News

Three months ago, Mike and I got round to a job we’d been meaning to do for years at Tor Orchard – installing solar panels to generate electricity. We are delighted with the result – it’s great to hear the washing machine gurgling away and know that it is run by the sun! Before going ahead, we researched lots of suppliers, mostly local, and got to grips with all the jargon, Government schemes and different things to consider. It’s too much to put into this article, but if you’d like to know more about what we found out and maybe come round and see the installation, please do get in touch.

We were very impressed by the supplier we used: the local representative was always at the end of a phone and has already visited another villager to discuss solar panels sited in the garden as opposed to the roof (useful if you live in a listed building). This company runs an incentive scheme: they give £500 for the first referral that leads to an installation then on a sliding scale up to a maximun of £7,500 for 6 referrals. If you decide to go with this company and we refer you, the incentive will go into the Community Space bank account. It should help offset the big energy bills that no doubt await this winter! Money raised will also be used to make heating the church more energy efficient. A project that the Space Team are currently working on.

And don’t worry – we will definitely NOT be pushing this supplier over another. The main point of all this is to help make Littlehempston more sustainable.

Other news is that Sustainable Littlehempston is part of Sustainable South Hams – they have a new website which is a great resource.

Thanks to Ali Taylor and Mike Thomas for this article.

The hot weather was not enough to prevent the Littlehempston Fun Dog Show from going ahead on Saturday, 16th July thanks to some careful planning with lots of shady gazebos, complimentary water and sun cream, and the nearby Hems for children and dogs to cool off in.

After last year’s success, it was decided to expand this year’s event by providing lots more refreshments, a raffle and tombola plus the ever popular Pimms stall. And the bunting from the Jubilee celebrations was used to good effect and helped transform the community meadow into a spectacular venue.

The show opened with Best handler under 12. The children displayed no shortage of skills and definitely rose to the occasion. A young girl called Maggie with her dog Peg ultimately impressed the judges most and was rightfully rewarded.

Next up was the Dog with the best trick. With so many different displays, Dr Dolittle (aka Gaynor Judge) and her assistant judge (Helena Penfold) found it difficult to decide on a winner and ended-up selecting four different dogs. The first prize went to Otto and dog handler Rachel.

With the next class, Dog most like its owner, the main prize went to one of the youngest dog handlers called Hattie. There was a definite resemblance between Hattie and her dog Winnie. Edie and Viv were runner ups with their dogs Tilly and Bertie.

The Most friendly dog category proved to be another difficult class to judge with most dogs very happy to be at the dog show. This might explain why there were three runners-up: Katy, Siba and Lucy. The winning prize however went to Twig and her handler Darcy.

The final class Cutest cuddly toy dog resulted in two winners. The judges decided they could not select a winner when combining the Living toy dog variety with the Stuffed cuddly toy dog variety. So they chose two winners. The first was Maisie and her dog handler Issy, and the second was Bertie and his owner Zayn.

Special thanks to Halls the Butchers who provided the delicious little pasties (a sell out), and to Dart Vale Vets for sponsoring the event. Thanks also to Judy Comer-Calder, also known as the ‘Devon Dog Lady’, who offered advice to the dog handlers, and to all who helped make this day such a resounding success. As well as having lots of fun, the event raised £844.

Thanks to Dog Show organiser, Alfie Penfold, for this article.