CLYST ST GEORGE & EBFORD SECTION OF THE AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2018 ISSUE OF THE CLYST VALLEY NEWS

CLYST ST GEORGE AND EBFORD

Wednesday Morning Prayers at Clyst St George ChurchMorning Prayer is a short said service, every other week on a Wednesday. Why not take 20 minutes and join us – we also have tea or coffee afterwards if you have the time? We start at 9.30 am and will meet on 8th and 22nd

August and 5th and 19th September; it is an opportunity for a short period of calm and fellowship away from the mad rush of day to day living.

Clyst St George and Ebford Harvest Lunch 2018Do come and join us for harvest lunch at 12.30 pm on 14 th October in Clyst St George and Ebford Village Hall. Bring your own drink and glasses; squash will be provided. Tickets £8 (primary school children free) available from Jacquie on 01392 874861, Linda on 01392 875705 or Claire Marks on 01392 879875. The Harvest Family Breakfast and Family Service will be held at 9.30 am prior to the 12.30 lunch; donations of tinned or dried packet food will be gratefully received for the Exeter Food Bank.

Clyst St George Tower and Teas in Aid of Church MaintenanceThank you to everybody who helped in any way and supported us; there was a fantastic selection of greetings cards plus scrumptious cakes to enjoy with a cup of tea. The views from the top of the tower were worth the effort of climbing it, although some of our helpers had to climb it several times! Our church historians put on an excellent display of documents augmented with new information and superb photographs of some of our church artefacts. Our thanks to Stuart Bird and William Finnigan for these additions to our archive.[Please also see our cover photo. Ed]

Nick MaguireOn 3rd July many of us attended the funeral of Nick Maguire. It was a testament to his popularity that the Church of The Sacred Heart in Exeter was full. Never did we hear him say a bad word about anyone, he was everybody's friend - a true Christian. Over the years he never missed any of our Village Hall celebrations, even the recent lunch on 20th May when it was evident that it was a struggle to breathe in the heat. He was known far and wide for our quiz nights, there

was always a waiting list for tickets as he was the star. His variety of hats, each one chosen for a new round - much laughter and drink!So many organisations will suffer from his loss, especially our Village Hall as he was Secretary and Trustee for many years. Oh how we will miss him! He was larger than life. The sound of his laugh is still resounding around the villages. Barbara Horner

Clyst St George Parish Council Chairman’s Notes August/September 2018I would like to pay tribute to Nick Maguire who passed away at the end of June. He was Chair of Governors at Lady Seaward’s School, Secretary to the Village Hall Trustees and Chair of the Parish Council of Topsham RC Church. His fundraising quiz nights for the Village Hall were such fun, a good night out. A man who served his community well, we will miss him.Parish Council business is often described as being about drains and ditches and so it was no surprise to hear of a blockage near Courtbrook Farm, a six-inch diameter pipe that takes all the waste water from Clyst St George village. So I ask you to check out South West Water’s website https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/water-advice-and-services/love-your-loo/help-stop-the-block/ which gives advice to you all as to what you should and should not flush away.

To remind you, ragwort is a poisonous weed to grazing animals; its bright yellow flowers look nice but if you have some on or near your property please cut it down and put it in your black bin, as that goes for incineration.In the coming months your Councillors will be thinking about road safety and how we can improve it for all of you in the parish, with the help of DCC.Our next meeting is Wednesday 12th September at 8 pm in the Hall. All the best, John Manser.John Manser john@jmanser.co.uk 01392 874861

Au Revoir from Maureen All of a sudden it is time to move on and I cannot quite believe how my life has changed so dramatically in such a short space of time.I came to Devon in August 1997 when my dear husband Larry was retiring. He had always wanted to return to his roots and dreamt about all the lovely things about Devon as he travelled the world in his sphere of petro-chemicals. Devon is a wonderful place to live and I was made to feel very welcome. Larry and I spent 21

very happy and healthy years here, full of laughter and great times with the many friends we made over the years.Larry always encouraged me to follow my instincts and was always at my side with encouragement and so we were involved in several things in the local community. We became involved in the inception of Ebford Residents Group and met and made so many friends through this association. This group is thriving and it is a joy to see how it is widening its remit and doing so well. Perhaps they will spread their wings and become more ‘parish’ based – why not?This was followed by three years in the Parish Council. A lot of hard work has been done by many and the Parish Council is in good heart and I am very proud of all the team. It is now led very ably by John Manser. Larry, bless him, was also a great supporter of the ‘PC’ and was always in the background helping. Lastly I turn to our local church which is very dear to my heart. Larry and I became involved in most areas of church life, both on the social and fundraising side and also with the various services and celebrations during each year. It has always been a pleasure for us both to participate. There are so many thank yous to say, for the cards for all the recent flowers and kind words – you all know who you are and I thank you with all my heart. The kindness, care and support especially over this last year has been wonderful – Larry would be so proud of you all.The time has come to start again after the immense loss of dear Larry last year. I will return eventually as my ashes are also destined for our churchyard. In the meantime, I am going to spend more time with my lovely family, who all live in the Cardiff area of South Wales. So au revoir my friends, I shall miss you all and thank you for all being ‘you’. Maureen Ackland-Smith

Greetings CardsWe are always grateful to receive cards (except Christmas ones) for remaking and they can be left in the church which is normally open between 9 am and 5 pm each day. Visitors will also find boxes of made up cards for sale covering birthdays, get

well, sympathy, new home, thank you, anniversary, etc as well as cards with no message or wording suitable for any occasion. Do call in and enjoy a few quiet moments browsing and perhaps buy a card. Linda Wilkerson (01392 875705)

Lady Seaward’s Church of England VA Primary SchoolRockies Class. Rockies Class recently enjoyed a trip to Shaldon Zoo.  The day was extremely

interesting and the children all had a fabulous time. The children were able to hold African mini-beasts, feed meerkats and wander around the zoo looking for clues and stamps.  Shaldon Zoo is situated under the trees, and as the weather was so hot the children felt like they were wandering under the canopy of their own rain forest! Year 5: Bikeability. Children from Year 5 had a fantastic time when they undertook their Bikeability Level 1 and 2 training. The children received

instruction from Dave Goodwin from Devon County Council. To complete their Level 1 the children learnt to control and master their bikes in a safe space on the school playground. The Level 2 aspect of the programme took place on the roads in the village which gave the children real cycling experiences so that they could learn how to deal with traffic on short journeys. All of

the children who undertook the training received their certificates and badges in the school’s celebration assembly. Congratulations and well done to all the children who took part.Exeter City Football Club. The children had a very special visitor come in to

visit the school. Matt Jay from Exeter City came in to speak with the children. They were able to interview Matt, asking him questions about his work, diet and lifestyle. Following that, the children went outside and challenged Matt to a penalty shootout. He also gave each child an autograph and a photo to remember the day! Exeter Chiefs Visit. Classes 3 and 4 were extremely fortunate to have been

invited to visit Exeter Chiefs and take part in tours around the ground. Both Aron and Richie from the club showed the children all areas of the ground including 'behind the scenes' elements: the children were able to experience the changing rooms and sit in some of the players’ seats; visit the gymnasium, looking at the records set by different players; look in the physiotherapy room and find out about the cost of this and even visit the ice-bath pool! As well as this, the children learned about the new developments within the stands, found out why the pitch had a slight rise in the middle and even learned that the Exeter Chiefs sub seats are heated!Throughout the afternoon the children asked lots of interesting questions about the different roles within the club as well as gaining new information about some of the players. This was a brilliant opportunity for the children which engaged them even further with our Sporting Legends topic and allowed them to develop their understanding of the workings of a large sporting facility. 

Nature GardenClyst St George has a delightful nature garden by the side of the parish church. The aim of the garden is to grow local Devon indigenous plants and trees and to encourage a Devon meadow with local wild flowers. Should you wish to help develop this ‘green’ facility, you can come along on the first Saturday of every month from 9.30 to 11 am.

Little Dragons Pre-SchoolWe are pleased with the outcome of our Ofsted inspection in April 2018, where we were judged to be ‘Good’. We still have a few spaces for children in September 2018, so do come and visit and meet our highly experienced staff team. We are based in Lady Seaward’s School and open four days a week, from Monday to Thursday 8.45 am - 3.15 pm during school term times. For more information please telephone Elly on 01392 877793 (in school hours), email little.dragons2018@gmail.com or visit our website www.littledragonsclyststgeorge.com.