CLYST ST GEORGE & EBFORD SECTION OF THE JUNE 2016 CLYST VALLEY NEWS

CLYST ST GEORGE AND EBFORD

Wednesday Morning Prayers at Clyst St GeorgeMorning Prayers is a short said service every other week on a Wednesday. Why not take 20 minutes and join us – we also have tea or coffee afterwards if you have the time? We start at 9.30 am and you would be very welcome on 1st, 15th and 29th June.

Tower and Teas, St George’s Church: ThanksThank you to everyone who contributed in any way. The selection of cakes was enticing, the weather was kind so climbing the tower for the view was very worthwhile and visitors spent some time browsing through the historic documents or choosing a greetings card from the considerable display. Finally, not forgetting the homemade marmalade. We raised a total of £375. 25 towards the roof fund so thank you all very much. Paul Bragg and Jacquie Manser, Churchwardens

The Friends of St George Annual Pimm’s Party Saturday 2nd July 6 – 8 pm in the church nature garden, Clyst St GeorgeThere will be canapés and a raffle. Do come; it’s a very enjoyable community event. Tickets available from Jacquie (01392 874861) or Cathy (01392 873839).

Clyst St George Parish Council Chairman’s Notes: June 2016Last month was both our Annual Parish Meeting and also our AGM. I said in my report and I reiterate here that it has been a privilege to serve the Parish of Clyst St George for this last year as Chairman. There were no new nominations for chairman and so I agreed to serve for this coming year and will do my best with rest of our team to look after the interests of both the residents and the parish in general. . Last month I was wondering where the time had gone but when I did the annual report for the Parish Council I realised that we have moved forwards in a number of areas.This has been partly because of changing requirements in the operation of parish councils and partly in instigating or updating systems both of which are very time consuming. Being a Parish Councillor has changed dramatically since I was first elected a Councillor in Mid Devon in 2003. Anyone who is interested in the detail, all the reports for both the Parish Council and other organisations are on our website on a dedicated page. As I said in my report my thanks go to all the Councillors and our new Parish Clerk who have assisted in an impressive number of tasks accomplished this last year.A separate initiative always worth mentioning is our Neighbourhood Plan. Cllr Manser gave an interesting annual report and has announced also that there will be another public consultation this summer. The Steering Group under the guidance of their consultant are writing detailed proposed policies on a number of subjects. The public consultation will be to find out your views on their proposed policies which in essence will give detail to all the outlined legislation in our Local Plan. The public input into this process is so important and I hope that as many people as possible will participate from all parts of our parish. After all it is our neighbourhood and this is our chance to have our voice heard. As everyone knows we are experiencing Council cutbacks in a number of areas. By the time this newsletter reaches you we should have completed the first of our extra grass cuttings which we as a Parish Council are undertaking in an effort to maintain our standards throughout our parish. I also heard the other day that a voluntary group are going to have a ‘tidy up’ operation on an overgrown area which is really good news and I will report on the outcome soon.Lastly, don’t forget to buy tickets for the Celebration Party on 12th June to celebrate HM The Queen’s 90th birthday [see below]. There will be lots going on (including a hog roast – funded by the Parish Council) and it should be a great afternoon at Clyst St George and Ebford Village Hall. Thank you. Maureen Ackland-Smith acklandsmith@outlook.com 01392 874065

Threats to Bees: Find Out Why and How We Can HelpAn illustrated talk by a member of the Exeter Beekeepers' Association at Clyst St George Church on Monday 20th June at 6 pm. Of interest to all ages with the opportunity to ask questions. Free cakes and refreshments. Related gifts and items for sale.

A raffle with a range of excellent prizes. Donations to Exeter Beekeepers' Association and the Devon Wildlife Trust.Enquires: Julia on 01392 877040 or Juliette on 01392 877584.

Queen’s Birthday Celebration Party12th June from 12 noon at Clyst St George and Ebford Village Hall A fun day with a hog roast, bar, strawberries and cream and bouncy castle. Tickets (in advance only) cost £6 to include the hog roast - children of primary school age and younger enter free. They are available from Barbara Horner on 01392 876283, Caroline Welch on 01392 873804, Helen Cragg on 01392 877743 and Pamela Diffey on 01392 877497 or via email at barbarahorner42@gmail.com.

Card Making GroupThere will be no further meetings of the card making group until September.

Lady Seaward’s C of E Primary School Alps Class. Alps Class have been exploring their new topic ‘Down at the Bottom of the Garden’. The children have planted their very own sunflower seeds and have written instructions on planting them during literacy sessions. They have spent lots of time in the school garden where they have identified plants and mini-beasts and are thinking about the scientific names for parts of a plant. Rockies Class. The children have been learning all about their topic,

‘Rainforests’. They have already created some fantastic art work inspired by the artist Henri Rousseau which could pass for the originals! The children have been researching facts about the rainforest and have been writing their own non-fiction texts about them. In geography they have been learning about the layers of the rainforest and where they are located. Heatree House: Year 4. Lady Seawards Year 4 pupils attended their residential at Heatree House. It was a fantastic trip which the staff and children really enjoyed. They had the opportunity to do four activities including climbing, abseiling, low adventure course and archery. Himalayas and Pyrenees. Himalayas and Pyrenees Classes have been working extremely hard on their topic work. They have been learning all about dinosaurs, including focusing on some data collection and graph making in maths, as well as classifying dinosaurs according to their bone structures. They have also been looking into fossils and the role of palaeontologists. The children also went on a trip to the Lyme Regis Fossil Festival to enhance their classroom learning.

Family Fun DayThe children from Lady Seaward’s School came into the East Devon District Council offices in Sidmouth in November last year to take part in ‘Take Over Day’. They were shown what a few of the departments do here at the Council, and were given interactive tasks to take part in. As a thank you for this, I will be bringing a family fun day to the area on Monday 25 th July and the day will run between 10 am and 1 pm and will be held at the Cricket Club by kind permission of the Chairman, Mike Johnson.  The fun days are completely free for everyone in the community to enjoy and consist of activities including sports play equipment; circus skills; arts and crafts; bush craft; and this year we even have our very own smoothie bike for people to pedal and make themselves a delicious fresh fruit smoothie. Everyone welcome!

Nature GardenClyst St George has a delightful nature garden by the side of the parish church. The aim of the garden is to grow local Devon indigenous plants and trees and to encourage a Devon meadow with local wild flowers. Should you wish to help develop this ‘green’ facility, you can come along on the first Saturday of every month from 9.30 to 11 am. Little Dragons Pre-SchoolBack into a new school year and our lovely manager, Mrs Elly Stevens, has returned from maternity leave and Deb Barker is having a slight rest as deputy again. Following our successful OFSTED inspection in April 2015 'good with outstanding features', we do still have a few spaces for children. So do come and visit and meet our highly experienced staff team.We are based in Lady Seaward’s School and open four days a week, from Monday to Thursday

8.45 am - 3.15 pm during school term times. For more information, please contact Elly on 01392 877793 in school hours or visit our website www.littledragons@clyststgeorge.com.