Community News

Grant for village hall

Chittlehampton Village Hall is receiving a grant of £264,510 to help with much needed work to repair the ageing building. The money is coming from the government’s Community Ownership Fund. Keith Routledge, trustee of Chittlehampton Village Hall said, “This is a major step

forward in our funding plans, but it is only the first step. This will resolve the most urgent problems, but we need more funding to renovate the interior, which is not in good shape. We shall continue fundraising and applying for further grant applications.”

He described the grant award as a “great lift” for the community, but with plans drawn up for a major re-design of the village hall they are looking for sponsors and other help.

The hall’s trustees with North Devon MP Selaine Saxby, who supported the application as part of the government’s levelling up programme, and District Councillor Sue Whitehead

Festival for food lovers

The next Festival of Food and Drink is being held at South Molton Pannier Market on Sunday, February 25th.

The hugely popular event (photo right) enters its fourth year and is already fully booked with more than 60 of the South West’s finest food and drink producers, plus a tempting selection of street food vendors.

Organiser Melanie James from South Molton Town Council said they have been “overwhelmed” by the success of the festivals, which attract many award-winning local food producers.

Doors open at 10am and admission is free. Free parking is also available in the town’s main Central Car Park.

Pub donations hit 10k!

Regulars at the CAMRA award-winning Exeter Inn at Chittlehamholt have helped the pub raise £10,000 for local charities and good causes in recent years. Its Christmas Charity Quiz raised £441 for the Barnstaple Samaritans, taking the total raised for the charity in 2023 to £2,704. They have also donated more than £3,000 to Apple Tree Farm working with children with disabilities, and £1,000 to help families affected by the war in Ukraine.

Christmas trees for otters!

More than 200 Christmas trees were donated to the UK Wild Otter Trust based near Kings Nympton, including one from Molton Monthly publisher Peter Robinson.

Recycled Christmas trees make great enrichment for the rescued otter cubs undergoing rehabilitation at the centre. They are good for sensory stimulation, make natural hiding places and the otters will break bits off to bed their holt.

UK Wild Otter Trust founder Dave Webb (left) with Molton Monthly publisher Peter Robinson and resident otter Tolga waiting for his Christmas tree bottom right, & inset with the tree - photos by Bianca Robinson

Donate & support via: ukwildottertrust.org

School is going green

As part of the 2023 National Tree Week, West Buckland School students planted the first of 600 trees in their grounds. Donated by the Woodland Trust, the trees include species like hazel, blackthorn and crab apple, chosen to offer a rich variety of fruits and nuts to help local wildlife. The school also recently installed 850 ground-mounted solar panels, which are set to produce 30% of their energy needs at peak times.

Art talents on show

by Hugh D. Loxdale MBE

Recently, I was walking around the Pannier Market in South Molton with my wife Nicola when we espied the stall of a local celebrated artist we had not seen before, Stuart Campbell-Smith. All of his paintings are of local scenes in the West Country. The seascape (opposite) is, I think, amazing in terms of the dynamics of the waves, especially including their tones and colours and the very lively spray.

He also displays considerable talent in terms of capturing light and atmosphere, and some of his other wonderful pictures can be viewed on his website: stuartcsmithart.co.uk/shop

Campbell-Smith is not the only talented landscape artist we have locally. In the village where Nicola and I now live near North Molton another impressive artist, Richard Blackmore, resides with his family a short distance from us. In addition to his detailed landscapes (opposite), he is currently giving masterclasses to Nicola and other already quite-accomplished artists to improve their own painting technique, with considerable success.

Richard is also a renowned playwright, having written many of the much admired Christmas plays performed locally in North Molton - most recently, a cheery but thought-provoking adaptation of Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. His art can be viewed on his website: richardblackmore-artist.com/about

The stage is set

Actors from Drama@ will be performing The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare locally this March.

It is a story of two sets of twins, parted at birth but now reunited! “We have kept some of the comedy and some of the slapstick, while giving the story our own twist,” said Gail Ratcliffe.

Performances from 7.30pm will be in the South Molton Assembly Rooms on March 8th and 9th, Goodleigh Village Hall on March 15th and West Buckland Village Hall on March 16th. Music will be provided by local band BackTraX. Tickets are £8 and can be obtained from The Amory Centre on 01769 572501 or by phoning Gail Ratcliffe on 01769 574453.

Waves on an empty shore, Stuart Campbell-Smith

The horizon beckons, Richard Blackmore

Award for insurance business

Partners&, which has a branch on East Street in South Molton, has been named ‘best insurance broker in the UK’ at a recent national awards ceremony (right).

“Being recognised as Broker of the Year 2023 is a ringing endorsement of our distinctive approach, and the quality of our team who have connected with our mission to deliver amazing advice and service for clients on a day-by-day basis,” said the company’s CEO Phil Barton.

Record breaking 2023 for air ambulance

The crews at Devon Air Ambulance were tasked to attend a 2226 incidents in 2023, a new record for the charity. There were 1040 medical emergencies and 1176 trauma related incidents. Nigel Hare, Operations Director for Devon Air Ambulance, said, “Yet again the number of incidents Devon Air Ambulance responded to and the number of patients we treated has broken all previous records. We truly seek to be there for everyone in our community who is suffering from a life-threatening medical condition or traumatic injuries.”

Donations: daat.org