From phone to food

As the iconic red telephone boxes approach their 100th birthday in 2024, many communities across North Devon are converting them to have a new life serving local people.

Among those already ‘reused’, Heasley Mill has a life saving defibrillator, Filleigh has a mini library and now George Nympton has a village larder (pictured opposite)

The motto is ‘take what you need, give what you can’, with folk dropping off home grown fresh fruit and veg, along with any spare produce from people’s food cupboards. At the last count the ‘foody phone box’ had raised a fantastic £100 for the local Northern Devon Foodbank.

The organisers in George Nympton say, “This resource is to help everyone and we are hoping to have jams and maybe chutney available soon. There is absolutely no pressure to have to donate cash for items you take away.”

Architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott designed the first incarnation of the famous red phone box for a competition in 1924. With a reported 98% of adults now having a mobile phone, working kiosks are in decline. BT is now urging communities to continue to take advantage of its kiosk adoption scheme to help transform its underused red phone boxes into other purposes. You can find out more information on their website: bt.com/adopt

Bowled over by success

Two members of South Molton Bowling Club played for the winning Devon ladies team at the Bowls England National Finals, scooping the prestigious Johns Trophy.

Having beaten Essex in the semi-final by six shots, Toni and Sandie’s team beat Surrey in the Final by 116-110, the same county they had beaten by two shots in the 2021 final.

Sandra Andrews presented the trophy to the winning Bowls Devon team, which was particularly apt as her great-grandmother, Clara Johns, inaugurated the trophy in 1933. Clara herself was an international player and played for the Johns Trophy as did her four daughters.

For more information about South Molton Bowling Club visit: southmoltonbc.co.uk