from Molton Monthly Magazine March 2024

Molton Monthly - March 2024

Molton Monthly broke the news on its social media platforms on February 5th that the completion of the troubled North Devon Link Road improvement scheme is being delayed again, and is now at least six months behind schedule.

Large parts of the roadworks have already been scrapped to keep within the £67 million budget. It should have been finished last December after three years of disruption on the A361. It’s the second time a new deadline has been set, with the contractors Griffiths now saying it won’t be done by spring and instead saying “summer 2024” - subject to the weather.

A spokesman for Devon County Council said, “Work on the A361 North Devon Link Road upgrade is accelerating as the project nears its final stages. With the scheme due to be completed in the summer, a big push is being made to complete key remaining elements before the Easter holidays in order to minimise disruption for local residents and businesses.”

Motorists once again reacted angrily to the news of a further delay, with many questioning whether it will be finished this year and claiming the so-called improvements could make the busy road more dangerous. Drivers are being warned to expect further delays at “peak times”.

“Work is specialised, weather dependant and intricate, but every effort will be made to complete it as quickly as possible to fully re-open the A361,” say the contractors.

Work has been progressing slowly on the new bridge at the West Buckland junction

Road closures and traffic lights planned

From February 19th to March 22nd the North Devon Link Road will be closed overnight from 8pm to 6am on weekday evenings

Monday to Friday, between North Aller roundabout and Landkey roundabout.

From February 20th to March 21st two sets of temporary traffic lights will be in place from 6am to 8pm on the same stretch of the A361. At weekends the traffic lights will be in operation 24 hours a day. Abnormal loads will be diverted to reduce congestion.

What’s On - March 2024 pages 11-17

Please contact event organisers before attending, as details are subject to change

1st - 8pm First Friday Jazz presents Jazz Vagabonds at Swimbridge Jubilee Hall (advert page 12)

2nd - 2pm Jumble sale at Chittlehampton Village Hall (advert page 12)

3rd - 10am Flea Market at South Molton Pannier Market (ends 3pm)

4th - 7.30pm Bingo at Chittlehampton Village Hall - info 01769 540036

5th - 12pm Lent prayers, followed by soup and roll at East Buckland Church, all welcome

5th - 7.30pm South Molton Flower Club demonstration by Sandie Huxtable at Filleigh Village Hall (Weston)

5th - 7.30pm Whist Drive at Chittlehampton Village Hall (every Tuesday) - info 01769 540036

6th - 10am Coffee Morning for North Devon Hospice at SMART Swim Centre, Mill Street (ends 11.30am)

7th - 12pm Lunchtime Concert - Joanna Preston & Tom Bayliss, St Mary Magdalene Church South Molton

8th - 7.30pm Eyes down for bingo South Molton Vintage Rally Club, The Coaching Inn South Molton (Fri)

8th - 7.30pm (doors open 6.45pm) Chulmleigh Rural Cinema presents ‘The Miracle Club’ (12A) - tickets £5 or £4.50 members, refreshments available, screening at Chulmleigh Pavilion

8th & 9th - 7.30pm ‘The Comedy of Errors’ by Drama@ at the Assembly Rooms South Molton (advert p14)

9th - 10am Spring Craft & Gift Fair at Bishops Nympton Parish Hall (advert page 12)

9th - 11am North Molton Archers have a go day at North Molton Sports Club, all ages welcome (ends 5pm)

11th - 7.30pm Bishops Nympton Local History Society talk ‘History of the Exmoor Society’ - parish hall

11th - 7.30pm Cancer Research UK, South Molton AGM at Quince Honey Farm.

12th - 10am CommuniTEA - drop in service from One South Molton at the town library (ends 11.30am)

12th - 10am South Molton u3a AGM and presentations from Special Interest Groups at Filleigh Village Hall

15th - 7pm Bingo in aid of North Devon Hospice at South Molton Conservative Club (eyes down 7.30pm)

15th - 7.30pm ‘The Comedy of Errors’ by Drama@ at Goodleigh Village Hall (advert p14)

15th - 7.30pm Ceilidh at Chittlehampton Village Hall - info 01769 540886

16th - 7.30pm ‘The Comedy of Errors’ by Drama@ at West Buckland Village Hall (advert p14)

17th - 9am Salvage Fair at South Molton Pannier Market (ends 2pm)

18th - 7pm South Molton Sisters W.I. monthly meeting at the YMCA - fun, tea and nibbles (ends 9pm)

19th - 10.30am Parkinsons Café for sufferers & carers at South Molton Library: 01769 572380 (ends 12pm)

20th - 7pm Chulmleigh Folk Club - sing, play, recite poetry & more at Chulmleigh Town Hall; £2 entry

21st - 12pm Open Mic/Acoustic Sessions, Coaching Inn, South Molton: southmoltonacoustic.co.uk

23rd - 7.30pm Eyes down for bingo supporting Devon Air Ambulance, at Chulmleigh Pavilion

23rd - 1.30pm Easter Fair at Chittlehampton Village Hall - info 01769 540418

23rd - 8.30am Craft Market and coffee morning upstairs at Chulmleigh Town Hall (ends 12pm)

24th - 10am Train Play Devon at the Assembly Rooms, South Molton - info/booking: trainplaydevon.co.uk

24th - 6pm Family stargazing event in the observatory at The Poltimore Inn, North Molton (advert page 47)

27th - 7.30pm Author Derrica Hodgson, book talk ‘Our Darkest Hour, Our Finest Hour’; Filleigh Village Hall

28th - 10am Coffee morning in aid of Cancer Research UK. Assembly Rooms, South Molton (ends 12pm)

30th - 2.30pm South Molton Keyboard & Light Music Club Robert Davies concert, Methodist Church Hall

30th - 7.30pm Music from Harmony 4+1 and Rakes Drift at the Poltimore Arms, Yarde Down

31st - 6am Easter Sunday dawn service, followed by tea and toast at East Buckland Church, all welcome

Bishops Nympton Parish Hall - for events see advert page 12

Pop-up Police Station - Chulmleigh Town Hall 10am 4th; South Molton Pannier Market 10am 2nd & 21st

Scrapstore YMCA South Molton Drop-in Craft Sessions 10am-1pm 8th & 22nd - £2 donation requested

South Molton Sisters W.I Craft & Natter Amory Centre garden room 10.30am-12.30pm; 2nd 6th 16th 20th

It’s ‘double top’ for market at national awards!

Photos by Karolina Andreasova

Celebrations took place at the market on February 1st

The South Molton Pannier Market team are celebrating after being crowned Britain’s Best Community Market for the second year running. The annual Great British Market Awards 2024 were held at the Macdonald Burlington Hotel in Birmingham on January 25th.

The panel of judges described it as the “beating heart of the community”, and were impressed at the huge variety of free community events that have been held by South Molton Town Council, and the vibrancy of the market and diversity of stalls.

Market manager, William Tycake said, “To do the double is such an achievement and we are all in a state of shock to be honest!”

“Our traders work incredibly hard to offer the best service to their customers and this award would not have been possible without their loyalty and dedication.”

The team also paid tribute to everyone who visits the Pannier Market, and all those who voted for them in the awards run by National Association of British Market Authorities.

Our life in North Devon - refugees from the war in Ukraine speak on the second anniversary of the catastrophic conflict pages 23-25

It’s the largest invasion of a European country since World War II. On February 24th, 2022 Russian troops marched into Ukraine in an escalation of the conflict which started back in 2014.

Two years on, it is estimated to have caused tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties and hundreds of thousands in the military. More than 8 million people have fled the country creating Europe’s worst refugee crisis since the Second World War.

Some like Olena, her husband Andrii and mother Tamara (pictured right) settled here in North Devon, and still live with their host family in South Molton who she describes as “the best in the world”.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said recently that he fears Ukraine is being forgotten, as the war reached a deadly stalemate in the frigid winter weather. There’s a 600 mile front line that has barely moved in months. Fighting is taking place in trenches reminiscent of the First World War.

Olena’s 21 months in South Molton

“Every morning we start our day by watching a family group online, waiting and hoping for good news from Ukraine. Sometimes we all don’t sleep at night, because there is a massive missile attack on our home of Zaporozhye, and it just tears our souls apart from the pain inside,” Olena Subocheva told Molton Monthly.

“The situation is critical. Our city has serious damage to many residential buildings and its infrastructure.”

Continued on page 24

A deadly Russian missile attack on Zaporozhye in August - photo Viacheslav Ratynskyi/Reuters

Inset, the battle lines have changed little recentlyarea in pink is land in Ukraine occupied by Russia

“Our relatives and friends in Ukraine are heroes for us, because they are brave, strong and resilient. Right now their young life is passing by, and it could be happy.”

“They say that sometimes it seems that they no longer have the strength to move on, but something turns on inside and they move on. I think that it is very difficult for them to cope with everyday tasks with great psychological and physical stress.”

Food prices near the front line have rocketed, wages are minimal and the threat of attacks loom day and night.

Olena and her mother arrived in South Molton 21 months ago, and were taken in by hosts Tricia and Wayne Hyde (well known locally for their business South Molton Taxis). They didn’t know what the future would hold.

“We are so happy that the universe gave us the best sponsors in the world! We are happy together, we help each other.”

“They support us in our endeavours, we are living a new journey and they are always there and all members of Tricia and Wayne’s family are ready to help at any moment.” They say they love living in North Devon, and hope to have their own home if they can’t return to Ukraine. Olena and her family also take comfort in walking the Hyde’s dog Trey (below), who they love dearly.

The language barrier continues to be their biggest hurdle. Andrii is now working as a carpenter’s assistant in Tiverton and Olena fills her time volunteering at South Molton Community Hospital and is studying English at Petroc in Barnstaple.

“I have the opportunity to practice my English with the lovely patients, they tell me about their travels, about life - it is interesting practice for me and I’m so proud of it. We are so happy to be useful to society!”

“I want to say a huge thank you to all the people of South Molton for being so generous and kind to us, and to the Ukrainians in Ukraine. Your financial assistance is a great contribution to saving the people of ‘Our Motherland Ukraine’.”

“We worry with all our hearts, and fight with all our might for victory for Ukraine! I hug you with my heart.”

If you can help a Ukrainian family find a home in North Devon, or can offer other assistance, please go to: northdevonwithukraine.co.uk

£300k grants for South Molton sports and activities

South Molton is to benefit from a substantial funding boost of more than £300,000, aimed at enhancing community amenities. The grants are from the Section 106 Public Open Space Fund from North Devon Council.

South Molton Football Club will receive £178,292 towards the development of new pitches and clubhouse facilities. £9,621 goes to South Molton Bowls Club to buy and install solar panels on their pavilion.

South Molton Town Council will get £60,000 for the acquisition and installation of play equipment in Central Park, £20,000 for the extension of the BMX track in the woodlands on Parsonage Lane and £33,680 to improve the skate park in Central Park.

South Molton Mayor Jacqui Footman welcomed the news, “The town council is absolutely delighted to receive funding for our plans to develop leisure facilities for the whole community and especially for the younger generation, as well as the support for our local sports clubs.”

“We are keen to do all we can to foster opportunities for the town’s young people, as well as attract more visitors to the town.”

Jobs to do in March

1. Now is a good time to prune roses, cut to an outward-facing bud to encourage an open-centred shape. All cuts should be no more than 5mm above a bud and slope downwards away from the bud.

2. Divide summer-flowering plants in spring (Mar-May) or autumn (Sept-Nov). Heuchera, Hosta, Epimedium, Hemerocallis and Delphiniums can all be divided now.

3. Cut back Cornus and Salix. When they are pruned hard, they regrow vigorously producing more colourful stems that brighten up the garden in winter.

4. Plant shallots, onion sets and early potatoes.

5. Start feeding fish as the water in your pond warms up.

We are now back in full swing, with thousands of plug plants arriving each week. All of them are potted up on site and in a few weeks, they will be ready to sell, or ready for us to plant up in hanging baskets.