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.

Gone clubbing

You may have noticed that Exmouth Roadies’ postings have been less frequent recently. The weather is largely to blame for this. The spring sunshine is bringing out the flowers in our garden but plants are also begging to be saved from strangulation and slow death by the evil weeds. We’ve been told that Devon is the ivy capital of the UK.

But last Saturday I saw that my Exmouth Roadies blog could be in danger of withering away altogether. Budleigh Salterton Town Council had organised a get-together in the Public Hall of some of the clubs and societies that flourish in the town. It was only by chance that I found out about it that morning, so I thought I’d pop in for five minutes.

An hour later I emerged, completely clubbed out of my mind by all the amazing things that are going on in Budleigh, and charmed by a crowd of very enthusiastic and friendly people, all keen to invite us newcomers to join up. The Public Hall was packed with stands advertising societies and activities of all sorts, and I may have missed quite a few of them. There’s not just one gardening group in Budleigh: at least three are needed to deal with the frantic demands of all those flowers, fruit and vegetables bursting away in the fertile Devon soil. I have a choice between the Garden Club, the Flower and Produce Show and Budleigh in Bloom. If gardening isn’t your thing but you want some exercise there’s no shortage of sporting activities ranging from cricket to croquet. For the walkers and those interested in Budleigh’s wildlife and other environmental matters or even historical matters, the Otter Valley Association was there, as well as Fairlynch Museum. The arts were represented by groups like the Art Club, St Peter’s Music, Budleigh Salterton Male Voice Choir and the recently formed Budleigh Film Society. And then there were the many charity activity groups: the Lions Club, the Community Bus Project, the Friends of Budleigh Hospital, the Royal British Legion and the town’s Youth Project. It’s clear you can never be bored in Budleigh. There certainly wouldn’t be much time for blogging if I joined just a few of these groups.

I noted some absentees. The Salterton Drama Club was not there of course because they were busy preparing for the last night of their excellent production of Rattigan’s Separate Tables. And where were the Budleigh Salterton Wives, listed in the clubs section of the Budleigh Diary at http://www.budleighdiary.co.uk/main.htm as meeting every week through the year and offering lectures with challenging titles such as “keeping your man happy”, “maintaining a spotless home”, “how to agree with your man”, and “cooking his perfect meal”? I’ve looked in vain for their website, supposedly at www.budleighsaltertonwives.co.uk

Ah well, that’s one more little Budleigh mystery to be investigated. But meanwhile I’ve got to go and deal with the ivy.

Budleigh Salterton Garden Club

Budleigh Salterton Flower & Produce Shows Society

Budleigh in Bloom

Budleigh Salterton Cricket Club

Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club

Budleigh Salterton Games Club

Otter Valley Association

Fairlynch Museum

Budleigh Salterton Art Club

St Peter's Music
Budleigh Salterton Film Society

Budleigh Salterton Lions Club

Budleigh Salterton Community Bus

The League of Friends of Budleigh Salterton Hospital

Budleigh Salterton Royal British Legion

I saw some funny things today on my way to the fishmonger

Thousands of people across the country are taking part in events for Red Nose Day today, Friday 13 March, with money going towards helping the disadvantaged in Africa and Britain. To get involved just “Do Something Funny For Money!” is what we were told.

Normally ‘sedate’ Budleigh is not the sort of place where people wear red noses, but even here funniness has broken out. And on the High Street too, in full view of everyone.

First there was Simon Blissett (48 and “old enough to know better” as he admitted) of Budleigh’s West Terrace. His feet in a bucket of “genuine”mushy peas donated by the Premier Café, red-nosed and grass-skirted, he confessed that he was standing there making a fool of himself as the result of a conversation that he’d had “after a few drinks.” Full marks for originality, I thought. Of course anyone who can dress up as Dame Martha Muffett in the Salterton Drama Club pantomime as Simon did can carry off this sort of thing. But would he be eating the mushy peas as a reward, I wondered? He was certainly getting lots of cash for Comic Relief from passers-by.

Above: Did Simon eat up all his mushy peas?


Jenny Roberts, also from Budleigh, was also attracting much attention in the High Street in her outlandish gear complete with bright red pigtails to match the red nose. She had spent the morning at Exmouth Leisure Centre at her Latin DX dance class where she’d raised £60 for charity.

It’s good to know that Budleians can be as bonkers as the best of them.

Right: Jenny does a twirl for Comic Relief.

The Taj Mahal

Indian cuisine is something that many Budleigh residents know quite a bit about thanks to last year’s popular Tantalising Tastes of Asia presentation by the town’s Taj Mahal restaurant during the May Gala Week.

The family-owned Taj Mahal in the High Street gets very busy at the weekend and during the summer so we chose a quieter weekday evening last night not only to enjoy the meal but to discuss the different dishes with the experts.


I never remember which Indian dish I tried last, and always want to try something new, so on this occasion went for the Chef’s Special Treat, a delicious combination of chicken tikka, lamb tikka and tandoori king prawns, with mango and pineapple mixed in with ground cashew nuts, butter, honey and tomatoes. “Sinful pleasures abound in every mouthful,” as the menu warns customers. Anthea by contrast chose her usual tandoori chicken, which I think she always goes for because it invariably arrives at the table in that spectacular sizzling fashion. And of course she says it never disappoints.
Above: (l-r) Taj Mahal staff Tusha and Russel

The Taj Mahal specialises in Bangladeshi and Indian dishes based on lamb, chicken or fish, but offers a wide variety to suit all tastes, including vegetarian. The restaurant is fully licensed and offers an excellent wine list, from which we chose a good claret. Our waiter Tusha and his colleague Russel were welcoming, helpful and informative. Both have worked in city-based restaurants throughout the UK and appreciate Budleigh because of its quiet charm and the friendly customers.

Above: Taj Mahal cooks spice up Budleigh at the Tantalising Tastes of Asia event in May 2008.

Photo credit: Ray Ambrose of Randa Creative

It’s great to have a restaurant which is open every day until late in the evening, serving excellent food at moderate prices. Our meal came to just under £40, including a bottle of wine.

Tel: 01395 446097
Taj Mahal
1b High Street
Budleigh Salterton
EX9 6LD