News

An unusual ceremony took place in Littlehempston on March 27th, when Gerald Hine-Haycock was sworn in as the High Sheriff of Devon … over the phone standing on his lawn. For the last 1,000 years, the ceremonial swearing in has taken place in front of a large group of local dignitaries, but sadly the corona virus forced the cancellation of the ceremony planned to take place in St John the Baptist Church in Littlehempston. Not to be deterred, Gerald donned the ceremonial dress of the High Sheriff and read out his Declaration to JP Kate Waghorn, Chair of the Bench in Plymouth (and also daughter of local couple, Liz and Roger Miller). The second photo shows him signing the actual Declaration document. A full account can be heard here in his interview with Gordon Sparks on Radio Devon:

 

Good luck, Gerald. We’re sure you’ll do a grand job at pulling the different threads of the Devon community together.

Here’s some good news from the Community Orchard trustees:

On Saturday March 7th, we had a good morning with a few sunny patches and No Rain! With seven enthusiastic and cheerful volunteers, we really started to make a difference. We chopped up and stacked dead wood to create wildlife.

Our very own Tim Walker who makes the delicious cider with our apples, came and gave us some advice about our young apple trees, which are doing well, and he kindly pruned a couple of old trees that needed attention. He is saying that if we clear more dead wood, we’ll be able to make more room for more young trees.

We dug up lots of docks with our vintage “dock lifters”. These are what people used before weedkillers came along. They are brilliant tools which, with a little fork at the end and a bar to put your foot you can get whole docks up, long root and all, very easily! You can find them in museums round the country. We want to have a few so that we can clear our orchard of docks without using weed killer. So if you know where we can get one, or have one gathering dust at the back of your shed, and you didn’t know what to do with it, please let us know.

We also planted three wild Devon damson trees. So in three years time we’ll be making damson jam! Before the Virus came and changed all our lives, we had decided to hold a work morning on the last Saturday of every month, but that will be an idea for later. Now that Spring has really sprung, do take a chance to enjoy the peace and bursting new life in the Orchard.

Best Wishes from the Orchard Trustees, Anna, Jim, Nicky and Lucy.

Here’s a great opportunity to save on your shopping, give yourself a treat and also support the Tally Ho whilst its door are shut. Kelly and Mike are offering delicious takeaways on Wednesday and Friday evenings from 5pm. You can pick up from the garden or the great people from Totnes Young Farmers will deliver to your door. Orders should be placed by 10 am on the day by phoning 01803 862316.

And you can also pick up beer to go with your meal. There are bottles of New Lion PANDIT or Dartmoor LEGEND or draft beer if you bring your own container. Pay by cash or by credit card in the Tally. So let’s Rally Round the Tally by eating and drinking well. You’ll find the full menu by visiting the Tally Ho on Facebook.

Some good things are coming out of the Covid 19 crisis. We may be socially isolated in a physical sense, but local people have been more in touch with each other like never before through phone calls, e-mails, conversations shouted from a distance and social media. Hopefully everyone in the parish has now received a letter from the Parish Council outlining the support which is now in place for everyone. Click here to read the letter again.

Each area has been allocated a “Mother Hen” who can be contacted if help is needed. There is no shortage of volunteers as lots of local people have offered help. So if you need help or if you’d like to volunteer, just get in touch here or contact your local Mother Hen.

One villager has suggested a regular newsletter, which seems like a good idea, containing useful information about support available locally. The gentleman in question has got loads of box sets he’s happy to share, so dig out your USB and get in touch here to find out more.

We’ve added a Covid 19 Support page to our website in the Useful Info section, which we’ll try to keep up to date.

How life has changed. There we were last month swinging each other around at close quarters at the Ceilidh. Now all that seems a bit of a blur – hence the photo. Rory Valentine’s fascinating talk on Raphael just managed to squeak in before the church and Community Space were shut for all activities and many of us started to stay at home.

The first Littlehempston Lottery draw of 2020 was moved from the Tally Ho to Tor Orchard in Gatcombe and was drawn by James Dunn assisted by Ali Taylor. Both kept a 2 metre distance and sprayed each other liberally with Milton.

Lucky winners were Gill of Ackrells Hill who won the first prize of just under £100 and somebody who shall not be named will spend her second prize on gin.

Youth Club is suspended until further notice, but Asher Levin has kindly made this offer:

“I’m sure you have access to loads of ideas for activities at home. However, if you would like further suggestions, please feel free to contact me, whether you’ve been attending regularly or not. I wonder about setting up a Zoom meeting for next Friday evening (27th March) for those who want to have a virtual youth club! Maybe for half an hour to 45 minutes? I’m sure there are youth club games we could do together in such a meeting room (e.g. ‘name that object’ that someone zooms in on and then gradually zooms out…). If there’s an interest, I would be happy to host it, organise some activities and send you a link.”

Contact Asher here