Parracombe
Pieces
Parracombe
Pieces
September 2013
I
missed the Beacon Bonfire this year. Daughter
and son-in-law were arriving imminently and I
thought it inhospitable to expect them to let
themselves into an empty house. However just at
6.30, I was reminded of that scene from Close
Encounters, you know, the bit where everyone is
assembled in the arena, full of expectation and
suddenly the sky is full of lights and flashes. But
Parracombe and Martinhoe folk are a stoical
bunch and didn’t let a little bit of thunder and
lightning dampen the proceedings. Uda reports;
“The Beacon Bonfire Party on 2nd August was
not a washout despite the lashing rain...but went
down a storm...! Rain battered the tents and the
people...but what did it matter? Our feet got very
wet but the music was great; the maypole dancing
was incredible; skittles, welly wanging, darts, so
many games to keep us amused... the hog roast,
the beer and the cakes were superb; and the
massive bonfire warmed our hearts and bodies.
A massive £1000 was raised after all expenses
paid, which will go to the School and both Village
Halls (Martinhoe and Parracombe). THANK
YOU to all those who made this event happen!!
We really could not have done it without you
ALL”.
M
ark and Debbie Harding at Sunnyside
Farm, have launched a new project,
'Learning through adventure' for school children
and other groups to visit and meet the animals.
Their 25 acre farm borders the River Heddon and
they have alpacas, cows, sheep, pigs, horses,
ducks, chickens, geese, dogs, cats, guinea pigs
and a rabbit! Visits are available for all,
individuals or groups, and there is no age or
ability limit. They are registered with Devon
County Council for health and safety and are
currently offering free farm visits for schools.
Leaflets and teacher’s packs are available on
request. To find out more or to book a visit call
Mark and Debbie, 01598763241 or email
[email protected]. In this month’s
picture, some youngsters have a close encounter
with Mark, a sheep and Maple the jersey cow.
N
ow a report from the Wednesday Craft
Group sent in by Carol. “We meet every
second Wednesday of every month, from 2-5pm
at the RAOB Parracombe Village Hall, to
exchange ideas, share patterns and recipes and
enjoy a cuppa and a slice of delicious home made
cake. We have recently been able to support local
charities, including The North Devon Hospice,
The National Samaritans Walk, Burrow House
Residential Care Home, as well as The Fish &
Chip Babies out in Africa. We have also supplied
knitted blankets and hats for the Barnstaple
Premature Baby Unit. We welcome new ideas and
projects to inspire us and are always very happy
to see new faces, so please come and share a very
pleasant afternoon with us. You are assured of a
very warm welcome. I would just like to add a
huge thank-you to Kevin and Val for organising
last month's event which provided us with Val's,
sumptuous cream tea and a very informative talk
on the A – Z of pottery by Kevin, a very
experienced and accomplished potter. An
enjoyable time was had by us all. A collection of
£40 was raised at this event in aid of Parracombe
School.
M
y grandfather used to read the Western
Morning News and would often point out
articles that he thought might be of interest to me.
Occasionally there would be a special feature on
weather or climate and I was curious about the
references to Buchan’s Warm periods. Buchan
was a Scottish scientist who lived in the late
nineteenth century and by observation over a long
period thought he had identified patterns in the
weather with either especially warm or cold
periods at predicable intervals. The most recent
Buchan Warm period was 12th – 15th August, but
I don’t think it was noticeably warm. 1st
September is St Giles Day when an old country
saying is “fair for the 1st, fair for the month”. A
more useful day of prediction is the 29th,
Michaelmas or St Michael’s Day. This is a quarter
day when the wind direction predicts the trend for
the next three months. Bill Tanton, a farmer from
Torrington used to make predictions on the
quarter days, and though not foolproof, there did
seem to be some credibility in the system. 21st
September is the equinox after which the hours of
darkness will be greater than those of light.
Certainly this summer has been kinder than last as
born out by the rainfall figures from Mary and
Bill. Rainfall for July was only 28 mms or 1.12
inches compared to July 2012 when we recorded
208mms which is 8.32inches.
And that seems to be all for now. A reminder that
the Harvest Festival this year at Christ Church,
running for three days from Friday 11th October
will include a celebration of farming in
Parracombe. There is still time to look any
farming memorabilia, old photographs, farm
records, show rosettes, etc and offer them to the
organisers, best to contact Linda Tansley or June
Aiken. See you all here next month.
Best wishes to all
Mervyn and others.