Budleigh & Brewster United

You may have noticed that there’s been a long silence from me. That’s not just because the garden’s been calling out for help. I’ve been drawn across the Atlantic.

Not literally I have to say.

But to discover at http://www.brewstercapecod.org/ the statement that Budleigh has a sister-town in the USA was so intriguing that I’ve spent a bit of time investigating. The result is http://budleighbrewsterunited.blogspot.com/ a new site where I will be putting all the Budleigh news for the benefit of our US as well as our UK readers.

So I think that Exmouth Roadies will be taking a break for the time being. Do make Budleighbrewsterunited your new favourite, and I’d welcome your comments and contributions to the new site, from both sides of the pond.

Artist Charlie Morrissey Lights Up the Coast!

Celebrating UNESCO World Dance Day at Budleigh Salterton
Wednesday 29 April 2009, 8 PM - SUNDOWN
Here Now is a movement performance and projection event under the cliffs on the beach, celebrating local heritage, world heritage and UNESCO World Dance Day.

"Sadly I won't be able to make this as I've booked for the Peter Donohoe concert but I hope it goes well and the weather stays fine."

World Dance Day at Budleigh

Budleigh’s beach will be the setting for a spectacular event staged by internationally-renowned dancer Charlie Morrissey on 29 April.

Here Now is a site-specific night-time performance event which takes place on the beach under the cliffs west of Steamer Steps at 8.30 pm.

The piece, created by Charlie Morrissey, is a mix between live performance and projection onto the cliffs, and looks at the relationship between humans and their environment – at our place in the landscape. It is part of Deep Time - a trilogy of events taking place along the Jurassic Coast in 2008-09.

“The performance is something that anyone can take part in – the more, the merrier!” says Julie Penfold, Director of PVA MediaLab which has commissioned the event as part of the Jurassic Coast Arts Programme.

“All you need to do to be a part of the performance is to turn up at 5.00 pm on the day. You, along with lots of others, will be taught a very simple sequence of movements on the beach and then, as darkness falls everyone will perform the piece to music with the sea in the background. Once the live performance is finished, there will be a film projected onto the cliffs.

The piece will be very simple and fun to do – you don’t need to have any performance experience – just come along and take part.”

Charlie Morrissey is a director, performer, teacher/workshop leader and researcher. He trained in dance and choreography at Dartington College of Arts and has been working in the UK and many other countries around the world for nearly 20 years. He creates large and small-scale site-specific and theatre and gallery based performance work in diverse contexts.

If you’d like to take part, please email admin@pva.org.uk For further information please see: http://www.jurassiccoast.com/ and www.pva.org.uk/UV08.htm

Photo credit: PVA MediaLab

Piano Recital by Peter Donohoe at St Peter's, Budleigh

Programme includes works by

Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, Liszt and Chopin
Sponsored by Rensburg Sheppards Investment Management

Sonata Op.27 No 1 in E flat Beethoven
Piano Sonata in F major K322 Mozart
Vier Klavierstuck Op.119 Brahms
Années de Pèlerinage Première Année Nos 4-9 Liszt
Grand Valse Brilliante in E flat major Op. 18 Chopin
Nocturne in E flat major Op.2 No 2 Chopin
Scherzo No 3 in C sharp minor Chopin

St Peter’s Music is delighted to have secured this recital by world renowned pianist Peter Donohoe. Well known as a concerto player as well as a recitalist, he is playing a lovely varied programme. If you never come to another concert this season, this is the one to come to!

Peter Donohoe was born in Manchester in 1953. He studied at the Royal Northern College of Music with Derek Wyndham and then in Paris with Olivier Messiaen and Yvonne Loriod. Since his unprecedented success as joint winner of the 1982 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, he has developed a distinguished career in Europe, the USA, the Far East and Australasia. He is acclaimed as one of the foremost pianists of our time, for his musicianship, stylistic versatility and commanding technique. In 2006 he was invited by the Netherlands to be Ambassador for Music in the Middle East.
During the 2008/9 season Peter Donohoe’s performances include the Dresden Staatskapelle with Myung-Whun Chung, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra with Gustavo Dudamel and Gurzenich Orchestra with Ludovic Morlot. He will also perform with the Czech Philharmonic, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and play both Brahms Concertos with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Last season Peter Donohoe’s engagements included the City of Birmingham Symphony and Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestras and an extensive tour to South America. He was also resident artist in a major Messiaen Festival in the Spanish city of Cuenca, which celebrated the centenary of the composer’s birth.

Peter Donohoe has recently performed with all the major London Orchestras, the Berliner Philharmoniker, Royal Concertgebouw, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Munich Philharmonic, Swedish Radio, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Vienna Symphony and Czech Philharmonic Orchestras. He was an annual visitor to the BBC Proms for seventeen years and has appeared at many other festivals including six consecutive visits to the Edinburgh Festival, La Roque d’Anthéron in France, and at the Ruhr and Schleswig Holstein Festivals in Germany. In the United States, his appearances have included the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Detroit Symphony Orchestras. Peter Donohoe has worked with many of the worlds’ greatest conductors including Simon Rattle, Christoph Eschenbach, Neeme Jarvi, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, Andrew Davis and Yevgeny Svetlanov.

Peter Donohoe is a keen chamber musician and performs frequently with the pianist Martin Roscoe. They have given performances in London and at the Edinburgh Festival and have recorded discs of Gershwin and Rachmaninov. Other musical partners have included the Maggini Quartet, with whom he has made recordings of several great British chamber works.

In 2001 Naxos released a disc of music by Finzi, the first of a major series of recordings which aims to raise the public's awareness of British piano repertoire through concert performance and recordings. Discs of music by Rawsthorne, Bliss, Darnton, Rowley, Ferguson, Gerhard, Alwyn, Pitfield and Harty have now also been released to great critical acclaim.

Peter Donohoe has made many fine recordings on EMI Records and has won awards for them including the Grand Prix International du Disque Liszt for Lizst’s Sonata in B minor and the Gramophone Concerto award for the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto no. 2. His recordings of Messiaen with the Netherlands Wind Ensemble for Chandos Records and Litolff for Hyperion have also received widespread acclaim.

Peter Donohoe maintains a strong artistic link with the area in which he now lives with his wife Elaine and daughter Jessica. His close association with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra dates back to 1974. He is vice-president of the Birmingham Conservatoire and has been awarded Honorary Doctorates of Music from the Open University and the Universities of Birmingham, Central England, Warwick, East Anglia and Leicester.

Photo credit: Susie Ahlburg

Tickets are £15

From:
The Lawn Bakery, The Lawn, Budleigh Salterton
Lesleys, Stationers, High Street, Budleigh Slterton
Eagle House, The Strand, Exmouth
Tourist Information Centre, Ham Lane, Sidmouth

By telephone:
Ring 01395 442275 and request the tickets. You will be asked to forward a cheque made payable to St Peter's Music and a return S.A.E.

At the door on the night.
These are subject to availability.

Concessions: Full time students pay half the advertised price.

For more information about St Peter's Music concerts please see the website at http://www.stpetersmusic.org.uk/

Property for sale: Halse Hill House

Estate agents Fulfords are marketing this five-bedroomed detached residence just off West Hill. Halse Hill House sits centrally within generous gardens, which enjoy a high degree of privacy, being well screened by numerous established trees and shrubs.

Designed by the respected Hatchard Smith Architects and of 1920s construction the house, described by the agents as a lovely family home, has rendered elevations under a Rosemary tiled clay roof with distinctive Oriel style bay windows to the Southern elevation. The external appearance is further enhanced with brick quoins around the latticed uPVC double glazed windows.

The principal rooms both on the ground and first floors are south facing, thereby taking full advantage of a wonderful aspect over the gardens, which are a real delight and comprise a number of secluded, landscaped areas in addition to an enclosed vegetable plot.

The accommodation briefly comprises of a fine dual aspect sitting room with an attractive fireplace, French doors opening onto the rear garden terrace and access to a cosy snug and separate study. There is also a South facing dining room and an up to date integrated kitchen/breakfast room comprehensively fitted with storage units and appliances.

From the kitchen/breakfast room there is access to a useful studio/office, ideal for those working from home. The first floor provides a master bedroom with dressing room and en-suite bathroom, 4 further bedrooms and a family bathroom. Halse Hill House still retains many original features including panelled doors, architraves and even some servant and bell call buttons. The property additionally benefits from a gas central heating system with individual thermostats and fitted wardrobes to all bedrooms.

Outside there is ample parking and a double garage with a remotely operated up and over door. A gravelled driveway leading to the garage provides ample off-road parking and a turning area. At the side of the driveway there are established shrub beds, well stocked with a variety of plants and a wrought iron gate leading to the South facing rear garden. Halse Hill House stands in particularly large gardens and grounds, which have been designed very much with ease of maintenance in mind, having shaped lawns with many mature trees and shrubs for privacy and seclusion.

A terrace extends across the rear elevation of the property, being a real sun trap and overlooking the rear garden, which additionally features an ornamental pond complemented with many evergreen shrubs. The garden continues on the Eastern side of the house, where there is an enclosed vegetable garden with raised beds and a further lawned area with an archway cut into a large evergreen hedge providing access to a small orchard and a wrought iron gate leading to West Hill Lane connecting to the town centre. There are also three timber storage sheds and a timber framed greenhouse within the vegetable plot.

A guide price of £750K is suggested. For further information, see the Fulfords website at
http://www.fulfords.co.uk/

Blue Lights in Budleigh

Police officers and fire fighters are teaming up this weekend in Budleigh Salterton to help improve their levels of service to the local community.

Members of the Fire and Rescue and Police services will set up at two locations in the town with their respective vehicles between 10.00 am and 12 noon on Saturday April 11 2009. Both services will be speaking with local residents on ways they can help the community.

Police officers will be focussing on establishing a "top 3" list of actions for the new PACT (Partners and Communities Together) Panel to address. The Fire service will be offering the opportunity to obtain free smoke detectors supplied and fitted along with fire safety advice in the home for everyone.

Local beat manager PC David Lea said: "It’s great to work alongside the local Fire and Rescue Service. It is typical of what we are trying to achieve with PACT by having local networking of likeminded people working together to make the whole community of Budleigh even better. Once we have completed our survey we should know what concerns the people living here and we can then bring that to the PACT Panel for some action to be taken."

Steve Hunt, local Crew Manager at Budleigh Salterton Fire Station, said "We aim as a service to have working smoke detectors coupled with a Fire Safety Awareness in every home."

Both emergency services will have a prize Easter Egg donated by local businesses Spar, of Fore Street, and And Cards Too of the High Street. At the end of the initiative a random draw will take place from those who have helped with the PACT survey and the Fire Safety checks. There will be one prize giveaway egg from both of the emergency services.

Shoppers in the High Street on Easter Saturday should look out for the Blue Lights vehicles where a warm welcome awaits them and maybe a big Easter egg to boot.

Haydn in Exmouth

Haydn’s splendid St Cecilia Mass will be the centrepiece of the next concert given by Exmouth Choral Society.

The Society will be performing at Holy Trinity Church, Rolle Street, Exmouth on Saturday 25 April 2009 at 7.30 pm under their inspiring conductor Brian Northcott.


Soloists include Bethany Partridge (soprano), Harriet Gibson (contralto), Michael Gormley (tenor), Michael Vian Clarke (bass). The orchestra will be led by Gillian Crew.

J S Bach’s Suite No. 1 in C is also being performed.

Above: Franz Joseph Haydn 1732-1809

Haydn’s St Cecilia Mass, also known as the Cäcilienmesse or the Missa Cellensis, is the lengthiest and most ambitious of the composer’s Masses. The elaborate orchestration, using ceremonial trumpets and timpani, led many to believe that the Mass had been written at a later period in his life until the chance discovery in Romania of an autographed manuscript of the Kyrie dated 1766. The date of the first performance of the work, is however unknown.


Tickets in advance cost £9 (adult) £5 (young person) and £18. (family), obtainable from Premier (Rolle Street) and Cabin News (The Parade) in Exmouth, and The Lawn Bakery in Budleigh Salterton; or ring 01395 275188.

The cost at the door is £12 (adult), £8 (young person), £24 (family).

Above: Holy Trinity Church, Exmouth

Property for sale: Flat 4, Montague Gardens, Moorlands Road

Budleigh Salterton agents Palmers Whitton and Laing are offering what they describe as a particularly spacious ground floor flat in Montague Gardens, Moorlands Road. The property has a large private and sunny terrace and benefits from most attractive communal gardens.

Montague Gardens is approached from Moorlands Road via a tarmacadam driveway leading to a visitor's parking area and flanked by lawns fringed by hedgerow. The flat has a shared outer hall. A reception hall gives access to all rooms, including Georgian paned glazed doors to the sitting room and dining room, and there is also a cloakroom with a white suite and ceramic tiled floor. The sitting room, measuring 22'10" x 11'5" (6.96m x 3.48m) has a UPVC double glazed window to the front aspect with a pleasant outlook and distant rural views and a further UPVC double glazed window to the rear with a delightful outlook across the private terrace to the communal grounds. There is a marble plinth for an electric fire.

There is a similarly pleasant view from the dining room, which measures 11'10" x 10'8" (3.61m x 3.25m).

The kitchen has a range of fitted units in white with curved edge worktops comprising an inset one and a half bowl stainless steel sink by Franke with mixer tap, cupboard and plumbed in Hoover washing machine beneath; adjoining worktops to either side with drawers and cupboards beneath incorporating inset Proline ceramic hob, plumbed Bosch dishwasher and towel rack. There is a Hotpoint eye level electric fan oven and Panasonic combination microwave with cupboards above and beneath; a recess with high level shelving housing Hoover refrigerator/freezer; a tall shelved larder cupboard; a generous range of matching eye level cupboards incorporating a Tricity extractor hood above the hob, three lights beneath and one concealing the Glow-worm gas fired condensing boiler supplying central heating and hot water which was installed in March 2007.

All three bedrooms have an attractive outlook over the grounds.

The bathroom has a white suite comprising panelled bath with mixer tap, hand shower and thermostatically controlled shower unit above with glass shower screen; there is a partially recessed counter-top wash basin with mixer tap, pop-up waste, cupboard beneath and two deep eye level cupboards above flanking a central mirror; a close coupled WC. The walls are fully tiled with additional eye level shelved cupboard. There is a ceramic tiled floor and a tall towel radiator.

The garage, which measures 17'2" x 8'6" (5.23m x 2.59m) is situated in a block of 4 with up-and-over door, striplight, double power point and shelving.

Lawns fringed by flower beds adjoin the front of the apartment and a gate on the right hand side leads to a paved terrace with rotary clothes line which is shared with the first floor flat. This terrace provides access to a further terrace running full width across the rear of the apartment measuring approximately 60' x 11' (18.29m x 3.35m). This is bordered by an attractive stone retaining wall surmounted by deep flower beds with a fine variety of mature shrubs and flowering plants. The terrace has a sunny southerly aspect and a very fine outlook over the extensive communal grounds which are beautifully maintained and a most impressive feature of the development. Adjoining the terrace is a water tap and a loggia providing a sheltered covered sitting area with paved floor, access from the dining room and a built-in storage cupboard.

There are a total of eight properties in Montague Gardens, each one owning two shares in Montague Gardens Management Company (Exmouth) Ltd in which the Freehold of the entire development is vested. This flat is sold with a 999 year lease and no ground rent is payable. The maintenance charge is currently £85 per month. The maintenance of the building within which Flats 4 and 5 are located is apportioned equally between the two properties. Council Tax Band - E

Offers in the region of £295,000 are invited.

For further details see http://www.palmerswhittonandlaing-search.com/

Rolling Stone Survey

People with pebble structures on their properties are being asked to help with a four-year survey which will take place in the local area.

Chris Tilley, Professor of Anthropology at University College London, is heading the team which is researching the landscape and archaeology of the East Devon Pebblebeds. He is interested in the present day value and significance of the heathlands as well as the use of pebbles in contemporary architecture.

Above: East Devon’s pebbles have long fascinated geologists. Here a group of students is visiting the Budleigh Pebblebeds.

Pebble structures form an important part of the contemporary domestic architecture and local heritage of east Devon. Team member Jill Cobley is currently recording all structures built out of pebbles in the area of East Devon between the river Exe and the River Otter from Ottery St Mary in the north to Budleigh Salterton in the south.

Local pebbles are great for wall-building

With others she has been recording pebble walls, pebble pavements and courtyards, wall footings, drains, paths, house walls and pebble decorative features – in short anything made of pebbles. The aim is to create a comprehensive record of the use of pebbles in this area of East Devon which eventually will form a digital photographic archive on the web.

Pebbles make useful rockery ornaments

“There are probably many hidden pebble structures not visible from roads or paths in people's back gardens or in sheds and barns and in older houses, for example cellar floors, walls, barns and so on,” says Professor Tilley. “If you have or know of such structures we would like to hear from you so that we can record them. Please email Jill Cobley at jillcobley@tiscali.co.uk or telephone her on 01404 814406.”

In addition, excavations will be taking place between 29 August 2009 and 20 September 2009 on Aylesbeare and Colaton Raleigh Commons. Further research will be carried out by team member Kate Cameron Daum. Kate will be carrying out brief car park surveys of visitors this year to find out the views of the pebbles from the public using the Commons.

“What do you like, or dislike, about our Pebblebed heathlands? Where do you like to walk, or cycle, or ride? What are your favourite places? How would you like the heathlands to be in the future?” are some of the questions to which Kate will be seeking answers.

Professor Tilley said today that very little research has been done into the heathlands since the 1930s, when a retired civil servant George Carter settled in Budleigh to write about the pebblebeds, having spent much of his career with the Indian Civil Service studying the history, archaeology and folklore of Pakistan.

Above: A simple drainage channel using pebbles outside a house in Budleigh

Property for sale: 1 Sherbrook Hill

A mature semi detached house in a most convenient position just off West Hill, midway between the town centre and the golf course, the property provides two charming reception rooms, three bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor, and has the benefit of gas fired central heating.

Bays are a feature of both the sitting room and the dining room, with the former having a period fireplace with inset living flame gas fire and ornate coving. The dining room has windows on two aspects.

The kitchen has a range of fitted wall and base units with gas and electric cooker points. There is a Glow Worm gas fired boiler, complete with programmer, supplying the central heating and hot water.

Bedroom 3 on the first floor has an airing cupboard with factory lagged cylinder and a supplementary immersion heater.

Outside there is a shared double width driveway with Yew Tree Lodge. The lower driveway provides additional parking for several cars. The gardens feature lawns and shrub beds. There is a patio and a gazebo.

The property has a garage with up and over door.

All Main Services are connected. Council Tax Band 'F'.

Offers of £335,000 are invited via agents David Rhys. For further information see the website:

http://www.david-rhys.co.uk/

Town Council Surgery

For some months now Budleigh Salterton Town Council has held a regular surgery at the Public Hall in Station Road, where residents can pop in for an informal chat with Town, District or County Councillors or a member of Devon & Cornwall Constabulary. It is a great opportunity to raise any queries or complaints, says the Council, and if we are unable to assist we usually know someone who will able to help.

The next Surgery will be held on Saturday 4 April at the Public Hall from 10.00 am until noon.

Call to protect an East Devon Conservation Area

Budleigh residents who appreciate the peaceful setting of the nearby Commons and the Pebblebed Heaths for walking, cycling or horseriding are being asked to report illegal activities which could damage an area recognised as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Above: One of the many tracks on Dalditch Common

And the battle to keep off-road drivers and fly tippers from spoiling one of Devon's most important rural habitats has taken a step forward with the forging of closer links between owners Clinton Devon Estates and the police.

Student Police Officer Chris Warfield has been shadowing East Devon Pebblebed Heaths' warden Bungy Williams as part of the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary's Community Engagement Scheme. As part of their initial training, Student Officers work alongside staff and clients within key organisations and community groups on two one-week placements, gaining first-hand knowledge and essential community perspective that will greatly assist them in their future careers. Bungy hopes the experience will help Chris appreciate the importance of the 3,000 acre site which is listed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

"This is a great opportunity to spend time with someone who will be patrolling this area in future and to explain to them what we are doing and the problems that we have with such large areas to protect," says Bungy.

"Illegal campers, off-road drivers and people dumping rubbish are a real threat to this very special environment. It's not just the damage to the habitat either. Vehicles using the heaths illegally could easily cause an accident and just recently we had rubbish with asbestos in it dumped here - it's not good for the flora, the fauna or people who want to enjoy the area responsibly."

Above: Looking towards Squabmoor Reservoir

Student Police Officer Chris Warfield, has welcomed the chance to learn more about the Heaths. Chris will be based in Exmouth when his training is complete. As well as spending time on the heaths, Chris's week-long attachment to Clinton Devon Estates also involves sessions on forestry, pest control and a day with the Land Agent.

According to Chris, "It's a brilliant opportunity to learn more about Clinton Devon Estates which plays such a major part in the area. Even though I was brought up in Sidmouth, I hadn't realised how much impact the estates have on life in East Devon.

"This induction is giving me a valuable insight into what goes on here and will be of great help in understanding key local issues when I get out on patrol."

Meanwhile, Clinton Devon Estates is also asking the public to be its 'eyes and ears' in a growing battle with the motorists using the East Devon Pebblebed Heaths for off-road driving. John Wilding, General Manager of Forestry and Environmental Economy wants people using the Heaths for legitimate leisure pursuits to collect the registration numbers of any vehicles using the land illegally and report them to the Estates office or the local police. He says that the biggest danger caused by illegal off-roading is to the public; "We're naturally worried about the damage this is causing to an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty but our biggest concern is that a car, motorbike or quad bike could collide with someone walking, cycling or riding.

"Vehicles are getting onto the Common because barriers are regularly broken and we do have to keep access points open for horses.

"The Royal Marines have permission to use the land for training and our management team at Clinton Devon Estates sometime need to take 4X4's onto the land - but that doesn't mean it's a free for all," says John Wilding.

"We take a very serious view of this kind of illegal activity and we are working closely with the police and with local people to make sure it stops," he adds.

Illegal motorists face being charged under the Road Traffic Act, which can mean a fixed penalty fine for a first offence to a maximum fine of £300 for persistent offenders who are sent to magistrates court. Those who damage the Site of Special Scientific Interest also face charges of Wildlife Crime which can result in a prison sentence and fines of many thousands of pounds.

If anyone witnesses vehicles illegally using the East Devon Pebblebed Heaths, they are asked to contact Clinton Devon Estates wardens on 07976 062712 or 07976 062717.

A posting we all look forward to

He doesn’t have a black and white cat called Jess, and he laughs at the idea of using a gyrocopter and a Blackberry to deliver his letters, but Steve Harrison, our local postie has all the qualities which made Postman Pat everyone’s favourite mailman. And I reckon he must be 100 times fitter when I see him cycling up Exmouth Road.

Postal workers, it’s said, are living the nightmare of modernisation: job losses, closures and pensions at risk. But Steve keeps smiling. In a traditional town like Budleigh there is still an expectation of telephone boxes, village policemen and personal friendly service in local shops. And in our rural area the arrival of the postman does a little to reassure us that commitment and stability are still possible in the unstable and crazy world that we live in.

Above: Budleigh postman Steve Harrison

You could say that the traditional postie is still at the heart of British life, and there are plenty of people who will stand up for him or her. Devotees of TV’s best-known postman who has recently received a 21st century make-over have even revolted against the media trendies who want to turn Postman Pat into a “gadget obsessed freak.”

One of approximately 15 postal workers at Budleigh Salterton’s Delivery Office, Steve Harrison has worked for Royal Mail for over two years, having previously worked as a social worker in the Greater London area. The move to Devon was one of the best decisions he made, he feels. “I get really affected by the pollution now whenever I go back to London.” He reckons that the sea air combined with all the cycling and walking that he does as a postman have certainly contributed to a healthier lifestyle. Within the first nine months he found that he had lost three stone in weight. “I used to be cooped up in a van or an office. Now I’m in the open air most of the time. It’s a definite plus.”

He uses a bike to deliver mail for only part of his shift, on what he calls his ‘small loop’ along Exmouth Road, including Moorlands Road and Lansdowne Road, and through Knowle Village and Little Knowle. For the longer loop through Castle Lane, Dalditch Lane, Inner Ting Tong and Bear Lane he uses a van. Not only is this faster – his speed in the van averaging 6 mph, including deliveries, being double that of the bike – but also easier, as the weight of mail to be delivered can be considerable: Steve often finds that his bags can weigh as much as 16 kg (35 lb). In fact Health & Safety rules dictate that up to 32 kg (70 lb) is allowable on a bike, although as Steve points out this would be impossible on some of the gradients that he has to tackle.

Issues like the average speed of delivery and mail-load weights are bound up with the various management initiatives aimed at making Royal Mail more efficient, and Steve admits that such matters are very far from people’s view of their friendly postman with time for a doorstep chat. That’s certainly an aspect of the job that he appreciates, but he points out that Mondays and Tuesdays are best from that point of view. By mid-week, when businesses are back at work sending out mail after the weekend break, pressure is building up for postal workers.

Above: The Victorian letter box at the corner of Links Road: as traditional a feature in Budleigh as our local posties

Steve Harrison is in fact working on a part-time basis of 34 hours per week, but even so has to make an early start at around 7.00 am to be finished by 2.15 pm. There is a certain amount of flexi-time to the job, with long weekends on a cyclical basis giving it some variety. Meeting different people as he makes his deliveries is also something that he enjoys when he is not in a hurry; he agrees that the postman has a social role to play. A friendly conversation of 10-15 seconds is enough to check that an elderly resident is in good health, for example. On one occasion he spotted that a door had been left open; it turned out that the house had been burgled. “I always make an effort,” says Steve. “Of course I have to balance that out with the time pressures.”

The only people he is not so keen on chatting to are those with dangerous dogs. Injuries to postal workers’ legs and fingers really are an issue, it seems. “I’ve been bitten twice within a month,” he says. Some post-workers believe that feeding the animal before making a delivery is the answer, but Steve disagrees. “I’ve been chased down the road by dogs wanting biscuits.” Not surprisingly Royal Mail wants the law governing dogs to apply to private as well as public land.

The other major negative of Steve’s work involves the weather. “Cold I can cope with, heat is bearable, but wet weather is awful. Nothing’s worse than pushing a soggy letter through a letterbox.”

When arranging the interview with Steve I had worried that my suggestion of using email as “an easy way of communicating” was a tactless blunder, given the decline in the number of people posting letters. No, said Steve. He is a fervent believer in the Internet. “It’s true that the volume of letters is going down, but the weight of mail deliveries is going up all the time. A paperless council tax mailing would have saved me hours of work today!” And many people in rural areas like Budleigh still tend to write letters as well as getting more parcels because they order goods by post or the Internet rather than do their shopping regularly at big city stores. For that reason, he believes, Royal Mail has an advantage over firms like TNT, which would prefer business with a high volume urban distribution.

Above: Steve with his Royal Mail bike and an appreciative customer

And what about the new technology that Postman Pat has been threatened with to make him more efficient? Scanners are certainly used now for dealing with registered and tracked mail, says Steve. “Some time ago they were talking about motorised carts for making deliveries, but it didn’t really work out.” Maybe Budleigh’s awkward gradients were the problem.

So we hope to see Steve for many years to come, preferably on two wheels. The sight of him pedalling up Exmouth Road always inspires me to dust down my bike and get fitter by tackling some of those hills that drew us to Devon.

© Michael Downes 2009

Criminal execution on Exmouth Road!

Monty Ray Syprus* of 12 Exmouth Road has been executed this week. He was tried and found guilty of criminal damage, attempted murder, and failing to keep within the limits of his territory.

Mr D. Clarke of number 10, said that just before Christmas he was out walking his dog, when the said subject hurled an enormous branch at him.

Above: Monty Ray Syprus at the height of his powers

Fortunately he just missed, but it was attempted murder! On the same day the criminal tried to murder the postman and also to prevent the escape of a friend who called at the address to collect something.

Fortunately all these attempts failed, but it was agreed by the authorities that this should not be allowed to continue. The executioners were called to the address on 17 March to carry out the deed.

Right: The executioners assess Monty's weight

Monty was hung, drawn, quartered and indeed carved up into thousands of pieces to be sure that his activities are no longer able to cause a menace to the community.

Above: The executioners set to work

Below right: Monty's last moments

* AKA Monterey Cypress or cupressus macracarpa. Janet and Chris Parrish write: We have received consent

from EDDC to take down the large tree in the middle of our drive. In a way it is sad because it was such a ‘grand’ old tree but after the collapse of several branches before Christmas, it was left in a poor state and the gash left by the fall would have attracted rot and disease. So it was really past its sell-by date and we felt this was the time it had to go. All the authorities agreed. We have guessed it was 100 years old or so; the EDDC Tree Officer thought a little less. Whatever, it must have been planted, we think, before the house was built in 1925.

Photos and text © Janet and Chris Parrish

2009 Annual Town Meeting on 25 March

The Town Council's Annual Town Meeting is an opportunity for Budleigh residents to express their views and ask questions about issues in the town. It is also an opportunity for the Town Council to inform members of the public about achievements during the preceding year and aims for the future.

Above: Budleigh Salterton's Public Hall

This year’s Annual Town Meeting takes place on Wednesday 25 March at 7.00 pm in the Public Hall, Station Road. There will be two speakers from the Environment Agency and they will be talking about the recent flooding in the Otter Valley, particularly the problems at Granary Lane and the Cricket Club, and any possible solutions.

Above: Last year's flooded car park at Otterton Mill

Photo credit Otterton Mill

If you have a question for them or for any member of the Town Council please contact the Clerk in writing by Monday 23 March at the address below:

Mrs J Vanstone
Clerk to Budleigh Salterton Town Council
Council Offices
Station Road
Budleigh Salterton
Devon EX9 6RJ

Email: office@budleighsaltertontowncouncil.gov.uk

Spring brings jazz to Budleigh

“Forget the economic blues and prepare to join us for the best new jazz festival,” say the organizers of yet another first in Budleigh’s music calendar. A development of the town’s highly successful Festival of Music and the Arts, Budleigh’s three-day extravaganza of sounds ranges from danceable traditional New Orleans style to powerful big band swing. The Jazz Festival will take place in the Games Club in Cricket Field Lane, where there is a full licensed bar and comfortable seating.

Above: Mike Denham and Sunset Café Stompers.

Picture credit: Budleigh Festival of Music and the Arts

Sunset Café Band

Thursday 23 April 7.45 pm Tickets: £8

Sunset Café Stompers play exciting traditional jazz in the style of the New Orleans pioneers. The band takes its name from the famous night-spot on Chicago's South Side, owned by Al Capone, where Louis Armstrong once played.

Formed in 1989, with a mission to become the finest exponents of the New Orleans sound in the South West, the SCS have acquired a strong following in their home territory, and a national reputation. Based in Wessex, the band tours to jazz clubs further afield, and has appeared frequently at the Bude, Keswick and other major festivals.

SCS’s repertoire, while firmly rooted in New Orleans, covers a wider range than most British bands and includes compositions made famous by Duke Ellington, King Oliver and Jelly Roll Morton.

The Devon Youth Jazz Orchestra

Friday 24 April 7.45 pm

Tickets: £8

Last November the Devon Youth Jazz Orchestra's senior section was awarded the highest accolade by being selected to play in the Schools' Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Tutored by three professional jazz musicians the Jazz Orchestras exist to help young players learn about, develop skills in and increase their appreciation of big band music. Members have the opportunity to play music in a wide range of styles, from swing to be-bop, from latin to funk. A key activity is improvisation: band members are encouraged to express their musical ideas through a graded programme of workshops, and are given opportunities to try out their ideas in concerts. Big band links have been made with Plymouth, Hampshire and Staffordshire. Original works for performance have been provided by Dave O’Higgins and Steve Waterman.

Above: Student players give top-class performance

Picture credit: Devon County Council

Scott Hamilton with the Craig Milverton Trio

Saturday 25 April Tickets: £15

“Following a Scott Hamilton solo is like listening to a great conversationalist in full flow,” writes fellow tenor saxophonist and writer, Dave Gelly. “First comes the voice, the inimitable, assured sound of his tenor saxophone, then the informal style and finally the amazing fluency and eloquent command of the jazz language.”

In demand the world over as a saxophonist, Scott Hamilton was born in 1954, in Providence, Rhode Island. During his early childhood he heard a lot of jazz through his father's extensive record collection, and became acquainted with the jazz greats. He had some clarinet lessons when he was about eight years of age, but that was the only formal music tuition he has ever had.

Picture: Saxophonist Scott Hamilton

Picture credit: Peterborough Jazz Club

For some years now he has been based in London, where he first played in 1978, and he travels the world from there. He returns to America three or four times a year to play at festivals, including the New York JVC festival in June 2007 and Irvine, California in September 2007.

Craig Milverton plays with a ‘who’s who’ of British and International jazz talent including Digby Fairweather, Paul Jones, Julian Marc Stringle, Mark Crooks, Scott Hamilton, Dominic Ashworth and a host of others.

Craig was born in Bexley, Kent and took piano lessons from the ages of 7 -12, but has no formal jazz training. His jazz interest was spawned by his father’s record collection, initially the Boogie Woogie pianists and then Oscar Peterson and Ella Fitzgerald. He moved to Devon in 1985 and tours internationally. Few British pianists have Craig’s thorough knowledge and grasp of jazz styles. His love of the music shines through and he is a natural at whatever he plays.

Picture: Jazz pianist Craig Milverton

Picture credit: Craig Milverton

For further information about Budleigh's first Jazz Festival see
http://www.budleigh-festival.org.uk/Programme%20Detail%20jazz%202008.html

Trial Opening for Police Station

Budleigh Salterton Police Station is to open its doors for regular community surgeries. The station will open between 10.00 am and 2.00 pm every Monday except Bank Holidays from 23 March 2009, and at the same time every alternate Saturday from 4 April 2009.

The surgeries will be held by the local Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Chantalle Major and will be focussed on speaking with the public who wish to drop in and discuss local issues. The aim will be to gauge what concerns residents and visitors may have and discuss them with staff who will initiate work to try and resolve those concerns.

Additionally PCSO Chantalle Major has been joined on the Budleigh Salterton beat by PCSO Malcolm Maguire, who is going to be active in patrols around Budleigh Salterton and East Budleigh. With PCSO Sarah Trayhurn responsible for Otterton and Colaton Raleigh and the beat manager PC David Lea overseeing the whole area, this brings the number of staff for the rural beat centered at Budleigh Salterton to four.

PC David Lea said, "It has been a wish of mine utilise this local police station to greater effect. It will provide a service for the public to come to us and talk over their concerns. We will try this out for four months with the hope to extend it further. Chantalle will leave us sometime in August for the birth of her second child. By then we are hoping to have a pool of volunteers in place who can speak with visitors to the station and listen to their concerns.

"The addition of PCSO Malcolm Maguire is also a very welcomed boost to the area."

Malcolm is also looking to open up a community surgery at East Budleigh information room near the village hall. This will be happening from 6 April with further details of times being released via local media, the police website, the local shop in East Budleigh and at the venue itself.

PC David Lea added, "I have to thank Inspector Capey at Exmouth for releasing Malcolm to help here at Budleigh. This will go a long way to increasing the PACT panels which will be used to resolve community issues. These panels have already proven their worth in other parts of the Devon and Cornwall policing area and I hoping for similar good results here. These are all positive moves to increase public satisfaction with the level of local policing. We are confident we can deliver what are embarking on and make ourselves more available to the general public."

PACT (Partners And Communities Together) Panels comprise of local police, residents, youth representatives, councillors, trades people and the like. There is an appeal for people to join their local PACT Panel. If you are interested and think you could represent your local area or wish to know more about PACT then please use the contact details below. Similarily, if you feel you could help out at Budleigh Police Station as a volunteer, later this Spring, then use the same contact details.

For further information contact PC David Lea via, the Devon and Cornwall Police website and follow the links to Neighbourhood Policing or call Budleigh Salterton Police Station on 01395 442431.

Bruce McLean at the Brook

Bruce McLean, Professor of Fine Art and Head of Graduate Painting at the Slade School of Fine Art in London will open his solo exhibition at the Brook Gallery on 28 March 2009. “Witty and to the point”, is how his work has been described.

Bruce McLean has gained international recognition as a painter, film maker and performance artist. His commissions are many and varied, from work designed for Credit Suisse in London’s Canary Wharf to sculpture and architectural work for the British Embassy in Berlin.

Bruce is recognized for taking Brit art to a new level on the international scene. Startling colours and clever use of form are combined into witty parodies of current expressionist work, a trade mark style which is much coveted. His satirical works in all media confront the pretensions of the art world and wider issues such as the nature of bureaucracy and institutional politics. Brook Gallery is delighted to welcome Bruce and play host to works of art from one of the UK’s greats.

Above: Sausage Street, by Bruce McLean

The exhibition runs from Sunday 29 March – Sunday 19 April.

The Gallery is open Tuesday - Saturday 10.30 am - 5.00 pm; Sunday - 2.00 pm - 4.30 pm
For further information see http://www.brookgallery.co.uk/

Bach’s St John Passion at Exeter

Bach’s St John Passion is the next major work performed by the Exeter Bach Society, writes Exmouth Road’s Chris Parrish. The performance will take place on Saturday 4 April at 7.30 pm at the Mint Church in Fore Street, Exeter, with the Exeter Bach Society Choir and Orchestra under its Director of Music, Budleigh-based Nicholas Marshall.

The soloists are:

Richard Rowntree – Evangelist;

Armin Zanner – Christus;

Elizabeth Drury – soprano;

Matthew Venner – counter-tenor;

Leslie Baker – tenor;

Stephen Foulkes – bass.

On April 7, 1724, the citizens of Leipzig crowded into the St Nicholas Church for Good Friday services. What they heard – in addition to a one-hour sermon (to which, you will be relieved to know, we shall not subject you!) – was a retelling of the Passion story as recounted in the book of John, set to music by their recently hired cantor, Johann Sebastian Bach.

The St John Passion is no small work, but it has often been overshadowed by the even more imposing St Matthew Passion that Bach produced a few years later.

Yet for many listeners, the drama and pacing of Bach’s first Passion setting give it a unique appeal. Robert Schumann, for example, not only admired it, but preferred it, writing to a friend: “Do you know Bach’s Passion According to St John, the so-called little one? … Don’t you think it is much bolder, more powerful, and poetical than the Passion According to St Matthew? … How full of genius, especially the choruses. And what consummate art!”

We last sang this Passion in 2005 and as before we will sing it in the original German which fits the music so much better.

Pictured in descending order are: Richard Rowntree, Armin Zanner, Elizabeth Drury, Matthew Venner, Leslie Baker and Stephen Foulkes.

Tickets: £12 unreserved (full time students half price) may be purchased from Exeter Visitor Information & Tickets (Tel: 01392 211080), in Dix’s Field, Exeter; members of the Exeter Bach Society, or by phoning Roger Churchward on 01392 468867. Also at the door before the performance. Wheelchair access.