June Archive

From the Rector

It is 19 years since I turned my collar around and 22 years since I left a ‘proper’ job in Nat West Bank, but I still at times have trouble getting my priorities right. At first it was a complete mess. The excitement of a whole new way of working, with, as the years went by, less and less input as to how my time was spent. That might seem wonderful, and in many ways it is – it is certainly a privilege – but always to be deciding which one of several conflicting claims on time should come first can be difficult. At times like that, and especially if you are very busy, the priority must be to stop and take a step back and look at the bigger picture. What is the direction in which we are heading; what is the purpose of the different tasks and do they help us along the way; what is the motivation behind giving time to this activity or that; what will be missed by doing one thing or another? The same is true in overall church life. We need to step back every now and then and just check the direction. It is easy to slip into the routine of doing things out of habit when the original purpose has long passed. The big picture about the life of the church can be summed up between two words – mission or maintenance. Both may have similar tasks attached to them but the motivation behind them is completely different. Take, for example, the fine church buildings that we have in Holy Trinity and St Andrew’s. It is very easy for the maintenance of the fabric to become the focus of attention. The building needs work so we must raise money for it and concentrate our time and energy on it. The question of what the buildings are for can disappear behind some urgent need. On the other hand we might start from a position of what does the church (that is the people) need in terms of buildings; how can we make our building best suited to our primary task which is to share the love of God in this community? The outcome may be the same in both cases but the motive is entirely different. The Church of England in general, and the Bere Peninsula in particular, is looking at how it can best be ‘church’ in our local situation; how we can both serve the community in Godly love and also challenge the community with the imperative of the Gospel; how we can be faithful to our calling and meet the needs of a changing world; how we might enjoy the good things entrusted to us and use them to serve God. Getting priorities right will always be tricky, in private family life and in community life, but in order to make the best use of what we have we must make sure our focus is in the right place – and you know where that is. Rev Nick Law

From the United Church's Pastoral Assistant

Jedburgh Abbey is just across the border into Scotland. It’s a lovely tranquil place. The ruined walls in warm red stone, their corners smoothed by centuries of wind and rain. A visitor once wrote: “Everywhere peace, everywhere serenity, and a marvelous freedom from the tumult of the world.” The words have a modern ring to them but they were written 850 years ago. The longing for peace and quiet isn’t new. Walking around the ruins one tries to imagine what “the tumult of the world” really was all that time ago. The loudest noise then would have been a clap of thunder, the loudest human-made noise church bells. No motorway traffic, no hi-fi at fifty watts playing through open summer windows. But I guess it was the demands of everyday life that the writer was thinking of. The demands people made on his time, energy and sympathies. His daily routine and the occasional crisis. Nothing much changes. There are the same demands on us today. Family concerns, the pressures of work, or looking for work, meeting others’ expectations. Most of us yearn for something different. We look back to an ideal past when we think life was quiet and peaceful. But it wasn’t and we have to live in the now. Today is where we begin, and whether it’s good or not, whether we like it or not, that’s what we have to work with. We can only come to terms with the tumult of our world by facing it and not wishing it away. Rev David Rogers

MAY GATEWAY JOINT SERVICE

More than thirty relieved (because it wasn’t raining!) folk gathered at the barn at New Park Farm to celebrate Spring and new life on Sunday 18th May. The ‘service’ took the form of a party and after a few initial songs with guitar, flute and bongo accompaniment we launched into a ‘pass the parcel’ game, with Biblical forfeits for those who had to unwrap each layer, together with a verse from Psalm 104 to read, reminding us of the wonders of nature and God. After some more songs, we then showed our artistic natures as we made paper flowers. This would have been easier with scissors! But instead we tore the paper into shapes resembling hands, which were then formed amazingly into flowers of various colours. Singly they did not look spectacular, but when we stuck them in a straw bale as an arrangement together they looked magnificent... Well, nearly! But a lesson for us all that singly we cannot achieve much but when we come together we can do great things. And Nick Law pointed out that as our flowers had rough edges through being torn they even more resembled ourselves—so had he forgotten the scissors on purpose? We also remembered all the other beautiful things on the earth apart from flowers, including butterflies, rainbows, babies (when quiet!), and the view from where we were. There was a chance for us all to make fools of ourselves in the next part! On arrival everyone had been given an secret piece of paper with an animal’s name on it. Now everyone had to make the sound of that animal to find the other people in their herd or flock! If you weren’t there you missed a treat! The supposedly sane and rational in our villages at their silliest! Once in our groups, we were given an environmental or farming theme each, either local or worldwide, to consider what we needed to pray about, and then launched into a time of prayer for those needs. The suggested special items included flood victims in South Africa and disaster victims in Burma and China, those in Darfur, Iraq, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, fairtrade, conservation, bureaucracy causing problems for our farmers, conservation, feed and fuel prices, bovine TB, Blue Tongue, foot and mouth disease, global warming, deforestation, pollution, recycling, drought and flooding. At the end of our time together we enjoyed party food, including cheese and pineapple on sticks, sausages, tomatoes, strawberries and grapes on sticks, Hula Hoops and cakes with green icing. Thanks to Steve and Vera Jackson for allowing us the use of their barn and for setting up the straw bales for us to sit on, and for everyone who helped provide the food. Gateway next month will be in the drier environment of St Andrew’s Church and will be part of the Flower Festival. See you at 10.30am on Sunday 15th June.

Nature Watch

HEDGEROWS AND VERGES
The hedgerows appear quite lush this spring. After a relatively slow start due to the low temperature earlier, a few days of above-average warmth seems to have brought everything rapidly into leaf. We are fortunate in having had occasional days of reasonably heavy rain to maintain the moisture of the soil. It is this combination that keeps Britain, and the western side of the country in particular, looking green throughout the year. The yellows of early spring (celandines and primrose) have by now given way to blues and white: especially the bluebell and stitchwort respectively. Where there is a true grassy verge, the hazy white film of 'Queen Anne's Lace', also known as hedge parsley, predominates. It is a member of a big plant family called the Umbelliferae. As the name suggests, the flower heads are shaped like umbrellas made of thousands of small individual flowers. It pays to advertise! Pollinating insects are unlikely to miss a display on this scale. Other umbellifers include the yellow-flowered Alexanders, which seems to be spreading locally, wild angelica and the much coarser plant, the hogweed. This does indeed smell of pigs, especially in full sun, and has an extremely irritant sap, as anyone wielding a strimmer will find out if any skin is left exposed! Unfortunately this is also the time when the verge-cutters get to work, before the wild plants have a chance to set their seed for the next year. It has taken several years for the display on 'mile level' to reach its former glory after the Queen Anne's lace was decimated while in full flower. I can understand some trimming is needed at road junctions, but it often seems far in excess of what is needed for safety. Anyway vegetation seems to have the desirable effect of slowing down passing cars! Having recently returned from a few days in the Forest of Dean, I once again contemplate both the similarities and the differences in the two areas. Both are former mining areas (principally coal and iron in the Forest). Traces of the industrial past are still there to be seen, though often obscured by trees. The Forest is also on a peninsula, between the Severn and the Wye, and is largely forested, and covers a much larger area! One is free to roam through most of the wooded area and several of the old railway tracks have been turned into cycle paths that also enable access for the less physically able to explore the countryside. Hopefully the developments down here in the Tamar Valley woodlands and the extension to the Plym Valley cycle path will provide similar opportunities. Many of the comments above also apply to the hedgerows in the Forest, especially on higher ground. The woodland floor in many places is covered with a haze of bluebell flowers in a way that we do not often see down here. Here and there a few notable differences appear: verges dominated by cowslips rather than primroses and hedgerows full of the scrambling tendrils of wild clematis (white with the feathery 'old man's beard' seed heads after flowering). Both are indicative of a more alkaline soil at lower levels. We only find limestone soils in South Devon along a line that takes in eastern Plymouth, Buckfastleigh and Torbay. Finally, spare a thought for the pioneering socialists that organised the mass trespass on Kinder Scout in the Peak District and established the principle of right of access to the countryside. Pete Mayston

Bere Local History Group

The April talk was given by Len Copley on the Tramways of Dartmoor. At the beginning of the 19th century Dartmoor granite, clay and peat needed to be transported and a number of tramways were built. Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt opened a tramway from Princetown to Sutton Pool in Plymouth which was called the Plymouth and Dartmoor Tramway. This tramway had rails and the wagons were hauled by horses. Each mile was marked by a milestone and some of these milestones can still be seen today. The Haytor Granite Tramway ran from Haytor to Teignmouth, some seven miles. The rails and sleepers were granite and the gauge was 4ft 3ins. The Lee Moor Tramway mainly conveyed ball clay to the Cattewater. This tramway, which was horsedrawn, passed over the Great Western Railway line near Laira Junction signal box. The Rattlebrook Peat Railway ran for seven miles from Bridestowe Station to the Rattlebrook Peat Works. A tramway brought the peat to the works, from where it was loaded into standard railway wagons and pulled by horses to a point near Bridestowe Station, where a Southern Railway engine took over for further dispatch. Other tramways mentioned included the Dewerstone Tramway, Shaugh Prior Bridge, the ECC Ball Clays Tramway at Meeth and the Fatherford Tramway near Okehampton. The chairman Trevor Bond thanked Mr Copley for a most interesting talk. Due to the bank holiday there will not be a meeting in May. The June meeting will be on the 30th, when the speaker Denie Shushall will talk on The History of Gardens. All are welcome. John Snell

ST ANDREW'S SINGERS

The singers took part in the morning service on Sunday 11th May for the first time and really enjoyed being able to contribute. We will next be singing at the Flower Festival Gateway service on Sunday 15th June, so we hope to see you there. We have decided that it is easier for practices to be Friday EVERY week, at the new time of 7.30pm, in St Andrew's Church, Bere Ferrers, and members will come when they can. So I hope I won’t be alone on any of the weeks! We would still welcome more members, particularly men, who are a bit thin on the ground at present! Just to encourage you, by chance I found the following article online while doing the Bere Link this month! Ann Parsons

Choral singing is good for your health
When this month The International Church Music Festival, which attracts choirs from the US and Europe, is held in Coventry (20 - 22 June), you can be sure of one thing: just singing the music makes the singers feel better. A Swedish psychologist has researched the effect that choral singing has on a person - and concluded that it is very good indeed. Dr Maria Sandren, from the University of Stockholm, found that choral singing "had strong effects on the well-being, in that positive emotions increased significantly, and in turn, negative emotions radically subsided. Choral singers, particularly women, are happier, more alert and relaxed after a rehearsal." Other recent research seems to say that content is also important: "a number of singers referred to the religious character of the music, and the impact which it had on them."

BEATING THE BOUNDS

Parishioners and residents of Bere Ferrers parish faced a particular muddy challenge as a group of them took part in beating the parish bounds on Sunday 11th May. The majority of the boundary runs down the middle of the Tamar and Tavy estuaries and although local landowners had agreed for the beaters to walk above the high-water mark where necessary, two of the younger members of the group — Hannah Keane and Katie Hyde — were determined to stick to the actual boundary. The two of them ploughed through mud in a great display of resilience and on the final stage of the walk, in a bid to take the most direct route and avoid disturbing livestock, other members of the group joined them in the mud. The 16-mile beat attracted a group of both young and not so young and the historic event was part of the 750th anniversary parish celebrations. At the end of the trek the walkers enjoyed refreshments and a short service at St Andrew's Church in Bere Ferrers, having first cleaned up! Robin Musgrave

Parish Council

The April meeting was held, as always, at Bere Ferrers. Several parishioners attended in the Church Hall.
Dog Training in the Parish Hall. A request has been received from an individual to hold regular evening dog training sessions in the Parish Hall. While it was agreed that, in the main, it is the dog owners who need training, some concern was voiced about holding animal sessions in the same environment as the Playgroup. It was pointed out that there are no firm regulations that prevent this happening, but the Council would require a letter from Playgroup stating that they have no objection to the sessions taking place. Cllr Brian Lamb kindly volunteered to do a Risk Assessment.
Dog Fouling. The Chairman reported that there would be a Dog Awareness Month in Bere Ferrers during May to try and stop the increase in dog mess in the village and surrounds. He showed a poster he had produced, together with a leaflet. These could be adapted for use in Bere Alston if required.
Annual General Council Meeting: 6th May Parish Council Changes
At the AGM, elections were held for the various posts within the Council. The new Chairmen are: Chairman of Council for 2008-9: Cllr Phil Archer Vice-Chairman of Council: Cllr Eaon Wager Finance & General Purposes: Cllr Brian Lamb Recreation: Cllr John Reddecliff Plans: Cllr Raymond Piper Footpaths & Environment: Cllr Doris Chapman Cemetery: Cllr Helena Rogers Properties: Cllr Mike Benson Some other appointments associated with groups within the Parish: Observers to the Bere Alston Regeneration Project: Cllrs B Lamb, H Boot-Handford and H Rogers Youth2Youth: Cllr H Boot-Handford Tenants & Residents’ Association: Cllrs P Archer and H Boot-Handford Tamar Valley AONB: Cllrs E Wager and R Piper Weir Quay Steering Group: Cllrs E Wager and R Piper Bere Ferrers Villagers’ Group: Cllr B Slaughter Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership: Cllr B Lamb Bere Link reporter: Cllr B Slaughter
Council Meetings: Parishioners are always welcome at Council meetings and there is a question time at the end of meetings for any enquiries from parishioners. Fixed meetings are: Finance and General Purposes: the penultimate Tuesday in the month, usually at 7.30pm; Full Council: the last Tuesday of the month at 7.30pm, unless there is a guest speaker, when the meeting starts at 7pm. For full details of these and other meetings, please see the parish notice boards. Bev Slaughter

Bere Ferrers Community Shop and Cafe (Every Saturday Morning)

It is hard to believe that our Community Shop and Café celebrated its second birthday on 19th April. Two years and we have been open every Saturday with a large crowd of us shopping, having coffee and cakes and enjoying each other’s company. We, as a village, should give ourselves a HUGE round of applause as this is truly a wonderful community activity. Special thanks go to all the stall holders and café teams who are always there supporting the project. Long may it last! We continue to use the small profits we make for items we need in the hall and this year we have bought: a radio/cassette player for use for the Thursday night doctor’s surgery and Saturday mornings; more milk jugs and teapots; aprons from the charity Tamwed and gave them a donation; we paid for tea and cakes at an afternoon performance of a musical entertainment, supplied by Villages in Action; we bought and decorated a Christmas tree for the “Christmas Tree Decorating Competition” held in the church; we gave £100 to the Church Hall Fund for the purchase of new tables. Also in 2007-08 each regular stall donated a gift. These were distributed in a free raffle for all customers who attended the shop on the Saturday after Christmas. Five people from the café teams attended Food Handling and Hygiene courses and we were visited by a Health Inspector, who found our shop and café to be acceptable! We also thank those who generously donated a handmade wooden bench/table for use in the garden and new cups, mugs and pretty spotted table cloths. At our last regular four-monthly meeting we were able to complete the Café Rota until the end of September. Every Saturday has been allocated, so thank you to all teams for making this so easy to organise. Steering Commitee

Local Walks: Footpaths 6 & 7

Take the track that leads to Bere Ferrers Recreation Field beside the River Tavy. Where the track ends the footpath begins, the line of it following the cliff edge, narrow and enclosed to begin with, then over the stile into a small field. Cross to another stile ahead of you passing in front of Hallowell House. The path opens out onto the grassy private driveway of Hallowell House. Bearing right descend through a gate to the water’s edge. Turn left and keeping the tree line on your left walk straight ahead to meet the public road. Turn left and this will take you back to Bere Ferrers. Turning right you will immediately come to footpath 7. You enter the wood passing through a small gate; just keep in a straight line ignoring any paths either left or right of you. A small stream will be on your right hand side. You will pass the signpost where footpath 10 crosses the track: just keep going. Eventually the main track bears left going up a hill but you follow the marker post pointing to a narrow path ahead of you. After a while you cross over a small stream in front of you and in another short distance the path swings sharp left and climbs up out of the wood and over a stile into the field. Bearing left, cross over to the tree line and follow it up until you see the farm house ahead of you on the left and a narrow track between two hedges facing you. Walk up the track and you will go through a gate and into the farm yard. Turn left pass a large barn and the farm house on your left. Keep going and you will find yourself on the main farm road which leads out onto the Bere Ferrers to Bere Alston road. Doris Chapman

Bere Alston Bowling Club

It’s going to be a quiet month for social events because last month was a bit hectic. We had our “Do you Remember” concert and a special “Bangers and Mash” bash for our friends from Unity Park and a Boot Sale. But in saying that, we have another Car Boot Sale on Saturday 21st June. This will be held at the New Site 10.00am – 12.30pm. Sellers only will have access from 9.00am. Cost will be £5.00 per Car. So “rumble through your jumble”, bring it along and make some cash. Hope to see you there. Our bowlers are having a bit of a mixed bag with wins and losses being about even. It’s going to be a long season so Captain John Dunkeld has plenty of time to make a name for himself… “Shake ’em up, John”. Anyone out there ever said to themselves: “I would love to have a go at that”? Well the season has only just started and you are all welcome to come along and “Have a Go”. Never bowled before? It doesn’t matter; come to the Club on any Tuesday night from 6.00pm onward and we will get you bowling. Just wear flat shoes (trainers will do). We have four qualified coaches who are just waiting to show you the ropes. Established players are also very welcome. A full fixture list, which runs until September, ensures that all players (beginners included) are guaranteed to get plenty of games. Come along, say “hello” and have a chat and a drink at the bar with some of our friendly members. If you don’t want to play, social members are also welcome. Future dates for the Boot Sales will be the 3rd Saturday in every month: 21st June - 19th July - 16th August - 20th September. www.geocities.com/berealstonbowlingclub Club Chairman, Ken Bellchambers

Bere Ferrers WI

On Wednesday l4th May, l7 members met to discuss the NFWI resolutions. Firstly the ban on bottom trawling, which causes catastrophic loss of marine life. This involves the dragging of an open-mouthed net the width of a rugby pitch and drags up sponges and corals in its path. This is one of the world’s most destructive fishing practices. The motion carried by l4 votes to ban this. Secondly the inappropriate imprisonment of the mentally ill, as prison has become the place for people with mental health problems. This can drive them to self-harm and even suicide due to lack of communication and being moved from place to place. The motion carried unanimously to provide treatment and therapy in a better environment. Before the cheese and wine, Elaine Foster congratulated Audrey Lashbrook for her photograph of Bere Ferrers quay on the front of the West Devon newsletter. Also the camera club's write-up on the exhibition, which went extremely well. The plant sale raised £116 and the fun day £87. Our strawberry float in the carnival came a worthy second in its group. Our next meeting is on 11th June, entitled ‘The art of embroidery’, with Vera Whiting. We do hope you can join us. See you soon. Kate Harman