitudes and behaviours 

in the present. These fears cannot 

be unduly dismissed. I am familiar 

I am grateful every day to have, or 

be earning, the trust of my clients. 

I am conscious of what a privilege 

it is to hold the hopes, dreams, 

disappointments, fears and foibles 

of others. My training featured 

many hours of personal group 

and individual therapy, as well as 

hundreds of hours in placements 

learning how to work safely and 

skilfully with clients before receiving 

accreditation. It is vital to check 

the credentials of therapists before 

working with them and often a 

personal recommendation is a helpful 

way to find someone you can trust. 

So, how do we choose to live this “one 

wild and precious life”, as the recently 

departed poet and champion of 

compassion Mary Oliver put it? The 

more we can find the capacity to 

open the more we can move beyond 

the difficulty and honestly declare: 

Life is beautiful. 

Freddy Weaver 



ichmondindependent.co.uk 

Helen has been advising clients in the East Devon for the past 27 years 

and specialises in the provision of retirement and investment advice. 

MANAGING YOUR MONEY 

Helen Mulvaney BA (Hons), Dip M, DipPFS 

Proprietor: Richmond Independent 

How to get a head start with finance 

- saving for children or grandchildren 

As readers of this column know, I'm 

very keen on getting started early 

with savings for children. Starting a 

savings plan for a new baby is a great 

idea and the sooner you start saving 

the longer the possible time frame. My 

preference is for making investments 

in equity backed investments as 

starting early means a realistic time 

frame of around 20 years when funds 

may be needed for education, house 

deposits or a car. Selecting an equity 

backed investment option rather than 

building society or National Savings 

& Investments options means that 

there is the potential for some real 

growth on the investment which will 

make saving worthwhile. The long 

time frame for investments fits in 

"the hardest thing in 

the world to understand 

is income tax" 

Albert Einstein 

well with equity investments which 

shows that equities almost always 

out-perform cash over longer time 

frames. (15 - 20 years). 

There are a number of options for 

parents, relatives or grandparents:- 

Designated 

Accounts 

A number of companies run a 

designated account which allows a 

donor to set up an account and have it 

designated with the name or initials of 

the child. These types of investment 

are quite attractive because they 

often have low minimums and allow 

flexibility in starting and stopping and 

topping up. Additionally, they provide 

a lot of control because although 

the fund can be transferred into 

the child`s name at 18, it can also be 

kept in the donor`s name thereby 

affording more control, if the donor 

doesn`t think the young adult is up 

to dealing with the money. The 

downside is that the plan is held by 

the donor and therefore tax might 

be an issue - capital gains could add 

up over the years. You can invest 

into unit trusts and investment 

trusts using this option, so there 

are plenty of investment options 

with this approach. 

Junior ISAs known 

as JISAs 

This product has good tax advantages 

(like a regular ISA) but can't be accessed 

by the child until 18 (unless terminally 

ill). There are a wide range of 

investment options available and 

the plan can be rolled over into a 

regular ISA at age 18. There might 

be those who feel that 18 may be too 

young to access the cash and there 

might be a temptation to waste the 

cash rather than it going towards a 

worthwhile venture. Of course, every 

donor will have a different view on 

how funds should be wisely spent 

Pensions 

For those who want even more control, 

a pension, which under current 

legislation, cannot be accessed (at 

the earliest) until 10 years before state 

pension age is the ultimate solution. 

This option provides a very long 

investment term, potentially decades 

when the fund won`t be accessible. 

Children can obtain tax relief on 

contributions up to £3,600 gross 

p.a., meaning a donor could make a 

net contribution of £2,880 p.a. on a 

child`s behalf each tax year. This falls 

within the annual gifting exemption 

(for IHT) and makes this a super-taxefficient 

savings vehicle, albeit very 


CONTENTS 101

MONEY MATTERS ...continued 

long term. Please note that care may 

be needed with tax regulations. A 

recent personal finance story(in the 

Times) highlighted how a grandparent 

saved £240 per month into a pension 

for his grandson from his birth which 

is now worth £118,000 (on his 18th 

birthday). Apparently, calculations 

show that such a fund may well burst 

the lifetime allowance * (and incur 

increased tax by way of penalties) before 

he retires without him making any 

further contributions. 

Trusts 

Gifting using a trust can also be a 

way of controlling access to funds. 

However, trusts are complicated 

for many savers with the need 

for trustees and with many "offthe-shelf" 

plans requiring a more 

substantial financial commitment. 

With a discretionary trust, Trustees 

have discretion over who benefits, 

so this is a flexible option and it 

removes the potential for an 18 year 

old receiving a large lump sum and 

going crazy. The tax position and 

the work for the Trustees is more 

onerous, but if larger amounts are 

being considered then this may be 

a good route. 

A bare trust arrangement allows both 

capital and income to be accessed 

before age 18 if it is used for the child`s 

education, maintenance or benefit. 

*Using current lifetime allowance and 

dependent on pension fund growth and 

consumer price index increases over the 

coming years. 

Please note that the views expressed in 

this article are those of the writer. 

Investments can go down as well as up 

and you may not get back the original 

amount invested. 

Pensions are a long term investment 

and can be subject to changes in future 

legislation. 

Helen Mulvaney 

Contact me: 

helen@richmond-ifa.com 

01395 512166 


clockwise in the Southern hemisphere, 

whilst in the Northern hemisphere it 

exits anti-clockwise. Or it may be the 

other way round”. Ms Clench concluded, 

“Anyway. Only at the Equator 

will ullage (or any other liquid come 

to that) go straight down without 

touching the sides. So what’s going 

on here?” 

Seismic shock at Devon pub? 

SALOON BAR REGULARS at The 

Weary Badger (somewhere in Devon) 

are reported to have been “taken 

aback” by barmaid Tracey Clench’s 

assertion that the ullage in her sink 

behind the bar has suddenly begun 

to flow directly down the plughole, 

instead of spiralling anti-clockwise, the 

way it always has. 

“This”, she said, “is in apparent 

contradiction of the Coriolis Effect recorded 

by the French mathematician, 

mechanical engineer and scientist, 

Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis, 1792 

-1843”. 

“In essence” she continued,”this states 

that water should go down a plughole 

Smart ‘phones were produced, the 

evidence recorded and pinged to the 

British Geological Survey (BGS) in 

Nottingham with the suggestion that 

there may well have been some kind 

of seismic shift in the earth’s crust 

deep beneath The Weary Badger 

that could account for this extraordinary 

phenomenon and inviting their 

opinion. 

A fuller investigation is scheduled for 

closing time on Monday, April 1st . 



Need help with your retirement options? 

 

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on retirement planning. 

 

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you understand the tax 

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passing on pension funds to 

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identify the location in the 

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The answer will be published 

in the next issue of Devonshire 

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RICHMOND 

INDEPENDENT 

richmondindependent.co.uk 

 

HELEN MULVANEY 

BA(HONS), Dip M, DipPFS 

Tel. 01395 512166 

Beech Royd Bennetts Hill 

Sidmouth Devon 

Richmond Independent 

is a trading name of 

Investment and Financial 

Solutions Partnership LLP 

which is authorised and 

regulated by the Financial 

Conduct Authority 


CONTENTS 103

thedevonshireeccentric 

Colin, following in the footsteps of the ancient poets, blind-foldedly, 

invites his readers to join an honest and engaging conversation with 

him, a human, fascinated with the world around him, with a gift of 

poetic expression. He is at ease with his words …" - The Eccentric Club 

MY JOURNEY 

Devonshire Eccentric - Colin Shaddick - Nil Nisi Bonum 

It wasn’t my fault. I didn’t wake up one morning 

and decide to become an eccentric. No, it was 

out of my hands. It was decided for me 

If you talk to any true eccentric, 

they will probably tell you that he/ 

she didn’t realise they were different 

from other people. I certainly didn’t 

know that I was looked upon as 

being slightly off-centre. It came as 

a bit of a shock when I was officially 

recognised as being a creative nonconformist. 

“I am an artist you know ... it is my right 

to be odd.” 

*E.A. Bucchianeri, 

In 2009 the ‘Eccentric Club of Great 

Britain’ awarded me the title: 

'The Great British Eccentric'. 


Britain’ awarded me the title: 

'The Most Eccentric Thinker'. 


Britain’ formally appointed me as: 

'The Official Envoy of The Eccentric 

Club' - In the County of Devon. 

I'm a performance poet, singer/ 

songwriter, musician, cartoonist 

and playwright. Oh! and that's before 

breakfast. The rest of the time I like 

to sit down and do a lot of thinking. 

As a poet and singer/songwriter I 

regularly perform my work. My first 

collection of poems, songs and a few 

cartoons was published by: 

'Original Plus Books'. The title of the 

book is: 'Isn't Sex Noisy.' 

A second small collection has 

now been published. It is a shared 

publication with the poet and 

musician, Sexton Ming. The chap 

book is called: 

'Talented Losers'. 

I was lucky enough to have been 

asked to read some of my poems at 

the 50th Anniversary celebration 

of the publication of Jack Kerouac's 

book, 'On The Road'. The three-day 

festival was held at the Marquee 

Club in London in November 2007. 

I was editor and publisher of 'SAW' 

poetry magazine. 

I am an illustrator of humorous 

drawings (a posh way to describe 

cartoons) and have had my work 

published in various newspapers 

and magazines. 

BBC Radio 4 asked me to take 

part in their popular programme, 

'Ramblings', hosted by Clare Balding. 

This is what the press had to say 

about me: 

“... an exquisite portrait of an eccentric 

slice of British life." The Radio Times. 

" ... a very tall master of the haiku." The 

Daily Telegraph. 

“... a bullet-headed, six-foot five-inch 

haiku poet." 

The Observer Magazine. 

“... an ogre of a man whose thuggish 

appearance hides the fact that he is a 

haiku poet of uncommon sensitivity." 

The Guardian. 

“... six foot five and built like a rugby 

player ... uses economical words." 

The Sunday Telegraph. 

“... a six-foot five-inch, 18-and-a-half 

stone, shaven-headed man who keeps 

being mistaken for a bouncer ... is a haiku 

poet ... eccentric." The Mail On Sunday. 

“... finds inspiration in an abandoned 

truck, its camouflage enhanced by black 

seaweed... he had the requisite knack of 

saying less and meaning more.” The 

Guardian Friday/G2. " 

“... a shaven-headed tower of a man (again, 

this being a radio programme, we have 

to take the physical dimensions on trust) 

who turns out to be a gentle poet.” The 

Times Online. 



MY JOURNEY ...continued 

" Entertaining people with poetry and music is the way for this 

gentle giant." North Devon Journal 

Other quotes: 

"Colin's harmonica playing was smokin'." 

David Amram: Musician, composer, performer and 

personal friend of the ‘Beat’Generation’ writer, Jack 

Kerouac. 

"Colin is a world class poet and performer." 

Ron Whitehead: American poet. 

I look forward to hearing from you. 

Toodle pip! 

Colin Shaddick 

Follow me: 

@devonshireeccentric 

@colinshaddick 


EDITOR'S FOOTNOTE 

The previous information on Colin is provided to 

give background on The Devonshire Eccentric, whom 

for many of you may be an unknown quantity. We 

though it worthwhile giving background context 

before his column starts in earnest. 

Being eccentric must not to be taken lightly! 

Playing alongside the great John 

Hegley at Coffinswell church 

Digital IS the future 

The Eccentric Club would like to recommend Colin's book: 

“Colin Shaddick’s poetry is a remarkable example of this 

talented author’s courage to bare his soul to a complete 

stranger, something only a few would dare to do these days 

in the English poetry, where the form and the style so often 

become victims to fashionable concepts and hot, much talked 

about, news-items with a life-span of a fly. Colin, following 

in the footsteps of the ancient poets, blind-foldedly, invites his 

readers to join an honest and engaging conversation with him, 

a human, fascinated with the world around him, with his own 

life and body, just like a newborn child but with a gift of poetic 

expression. He is at ease with his words …" 

www.eccentricclub.co.uk 

I live in Barnstaple and would like to take you on a 

journey into and around myself. On this occasion, I do 

not want to travel alone. I would like to take you with 

me. I would like to be in contact with you. Please get 

involved by contacting me via the magazine and feel 

free to ask me questions about eccentricity. 

Devonshire 

e-zine can 

help your 

business 

 


CONTENTS 105 

hubcast

STEM 

Challenge 

finalists 

The final of a national competition 

aimed at inspiring secondary school 

pupils to pursue a career in the 

subsea industry will take place in 

Aberdeen. 

The regional heats took place last 

year and saw more than forty teams 

design, build and market an ROV 

using Lego Mindstorms EV3 kit, an 

integrated platform that enables 

the development of programmable 

robots using Lego building blocks. 

Sponsored by Subsea 7, OPITO, SAAB, 

SMD, Weir Group and Furgo, the 

final of the competition will see the 

winners from each regional heat 

complete a design challenge at Subsea 

7’s Aberdeen offices. The finalists will 

be presented with a scenario where 

they must design and programme an 

ROV to carry out a task, they will 

then have the opportunity to present 

and test their model to the judging 

panel, before the overall winner is 

announced on the day. 

Trish Banks, operations manager of 

Subsea UK said: “The level of creativity 

and talent the pupils have brought to the 

challenge has been inspiring to watch. 

We hope this interactive competition will 

encourage the next generation to pursue 

a career in the subsea and engineering 

sectors.” 

One in 20 want success 

for their children above 

happiness 

More than a fifth of parents would 

rather their child earned a decent 

wage as an adult than grew up 

to be kind or honest, research 

has revealed. 

The study of 2,000 parents in the 

UK found one in 20 want success 

for their children above happiness. 

And one sixth of mums and dads 

already have a career in mind 

for their child, with 25 per cent 

admitting to deliberately talking 

about those jobs more than others. 

More than half of parents are also 

proactive in encouraging their 

children to take certain subjects 

at school, in a bid to lead them 

towards their career of choice, but 

the careers parents want for their 

children differ between mums 

and dads. 

Mothers are more likely to want 

their children to progress along 

the path of engineering and 

manufacturing - 27 per cent 

compared to 21 per cent of dads. 

Whereas a third of fathers are 

keen for their sons or daughters 

to go into computing or coding, 

compared to just 13 per cent of 

mums. 

A spokesman for Siemens, which 

carried out the research, said: 

“Obviously, most parents wish for their 

children to be happy. 

“But our results found happiness can 

be found in different ways – with 

some feeling that money can buy that 

happiness. 

“What is interesting is that the favoured 

career choice above all others for mums 

was engineering and manufacturing, 

which is encouraging as those entering 

STEM subjects are our future makers. 

“And dads also recognise that it is 

important for both girls and boys to 

embrace technology at school and in 

years to come.” 



West Buckland school features in Top 40 

West Buckland School, located on 

the edge of Exmoor National Park in 

Devon, has been placed in the UK’s 

Top 40 co-educational boarding 

schools, based on A-Level results. 

West Buckland School, located on 

the edge of Exmoor National Park in 

Devon, has been placed in the UK’s 

Top 40 co-educational boarding 

schools, based on A-Level results. 

It is one of only two West Country 

co-ed boarding schools in the Top 

40, positioning it amongst some of 

the best-known and most selective 

schools in the country. 

The ranking table has been produced 

for Best-Schools.co.uk by independent 

body Education Advisers Ltd and 

measures the number of A* and A 

grades awarded to students. This 

further enhances the school’s 

impressive academic record, for 

which it has gained an enviable 

reputation. 

This is a particularly 

pleasing recognition 

because the school is 

not a hothouse 

The result is particularly pleasing 

because, unlike many other schools 

featured in the ranking table, West 

Buckland is largely non-selective, 

and only requires students to have 

a minimum of 5 GCSEs at grade 5 

or above to enter the Sixth Form in 

Year 12. The school also features 

in the Top 100 for GCSE results 

out of all boarding schools in the 

UK (this includes both single-sex and 

co-educational schools). 

Headmaster, Mr Phillip Stapleton, 

says “This is a particularly pleasing 

recognition because the school is not 

a hothouse, but believes that children 

should be able to develop at their own 

pace. Coming 35th in the UK shows that 

parents can have the best of all worlds 

for their children, a first-class education 

alongside a healthy and active lifestyle 

in one of the most beautiful parts of the 

country.” 


CONTENTS 107

The Non-Violence Project Foundation 

Swedish explorer, philanthropist 

and adventure activist Johan Ernst 

Nilson becomes Global Non-Violence 

Ambassador thanks to his strong 

engagement in The Non-Violence 

Project Foundation (NVPF) work 

globally. 

Johan Ernst's motto in life - 

"Everything is Possible - the 

Impossible just takes more time!" has 

made him one of the world's leading 

explorers having accomplished 52 

expeditions in 172 countries. Johan 

Ernst has embarked on a journey 

from the North Pole to the South 

Pole, has climbed the Seven Summits, 

has flown a boat across Europe, 

cycled from Sweden to the Sahara 

Desert, and a lot more. He is an 

advocate against global warming and 

poverty, and now a strong supporter 

and activist for nonviolence and peace 

in the world. 

"I know that people always will 

disagree. We are 7 billion people and 

there will always be disagreements 

in our world. But I am certain that 

we are able to find a balance in the 

world, and the key is information, 

education and communication. 

Our next generation needs to learn 

the moral and ethics grounds; we 

need to start understanding and 

respect one another better. I am 

proud to be a global Non-Violence 

Ambassador and will use all my 

power to engage people I meet to 

support the important mission - to 

inspire, motivate and engage young 

people to learn how to solve conflicts 

peacefully." 

Top - new global nonviolence 

ambassador 

Johan Ernst Nilson 

and his knotted gun 

sculpture One Word - to 

unite the world in peace 

As a Non-Violence Ambassador 

Johan Ernst has designed his own 

knotted gun sculpture, originally 

created by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik 

Reuterswärd. Johan Ernst's sculpture, 

named One World, is decorated with 

all UN member states flags and 

illustrates Johan Ernst's vision for the 

peaceful world. The UN has recently 

released three Non-Violence stamps 

under their definitive collection, the 

One World sculpture design being 

one of them. 

"The Non-Violence Ambassador plays 

an important role and enables us 

to spread the awareness about our 

educational programs and activities 

around the world. We are very grateful 

and happy that Johan Ernst joins the 

likes of Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Ringo 

Starr and Muhammed Ali (RIP) as a 

Global Non-Violence Ambassador" 

says Jan Hellman, Co-Founder NVPF. 

The knotted gun sculpture One 

World is available on the international 

market in the size of 30cm, in a 

limited edition. To order: www. 

nonviolenceartproject.com/ 

products/oneworld Password: 

oneworld. Part of the revenues from 

the One World sales supports the 

foundations global educational work. 

The Non-Violence Project Foundation 

(NVPF) is a non-profit organisation 

with a mission to inspire, motivate 

and engage young people to learn how 

to solve conflicts peacefully. NVPF 

was founded in 1993 in Switzerland 

and has educated more than 8 million 

young people, teachers, and sports 

coaches on five continents. www. 

nonviolence.com 



HOME DESIGN 

DEVON 

109 


SWHGS Nelson's Column But Here's The Thing Ready, Steady, Go! 


CONTENTS 109

DESIGN YOUR DREAM HOME 

AND GARDEN THIS SPRING 

Southwest Home & Garden Show 



Are you looking to do a home or garden 

improvement? Or even an extension, renovation 

or self-build project? Maybe you are just looking 

for some inspiration to do up your home? 

Seminar schedule 

Saturday 

The Southwest Home & Garden 

Show takes place on Saturday 6th 

(10am-5pm) & Sunday 7th (10am-4pm) 

April 2019. Held at Westpoint, Exeter. 

The show is set to bring up to 140 of 

the region’s best interiors, garden, 

renewables, self-build products and 

services all under one roof! 

The show gives visitors the 

opportunity to meet and explore 

ideas with local designers, makers 

and suppliers of kitchens, bedrooms, 

bathrooms, hot tubs, furniture, 

joinery, renewables, architects, 

timber framing, landscape gardeners 

and many more. 

Find great displays, demos and 

special offers as well as hourly 

seminars hosted by a select number 

of the exhibitors at the show. All 

seminars are free to attend as drop 

in sessions, with an expected 5,000 

visitors the show is set to be bigger 

than ever before. 

Southwest Home 

and Garden Show, 

Westpoint, Exeter 

6th & 7th April 2019 

To compliment the event the 

show hosts a quality interiors and 

homeware market, providing visitors 

a fantastic range of products to dress 

up their home. Browse and purchase 

some of the finest blankets, duvets, 

art, rugs, furniture, soft furnishings, 

kitchenware and much more. 

Furthermore, for all the foodies out 

there, the event also hosts a food 

and drink market, where visitors 

can sample and take home some 

of the region’s best artisan food 

and drink including: Tarquin’s Gin, 

organic food boxes, olives and deli, 

meats, spices and other tasty treats. 

If you are a lover of all things nature, 

the show aims to showcase garden 

nurseries, garden hand tools and 

wildlife habitats so you can take 

home plants and more to spruce 

up your garden and do your bit for 

mother nature. 

If you wish to attend this event, 

register on the website to visit the 

event free of charge! Alternatively 

entry on the door will be £4 per 

person with under 16’s free. More info 

at www.southwesthomeshow.co.uk 

• 11am: Futureproofing 

your Property with Solar 

PV. Expert Advice from 

Solar Plants. 

• 12pm: How to Engage 

the Right Architect for 

your Project. Expert 

Advice from Ercle. 

• 1pm: Design & Planning 

your Low Energy Home. 

Expert advice from 

Evolved Design Homes. 

• 2pm: Wellbeing Starts 

at Home. Expert Advice 

from Bovey Concept. 

• 3pm: Wrapping a Timber 

Frame. Expert Advice 

from Carpenter Oak. 

Sunday 

• 11am: Kitchen Design & 

Planning. Expert Advice 

from German Kitchen. 

• 12pm: 3D modelling 

and Virtual Reality in the 

Interiors Industry. Expert 

advice from Touch Design 

Group. 

• 1pm: Why Consider 

Smart Home Control 

For Your Home? Expert 

Advice from Intelligent 

Abodes. 

• 2pm: Lighting to Inspire. 

Expert Advice from Amos 

Lighting. 


CONTENTS 111

HOMES AND GARDENS 

CREATING A BETTER WORLD, ONE 

PROJECT AT A TIME 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Urban Earth team 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Urban Earth offers a wide range of improvements for 

your home and garden 

• 

 

• 

• 

• 

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www.urban-earth.co.uk 01395 260168 

8 Pankhurst Close, Exmouth, Devon EX8 2RN 


CONTENTS 113

Seaton Seaton 

Range Range 

@Topsham 

@Topsham 

SALE MUST END SUNDAY 

03/02/2019 

Ceramic Ext Table 

Was £1065 

Ceramic Our Ext Special Table Price £795 

Was Ceramic 

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Ext Table 

Was £1065 

our Special Price £795 


Opposite Darts Farm 



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SPECIAL OFFER FOR DEVONSHIRE READERS 

JANUARY SALE NOW ON 

EXTRA 20% OFF 

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OFF 

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For Example: 

Seaton 1.5/2.0 

For Example: 

Seaton For Extending Example: Dining Table 

1.5/2.0 Extending Dining Table 

Seaton 

Was Was 1.5/2.0 

£839 £839 

l Extending Dining Table 

Was 

our Our £839 

Special Special Price Price £625 


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PARKING 

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Silverton 4’ 6” / 3’ / 5’ / 6’ 

For Example: 

Silverton For Example: Was £569 

4’6” Bed Was £569 

Silverton 

our Our 4’6” 

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Price Price Was £569 

£425 £425 

Also our available Special in Price 3’0”, 5’0” £425 and 6’0” 

Also available in 3’0”, 5’0” and 6’0” 

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FREE DELIVERY (within50 mile radius) 

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EXETER EX3 0QH | Tel: 01392 877321 

Our team of dedicated members of staff are fully-qualified 

employed engineers that can offer you high quality, 

affordable and stylish doors to complement your home. 

Free site surveys! 

Do you live in Exeter or along the 

south coast of Devon? Then get 

in touch for your free site survey. 

The wealth of knowledge and skills our dedicated teams 

of installers provide is unrivalled and, as our focus is on 

offering a fantastic customer experience, we have earned a 

great reputation for excellent customer care. 

ALL WORK IS COVERED BY OUR FULL LIABILITY 

INSURANCE 

Supplying & Installing Garage Doors 

& Remote Control Systems Since 1982 

Tel: 0800 220447 Tel: 01626 776380 

info@garagedoorssouthwest.co.uk 

Pellew Way, Teignmouth, Devon, TQ14 9LU 



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CONTENTS 115

EXHIBITORS 

Come and see the region's best 

interiors, garden, renewables, selfbuild 

products and services all 

under one roof! 

A. Staddon Groundworks 

Advanced Decking Solutions 

Advanced Resin Solutions 

Advanced Security Alarm 

Protection 

Alce Harfield 

Alison Bockh Garden Design 

Amos Lighting 

Autocut 

Bamboo Connections 

Bang & Olufsen 

Barc Architects 

Beach Bros 

Beautifully Handcrafted 

Bovey Construction 

Carpenter Oak 

Casada 

Charles Taylor Trading 

Cherry Tree Cornwall & North 

Devon 

Colour & Space 

Cottages.com 

Cottonsafe Natural Mattress 

Crown Oak 

Dean Stoves 

Deep Impressions 

Dekor Kitchens 

Devon Electric Heating 

Devon Garden Machinery 

Devonshire Windows 

DU Waterscapes 

Eden Garden France 

Elite Spas & Leisure SW 

Emelda Grace 

Ercle 

Evolved Design Homes 

Exeter Sewing Machine 

Company 

Flapjackery 

Freddie's Flowers 

Furniture Chapter 

Garage Doors Southwest 

Garton King 

Gilboy's 

Gladstone Mortgages 

Glassification 

Global Vision 3D 

GoCruise & Travel 

Good Life Joinery 

Greenkeepers 

Greenlands Nursery / Marble 

Art 

Hatstand Design 

Hayes Garden Machinery 

Holdcroft Lighting 

Hydropool Devon 

Ikiru Arts 

India in a Jar 

Intelligent Abodes 

Jo Downs Glass 

John Lewis 

Kernow Springs 

Kitchener Land and Planning 

Lamberts Interiors CLEARVIEW STOVES 

Laurence Associates Our top selling woodburning stove - 

Living Space one Architects of life’s pleasures. 

Llawnroc Furniture • Flames dancing behind the double 

Med Foods glazed window giving an excellent 

Melange Ceramics view of the fire 

Mike Free Architectural • Crafted in the Design heart of the 

ModBox Spaces English countryside 

Multiheat &• Wood Energy is Systems cost effective, renewable 

Nature Kitchen 

and environmentally friendly 

New View Windows and Doors 

• The perfect addition to your home 

Nige Mace Interiors 

Pandora Windows HEATING & HOME STORE 

Plastic Surgeon 

PlumbaseCLEARVIEW STOVES 

Pots 'n' Pans Our top selling woodburning stove - 

Purbeck one Icecream of life’s pleasures. 

Quantock • Flames Steamers dancing behind the double 

Rangemoors glazed window giving an excellent 

Riverford Organics 

Riverside Teak 

Rolys Fudge 

Rooso Designs 

Safe and Secure 24 

Sail Shades Direct 

Sam Willis Carpets & Flooring 

Sleep Master Therapy 

Smart Build Supplies 

Solar Plants 

Southwest Smart Homes 

Southwestern Distillery 

Sparkworld 

Spillers of Chard 

Stop Digging South West 

SunGift Energy 

Swannacott Manor Meats 

WOODLEY ’ S 

JOINERY LIMITED 

Teme Valley Chesterfield 

The Fell Partnership 

The German Kitchen Company 

The Landscape Gardener 

The Oak Loft 

The Sign Maker 

Thomas Sanderson 

TORS Vodka 

Touch Design Group 

Triple X Trading Ltd 

Twyford Blinds & Curtains 

UK Bathroom Village 

Ultimate Fabrics 

Urban Earth South West 

Utility Warehouse 

Westcountry Group 

Woodley's Joinery 

Exeter Road, Newton Poppleford, Devon EX10 0BJ 

www.woodleysjoinery.co.uk 

info@woodleysjoinery.co.uk 01395 568 666 

SANDPITS 

HEATING & HOME STORE 

50 

YEARS 

HOT WATER, 

HEATING & 

We Make COOKING Wood, Work 

Brings a wonderful 

Windows, Doors, ambience Gates to & any Staircases are our speciality 

We’re a longstanding kitchen. family run company that’s been operating 

from East Devon within the beautiful Otter Valley for almost a 

century. We Over aim 200 to Stoves continue On Display providing high quality, value for 

money joinery FULL to INSTALLATION 

our trade, domestic & self-build customers. 

SERVICE Historic AVAILABLE 

50 

- Listed - Traditional YEARS 

Contemporary - Architectural - Commercial 

Stoves & Cookers • Fireplaces • Flue Systems • Home Accessories 

Showroom Open Six Call Days or A visit Week our showroom to see how we could help you. 

01458 251476 www.sandpitsheatingcentre.co.uk 

High Street, Curry Rivel, Somerset, HOT TA10 WATER, 0ES 

SANDPITS 

HEATING & 

COOKING 


ambience to any 

kitchen. 

SANDPITS 

view of the fire 

• Crafted in the heart of the 

English countryside 

• Wood is cost effective, renewable Over 200 Stoves On Display 

and environmentally friendlyHEATING & FULL HOME INSTALLATION STORE 


SERVICE AVAILABLE 

CLEARVIEW STOVES 

Stoves & Cookers • Fireplaces • Flue Systems • Home Accessories 

SANDPITS 

Our top selling woodburning stove - 

Showroom Open Six Days A Week 

one of life’s pleasures. 

01458 251476 www.sandpitsheatingcentre.co.uk 

HEATING High • Flames Street, & HOME Curry dancing Rivel, behind Somerset, STORE the TA10 double 0ES 

SUPPLYING 

SERVICING 

FITTING 

HOT WATER, 

HEATING & 

COOKING 


Best 

Newcomer Pub 

in the nation for 2017 

Best 

Newcomer Pub 

in the nation for 2017 

glazed window giving an excellent 

view of the fire 

ambience to any Church Street, 

• Crafted in the heart of the 

kitchen. Curry Rivel, 

The Firehouse Somerset is a village English pub that countryside has been lovingly 

Crafted in the heart of the English countryside 

Somerset 

restored with a modern twist yet • Wood full of is traditional cost effective, charm. renewable Over 200 Stoves On Display TA10 0HE 

Using wood as a fuel source is cost effective, 

Bring a wonderful 

and environmentally friendly 

We are passionate about creating renewable homemade, and fresh environmentally food using the friendly. finest locally sourced FULL ambience INSTALLATION to your 


Tel: 01458 887447 

ingredients. Enjoy the theatre of our A perfect stone addition fired pizza to oven your home as you are greeted at the door. SERVICE kitchenAVAILABLE 

hello@thefirehousesomerset.co.uk 

Stoves & Cookers • Fireplaces • Flue Systems • Home Accessoriesthefirehousesomerset.co.uk 

We have an array of interesting fine wines, local ciders and real ales for you to 

Showroom Open Six Days A Week 

OVER 200 STOVES experience ON DISPLAY! in the warmth of an armchair next to 01458 one of 251476 our wood www.sandpitsheatingcentre.co.uk 

burners. 

Full installation service available 

Open 7 days a week 

High Street, High Curry Street, Rivel, Curry Langport, Rivel, Somerset, TA10 0ES 

SUPPLYING•FITTING•SERVICING• 


50 

YEARS 

LIVING PRETTY 

teashop 

Visit our teashop while you’re here! 

Open for breakfast, lunch 

& afternoon tea. 

www.livingpretty.co.uk 


Church Street, 

Curry Rivel, 

The Firehouse Somerset is a village pub that has been lovingly 

Somerset 

restored with a modern twist yet full of traditional charm. 

TA10 0HE 

We are passionate about creating homemade, fresh food using the finest locally sourced 

ingredients. Enjoy the theatre of our stone fired pizza oven as you are greeted at the door. 

Tel: 01458 887447 

hello@thefirehousesomerset.co.uk 


FOOD & DRINK thefirehousesomerset.co.uk THINGS TO DO 

LIVING PRETTY 

We have an array of interesting fine wines, local ciders and real ales for you to 

experience in the warmth of an armchair next to one of our wood burners. 

Open 7 days a week 

Best 

Newcomer Pub 

in the nation for 2017

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of magicians and stargazers, when 

astronomers were astrologers. Then 

as now the Lion constellation of Leo 

is rising in the east at the beginning of 

March, while Aries, the ram, sets in 

the west at the end of the month, and 

so “goes out like a lamb.” 

Pick a dark night this month, look up 

and see for yourself. This is a great 

time of year for star gazing in Devon 

and the best times are the days before, 

during and soon after the new moon. 

What comes round… 

IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN IN 

DEVON, “when Spring comes in like 

a Lion and goes out like a Lamb” and 

if you’re wondering where that comes 

from it’s from Edmund Spenser’s 

re-telling of the story of Una and 

the Lion in his epic poem The Faerie 

Queene. 

But its origin goes back to a time 

Tap into the useful web site at gostargazing.co.uk. 

It lists some 59 locations 

in the South West, many of them 

designated as Dark Sky Discovery 

sites, accessible by members of the 

public and officially recognised as 

excellent places to stargaze. But wrap 

up warm, for Una (the personification of 

Spring) and her lion still need to draw 

a little closer. 


CONTENTS 117




CONTENTS 119

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y JOHN FISHER 

Photo courtesy Zoological Society of London 

from North Devon waters, so nobody 

should be surprised if they bob up off 

our coasts this summer, hence our inquisitiveness 

about their eating habits. 

These unique ‘”flat sharks” we learn, 

are normally found off the Canary 

Islands and have dark and light 

splotches across their body, making it 

ideal for camouflaging on the bottom 

of the seabed where they like to lurk. 

What to know about Angel Sharks 

ALL WELL AND GOOD those rare 

Angel Sharks spotted off the Welsh 

coast last month but do they eat 

people we wondered? 

All kinds of rare and unusual species 

seem to be finding their ways into our 

coastal waters recently - due mainly 

to climate change we are told - but 

Welsh waters are not so far removed 

This goes hand in hand with how they 

obtain their food, by lying still before 

making rapid lunges at anything edible 

that passes, using ‘negative pressure’ 

to capture the prey by sucking it 

into their mouths. 

They have strong jaws and sharp teeth 

and will bite a diver if provoked. They 

are a protected species. Angel Sharks 

that is. 

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Somerset 01984 640988 

www.lcarchitects.co.uk 

01297 33839 / 07779 550 771 

www.hunthay.co.uk jenny@hunthay.co.uk 


CONTENTS 121



Devon’s timely reminder 

YOU WOULD BE UNPOPULAR 

with Devon’s hundreds of pubs, restaurants, 

flower shops, greetings card 

sellers and the like (let alone Devon’s 

hundreds of thousands of mums) if you 

chose to ignore 

what they (and 

so many of us 

nowadays) call 

“Mother’s Day” 

this year. 

For the actual 

term “Mother’s 

Day” was 

coined in 

America by a 

well-meaning 

Anna Marie 

Jarvis after the 

death of her 

own mother and first celebrated in 

Grafton, West Virginia, on May 10, 

1908: elsewhere it is called Mothering 

Sunday and we celebrate it on the 

fourth Sunday of Lent - which this 

year is on 31st March. 

Alas, as the years passed, Mrs Jarvis 

grew disenchanted with her invention’s 

growing commercialisation and 

even went to law (unsuccessfully) to 

have her “Mother’s Day” rescinded. 

She died in a sanitarium, her medical 

bills paid by the floral and greeting 

card industries. 

One Devonian who never forgot 

Mothering Sunday was William 

Whitely, Lord of Buckland Manor 

who, in 1931, commissioned the clock 

face at St. Peter’s Church to be refashioned 

to spell out the phrase 

MY DEAR MOTHER. 

This most timely of reminders for a 

child to think of his mother doubtless 

did the dear lady proud but must have 

annoyed some over the years because 

the bells chime “All Things Bright 

and Beautiful” every quarter of an 

hour. 

Tel: 01395 263898 

Email: info@homesbydesignexmouth.co.uk 

KITCHENS BATHROOMS BEDROOMS 

Celebrating 

30 Years 

of Business 

Specialists in design and installation with our own team of fitters 

Based on customer recommendation since 1985 

“Shaping dreams into reality” 

Established for over 30 years 

SHOWROOM AT: Salterton Units, Salterton Road, Exmouth EX8 2NS www.homesbydesignexmouth.co.uk 



Westgrove Joinery Limited 

LOUISECROSSMAN 

ARCHITECTS 

From Inspiration to Installation 

Crafted in the heart of East Devon 

Windows, Doors, Staircases 

Tel: 01395 568123 | www.westgrovejoinery.com 

Devon 01392 260490 

Somerset 01984 640988 

www.lcarchitects.co.uk 


Keep the aspidistras flying 

OUR VICTORIAN FOR- 

BEARS - as well as Devon’s 

many garden centres - might 

be pleased to know that indoor 

plants are making a come back 

whilst some plug-in air freshener 

manufacturers might not. 

A century and a half after the 

middle classes filled their 

homes with potted plants for 

show, scientists are suggesting 

we re-introduce particular types 

to cut down on indoor pollution. 

These work for our health 

by breathing in what they call 

“volatile organic compounds” 

(VOCs). These can come from 

paints, new furniture, many 

household cleaning products, 

copiers and printers and even 

dry-cleaned clothes. 

The best all-rounder tested, Dr. 

Vadoud Niri told the American 

Chemical Society recently is 

the Bromeliad (Guzmania lingualata) 

which was able to absorb 

80 per cent of the VOCs 

in the air in just 12 hours. But 

the plant that nailed first prize 

was Dracaena fragrans which 

took up 94 per cent of the acetone 

in the air in a nail bar. 

Our headline is the title of 

George Orwell’s classic novel 

which includes the line, “There 

will be no revolution in England 

while there are aspidistras 

in the windows”. 


CONTENTS 123

READY, STEADY, GO! 

Editor - Nigel Jones 

The evenings are opening out, it's 

getting warmer - indeed, time again 

to get busy in your garden 

There's great excitement at the start of the new growing 

season, the long dreary winter months start to fade and 

as you take a local walk, you'll see catkins on the trees, the 

frantic twittering of song birds, a good sign that you need 

to make haste, if you're to take advantage of the warmer 

conditions. 

Of course, garden fanatics will have been sifting through 

seed catalogues over the winter months, ensuring they have 

everything they need to start early, particularly vegetable 

growers because the sooner garden food's on the table 

again, the better. 

It's a great time to visit your local garden centre because all 

the new stock will be waiting patiently, annuals, perennials, 



Avon Mill 

Café • Garden Centre • B&B 

Florist • Local Art & Crafts • Boutique 

Woodleigh Road • Loddiswell • Kingsbridge • TQ7 4DD 

shrubs, all manner of plants for your garden. 

Sometimes it can be just too tempting, I know 

that feeling, getting home thinking that actually, 

I'm not quite sure what I went to the garden 

centre to buy particularly, but regardless, I 

have some very nice plants to get in the ground. 

Greenfingers 

 

Don't miss: 

Rosemoor Spring 

Flower Festival, 16 & 17 

March 2018 

At this time of year it's great to get in the car and 

venture out to see the spring flower displays, some 

places in Devon specialise, such as Lukesland 

Gardens which open on the 31st March, based 

near Ivybridge. Another place really worth 

visiting is RHS Rosemoor, the amount of events 

they have across the year is quite staggering, and 

not exclusively plant based. For instance, on the 

6 and 7th April is their Wool & Yarn Festival, and 

don't miss their Easter Fund Family Workshops 

running 6 to 21st April. 

 

 

 


CONTENTS 125

SPRING DELIGHTS 

Wallflowers growing up a gate 

post in Whimple 



A DEVON 

LIFESTYLE 

127 


Spring Fashion Local retail Tree of Life 


CONTENTS 127



Image from Just White. Selected lines available from Chapter in Sidmouth. 


CONTENTS 129

SPRING TRENDS 

After a busy fashion 

month it's clear there's a 

wealth of new styles that 

are appearing for 2019. 

Visit your local retailer 

to find out more! 

Chapter 

Spring 

Summer 

Beautiful clothes at 

affordable prices 

 

 

Brighten up winter... 

Come and see our dazzling jewellery 

collections! 

“innovative designs” 

FF! 

“luxurious wearable pieces” 

“rare, self indulgent” 

Lebek ◆ Brax 

Marie Mero ◆ Marble 

Olivier Philips ◆ Just White 

Pause Café ◆ Frank Lyman ◆ Luna Shoes 

Jewellery ◆ Accessories 

01395 579181 

info@chapterclothing.co.uk 

Church Street ◆ Sidmouth ◆ EX10 8lZ 

“unique collections” 

For more Jewellery, Online Shop and 

Jewellery Making Classes visit us at: 

www.victoriasewart.com 

01752 220011 (Gift Vouchers Available) 

39 Southside Street, The Barbican, Plymouth victoria sewart 



What connects wood, fashion and 100 years 

of the Forestry Commission? 

A new fashion exhibition, the ‘Tree 

of Life,’ is celebrating the connection 

of the National Trust’s Killerton 

estate to the founding of the Forestry 

Commission in 1919. 

It’s a little known fact that 100 years 

ago, Devon MP Francis Acland, whose 

family owned the Killerton estate, 

was one of the founding fathers 

of the committee which led to the 

creation of the Forestry Commission 

in 1919. To mark the centenary of his 

contribution, Killerton’s new ‘Tree 

of Life’ fashion exhibition explores 

the connection between trees and 

what we wear, including high-fashion 

pieces made from barkcloth (pictured 

overleaf) by acclaimed British ecofashion 

designer, José Hendo. 

Fascinating items in the new exhibition 

include dresses made by Ugandanborn 

Hendo, who has been featured 

on various international Fashion Week 

runways, including London and New 

York. She promotes sustainability 

and challenges throwaway culture 

in her work, using materials from 

the Bukomansimbi Organic Tree 

Farmers' Association near Masaka 

in Southern Uganda. 

Hendo’s work is just some amongst 

pieces chosen from the Trust’s muchloved 

fashion collection, housed 

The ‘Tree of Life’ fashion 

exhibition explores the 

connection between 

trees and what we wear 

upstairs on the first floor at Killerton 

near Exeter. Other interesting items 

include a Privy Councillor’s suit worn 

by Francis Acland M.P. embroidered 

with symbolic oak leaves and acorns 

in gold thread. Also, visitors can find 

out how the popular ‘Paisley’ pattern 

arrived on textiles via Indian designs 

based on a pine cone motif. 

The exhibition demonstrates how 

materials processed from various 

species of trees can be used to make 

fibre, cloth, dyes, paper, footwear and 

headgear. It includes examples of 

clothing made from these materials, 

as well as decorative pieces patterned 

with motifs inspired by seasonal trees, 

leaves, blossom and fruit. 

Visitors will also be able to enjoy an 

exciting new section of the displays, 

the handling corridor. This will 

give everyone the opportunity to 

discover more about ancient and 

traditional processes of making cloth 

from natural layers found beneath 

tree bark. The exhibition will also 


CONTENTS 131

Private Dentists 

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MERRIFIELD DENTAL PRACTICE 

15 Mill Street, Sidmouth, EX10 8DW 

Tel: 01395 579932 

Images by Steve Haywood/National Trust 

www.brookvaledental.co.uk | www.merrifielddentalpractice.co.uk 

An example of barkcloth clothing 

feature an exciting project by Exeter School of Art 

(Exeter College) Art and Design students echoing the 

theme of trees and woodland. 

Shelley Tobin, Costume Curator, Killerton says: 

“From designs derived from the ‘Tree of Knowledge,’ and 

the ancient Persian flowering tree, or ‘Tree of Life’, to 

the more prosaic patterns of nature, decorative pieces 

celebrate the valuable resources provided by orchard and 

woodland. Printed, painted, woven and embroidered 

textiles dating from the 18th century onwards are all 

represented in the exhibition.” 

T he story of Francis Acland’s role in the Forestry 

Commission continues on the ground floor at 

Killerton with another new exhibition - ‘Seeing the 

wood and the trees.’ The exhibition looks at what 

happened in 1919 when the Forestry Commission was 

founded and how Killerton is working to look after 

woodlands and trees on the estate for the future. 

For more information visit: 

nationaltrust.org.uk/killerton 



HISTORY 

133 


The Book of the Axe The Sea Tractor Devon Church Land Beside Our Seasides 

The Branch Line to... Across Cobble-stones Lindisfarne 


CONTENTS 133

Peter Gill was born in Axminster and brought up on Pulman’s Weekly 

News. He became a foreign correspondent for The Daily Telegraph and 

a current affairs reporter for This Week on ITV. He has written books on 

the developing world and returns happily and regularly to East Devon. 

THE BOOK OF THE AXE 

Peter Gill 

George Pulman, born in Axminster 200 years ago 

this year, can justly claim to be Devon’s finest local 

journalist and editor. The newspaper he founded in 

1857, Pulman’s Weekly News and Advertiser, lived 

on, one way or another, for 160 years, and the best 

of his writing, The Book of the Axe, will outlast even 

that achievement. 

Known by his initials G P R, Pulman 

developed his writing skills and 

his angler’s eye on the banks of the 

Axe. At the age of 30 his journalism 

found full expression when he bought 

a printing press in Crewkerne, in 

Somerset, and moved there to found 

a newspaper serving the border areas 

of Devon, Dorset and Somerset. 

He wanted to achieve more with his 

printing press, he said, than ‘the mere 

production of hand bills and circulars’ 

and believed ‘the Press to be the great 

instrument in modern civilisation 

by which the moral and intellectual 

elevation of mankind is destined to 

be affected …’ 

Pulman believed 

the Press to be the 

great instrument 

in modern 

civilisation 

Pulman’s Weekly News – simply 

Pulman’s for generations of locals – 

The Book of the Axe went 

through four editions, each 

more ambitious than the 

last, over 30 years 

was part of the ‘penny newspaper’ 

revolution of the era and succeeded 

in undercutting the big boys in Yeovil 

and Exeter who were charging four or 

five pence for their papers. George 

Pulman promised ‘a complete Family 

Newspaper at a merely nominal price’ 

and guaranteed that his ‘agricultural 

readers’ would have their Monday 

evening corn and cattle prices ‘by 

Electric Telegraph’ from London first 

thing on Tuesday morning. 

Pulman edited and ran the newspaper 

until shortly before his death in 1880, 

and it lasted, at least in name, well 

into the present century. It survived 

the ‘free newspaper’ revolution of the 

early 2000s when it was incorporated 

into the lively View From series of local 

papers. It was finally blown away by 

the latest ‘online’ revolution with its 

collapse in advertising revenue which 

has ruined the local press. Pulman’s 

is now extinct. 

Pulman loved the River Axe. He 

describes it in the book’s introductory 

chapter as ‘one of the most beautiful 

and interesting of the numerous 

sparkling trout-streams which 

contribute so much to the claims 

of Devonshire to be the Arcadia of 

England.’ Of Axminster itself, the most 

prominent town on the river, he says ‘a 

very Eden is its lovely neighbourhood.’ 

When he decided on the move to 

Crewkerne in 1848, he wrote a sad and 



The Square in Axminster in the 1860s. 

What was then the New Commercial Inn 

is now Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River 

Cottage 

celebratory poem to the Axe (in West 

Country dialect, of course) which began: 

‘Varewell to thee, river, thou stream 

o’ my heart’ 

Cloakham Bridge on the 

Axe at Axminster. Pulman 

described Devonshire as the 

'Arcadia of England' 

The Book of the Axe owed 

its origins to Pulman’s 

regular writings about 

walking and fishing the 

river. He really did say 

that he was blessed with 

‘pedestrian proclivities’ 

and declared on the 

subject of fishing: ‘God 

never did make a more 

calm, quiet, innocent 

recreation than angling.’ 

It became his passion to 

turn these ‘trottings and 

dottings,’ as he called 

them (his adopted nom 

de plume was ‘John 

Trotandot’) into the 

definitive study of the 

Axe. 

Two early editions appeared in the 

mid-1840s and sold out. Pulman then 

set off to find out much more about 

the Axe, including all the towns and 

villages along its banks, and walked and 

studied its course from the source near 

his new home in Crewkerne along the 

Somerset-Dorset border and through 

Devon to the sea at Seaton. That 

became the third edition published a 

decade later in 1854. It had been hard 

work, he said, but the author was happy 

to pay ‘grateful tribute to the lovely 

river which has been the scene of so 

many of his happiest hours…’ 

The best came last 

A full 20 years after the third edition, 

and a great deal more study, Pulman 

published his fourth edition in 1875. 

It had been ‘re-written and greatly 

enlarged’ as well as copiously illustrated 

with fresh engravings. He had ‘spared 

neither time nor expense,’ he told his 

readers, but would be well rewarded 

if he had rescued ‘from oblivion any 

records of a district so interesting and 

lovely as that of the Valley of the Axe.’ 

In its final form, The Book of the Axe 

runs to 900 pages. Whatever it cost 

the author, it is now a collector’s item 

worth several hundred pounds. It 

contains detailed descriptions of all the 

churches, monuments and fine houses 

of the valley. It covers local history 

from geological times to the Victorian 

and takes in a good deal of marching 

and counter-marching during the 

English civil war and the Monmouth 

George Pulman, born in 

Axminster, made his name 

in Crewkerne, but wanted to 

be buried in Axminster close 

to his beloved River Axe. 

rebellion of the Seventeenth century. 

To the modern reader, the fascination 

of The Book of the Axe lies in the 

author’s personal preoccupations and 

opinions. The countryman in Pulman 

complains of the ‘greedy utilitarianism 

of modern times’ and condemns the 

‘modern mania for the destruction 

of hedgerows and hedgerow timber.’ 

He is also savage on the subject of 

the Victorian ‘restoration’ of country 

churches, blaming those worthy souls 

the churchwardens. 

After inspecting St Giles church in 

Kilmington, near Axminster, he writes: 

‘One generation of churchwardenarchitects 

had left evidence of their 

handiwork in mutilated windows; 


CONTENTS 135

The Axe estuary as viewed from Musbury 

Castle by the Victorian artist William Spreat 

another in new doors, stuck anywhere; 

and all vied with each other in 

producing an architectural wreck 

and mutilation.' 

Close to the Source, the 

Axe rises in Dorset, defines 

the Dorset-Somerset 

border, then flows through 

Devon to the sea 

George Pulman is at his most colourful 

on the arrival of the railways in Devon. 

He is admiring of ‘the genius of 

Stephenson’ in launching the age of 

steam, but much less enthusiastic 

when in 1860 the Axe valley is itself 

‘aroused by the whistle of the engine 

St Giles church in 

Kilmington which Pulman 

said had been 'wrecked' by 

Victorian restoration 

George Pulman lies at 

rest in the biggest tomb in 

Axminster cemetery, close 

to the River Axe which he 

described as the 'stream o' 

my heart.' 

and the rush of the first passenger 

train.’ He had no sympathy for ‘the 

rage of rushing through the air as if 

life and death depended on fifty miles 

an hour.’ 

It was the quality of the book’s 

final edition that secured Pulman’s 

reputation among his contemporaries. 

In his own newspaper, the obituarist 

recalled all the time and money he had 

spent on researching and producing 

it. That alone would surely entitle the 

author ‘to a place in the Valhalla of 

Devonshire worthies – and Devonshire 

never forgets her gifted sons.’ 

Peter Gill 

Contact me: 

petergillaxminster@gmail.com 

Next issue - Walking the Axe in 

Pulman's Footsteps 



Maintaining the sea tractor has many 

challenges as it operates in a tough 

environment with given its age, spare 

parts often needing to be custom 

made but recognising its significance, 

its unique craftsmanship, and its 

central place in the history of Burgh 

Island and its iconic hotel - a humble 

homage is paid to its glorious past 

and vibrant future. 

Iconic sea tractor celebrates 

50 th anniversary 

Unique motor transport is a key 

point of access for hotel guests 

and has ferried some of the most 

renowned political, artistic and 

literary figures to the island for 

the last five decades. 

Iconic Burgh Island hotel not only 

celebrates its 90 th anniversary this 

year but also the 50 th anniversary 

of its unique sea tractor, which has 

transported guests, including some of 

the world’s most renowned political, 

artistic and literary figures to the 

island for the last five decades. 

The sea tractor is the main point 

of access to the island at high tide, 

serving almost as a time-machine 

for passengers from the mainland to 

travel back into the 1920s art deco 

style luxury retreat. Noteworthy 

passengers include celebrities and 

politicians such as The Beatles, 

Agatha Christie, and also some of 

today’s most celebrated musicians 

and film stars. 

exchange for a case of champagne, 

the current sea tractor is the third 

generation to serve Burgh Island. All 

have been built on the same principles 

and the present-day sea tractor is 

also consistent with modern safety 

standards. 

Maintaining the sea 

tractor has many 

challenges 

The sea tractor was not the first 

choice of the hotels’ previous owners 

who considered a cable car, as well 

as an underground train and even 

terrapins (the ex-army landing crafts). 

To mark its 90 th anniversary the hotel 

is undergoing a multi-million-pound 

major refurbishment that will stay 

faithful to its art deco heritage but 

will deliver new standards of modern 

contemporary luxury. The renovation 

will include upgrading of all the 

public areas, as well as the gardens. 

Addition of further bedrooms and a 

Spa is planned for 2020. The highly 

skilled team of craftsmen and trades 

working on the project are all local 

from the surrounding areas of South 

Devon, providing a major boost for 

the local economy. 

Duncan Gray, Managing Director of 

Burgh Island commented: “When we 

bought the hotel last year, we knew it was 

really important to preserve the things that 

make visiting the island unique. Nothing 

fits that category more than the sea tractor, 

which is such a fundamental part of the 

island’s history and heritage. It is a link 

back to the hotel’s glamorous past as well 

as being an essential part of its future. 

We hope for many generations to come it 

will continue to provide a singular form 

of transport to one of the world’s most 

sought-after and iconic destinations.” 

see photo overleaf... 

Originally built in 1969, by engineering 

pioneer Robert Jackson CBE in 


CONTENTS 137

OUT & About 

Burgh Island's sea tractor 

waiting for high tide 



Follow us: 






CONTENTS 139

devonchurchland 

Growing up in deep Devon and wandering the countryside in his youth, 

Douglas spent many years working around the world. Now back in Devon, 

he is constantly captivated by the rich beauty of our churches. 

TRUSHAM CHURCH OF ST MICHAEL 

DEVON CHURCH LAND - Douglas Young 

Generations mist around the little church crowning 

this hill-folded, combe-steeped parish. Centuries upon 

centuries of ancestors have climbed the steep lanes to 

wed, to bury and to celebrate the divine. 

Small as it is, the church is the oldest 

attested in the Teign Valley, held by 

the Abbey of Buckfast in the Domesday 

Book but not officially dedicated until 

1259. Twenty-two years before that a 

decree went out from London saying 

churches ‘not having been consecrated 

with holy oil, though built of old, should 

be solemnly dedicated within two 

years’. 

That is a very Devon two years. 

Trusham church exterior 

The graveyard is atmosphere defined. 

Vistas and silences enveloped by 

weather and colour, we are living 

with the dead who outnumber the 

gravestones many times. Before the 

seventeenth century folk were buried 

in a woollen shroud with no grave 

markings, and over time folk were 

buried above their forebears over 

and over again. They whisper around 

the church. 

The church itself is a stumpy little thing, 

thick-browed and beetly, keeping low 

to the ground offering its carapace to 

the weather that hits it before anything 

else in the parish. The rendering is likely 

twentieth century, inappropriately 

cement based but it still probably 

resembles the medieval church closer 

than a bare stone one would. Medieval 

churches were often rendered with a 

breathable lime plaster (cement does 



not breathe) and whitened with a coat 

of lime wash. And in keeping with 

aged tradition the granite surrounds 

have been carefully left clear, here on 

the west door and window, and they 

project such stolidity. Those huge 

blocks of the relieving arches and the 

doorway composed of four granite 

blocks rustically shaped just shout 

‘immoveable’. Devon granite cannot 

be a subtle stone, it is impossible to 

cut precisely with medieval hand tools, 

and here its quality of ‘massiveness’ is 

used at its best. 

And the window! Some windows are 

intricate jigsaws of traceries carefully 

cut and pieced together. Not this one. 

It is the tough little street fighter of 

windows, beetle browed no less, ready 

to fight the storms and blizzards that 

roar down on this church. Protect 

the parish, protect the folk, protect 

the Word of God. Its self-chosen task 

fulfilled forever. Expect a high five or 

two from the Good Lord, dude. 

Trusham church interior 

The graves extend into the church. In 

the reordering of 2013 there was an 

archaeological survey done of the floor 

and the outlines of 15 more were found 

under the Victorian rubble, along with 

various vaults and indications that a 

large number of burials had already 

been removed in the nineteenth 

century restoration. We look at present 

day churches and see a distinction 

between the graveyard and the interior 

but this is a modern fantasy. 

Mind you, in small churches before the 

16th or 17th centuries, or even later, the 

church floor would have been a mixture 

of clay, water and lime probably mixed 

with small animal bones to make it 

harder wearing (kind of hoping here 

that ‘animal bones’ did not include 

human ones). Beaten flat and dried 

and then covered with rushes or mats 

that were regularly renewed, it made a 

hard wearing surface that could have 

easily been dug up for a burial. 

And the good folk of Trusham fancied 

a church burial even if it cost, and it 

surely did cost; 6s 8d (33p) in the later 

Middle Ages, potentially equivalent to 

around £6,226 today. 

Of course, death was just part of 

the journey to resurrection and the 

Kingdom of God. The soul lived, the 

body would rise again and really, where 

you were buried…not the most pressing 

matter for God to attend to I would 

venture. 

At the end of the nave there is a good 

looking screen (below) that gives a 

sketch of what once would have stood 

there. Most of it is a nineteenth century 

restoration by Herbert Read, who also 

carved the rood, the crucifix above it, 

and the fine pulpit, and there are some 

original carvings with traces of paint 

left from the fifteenth or sixteenth 

centuries, mainly the uprights. It is 

a masterful creation and shows the 

beautiful Devon tradition of wood 

carving floating down through the ages. 

We go through the screen and find a 

marvellous chancel (top left of first page) 

all decked out in frills and flowers 

by the Victorian restorers, ceilings 

and walls floriating away. It takes 

the breath away after the simplicity 

of the nave and as it is hidden behind 

the screen the shock of its abundance 

is a delight; a bewitching little gem 

carefully preserved. 

On the south wall is this beautiful blue 

angel, big feathered and red haired. 

It's the memory of your warmth 

That keeps me alive 

When I'm burning 

And my world's closing in 

Blue Angel - Anthony and the Johnsons 

What bliss when a popular love song 

becomes a hymn to the Divine, but 

then again, are not all love songs coded 

messages to God? 


CONTENTS 141

DEVON CHURCH LAND ...continued 

Turning around we come back to 

human glory with this sober suited 

family painted on board up on the 

north wall of the chancel; Hugh and 

Sabina Staplehill (died 1583 - see bottom 

last page) and their children at prayer. 

Their faces are very individual, their 

clothes not so much. Hugh does have 

a very impressive hat next to him, and 

the coats of arms refer to the union of 

his and his wife’s families. The bible 

is open on the prayer stand with the 

words: 

Blessed are all they that fear the Lord 

and walk in his ways: For thou shalt eat 

the labour of thine hands. Oh well is 

thee and happy shalt thou be: Thy wife 

shall be as the fruitful vine upon the 

walls of thine house 

Psalm 128 

in the local parishes as well as building 

two almshouses in Trusham. 

It is a remarkable piece of work. The 

memorial is wood painted to resemble 

marble (a man frugal with his money 

indeed, no surprise he made his 

fortune) and the portraits…well the 

portraits bring the age to life. 1697 is 

the date of the memorial, and John and 

Elizabeth had lived through turbulent 

times, from the Civil War through the 

Great Plague of 1665 to William of 

Orange’s 1688 successful invasion of 

England that started in South Devon 

with 463 ships and 15,000 men. 

They do look a very careful and modest 

couple and it would be fascinating to 

listen to their thoughts on these events, 

but they look as if they guarded their 

tongues as wisely as they guarded 

their money. 

determined and heaven help anyone 

who gets in their way (though heaven 

probably will not, to be realistic). We know 

one is going to save the world and the 

other will stick with him to the end 

and out the other side. These are two 

folk who will fulfil their mission. 

Nineteenth century as all the glass 

is here. 

One of the 'Songs of Ascent’, possibly 

sung by pilgrims ascending to 

Jerusalem or the priestly singers as 

they ascended the fifteen steps to the 

temple. A good choice for those who 

were going to meet their God as well 

as for those who lived their life in the 

world of God, as this family seems to 

have done. 

On the east wall of the aisle there is 

this beauty, a memorial to John and 

Mary Stooke looking a fine devout 

couple and possibly painted from life. 

John made his fortune as a clothier - 

someone who worked in the making 

and marketing of cloth - and left a 

pretty penny to a number of charities 

We meet some good stained glass in 

this church too, though the expression 

on this lamb’s face seems to be one 

of slight befuddlement rather than 

holiness. Jesus’ face is interesting too; 

not a traditionally handsome face, 

but the face of anyman as well as one 

who has seen far too much suffering 

and pain in the world yet is still full 

of compassion. 

On the other hand the faces on this 

Virgin and Child seem to be ultra 

Meanwhile the Norman font sits calmly 

watching the generations come and 

go. Is that a cross scratched on it on 

the upper left? That stout top cinched 

in by the belt of roll moulding like 

the stomach of a hefty Devon farmer, 

the scars and erosions of age and 

use…when the visitors leave and dusk 

creeps in it discusses the lives of the 

parishioners baptised here and the 

love that it has seen with the church. 


FOOD & DRINK 

THINGS TO DO

Another declaration of age, this time more 

specific, is the pillar piscina in the chancel 

from the previous Norman church. Whether 

the head is a repurposed Norman capital - the 

top of a pillar - or the whole is original is a 

debate that will 

last and last. It is 

a form of piscina 

that all churches 

had to have. 

The Norman 

church (and a 

Saxon place of 

worship too?) 

would have been humble here, most likely 

a simple chancel and nave with decoration 

inside. This present church carries on that 

tradition, with its beautifully decorated chancel, 

stained glass and carvings and paintings from 

the centuries. 

But what really stands out is the simplicity and 

strength of the structure, how it hunkers down 

against the weather in its exposed position. 

The modesty and the power to minister to 

the surrounding souls through the centuries 

in this little parish and to be a place of spirit 

for the marvels and vicissitudes of this life. 

A church for all ages. 

Douglas Young 

Follow me on Instagram: 

@devonchurchland 


CONTENTS 143

SOME 250-ODD YEARS 

AGO, in the middle of the 

18th century not only did 

one Dr. Richard Russell 

prescribe sea bathing as 

a cure-all for just about 

everything under the sun, 

he also prescribed that his 

patients drink 

a flagon of 

the stuff with 

every meal. 

WE DO LIKE TO BE BESIDE OUR SEASIDES 

From Jane Austen’s salty passion to the slap ’n tickle of Edwardian Music Hall 

Almost single-handedly - and 

starting with Brighton - 

the good doctor created what 

foreigners called “the English 

seaside mania” amongst the great 

and the good of his era. But it was 

not to last much beyond the coming 

of the railways. This was when 

seaside towns began to reinvent 

themselves, not as health spas with 

their rows of bathing machines and 

teams of burly female ‘dippers’ but 

as the places of leisure, pleasure 

and entertainment we know today. 

The railway reached Exeter from 

Paddington in 1844 (from Waterloo a 

little later), from whence it sprouted 

branch lines north and south as 

the main line itself wound its way 

down to Plymouth via Torbay then 

on to Cornwall. Within a few years 

the idea of the seaside as a health 

resort for the well-to-do began 

to disappear and the likes of the 

Prince of Wales, Lady Nelson and 

Jane Austen, who had all taken 

the plunge along the coasts of 

our sunny South West, faded into 

history. 

At first the railways brought the 

city folk in by the hundreds, then 

in their thousands. Well before the 

end of the century ‘day trippers’ on 

excursion trains from the capital 

could leave Paddington or Waterloo 

for a grand day out (starting at 5 

a.m.) and pay 5/- (five old shillings) 

for a third class return ticket. 

19th century London waits to board 

the day excursion to Devon 

Our railway station forecourts 

became holding areas for ‘cab 

ranks’ and cab drivers ferried their 

passengers to the nearest seafront 

or to the rows of simple houses 

along the side and back streets 

of our seaside towns, which now 

reinvented themselves as boarding 

houses. Every lodging now boasted 

a seaside landlady and paved the 

way for a thousand boarding house 

jokes. It became something of a 

pastime to watch these ‘Lunnun’ 

folk pour off the excursions: they 

not only talked ‘funny’ what they 

wore and how they presented 

themselves also made them stand 

out markedly from the natives. 

With the introduction of new 

chemical dyes women’s clothing 

especially became brighter and 

men’s ties, cravats and blazers 

dazzled by-standers at the stations, 

togged up in their Sunday bests: 

and these young London women 

painted their faces and piled up 

their hair under feather-bedecked 

bonnets. 

They called us 

Carrot Crunchers, 

those crowds who 

poured off the 

London trains or 

Swede Bashers: 

some still do of course. But it was 

all in good part, town and country 

banter was ever thus. 

144 2 CONTENTS COUNTRYSIDE VISIT 

FOOD & DRINK 

THINGS TO DO

Devonians on the other 

hand, but behind their backs 

mind, became increasingly 

disparaging and retaliated 

by dubbing them ‘Grocks’. 

For Grock was the world’s 

most famous clown who made 

London his home and with 

his outrageously colourful 

clothes and wild, clown makeup, 

was reckoned to be the funniest 

man in the world. 

Two or more visitors were therefore 

Grocks and to our everlasting 

shame, the collective noun for the 

West Country’’s holiday visitors 

became first Grockos and then 

Grockles. And before we cover our 

heads in shame and ask forgiveness 

we should perhaps look to our close 

cousins down in Cornwall who 

call their holiday visitors emmets 

- which stems vaguely from a word 

meaning ‘ants’. 

These were mostly hard working 

folk from the cities determined to 

make the most of their newly won 

leisure time. Here was a new wave, 

the new middle classes, factory 

and office workers with money in 

their pockets and a Sunday all to 

themselves to recover, boarding 

Saturday excursions in increasing 

numbers, bringing new ways, new 

ideas, new wealth and a new life 

to Devon. 

Grock, “the 

King of 

Clowns” 

(These shallow draft vessels 

were often boarded off the 

beach along wheeled jetties 

which were pushed out and 

dragged in again as the tide 

rose and fell). 

The countless attractions that 

were soon added to these 

piers included fortune tellers, 

amusement arcades, fun fares, 

theatres featuring popular ‘endof-the-pier’ 

shows with Pierrot and 

Columbine or black-faced minstrel 

singers. 

With the arrival of electric lights 

strung along their lengths, piers 

also became popular with ‘courting 

couples’. Electricity came to 

Torquay for example as early as 

1894 illuminating Beacon Quay 

but this was no place for romance, 

neither were the electric-lit jetties 

in Ilfracombe (1903) or Exmouth 

(1904). Elsewhere love still found 

its way by oil lamp and gaslight 

until the late-1920s when most of 

Devon’s coastal towns finally saw 

the light. 

Pre-electric spooning 

Tiddley-om-pom-pom 

Inevitably seaside towns were 

quick to encourage the creation 

of brass and silver bands whilst 

those ‘resorts’ who preferred to 

cling to or attract a more refined 

clientele invested in the creation 

of the Winter Gardens. Here 

holidaymakers could take tea 

and cake and stroll amidst exotic 

flora as they listened to a Palm 

Court Orchestra or at the very 

least, a string quartet. These hot 

houses of culture also extended 

both ends of the season. 

Meanwhile down on the beach the 

perennial favourites of paddling and 

sand castle building were free and 

important parts of any away-day 

whilst there were deck chairs to be 

rented, donkey rides to be enjoyed 

and Punch and Judy shows which 

then, as now, attracted crowds of 

children and their parents. 

Everyone a photographer with the 

Box Brownie (1900) 

Pier pressure 

Town and parish councils knew 

they could hardly charge people 

to walk up and down a promenade 

but they might be persuaded to 

part with a coin or two to stroll 

out over the briny on a pier, taking 

in lungs full of ozone on their way 

to fish perhaps or to catch one 

of the several popular paddle 

steamers that plied the resorts 

of both north and south Devon. 

The long and the short of piers 

is that there are still 57 of them 

around the coast of the British 

Isles and countless jetties. Devon 

still boasts three exceptional 

examples of classic piers. These 

are at Paignton, opened in 1879 

(length 740ft.), Teignmouth Grand 

Pier, opened in 1867 (length 625 ft.) 

and Torquay’s Princess Pier, opened 

in 1894 (length 780 ft.) 

Those who would never dream of 

being seen on the sands bided their 

time and chose instead to parade 

themselves along the promenade 

during the afternoons. This then 

was a time and place - and before 

the invention of the Box Brownie 

- for the seaside photographer 

to present strollers with a sepia 

souvenir of their visit. 

continued overleaf 


CONTENTS 145 3

WE DO LIKE TO BE BESIDE OUR SEASIDES ...continued 

Rock of sages 

Everyone became a sucker for 

‘seaside pink’ lettered rock, which 

seems to have been invented in the 

1840s - probably at Morecombe. 

It began by featuring, not place 

names but ‘cheeky phrases’ such 

as KISS ME QUICK and SQUEEZE 

ME SLOWLY. It didn’t take long for 

these immortal lines to find their 

way onto hats and along ribboned 

‘favours’ worn on the lapel but it 

was another thirty years before the 

penny dropped and enterprising 

seaside towns, in their wisdom, 

thought to put their names down 

the middle. 

Appetites for change 

There is nothing new about fast 

food - cheap and tasty things that 

could be be eaten on the hoof, 

strolling along the prom. 

popularity in Devon by train-riding 

London holiday makers. 

The commercial ice cream cone we 

know today was introduced into 

Britain by an Italian in Manchester 

in 1902 and soon found universal 

appeal around our seasides. This 

cornet also sounded the funeral 

note of the so-called ‘penny ice’ as 

it also triggered a genetic change 

in our nation’s seagulls. 

The penny ice was bought from 

a cart on the promenade, eaten 

on the spot from a small glass 

dish with a wooden spoon and 

the dish returned for washing 

up. But whereas the cone was a 

great liberator there was a price 

to be paid for this new freedom. 

Ladies especially, and quite wisely, 

between licks held their ice creams 

out, as far away from their bodices 

and long dresses as possible but in 

so doing they provided an open 

invitation to every passing seagull 

to come and get it. 

Postcards from 

the edge 

The ‘new’ seasides, with their free 

and easy approach to life away from 

the shackles of routine, broke down 

the rigid ideas of Victorian and 

Edwardian propriety and decorum. 

The prim and proper moved on 

(or sought each others company 

abroad) whilst left to their own 

devices on the beach, under the 

pier or who knows elsewhere ‘the 

remainers’ developed a bright and 

breezy, slap ‘n tickle approach to 

holiday fun that resulted, inevitably 

in the cheeky seaside postcard. 

Some 16 million of these were 

bought and posted in the 1930s, 

the hey day of gagsters and artists 

like the immortal Donald McGill 

flourished and for the academically 

minded seeking enlightenment 

there is a museum dedicated to 

some of his naughtier creations at 

saucyseasidepostcards.com 

Most popular of seaside foods of 

course was fish, especially fish 

and chips. The dish (or rather the 

newspaper-wrapped meal) came 

into being circa 1850 via the 

culinary skills of a Jewish immigrant 

to the East End of London, one 

Joseph Malin. Londoners brought 

their fondness for this with them, 

along with whelks, winkles, cockles, 

mussels and - inevitably, jellied 

eels - this time an 18th century 

invention and again brought into 

Today, 117 years and ten and more 

generations of seagull later (they 

can live up to 15 years) it would 

probably take counselling sessions 

of some kind amongst the die-hard 

birds to break them of this inherent 

opportunism. 

Jane Austen versus 

Mark Sheridan 

We’ve come a long way at the 

seaside here in the West Country 

since Jane Austen dried herself 

off in a bathing machine in Lyme 

Regis and wrote (with some unusual 

spelling) to her sister, Cassandra: 

“The Bathing was so delightful this 


FOOD & DRINK 

THINGS TO DO

Bringing the Past, into the Present, for the Future 

Gg 

Mary Hyland 

Genealogist 

as heard on BBC Radio Devon 

Gg 

Clients have complete control over their 

projects and their budget. 

Research is as accurate as it is possible to be with 

the resources available at the present time. 

Projects are carefully designed to become 

family heirlooms 

Over 800 projects completed to date. 

email: plantagenestafamilyhistorian@gmail.com 

text: 07710 567426 

visit website www.plantagenesta.webs.com 

morning & Molly so pressing with 

me to enjoy myself that I believe I 

staid in rather too long, as since 

the middle of the day I have felt 

unreasonably tired”. 

Tired? So too were the day trippers 

who, some 50 or so years later 

boarded their excursions back to 

London after a very different kind 

of a day than the one that Jane had 

enjoyed. 

And as they settled back in 

their seats they doubtless sang, 

especially this song, made popular 

in 1909 by the Music Hall singer, 

Mark Sheridan. 

All together now: 

Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside! 

I do like to be beside the sea! 

I do like to stroll along the Prom, Prom, 

Prom! 

Where the brass bands play, “Tiddely-ompom-pom!” 

So just let me be beside the seaside! 

I’ll be beside myself with glee 

and there’s lots of girls beside, 

I should like to be beside, beside the 

seaside, 

beside the sea! 

And having come this far together 

you might find it worthwhile to go 

on line to hear that song sung by 

the man himself: 

John Fisher 


CONTENTS 

Bringing the Past, into the Present, for the Future 

147

A railwayman, joining the Lyme Regis branch line at 15 in 1960, working 

during the last five years before steam trains were decommissioned. 

THE BRANCH LINE TO LYME REGIS 

Mike Clements 

michael @axmouth.plus.com 

It was coming up to the Christmas of 1960, 

and I was about to leave school for good. 

Having spoken to the then youth employment officer 

at Seaton, I was all set to start a career on the railway, 

my life long ambition. But unfortunately it had not 

turned out quite the way I had planned it. 

had wanted to start my career as 

I an engine cleaner, and then join the 

elite band, working on the footplate 

of a steam locomotive. But there was 

a slight hitch in this, one had to be 

sixteen years of age to become an 

engine cleaner, and to participate in 

the necessary shift work involved. Also 

I would have to go to the Exmouth 

Junction, locomotive depot at Exeter, 

to work from there, and this would 

mean going into lodgings. 

And so it was I started my career 

on Monday 2nd January 1961. I can 

honestly say looking back now at fifty 

one years ago, I wouldn’t have missed 

it for the world. 

I cycled to Combpyne station, from 

Axmouth, and met the lad I was taking 

over from, Terry Guppy. Terry was 

going to Exmouth Junction as an engine 

cleaner, and on passing out as a fireman, 

he was hoping to fill the vacancy for 

As I was only fifteen years of age, I was 

given an alternative, I could take up 

the job of a junior porter advertised at 

Combpyne station, on the Lyme Regis 

branch line. Then on reaching the age 

of sixteen, I could transfer back to the 

locomotive department, and take up 

the post as an engine cleaner. This 

is what I decided to do, but first it 

meant taking the medical and eyesight 

examination, at Southernhay, in Exeter. 

I passed my medical and eyesight, 

without any problems whatsoever, 

the eyesight examination, determined 

whether you had any problems with 

colour blindness, this would have been 

a certain No, working on the footplate, 

and looking out for signals at night, 

had this been the case. 

Adams tank no. 30584 departs Combpyne, for Lyme Regis 

on the 8th july 1959. Engine is in immaculate condition 

thanks to cleaner lads, at Exmouth Junction shed. Note 

camping coach in background, this was also supplied 

with a water churn, from Lyme Regis, during the summer. 

Also note little girl, from station house, on the platform. 



a locomotive fireman on the Lyme 

Regis branch line. 

The actual scenery on the Lyme 

Regis branch line was stunning, 

especially between Combpyne (the only 

intermediate station between Axminster 

and Lyme Regis) and Axminster. 

The line was 6 miles 59 chains. In length, 

from Axminster to Lyme Regis, with 

Combpyne station situated 4 miles 21 

chains from Axminster. 

Lyme Regis station – 1961 

Adams radial tank no. 30583 

stands in Lyme station 

ready to leave with a train 

for Axminster. Driver Tom 

Woodman on platform and 

his fireman Terry Guppy on 

the footplate. 

That first morning as I arrived at 

Combpyne, I had to board the train, 

and travel into Lyme, to meet the 

stationmaster Arthur Causley, who 

was in charge of us. I waited on the 

platform talking to Terry Guppy, as 

the 8.45a.m.from Axminster, rolled in 

at 8.58 a.m. I went to get into the first 

carriage, and I was told, ‘Not There’, 

get up on the footplate. At that time 

of course the branch was still being 

worked by the ‘Adams’ 4-4-2 Radial 

tank engines. And I climbed up on the 

footplate, What an experience. 

The driver was Tom Woodman, later to 

be Terry Guppy’s driver, this particular 

day he had an Exmouth Junction relief 

fireman with him. We set off from 

Combpyne, with a brief opening of the 

regulator, and as we descended into a 

steep cutting, the regulator was shut 

and the large reversing lever dropped 

right forward as we free-wheeled 

down hill, the fireman knocking on the 

injector as we headed down toward 

Shapwick. 

Tom chatted to me as we journeyed on, 

like he had known me all my life, and 

I immediately thought what a great 

guy, and took an instant liking to him. 

I can still see his polished brass badge 

in his cap, marked ‘ENGINEMAN’ S.R. 

The S.R, Being Southern Railway. A 

pre- nationalisation cap badge. 

As we neared the end of our descent, 

Tom said to me- look ahead, we were 

approaching the Nine arch, 203 yard 

long. ‘Cannington Viaduct’. With a 

maximum height of 93 feet above 

the valley floor. We trundled over 

the viaduct, and then swung under 

‘Horseman’s hill’, toward the village of 

Uplyme, passing through Uplyme, we 

went through another deep cutting, 

and then passed the Devon – Dorset 

border, as we drifted down toward 

the lovely little wooden built station 

of Lyme Regis, ideally suited to the 

line itself. I climbed down from the 

footplate, onto the platform, and 

met leading porter signalman Ralph 

Watkins, who introduced himself. 

He then showed me the door of the 

stationmaster’s office which I knocked 

on, and was told to enter, I walked in 

and saw an elderly gentleman sitting 

at his desk, he smiled and introduced 

himself as Arthur Causley. Again I 

took an instant liking to him, he had 

a kind face and a gentle nature. And 

we chatted for quite a bit, and then 

I was told to catch the next train 

back to Combpyne, the 9.45 a.m. And 

commence my tuition as a junior porter. 

Again I climbed up on the footplate of 

the Engine, which was number 30583, 

and we set off with our two coach train, 

I was fascinated by the big reversing 

lever, which Tom set into position, as 

we started the climb out of the station, 

out toward ‘Cannington Viaduct’. 

Tom’s fireman was a young man from 

Exmouth Junction shed’s ‘Junior Spare 

Gang’ link, called ‘Tony Brown’. 

We reached the viaduct, and once over, 

the line steepened considerably, with 

the engine working hard on the climb 

up to Combpyne station. We drifted 

into the station, and coming to a halt 

I stepped down from the footplate, 

and joined Terry Guppy once more 

to start my training. 

This then was the beginning my first 

day, at dinner time the late turn lad 

came on duty, catching the 1.38.p.m. 

off of Axminster, arrival time 1.51 p.m. 

At Combpyne, then on into Lyme 

Regis, this lad was called Leonard 

Perry, (known to one and all as Nobby 

Perry) Combpyne station, was in the 

middle of nowhere really, one mile from 

Combpyne village, and just about over 

half a mile from the village of Rousdon, 

via ‘Green lane’ which everybody used. 

There was only the Station house, 

and two railway cottages a couple of 

hundred yards up the road near to 

the station itself. 

Combpyne station booking 

office, and station house, circa 

1960. Note water churns 

outside booking office, no 

mains water at Combpyne, all 

the water came up from Lyme 

Regis station in water churns, 

placed in the guards van of 

the train, taken out by junior 

porter at Combpyne. 


CONTENTS 149

LYME REGIS BRANCH LINE ...continued 

children., who were called - Susan, 

Ann, Robert, Linda, Marie, Philip and 

Elizabeth. You can imagine what wash 

day was like, and bath nights as well, 

for the family. But not only that, during 

the winter timetable, (late September 

to early June). 

Lyme Regis, wooden built station. six and three quarter miles 

from Axminster station. Photograph taken from the stop 

blocks, goods yard on right, London coaches in siding. Signal 

box and starter signal on the end of platform. – Southern 

region period. 

My duties would be six days a week, 

(winter service) early turn. 8.0.a.m. 

until 4.10.p.m. Monday to Friday. And 

Saturdays 8.0.a.m. until 12.10 p.m. A 

total of forty five hours. 

in my memory at Combpyne, was that 

the station house was occupied by Bill 

and Mollie Fowler, and their seven 

There were no trains on Sundays. So 

the family had to go from Saturday 

evening , until Monday morning, with 

no water delivery, I can assure you 

that every container in the Fowler 

household was filled with water, 

including the old copper for boiling 

the washing. – We used to have some 

fun, I can tell you. But it was worked to 

a fine art. Sometimes, paraffin supplies 

would run low, and the station staff 

would be called on to get out supplies, 

likewise with the coal for the household 

fire, the Engine would supply a bucket 

full, or the station coalhouse likewise. 

But we never went short at the station, 

Mollie would cook us a plate of chips, 

Late turn was from 1.45. p.m. until 

9.20.p.m. Monday to Saturday, and was 

a total of forty five and a half hours. 

My wages were £3 10s. 6d. A week. 

The station at Combpyne, and the 

station house, had neither mains 

running water, or electricity. All water 

was brought in by 5 gallon water churns, 

a total of ten churns for the station 

house, and one two and half gallon 

churn, for the station booking office. 

All these were filled at Lyme Regis 

station, the churns being placed in the 

guards van of the train, and taken out 

by the junior at Combpyne. Of course 

this meant, all the toilets where the 

‘Elsan chemical toilets’. All lighting at 

the station, and station house was by 

Tilley Lamps with mantels, and fuelled 

by Methylated spirit, and Paraffin. 

One of the things that has always stuck 

Southern Railway days at Axminster station. ‘Adams 4-4-2 

radial tank, number 3520 working the Lyme Regis branch 

train, stands at Axminster station, on the ‘up’ main line - the 

date is June 1934. 



One of the Adams tanks, is passing over ‘Cannington 

viaduct’ with its two coach train, heading up toward 

Combpyne, with the 11.37.a,m. Lyme Regis, Combpyne, 

Axminster train. ‘Cannington viaduct’s highest arch, 

was 93 feet above the valley floor - date 2nd june 1959. 

men were gathered round a blazing 

fire, their overcoats steaming with 

the damp, the glow of cigarettes in 

their mouths, and the reflection of 

the fire silhouetting their weather 

beaten faces. Put the tray down there 

my son, says Dinor, pointing to an old 

table. From his Tommy bag, he takes 

out a screw top bottle, filled with milk. 

He then proceeds to fill the five cups 

with tea. Then he puts his hand inside 

his Greatcoat pocket, and with that 

gleam in his eye that he always had, 

he produces a bottle of Lambs Navy 

Rum. And tops up the cups, there you 

are my son, he says to me, ‘get that 

down you’. I had never tasted rum 

before, but I could feel it going down, 

the warmth making me glow, as it did 

so. Dinor and the rest of the gang just 

looking at me with broad smiles on 

their faces. – I have never forgotten 

that experience. 

and plenty of tea was brewed, – they 

were truly lovely times, everybody had 

time for one another. 

During the summer months, May to 

September. We had a camping coach 

at Combpyne in the sidings. We would 

supply this one with water, and paraffin 

etc. 

It was in use a great deal. One particular 

fortnight we had a family come down 

from Wales, Colwyn bay to be precise, 

Mr and Mrs Price, and their two 

children, a girl and a boy. The oldest, 

the daughter was a real cracker, and 

myself and Nobby, both fancied her, we 

both decided to ask her out on a date. 

Now ‘Nobby’ had just turned eighteen 

years of age, and his father had just 

bought him a new car, it was a Triumph 

Mayflower saloon. Lovely looking job. 

I on the other hand just coming up to 

sixteen, was still relying on my bicycle. 

So you can guess who won the date, 

Nobby and myself laughed about that 

for years afterwards. 

Unfortunately Nobby was to die in his 

early fifties of lung cancer. But he was 

always the life and soul of anything 

that was going on. 

One winter afternoon, I was on the 

early turn, and it had rained practically 

all day, the time was about 3.0.p.m. And 

the branch permanent way staff, were 

working on the line in the vicinity of 

Combpyne station, there were four 

of them, Dinor Harrison, was the 

ganger, and then there was Arthur 

Watson, Jack Guppy, (Terrys father) 

and Cecil Doble. At the western 

end of Combpyne station there was 

situated a Lengthman’s hut, this was 

a shelter for the permanent way men. 

Dinor came to me and said, put the 

kettle on my son, and make a pot of 

tea, and bring it down to the hut, with 

five cups. I did this put it all on a tray, 

locked the booking office door, (there 

was no train due) and went down to 

the hut, it was still raining slightly, I 

knocked the door, and it was opened, 

inside in the semi – darkness, the 

Axminster station – British 

Railways, Southern Region 

period. Adams radial tank no. 

30582 stands in the branch 

line platform, mid 1950s 

period. On platform Driver 

George Johns of Axmouth, 

Locomotive Superintendant 

Sam Smith from Exmouth 

Junction shed, Exeter and on 

footplate, fireman Grenville 

Morgan from Axmouth, 

this was whilst filming the 

B.B.C. television series of 

‘Railway Roundabout.’ 

Before the Summer service came 

into effect during June of 1961, the 


CONTENTS 151

LYME REGIS BRANCH LINE ...continued 

three Adams Radial tank engines 

numbers 30582, 30583, and 30584. 

where replaced on the Lyme Regis 

branch line, by the Ivatt class 2-6-2 

tank engines, 41307, 41308, 41320, and 

41322 took over working the branch, 

turn and turn about, from Exmouth 

junction shed. (72 A). During Sunday 

working on the branch summer service, 

myself and Nobby worked it so that 

one junior porter did a double shift, 

whilst the other one had the Sunday 

off. That suited us fine. 

Time went on, and my sixteenth 

birthday came and went, on the late 

turn I had been getting a bit of practise 

with firing to an engine, with Tom and 

Terry on the ‘Ivatt’ tanks. 

One particular afternoon, I had come 

on duty for the late turn, and climbed 

up on the footplate, with my two fellow 

compatriots from Axmouth village, 

driver ‘George Johns’ and his brotherin 

- law, fireman ‘Grenville Morgan’. 

George said to me, ‘How are you getting 

on regards your transfer’. – I said they 

cannot get anyone to fill the vacancy 

at Combpyne. (Nobby had already left 

to go into the butchery trade). And 

relief men were covering his duty. 

George said to me ‘you want to hand 

your notice in, and start again.’- ‘You 

would loose twelve months service, but 

you would start at Exmouth Junction’, 

as a cleaner. Food for thought indeed. 

I did hand my notice in, and I did start 

again in February 1962, as a cleaner 

lad at Exmouth Junction. But that is 

another story. 

The Lyme Regis branch line, closed 

in November 1965, and today much of 

it lies buried under brambles, bushes, 

and trees. But the memories are never 

forgotten. In my minds eye I can still 

picture standing on the platform at 

Combpyne, listening to the lambs in 

the surrounding fields calling to their 

mums on a beautiful spring morning, 

and then in the distance hear the 

laboured beat of the exhaust of one 

of the Adams tanks as it struggles 

uphill from Cannington viaduct, slowly 

plodding up the line past Shapwick 

farm, then up through the deep cutting 

toward Trinity road bridge, the rooks 

in the spinney beside the line objecting 

loudly as the intruder approached, 

the train then passing under Trinity 

road bridge, shutting off steam and 

drifting bunker first into Combpyne 

station with its two coach train, the 

only intermediate station on the line 

between Lyme and Axminster. 

The old Cannington Viaduct, constructed in the early 1900s for the railway line. Image by Nigel Jones. 



Extracts from Derrick's book, Across the Cobblestones, reminisces 

about his childhood in rural East Devon before the 2nd World War. 

ACROSS THE COBBLESTONES 

Derrick V. Rugg 

On arriving in the village square at morning, 

there were several options. 

If anyone had any money, the choice 

was quite likely to be Bessie Rowe’s 

tiny sweet-and-tobacco shop half 

way up High Street hill, where a 

sizeable group lingered, studying 

the contents of numerous boxes put 

on to the counter by Bessie or Bill, 

who was an amiable cripple. You 

could say that Bessie aimed at the 

lower end of the market, stocking 

where cheapness and long-lasting 

properties came together. ‘Chews’ 

and various liquorice shapes were 

popular buys, and so were cardboard 

cylinders out of which you were 

supposed to suck sherbet through a 

liquorice tube, but which you usually 

up-ended to shake the contents into 

your palm. 

I have sat all 

morning in the Infant 

Room surreptitiously 

eating chocolate drops 

There were three other shops: Miller’s 

Supply Stores, the Post Office, and 

opposite the school a little shop that 

was part of Baker James’ emporium. 

That shop was managed by the baker’s 

housekeeper and what she made 

out of it would be classed today as 

perks. Well, I have often wondered 

how much the popular elderly lady 

made out of her chocolate drops. For 

a penny you received a triangular 

bagful of sweets, which was held by 

the two top corners and whizzed over 

and over to secure it. I don’t recall 

any weighing. I have sat all morning 

in the Infant Room surreptitiously 

eating chocolate drops. I reckon 

Kentisbeare school-children got 

Miss Authers’ Perks. 

The quiet old lady died whilst I was 

in the Infants and a lot of the older 

children went to her funeral. 

*** 

At nine o’clock Mr Painter cut short 

all pre-school activities by ringing 

the bell that hung from a turret on 

the school. That brought everyone 

in line; the Infants by their porch 

door, and the girls and boys in their 

respective playgrounds. All walked 

through porches into the classrooms, 

except a couple of children whose 

job it was to pick up any litter. 

In the Infant Room, following a hymn 

and a prayer, there was scripture 

for a good deal of the period from 

nine o’clock till a quarter to eleven. 

Table drills and sums followed to fill 

up the first session, and afterwards 

the charts about mats and cats and 

reading carried us up to dinner. 

Mrs Spratt was old; but Mrs Spratt 

was timeless. Mrs Spratt had taught 

all the children from way back. Her 

late husband had been the Head of 

Kentisbeare school. Then it filtered 

through: “Mrs Spratt is leaving. Mrs 

Spratt is retiring!” I couldn’t believe it. 

But it happened. The old lady who 

loved us - yes, loved us I feel sure, in 

spite of all the tantalising - was soon 

to leave the classroom. The dark 

dresses, the beads, the ear-rings, the 

precise comb and strapped shoes 

would be no longer there for anyone 

to contemplate. 

Mrs Spratt was old; 

but Mrs Spratt was 

timeless 

Mrs Spratt left, and afterwards we 

used to wave to her as she sat in the 

window seat of her terraced cottage 

up the steps. 

Who would come? Several! they all 

seemed so very young compared to 

our former teacher. They seemed so 

lively to me, and I remember that I 

thought one, Miss Bending, was pretty. 

Then along came Miss Christie. 

Derrick Rugg 

Published by Tabb House, available at £2.95 

tabbhousebooks@talktalk.net 

01841 532316 


CONTENTS 153

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne 

by Ian Hosker 

 

 

St Cuthbert’s Isle 

St Cuthbert is said to have retreated 

here to a hermit’s life after his 

attempt to revert religious practices 

to conform to Rome rather than 

to those practiced in Ireland was 

rejected by his fellow monks. Now a 

favourite safe place for seals. 

34 



35 


CONTENTS 155

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne 

by Ian Hosker 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St Cuthbert’s Bay 

The beach is possibly the only place to collect 

St Cuthbert’s beads, and is the ideal location 

to observe swimming seals as they drift past. 

36 



Fishermen’s sheds 

‘Recycled’ boats used by local 

fishermen for their equipment. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lindisfarne Priory 

The ruins of the Norman priory are 

believed to be located on, or nearby, 

the original Saxon monastery. 

37 


CONTENTS 157

The Causeway 

The modern tarmac road replaced 

the original medieval track across the 

sand. The island can only be accessed 

via this road when the tidal window is 

right. Crossing times are posted at the 

crossing point. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St Cuthbert’s beads 

Segments of fossilised 

crinoids (sea lilies – relatives 

of starfish and sea urchins 

and still extant). These are 

washed up onto the beach 

opposite St Cuthbert’s Isle 

and were said to have been 

fashioned into rosaries by the 

saint during his self-imposed 

exile on the isle. 

38 



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